Luke 6:15 (KJV)

Passage

Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

Nearby Context

Luke 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Luke 6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Luke 6:15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

Luke 6:16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Luke 6:17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "matthew", "thomas", "james", "alphaeus", "simon", and "zelotes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "matthew", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Simon whom he also named Peter and..." into verse 16's "And Judas the brother of James and...", so "called" and "matthew" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "matthew" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.