Matthew records that Jesus appointed twelve to follow Him:
“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1)
Mark gives more detail about their calling:
“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons/”>demons.” (Mark 3:14–15)
Luke also emphasizes the number:
“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” (Luke 6:12–13)
John refers often to “the twelve” as a distinct group, such as when Jesus asked:
“Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:67–68)
The number twelve was chosen deliberately. It symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel, showing that Jesus was forming a new people of God founded on Himself. Just as the twelve tribes represented the foundation of God’s covenant nation in the Old Testament, the twelve apostles became the foundation of the church. Revelation later describes the New Jerusalem with “twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14).
By choosing twelve, Jesus declared that His ministry was not a break with God’s promises to Israel but their fulfillment. He was restoring and reconstituting God’s people around Himself, with the apostles as witnesses and pillars of His kingdom.
