12 In these days, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. 13 When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; 15 Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon, who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor. 17 He came down with them, and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; 18 as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and they were being healed. 19 All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.

Luke 6:12-19 - World English Bible

Luke portrayed Jesus as a man of prayer (see 1:13; 2:37; 3:21; 5:16; 6:12, 28; 9:18; 11:1-2; 18:1; 22:41, 45). The Lord prayed before many of his important decisions, especially the leaders of his new evangelizing community, the Apostles. First Luke named the four fishermen (Peter and Andrew, James and John), followed by the tax collector Matthew and Thomas, then by Simon the Zealot, preceded and succeeded by two disciples given their formal names (James bar Alphaeus and Judas bar James); as in all the other lists of apostles, Judas Iscariot was named last (as a mark of his shame). Why did the author sandwich Simon the Zealot between the son of Alphaeus and the son of James? We don't know, but we should not assume the title “Zealot” referred to the party of revolutionaries the fought for power in Jerusalem of the 60's AD. He gained the title most likely from his religious fervor, not his political leanings. There is no historical evidence the revolutionary movement existed at the time of Jesus. In other words, Simon was a hyper-observant Jew.

Jesus and his newly appointed Apostles descended the mountain. Disciples and people from near and far, both Jewish and Gentile, surrounded them, in order to hear his teaching and to seek his healing. Notice the universal desire to touch Jesus. Everyone pressed in on him. Everyone wanted to be part of his movement. Such was the appeal of Jesus that Luke painted in his gospel.

How does Jesus appeal to everyone today? How can you encourage that appeal?