In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles…
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. (Lk 6:12-19)
Mountains were considered to be the places where God resided. Many temples were built on top of the mountains. “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus said to her, Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” Though Jesus went up the mountain to pray yet he was aware that God should be worshipped in truth and Spirit. Yes, Jesus spent time in prayer.
Prayer forms the foundation of his activities. After prayer he went about choosing his disciples. The disciples were the ones who continued his mission. He had chosen twelve to signify the twelve tribes of Israel. Gospels themselves did not say much about these disciples. Some of the disciples were only names in the Gospels. But certainly they had done their part in fulfilling the mission of Jesus.
His mission is clearly described in this section. When he came down from the mountain there was a crowd waiting for him. Among the crowd there people from Judea, Jerusalem and there were also people from Tyre and Sidon. People from all over benefitted from the ministry of Jesus. It was a healing ministry.
