For an account of the appointment of the apostles, see the notes at Matthew 10:1-4.

And calleth unto him whom he would - Those whom he chose; whom he was about to appoint to the apostleship. See the notes at John 15:16.

And he goeth up into a mountain,.... Near Capernaum, being solitary, and a place of recess and retirement, "to pray", as Luke says, Luke 6:12, who adds, "and continued all night in prayer to God", notwithstanding the great fatigue of the day past. His prayer, as is very probable, was chiefly concerning the great and important work, which was upon his mind, and he was about to do; the making and constituting twelve of his disciples, as his apostles, to preach in his name, and work miracles:

and calleth unto him whom he would; that is, "when it was day", as the above evangelist observes; when he called his disciples, such as had been for some time followers of him, as many of them as he thought fit: for it seems by the same evangelist, that others were called to him besides the twelve; and out of them he chose them: the phrase "whom he would", is in the Arabic version rendered, "whom he loved"; and it is a common observation of expositors, that the choice and call of the apostles to office, were not according to their will, works and merits, but according to the sovereign will and grace of Christ, who chose them, and not they him: but to me there seems no foundation for such a remark here, though it is a truth; because this regards not the call of the twelve only, and much less of them to office, but a call of many of the followers of Christ to come to him on the mountain:

and they came unto him; as many as he called out of the multitude; and from among these he made the following choice.

Whom he would (οὓς ἤθελεν αὐτός)

Rev., more strictly, "whom he himself would;" not allowing any to offer themselves for special work. Out of the larger number thus called he selected twelve. See Mark 3:14.

And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

3:13 Goeth up upon a mountain. Compare Mt 10:1-4 Lu 6:12-16. The selection of the apostles occurred before the Sermon on the Mount (Lu 6:13). Matthew gives it out of order. See notes on Mt 10:1-4.

3:13 He calleth whom he would - With regard to the eternal states of men, God always acts as just and merciful. But with regard to numberless other things, he seems to us to act as a mere sovereign. Lu 6:12

Mr 3:13-19. The Twelve Apostles Chosen.

See on [1412]Lu 6:12-19.

3:13-21 Christ calls whom he will; for his grace is his own. He had called the apostles to separate themselves from the crowd, and they came unto him. He now gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. May the Lord send forth more and more of those who have been with him, and have learned of him to preach his gospel, to be instruments in his blessed work. Those whose hearts are enlarged in the work of God, can easily bear with what is inconvenient to themselves, and will rather lose a meal than an opportunity of doing good. Those who go on with zeal in the work of God, must expect hinderances, both from the hatred of enemies, and mistaken affections of friends, and need to guard against both.