We need Jesus but also Jesus needs us!

Matthew 10:1-7

JESUS summoned to Him His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of weakness and infirmity. 2 Now these are the names of the twelve apostles (special messengers): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew [Nathaniel]; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus [Judas, not Iscariot]; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5 Jesus sent out these twelve, charging them, Go nowhere among the Gentiles and do not go into any town of the Samaritans; 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Food for the soul

This passage is special because when we look at the kind of men Jesus chose and used in those days, it gives us hope in these days of ours. If Jesus can use men like these in the manner that he did, then surely he can use you and me in these days. With the Twelve, Jesus set a precedent, that we all have a place in his service. It is not only we that need Jesus, he also needs us!

There are two facts about these men which are bound to strike us at once.

(i) They were very ordinary men. They had no wealth; they had no academic background; they had no social position. They were chosen from the common people, men who did the ordinary things, men who had no special education, men who had no social advantages.

Jesus looks not so much for extraordinary people as for ordinary people who can do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Jesus sees in each one of us, not only what we can do through him but also what he can do through us. Jesus chose the Twelve disciples not only for what they were, but also for what they were capable of becoming under his influence and in his power. Yes, under Jesus you and I can become different and can make a difference in the world.

(ii) They were the most extraordinary mixture. There was, for instance, Matthew, the tax-gatherer. And with Matthew there was Simon the Cananaean. Luke (Lk.6:16) calls him Simon Zelotes, which means Simon the Zealot. Zealots were the opposite of Matthew, fanatic, comparable today to suicide bombers. If Simon the Zealot had met Matthew the tax-gatherer anywhere else than in the company of Jesus, he would have thrown a bomb at him. Here is the tremendous truth that people who hate each other can learn to live and love each other when they both love Jesus. Jesus not only brings us together, he also keeps us together.