Sometimes, I get asked about whether Jesus made a mistake when he chose the disciples who followed Him. At first glance, this seems to be an odd question, and it certainly is a serious one – not meant to be blasphemous at all – a legitimate inquiry about whether Jesus could have done a better job choosing His disciples. After all, Jesus spent three years pouring His life into these folks and in the end, it would seem that he was right only 75% of the time. Wouldn‘t God be right 100% of the time?
When you realize that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed; and Thomas doubted the return of Jesus after the resurrection until he could actually see and touch the wounds that Jesus had endured, at least three of the twelve could have been considered bad choices… Or were they?
After all, being a disciple, or more correctly, an apostle, was a big deal. Even though these were ordinary men, primarily fisherman, they were privileged to be taught by Jesus Himself, one of the requirements to be considered an apostle. For all intents and purposes, they pretty much had the undivided attention of Jesus for the three years that He was with them. And they were even empowered to do miracles in the name of Jesus. Not since the death of John at the end of the 1st century A.D., have others been able to heal on demand or call down specific miracles with any degree of consistency. So it would seem that these apostolic gifts were no longer present when the time of the apostles was over.
Judas, the treasurer for the group, was always in charge of the money and he complained when there were expenditures that seemed unnecessary. Was he skimming off the top? Did Jesus know? Did the others? One thing we know for sure is that after the Last Supper, Judas went to the authorities and betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Does that sound like a good choice as a disciple? Jesus even tells His Father that He has lost none of those entrusted to Him except the Son of Perdition (Judas).
And how about Peter? He was impetuous, always rushing, headstrong – and many times didn’t think things through. He did walk on water (if only briefly) and denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed three times. He also ran to the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, was restored by Jesus in a famous exchange after a morning of fishing – and Peter was thought to be the first Pope! In fact, There have been 265 popes since Peter and none of them have ever chosen to be Pope Peter II. It is even thought that Peter is buried under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. So Peter recovered, but he made many mistakes during his time with Jesus.
And then there was Thomas. After the resurrection, when Jesus visited his disciples, Thomas would not accept that Jesus had returned until he could see the wounds in the hands of Jesus. Then, he believed. But Jesus admonished him that those who believed without seeing were blessed. Ever hear the phrase “doubting Thomas?” That’s where it came from!
On balance, the disciples as a group suffered from doubt, fear, ambition (James and John wanted to sit on the left and right sides of Jesus), a lack of understanding and questions of faith. Of course, there were other flaws as well but you get the idea… Why would Jesus have chosen these kinds of people?
On reflection, I believe that Jesus didn’t make mistakes when choosing His disciples. Jesus lived a sinless life – He was the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. So the problem must be with those he chose. And that is exactly the way that Jesus works. After all, I think Jesus and His Father wanted to show us that they could work through flawed people to accomplish their goals.
We can also see changes in most of the apostles. After all, they made the decision to follow Jesus, who was going to make them fishers of men. This showed a willingness to follow Jesus and a degree of commitment as well as dedication. They also saw God’s grace and mercy – not to mention a number of miracles that Jesus performed in their midst. We also saw that they grew as a result of their time in the presence of Jesus and most of the apostles even suffered a martyr’s death, a testimony to their firm commitment to Jesus.
Our verse for tonight comes from the Gospel of Matthew. This disciple recounts the words of Jesus when He called them to change their lives and follow Him. Matthew tells us, in Matthew 4:19, “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” A simple decision that wasn’t easy to live up to. But isn’t that the way it is with all of us?
My encouragement this evening is that Jesus invests as heavily in us as He did with His apostles in the first century. My prayer is that we will never forget that Jesus and His Father are at their best when they work through those of us who believe in them. The apostles are a prime example of this. Two thousands years later, we are still familiar with their ministry and the beginning of the Great Commission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. That mission is still here today. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…