A dozen misfits
Mark 3:13-19
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus chose 12 people to be his special followers. There were many others who followed Jesus at varying points during his life (and billions since his death!), but these 12 people that Jesus chose, that are named here by Mark, were special to Jesus. But why were they special? Did they have amazing skills in specific areas that would further his ministry? It didn’t seem so!
Jesus managed to transform a dozen misfits into people that would completely change the world.
But he also chose Judas Iscariot amongst the 12. I wonder what he was thinking when he chose him!
The people Jesus chose ended up being the exact people that were needed to take His message out to the whole world.
Lord, as I help people to become Your followers, may I be able to support them, and lead them just as Jesus did. May I trust that Your plans will be brought into being by exactly the people who are involved, no matter how they work together as a group!
Written by Ps Justin Ware