Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Along with four fishermen, Jesus called tax collector (Matthew), and a zealot, Simon. This is interesting as it is reaIly clear that all of these men would have come from varied backgrounds.
Tax collectors were like the IRS today. No one liked dealing with them and the rules they enforced seemed a bit unfair. Today, things bother us like: no interest paid when they hold on to your money for a long time, but interest charged while someone who has paid consistently all of their life, had a tough year. It was way worse in Jesus’ time.
Tax collectors had a lot of discretion. They could have people arrested. Plus they were seen as traitors, working for the Romans to take money from their own people. As well, Jesus picked a zealot, Simon, who was part of an aggressive sect of Judaism that saw themselves as separate from the normal rituals and laws. They had a fierce and loyal faith. And they tended to have a violent, insurrection bent.
Then we have Bartholomew, likely the same person as Nathaniel, who was a friend of Phillip and one of the first to recognize Jesus as the son of God. He knew the scriptures well and was likely a scholar of some sort.
Though we don’t know much about Thaddaeus (Judas son of James) or James of Alphaeus, we also know that Thomas was weak in faith, a doubter, so to speak. Sometimes people like Thomas are referred to as pessimists or “glass half empty” types.
I think the overall point here is that Jesus picked disciples based on God’s will and prompting, and he also gathered a very eclectic group of men. These men would have, at the least, had a challenge understanding each other's points of view and, at the most, some of them probably hated what the others stood for, at the beginning.
It is a good reflection of the church today. God brings together people who normally would not associate with each other, and they are brothers and sisters in Christ. Back then, their skills, interests, worldviews, and ambitions, even language or mannerisms, were likely very different, just like they are today. But we have a relationship with Jesus, which binds us together in unity.
A look forward throughout the gospels and into Acts and the other New Testament books shows a fierce loyalty and a strong bond of unity among the disciples, minus Judas the betrayer. Jesus brought this hodgepodge band of misfits together, saved them, and through them changed the world.
And he wants to do the same with us, through our churches, too!
Lord, thank you for picking normal, ordinary guys, who had issues, as your disciples. I relate to them and it helps me understand I don’t need to measure up to serve you.
