Matthew 10:2-4 - An Unlikely Team

 

 "2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." (Matthew 10:2–4, English Standard Version)

Consider the makeup of Jesus' group of closest friends. They had various professions; different personalities.

For example, there was Simon the Zealot. Either for Jewish independence or another cause, he was passionate.

Others had strong temperaments as well. John would later be known as the apostle of love. Early on, though, Jesus nicknamed John and his brother James, "The Sons of Thunder," probably because they were hot headed. Once when a village was inhospitable, they were ready to call down fire from heaven to destroy the town... except Jesus told them, "I'm not here to incinerate people, but to rescue them!" (Luke 9:54-56, KJC paraphrase)

Peter himself could be hot-headed at times, lopping off the ear of Jesus' enemy. Jesus rebuked Peter and miraculously reattached the ear. (John 18:10)

Thomas was just as loyal as Peter, but his personality had a more pessimistic bent. When Jesus aimed at going to Jerusalem, knowing that death awaited him, Thomas, holding out no hope, said, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.” (John 11:16, New Living Translation, 2015) That pessimism also spawned doubt for Thomas. He didn't just doubt the resurrection of Jesus. He had lived through all kinds of experiences with the others for three years, and he doubted their reports of seeing the risen Christ. He wasn't exactly a team player at that point.

Jesus described Nathanael as "a man of complete integrity." But if Nathanael had an initial suspicion of Jesus just because He came from the despised city of Nazareth, there were probably some other prejudices he had to overcome about the background of other disciples (John 1:46-47).

An example would be Matthew. Of course, it was a stretch for any of these men who were good Jews to have Matthew as a fellow disciple. As a tax collector, he worked for the despised Roman government and took advantage of his fellow Jews--before becoming a disciple of Jesus. (Matthew 9:9-10)

Then there were the women who followed Jesus as well. What did any of the twelve make of Mary Magdalene--and other women--who had once been possessed by demons? (Luke 8:1-3) They were examples of God's power and grace, but some people have difficulty getting past old reputations.
Of some disciples, we know hardly anything beyond a name. Were they tempted to resent not having a special nickname, or a notable conversion story?

With all these backgrounds and personalities, how did they ever form a team to spread the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God? There was one thing, actually one Person. They were all answering the invitation Jesus gave: "Come, follow Me." (Matthew 16:24, etc.)

Lord, You've assigned us different tasks. You've gifted us with diverse backgrounds, different skills, and varying personalities to do those tasks. Help us to work together and not step on each other's toes since we are following in Your footsteps. Amen.

Photo taken at San Marco Monastery, Florence - Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Last Supper, 1486
Judas is the one without a halo.