Luke 6:12-19

1 st. Luke 6:12-19. Choosing of the Twelve.

Ver. 12. Luke has already brought before us more than once the need of prayer, which so often drew Jesus away into solitude (Luke 4:42; Luke 5:16). But the expressions he makes use of here are intended to carry special weight. Διανυκτερεύειν, to pass the night in watching, is a word rarely used in Greek, and which in all the N. T. is only found here. The choice of this unusual term, as well as the analytical form (the imperf. with the participle), express the persevering energy of this vigil. The term προσευχὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ, literally, prayer of God, is also an unique expression in the N. T. It does not denote any special request, but a state of wrapt contemplation of God's presence, a prayer arising out of the most profound communion with Him. The development of the work of Jesus having now reached a critical point, during this night He laid it before God, and took counsel with Him. The choosing of the twelve apostles was the fruit of this lengthened season of prayer; in that higher light in which Jesus stood, it appeared the only measure answering to the exigencies of the present situation.

The reading ἐξελθεῖν is a correction of the Alexandrian purists for ἐξῆλθεν, which, after ἐγένετο, offended the Greek ear.