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As with the previous section (1:16-3:12), so with this one, the theme of the opening passage is discipleship. The topographical setting, on a mountainside is symbolically important, for a mountain is often a place of revelation in biblical thought; additionally, a mountain is associated with the making of God’s people in Ex 20. Jesus appointed the Twelve to two tasks. His first purpose is that they might be with him. That is, they are called to share life with him as his companions; the emphasis falls first not on their importance or achievements, but on their relatedness to him. Focused on this relationship in this way, the Twelve then participate with Jesus in his ministry to others (Schweizer, 39-43). This, combined with the fact that Jesus chose twelve apostles, signifies that he had in mind the beginning of a new, restored Israel. This new people of God would be established through his work and the ministry of these appointed ones. That Judas Iscariot is denoted as the betrayer points ahead to Jesus' suffering and calls all followers to self-examination lest they also fail in the time of testing.
For Wesley, self-examination of this sort is vital (see also below, 14:19), for discipleship is a continuous journey in which the grace of God must be appropriated continuously. This understanding of the Christian life, combined with an intense appreciation of the communal nature of Christianity, lies at the root of Wesley’s well-known emphasis on mutual accountability in small-group discipleship.