The NLT writes that Jesus, "looked at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts." I imagine He was angry that obedience as they wrongly believed would lead them to not help someone in need. I imagine He was saddened that they had hearts so hard that they could not see the need to help or that they could not see the intent of the Law as being such that God wants people to care for one another on any given day. Of course, Jesus healed the man. And, of course, His enemies didn't get it and went off to try to figure out how to kill Jesus.
Jesus continued to help those who came to Him from cities all around there. He healed and cast out demons, giving people new hope and life.
Jesus had a large group of disciples that followed Him. At this point, He went into the mountains to choose those who would be closest to Him. He called this group His apostles. A disciple is one who believes in the teachings of another and is a follower. A disciple also helps to promote those teachings and principles. An apostle is, in this case, the twelve who were called out of the group of disciples and into His inner circle. Jesus commissioned them to go out to preach and spread the Gospel to the world even after His death. Jesus also gave them the power and authority to cast out demons.
These are the twelve He called to be His apostles; Simon, called Peter, James and John, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon, the zealot, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.
As Jesus began His public ministry, He first called Peter and Andrew to follow Him. They were fishing in the Sea of Galilee. They dropped what they were doing and immediately followed Jesus. Peter was not one most would think Jesus would call but he became the most prominent of Jesus disciples. Jesus changed Peter in amazing ways which prepared him to basically lead a religious revolution and start the Christian church. Peter's name was Simeon or Simon (for short) bar Jona which meant he was Peter/Simeon the son of Jonah (bar Jonah was an Aramaic term.) We know he was born in Bethsaida at the Sea of Galilee. We interpret Bethsaida as meaning "the house of fisherman," which I imagine means a fishing village. When Jesus met Peter, Peter was already married and had moved from Bethsaida to Capernaum. Andrew was Peter's brother. Andrew, which is a Greek name, was also in the fishing business. They both probably spoke Aramaic and Greek.
Peter and Andrew had gone into the fishing business with James and John, the sons of Zebedee. This put them in the same spot as James and John when the four were called to follow Jesus. Peter and Andrew had knowledge and an expectation of Jesus coming. They did not know Jesus was the Messiah they were watchful for. They had knowledge of the coming of the Messiah because they had traveled to her John the Baptist teach of the coming judgement of Israel and the call for the people to repent.
Peter was a huge part of Jesus ministry and teaching. His life with Jesus teaches us much. Peter worked hard and went through horrible things to the point that he finished his life being crucified. He requested that he be crucified upside down as he was not good enough to be crucified upright as Christ was. It is said that Peter was crucified on Vatican Hill. Excavations have turned up a very old memorial shrine that was built on the spot to remember Peter and his sacrifice. The work Peter did in Rome contributed greatly to the authority of those who followed Peter such as the pope and his office.
It is said that Jesus called Phillip third. Phillip may also have been a follower of John the Baptist. He was also from Bethsaida and most likely knew Peter and Andrew. Phillip played a part in the feeding of the 5,000 by saying that even 200 denari was not enough money to even buy a little food for each person. Shortly before Jesus death, some Gentiles wanted to speak with Jesus. Phillip and Andrew were the ones who tried to set such meetings up with Jesus. Phillip was the one who asked Jesus to do something to help him believe more deeply. Phillip was one of the 11 who were in the upper room after Jesus was crucified.
Next, came the brothers, James and John, sons to Zebedee and referred to as the "Sons of Thunder." These two were among the very first Jesus called to follow Him. They were fishermen in their father's fishing business. Jesus called them while they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Hearing His call in the middle of a work day while fishing, they dropped their nets and went after Him. Jesus nicknamed them the "Sons of Thunder," most often thought because of their hot and aggressive personalities. James was killed by Herod Agrippa the first and is the only death of an apostle recorded in the book of Acts of the New Testament. James was to have taken the Gospel to Spain and is the patron saint of the people of Spain. He is supposed to be buried in Spain and his burial site has been one of great visitation for centuries. We don't know for sure what happened to John. He is reported to have lived a long life to die of old age. Some say he was a martyr just as was his brother James.
Bartholomew was sometimes thought of as being Nathaniel but now it is accepted that they are not the same person. Little is known of him except that he was one of
the 12.
