CHAPTER 06 / The people beside him
More than twelve
GALILEE
A journey is also the people who share it. The Twelve are part of this story. So are the women who travel and provide, the friends who open their doors, and the people whose names we never learn.
THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA / JOHN 4AT JACOB’S WELL / JOHN 4
A question
at the well.
He asks for water.
She asks what he means.
The conversation keeps opening.
The choosing of the Twelve
Luke describes a night of prayer followed by the selection of twelve from among the disciples. The lists preserve names, but not complete biographies or detailed calling stories for everyone. Later traditions should be distinguished from the New Testament’s accounts.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna
Luke names these women among those accompanying Jesus and supporting the ministry from their own resources. Mary Magdalene later appears in the resurrection accounts. John gives her a moving encounter at the tomb: grief becomes recognition when Jesus addresses her. The Gospels do not identify her as a prostitute.
A place at the table
Martha welcomes Jesus into her home; Mary listens at his feet. Other stories bring a tax collector, a woman at a well, children, and people pushed to the edge into the center of attention. Each encounter deserves its own hearing.
Open the biblical account +
Luke 6:12–16; 8:1–3; 10:38–42; John 20
Read the source in the World English Bible. The surrounding narrative and reflections are original writing; all imagery is an artistic reconstruction.
Read in the New Testament ↗Sources: Luke 6:12–16; 8:1–3; 10:38–42; John 20. The sensory introductions invite you to imagine the setting; they are not eyewitness testimony. Scene details, faces, and depictions are imagined. Chapter order is an editorial reading path, not a claim to a certain chronology.
CARRY THIS WITH YOU
Whose presence have you overlooked in a story you thought you knew?
God who knows every name, widen my attention. Help me recognize the courage, care, and faithfulness of people I have overlooked.
More room to pray ↗CONTINUE THE JOURNEY / 07