Matthew 10:2 - 4
New International
Version (NIV)
2 These are the names of the twelve
apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son
of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and
Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed him.
We know that some of
these men were fishermen as we read about them in Mark 1: 16 – 19, 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother
Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said,“and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a
little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat,
preparing their nets. 20 Without delay
he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
men and followed him.
What caused these men to follow Jesus? How do you think their dad felt? Was he proud of them or frustrated with
them?
In Matthew passage I think it is interesting to note that the fishermen
were named but who did Matthew point out with a description? We have a tax collector, Zealot, and a
Betrayer. As I thought about these
people I began to try to imagine them all working together for the glory of
God. First we have a tax collector who
worked for the Roman government to collect taxes. He was not well liked amongst the Jewish
people even though he was Jewish. A tax
collector was known for cheating people out of the money that was rightfully
theirs. Then we have a Zealot who was a
Jew that was against the Roman rule and was vocal and active in his fight
against them. Stop and think about that
for just a little while, do you think those two would naturally be friends or
enemies? Then, we have a betrayer. No one knew, except Jesus, that this man
would betray Jesus but he was chosen by the One that knew he would betray
Him. How many of us would knowingly ask
someone to be on our team that would turn against us? I wouldn’t advise that, would you? Also mentioned in the passage were two sets
of brothers. Sometimes brothers get
along very well and then there are times that they disagree with each other on
everything. Who know how these brothers interacted
with each other but Jesus chose them.
What is even more noteworthy to me is who was missing. You do not hear of any religious leaders,
well educated men, or popular men being called to be an apostle. Nor do we see a rich man in the mix. In fact when a rich young man wanted to follow
Jesus, He was challenged to leave it all behind and go follow Him, Matthew 19: 21 – 22.
As I read this scripture I began to think about how we as humans call
people to be leaders in the Church. Do
we follow Jesus example or do we choose those who are well educated, rich, and
politically correct? Are people chosen
who knowingly agree with one another or who have differing opinions? In our churches do we choose those who seem
to have money? Do we choose those who
have been in the church forever and know all the rules and regulations yet are
unwilling to give up all that they own for the Lord’s sake? Do we choose pastors who have been highly
educated in seminary? Or, do we let the
Lord do the choosing? What do you think
would happen if we allowed the Lord to guide us in choosing our leaders? What do you think would happen if our leaders
allowed the Lord to lead them? I have to
wonder if we have Pharisees’ today leading the Church. Do we have people sitting and making decisions
about the Church but have no connection to the lost sheep? Do we have pastors and leaders who are more
interested in the number and demographics in the pew than they are about taking
care of the lost sheep? This scripture is indicative as to who Christ wants to serve
Him. Can you identify with any of
them? Are you the rich young man that
chose to be good rather than leaving all you had to serve Christ? Or, are you
the one that left everything to follow Him?
As I see it, when I look at who Jesus chose, there is no way any of them
could have agreed on everything except Christ.
On top of that Christ knowingly
chose someone to be an instrument that would cause His downfall and His
uprising. I find that very
interesting. But, it is just another
example of how the Lord’s ways are not the ways of man and that He can make the
impossible, possible.
Pray for the Church that we will seek Him and that we will have leaders
who seek Him unceasingly.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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