Matthew was a tax collector who was sitting at his booth when Jesus walked by. Jesus told him to follow Him and Matthew got up and followed. Many say that Matthew was also called Levi. Some suggest that Jesus gave him "Levi" as a new name like he renamed Simon as "Peter." If all that is correct, then, Matthew may have been the brother of James, the son of Alphaeus, however, that is not written in the Scriptures. The way such tax collectors worked was that to get to the office of a tax collector, they would have to agree to pay Herod Antipas an agreed on sum of money in advance. Anything the tax collector collected above that, he would then keep. Matthew would have set up his booth like a toll booth taxing goods moving from one area to another. Tax collectors were hated by pretty much everyone because they made their profits by adding charges to the established taxes. Matthew was part of a group often referred to as unclean due to his business. Jesus ate at his home with other such unclean persons as we discussed earlier. He was author of the Gospel of Matthew. It is thought that Matthew had some schooling in the temple, was a Jewish Christian, and lived in Syria. Matthew's ministry was to other Jewish Christians who showed opposition to the local synagogues. Matthew preached in Ethiopia, Persia, Macedonia and he died a martyr's death.
Thomas was one of the twelve and is well known for his desire to touch the hands and side of Jesus after He resurrected. However, when Jesus was planning His return to Jerusalem facing certain death, Thomas was willing to go with Him and die with Him if need be. Later, Thomas was with the others who were fishing at the Sea of Galilee when Jesus made them breakfast and revealed Himself to them. When the apostles divided the lands into areas that each were to minister to, Thomas was charged with Parthia, Persia, or India. It is said that Thomas sent Thaddaeus to minister in Edessa. Thomas wrote several works including the Acts of Thomas about his works and the miracles he saw while ministering in India. There are two schools of thought on where Thomas died and was buried. Some claim he was buried in Edessa and others claim somewhere near Madras.
James was the son of Alphaeus which suggested that he and Matthew may be brothers. This thought is due to the fact that Matthew is also called the son of Alphaeus. That fact is not written of in the Scriptures. Nothing much is know about this James and not much is written of him in the Scriptures.
Thaddaeus is another one of Jesus' apostles that has little written about him. There is a fair amount of confusion about Thaddaeus. He is listed in one place as one of the twelve and in another, he was listed as one of 70 disciples Jesus sent out to minister.
One of many holding the name Simon is Simon, called the zealot. Simon (the zealot) was one of the twelve. In some places he is referred to Simon the Cananaean. We might think this refers to him being from Cana but it does not. Here, Cananaean is the Greek use of a word that was written in Aramaic letters. The Aramaic word that means "zealous one." His zealot description is not clearly understood. He could simply have been a zealous person or been a member of a party that was opposed to the Romans occupying Palestine. That group was of a revolutionary nature. Jewish followers of Jesus and also those who opposed Jesus were enraged by Rome taking over the lands. However, Simon was able to work and minister in both groups of people. Nothing more is said of Simon.
Last we have Judas Iscariot who will always have the words "who later betrayed Jesus" attached to his name. Judas has no other role in the Scriptures other than the role of the one who betrayed Christ. Some think he may have been part of the revolutionary "Zealots" mentioned earlier. Interestingly, those zealots were known to carry daggers, and follow and murder selected Romans. There are others who think Iscariot is derived from a Hebrew word that means "the liar." Most seem to conclude that Iscariot comes from the town of his birth, Kerioth in Judea. This conclusion is drawn upon the fact that his father's name was Simon Iscariot. It is noted that Simon is the only Apostle who came from Judea. Jesus always knew what Judas was made of and made mention of his character in a variety of places in the Scriptures. Earlier in his involvement, Judas was seemingly a born leader within the ranks of the Apostles. In fact, without the issues in his character, he may have become a great Apostle. As we know, his greed got the best of him and he sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver or an average laborer's income for 2-3 months work. The amount was minimal and in those times would be paid as a fine for accidentally killing another person's slave. Scripture is clear that Judas was not on his own in the betrayal of Jesus. The Bible is clear and makes mention that Satan entered Judas and had put the desire to sell Jesus out in his heart. We know Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer during the Last Supper. We know of the identifying kiss given Jesus by Judas in the garden and we know of the shame that came over him later. Matthew describes that time as one in which Judas confessed his betrayal, repented and returned the blood money. He convicted himself and hanged himself. Although in Acts it is written that Judas fell headfirst and burst open and his bowels gushed from his body. Both accounts tell of his death connected to the Field of Blood. That field is located where three valleys connect, the Kidron, the Hinnom and the Tyropoeon.
(Much of this material has been collected from The NLT Bible, the Walwood and Zuck Bible Knowledge Commentary, the Archaeological Study Bible, and Reader's Digest Who's Who in the Bible, as well as Google.)
Chapter 3 continues with Jesus casting out demons and His lecture to the religious leaders that a house divided cannot stand when they accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus ends that encounter by saying that they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit and that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin and carried eternal consequences.
The chapter closes by Jesus teaching that anyone who does God's will is His brother, sister and mother.