Time to round out the God
Squad!
Jesus headed up the
mountainside (a symbolic reminder of Moses receiving the covenant on Mount
Sinai) to call those he wanted on his team. He had a plan in place that his
disciples, who would learn from him, would eventually become apostles. Can you
imagine their excitement? They would carry out the ultimate mission -- being
messengers of the gospel.
Little did this rag-tag
bunch know what they would have to go through and witness to gain a greater understanding
of their calling.
What in the world was
Jesus thinking though? These 12 persons, who constituted a team led by Jesus,
included five fisherman, one tax collector, and as for the other six, their
occupations were unknown. [i] As Lance from the study
group pointed out, these weren't professionals -- in the sense of the word as
we know it. Yet, as Norma, stated, they were a true representation of the
community -- the one Jesus wanted to reach.
Why 12…?
The number 12 corresponded
to the 12 tribes of Israel showing the continuity between the old religious
system and the new one based on Jesus' message. [ii]
In the team mix… there
were two brothers known as "sons of thunder." Sounds like a wrestling
team! Interestingly, the name "Boanerges" (Greek) describing the
brothers actually doesn't mean anything at all. Substitute words in Hebrew were
used though which provided insight to the brothers -- James and John. 'In
Hebrew, B'nei-Regesh means "sons
of feeling, hence emotional people, people who get excited easily." B'nei-Rogez means "sons of anger,"
that is "people who easily become angry." ' [iii]
Two emotional, easily
excited, angry men? Great googly-moogly (as a friend of mine says when
describing something of significant magnitude). You'd have to tread carefully
around those guys or see a fireworks display.
Then there was Simon the
Zealot -- a Jewish nationalist -- whose viewpoints on the Roman occupation of
Palestine were anything but demure. Add Matthew (a tax collector who had worked
for the financial gain of Rome) to those gathered around the campfire, and one
can just feel the love.
Did You Know…?
Thaddaeus is the only name
of the 12 that isn't on all of the New Testament lists. MATTHEW calls him
Lebbaeus (with Thaddaeus as a surname); LUKE and ACTS have him as Judas the son
of James; JOHN refers to him as Judas (not Iscariot). [iv]
To reemphasize my previous
blog post -- regarding the far-reaching impact of Jesus and those who would
travel great distances to see him -- one of the disciples came from a town (K'riot)
about 20 miles south of Jerusalem, which would've been approximately 100+ miles
from Capernaum. Who was this disciple? …Judas Iscariot.
Point of information: "Iscariot"
was probably not Judas' surname. How's that? Because "Iscariot" is 'a
rendering into Greek of Hebrew ish-K'riot,
"a man of K'riot" ' [v]
Again… what in the world
was Jesus thinking?!? What wonderful traits, talents, abilities, did these 12
have to be called? What credentials did they carry?
Putting it a different spin
on it… how many times have we questioned God's call? Questioned our own
abilities? Questioned our own credentials and felt we weren't good enough?
Questioned the one who called us by saying others were more qualified, more
experienced, more intelligent, more stable, more…?
Study group member, Gene,
spoke up and stated it very well -- "If God is calling you, then you have
the right credentials." No matter what anyone else says. No matter what
you may feel.
And in response to what in
the world was Jesus thinking… he had tremendous faith in those whom he called.
They were willing to follow Jesus. He knew those on his team who would carry
forward the gospel -- the message. Those messengers had exceptional strength of
character, amazing faith, the power to change lives for a better world.
Jesus saw more in them
than they could realize themselves. Even in the one who would sadly betray him.
So… when you hear the
calling of your name, how will you respond?
NEXT…
Occupy Galilee; Lord of
the Flies
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