Matthew 10:2-4 (ESV)
[2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot, and Judas
Iscariot, who betrayed him.
What
a ragtag bunch. Jesus had just said to pray for workers in the harvest. He then
sends these twelve out to harvest. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Philip had
no education. We’re not sure about the rest, but likely none of them were formally
educated. We know little about Bartholomew. Thomas doubted Jesus. James and
Thaddaeus were possibly father and son.
Other than that, we don’t know anything about them. Matthew was a despised tax
collector, and Judas betrayed Jesus.
If
Jesus is truly the Son of God, don’t you suppose he could have picked a better group
than this to carry on his work? But that is just the point. Jesus didn’t pick
them because of their abilities, education, or contacts. He picked them to
demonstrate the power of God. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26-27,
[26] For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise
according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble
birth. [27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God
chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong
In
the 1970s and ‘80s a tagline we saw often in ads was, The Marines/We're
Looking for a Few Good Men. But God is not looking for a few good
men. He is calling those who recognize their own weakness. He is calling those
who will demonstrate the wisdom and power of God, not the wisdom and power of mankind.
He is not looking for extraordinary individuals. He is calling ordinary people
through whom he will do extraordinary things. God is calling you to be his representatives
to a broken world. He is calling you.
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