“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor” (Luke 6:12-17). Who were these men Jesus appointed as His apostles?
They were men from Galilee, a northern district in Palestine, considered unlearned, ignorant men from the working class who were looked down on by the Jews from Judea (Acts 2:7). Matthew was a tax collector; the Pharisees linked tax collectors and sinners in the same category (Matthew 9:9-10). Simon was a Zealot, equal to a modern-day terrorist. Peter was impetuous, speaking before he thought through what he was saying; frequently he had the proverbial foot in his mouth. James and John were intolerant (Mark 9:38-39) and revengeful (Luke 9:51-55); Jesus called these brothers “sons of thunder” because of their attitude toward others.
Saul, better known to us by his Greek name Paul, consented to the death and imprisonment of Christians. After he became an apostle, he along with many of the other apostles were imprisoned for their teachings. All the apostles, with the exception of John, were killed because of their belief in Jesus Christ the Son of God. John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for his beliefs.
Were these men, with their un-Christ-like characteristics, worthless servants to our Lord and Master Jesus Christ? “No!” Jesus chose these men as His special helpers: “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2). As time passed, these men grew in their faith in God and His Son, and they became diligent servants.
Some people will not accept the saving power of the Gospel because they think their lives are far from the life Jesus wants them to live. They think they are too bad for the saving power of the Gospel. Look at the apostles; the lives of these men were far from what God wanted them to be. Yet, when Jesus said, “Come follow me,” they left their homes to follow Christ.
Some Christians do not serve the Lord to the best of their abilities because they think of themselves as uneducated and of low esteem. All the apostles, with the exception of Paul, were uneducated and were looked down upon by the Jews in Judea.
Some Christians fail to realize that God really forgave them of their sins when they were immersed in the watery grave of baptism. Thus, they do not eagerly serve God because they think their past is too horrible. While it is true that we may have consequences because of the sins of our past, which may limit some activities, we are still commanded to be diligent servants of our Lord.
What is holding you back from obeying and serving our Lord? Just as the apostles grew in faith and knowledge, through Bible study, we too can grow in faith and knowledge of God’s Word. As we grow, we can become better servants for God. The apostles did not let their pasts pull them away from serving God and neither should we!
