Jesus Calls Together His Friends
Jesus went up on the hillside near Capernaum and called to him the men
whom he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve to be with him
and to go out to preach, with power to cast out evil spirits. These were
the twelve disciples: Simon to whom he gave also the name Peter, James
the son of Zebedee and John his brother, whom he called "Sons of
Thunder," Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of
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Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who at last
betrayed him.
Then Jesus went into a house and the crowd gathered again so that it was
impossible even to eat a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they
set out to get hold of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
Standing outside, his mother and his brothers sent word to him to come
out to them. He was in the midst of a crowd seated about him when some
one said to him, "Here are your mother and your brothers and sisters
outside hunting for you." He answered, "Who are my mother and my
brothers?" Then looking around at those who sat in a circle about him,
he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of
God is my brother and sister and mother."