Apostles Called

Jesus called 12 men to himself on a mountain and designated them to spend time with him and tell what they learned to others. The math points at another story where an individual had an encounter on a mountain and was told to tell Israel what he was shown.

Mark 3:13-19

¹³He went up to the mountain and called those he wanted and they came to him. ¹⁴He chose 12 to be with him that he might send them to preach ¹⁵and to have power to heal the sick FA and cast out demons. ¹⁶ 1|12 Simeon he surnamed Peter ¹⁷and 2|12 Jacob son of Zebedee and 3|12 John the brother of Jacob he surnamed Boanerges which means children of thunder ¹⁸and 4|12 Andrew and 5|12 Philip and 6|12 Bartholomew and 7|12 Matthew and 8|12 Thomas and 9|12 Jacob son of Alphaeus and 10|12 Thaddaeus and 11|12 Simeon the zealot ¹⁹and 12|12 Jude of Iscariot who betrayed him. They came to the house. Mark 3:13-19 (Mark 3:13-19 BRB)

Count

12 = Ezekiel

Ezekiel

Within the book of Ezekiel one passage stands out as the best match with the story of Jesus calling the 12 as his apostles. It's the story of Ezekiel's vision on a mountain where someone (likely pre-incarnate Jesus) speaks to him and tells him to tell what he sees to Israel, and on Selection Day no less.

¹In the 25th year of our captivity in the beginning of the year in the 10th day of the month in the 14th year after Jerusalem was destroyed, in that very day, the hand of the Master was on me. ²He FE brought me into the land of Israel in visions of god and set me on a very high mountain on which was FE the plan of a city FE on the south. Ezekiel 40:1-2³He brought me there and a man was there whose appearance was like the appearance of brass with a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand M Revelation 21:15 and he was standing in the gate. FE ⁴The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes and hear with your ears. Set your heart on all that I will show you, for you were brought here that I might show you these things. Everything that you see declare to the children of Israel. Ezekiel 40:3-4 (Ezekiel 40:1-4 BRB)

The elements in this short quote are enough to establish a match with the story in Mark. They both occur on a mountain. They both involve Jesus calling or leading someone to the mountain to show or tell them something. They both involve a commissioning to go and tell others.

The passage in Ezekiel is much longer, though, then the short quote above. In fact, the quote above begins a very long passage that runs to the end of Ezekiel and is exclusively about the design of a house. Ezekiel is told again, later, to show the design of the house to the house of Israel.

⁶I heard someone speaking to me out of the house and the man was standing by me. ⁷He said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I live in the middle of the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel will not be defiled any longer and my holy name the house of Israel will not defile any longer, not they nor their kings by their prostitution, nor with the corpses of their kings, nor with their idols. ⁸For they used to make their gates beside my gates and their doorposts beside my doorposts. There was only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by the iniquities which they have committed. Therefore I have consumed them in my anger. ⁹Now let them put away their prostitution and the corpses of their kings from my presence and I will live in the middle of them forever. Ezekiel 43:6-9¹⁰You, son of man, show this house to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities which they transgressed against me. Let them study its pattern. ¹¹If they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house and its fashion and its entrances and its exits and all its forms and all its laws and forms and draw the plans in their sight that they may preserve its whole design and all its form and do them. Ezekiel 43:10-11¹²This is the vision of the house on the top of the mountain and all its borders around are most holy. Ezekiel 43:12 (Ezekiel 43:6-12 BRB)

This second quote in Ezekiel further agrees with the match to the story in Mark, but it's adding something substantial. Notice the odd little detail on the tail of the story in Mark. They came into the house with Jesus. Notice how this second quote in Ezekiel begins. Ezekiel heard someone speaking to me out of the house. The detail that Jesus and his disciples went into a house is not random or insignificant, but rather, the whole subject matter in this cross referenced story in Ezekiel and likely, actually, the subject Jesus and his new apostles spoke about on the mountain and/or in the house afterwards.

Another important connection between these two stories is the dating given in Ezekiel. It's debatable exactly what calendar Ezekiel is following given he seems to be measuring time from a captivity event, but if, for the moment, the date given is treated as against the regular Bible calendar, then Ezekiel is tagging this vision on the mountain event to the 10th day of the 1st month, i.e., Selection Day, i.e., the day the Passover lamb is selected, the day kings are coronated, the day priests are ordained, and in the case of the story in Mark, a time when the disciples can be called to be apostles of Jesus. Pretty cool.

Ryan Eaton 2013-07-08