By
Allen White
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and
gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and
sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles:
first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of
Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas
Iscariot, who betrayed him. Matthew 10:1-4
Jesus led the first small group in the
church. Much like small groups today, Jesus’ group was a mix of very different
people. That mix actually made the group stronger.
Matthew was a tax collector. He was
about the last person you would expect among other Jews. Tax collectors were
Jews who worked for the Romans. They were notorious for not only collecting for
Caesar, but also for taking a cut off the top for themselves. On the first
meeting of Jesus’ group, there probably was an empty chair on either side of
Matthew.
Staring from across the room was Simon
the Zealot. If Matthew was the IRS, Simon the Zealot was a Tea Party member.
Zealots hated tax collectors. Yet, a Zealot and a tax collector were both drawn
to Jesus and joined His group. Talk about small group dynamics.
Then, there were fishermen. When Jesus
met Peter and Andrew, they were fishing from the shore. They weren’t pleasure
fishing. They couldn’t afford a boat. James and John on the other hand had a
boat. Two different classes of fishermen were in the same small group.
Two could have been jealous. Two could
have looked down their noses. But, they had Jesus in common. That leveled the
playing field.
Thomas was the analytical one. He had
to see Jesus’ wounds for himself before he believed the resurrection. Today,
skeptical folks are called a “Doubting Thomas,” as his name sake.
Then, there was Judas. You don’t meet a
lot of people who name their babies “Judas.” His name has probably been blotted
out of the baby name books.
Jesus’ group was an eclectic mix of
very different folks. It wasn’t quite the bar scene from Star Wars, but it was
approaching that. Yet, different folks from different backgrounds, different
political viewpoints and different socio-economic statuses had one thing in
common – Jesus Himself.
They learned together. They served
together. They are responsible for you and I knowing Jesus today. Because they
were special? No. Because they were called, and they learned to share life
together.
Some people dread their group because
“that guy” might show up. Others avoid groups altogether. But, we are not
allowed to leave others in the dust, just because they are difficult. And,
that’s a good thing – sometimes we are the difficult one.
You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor (James 3:18, Msg).
Who do you have a hard time with in your group? Why do you believe God put this person in your life? (No, God doesn’t hate you).
Maybe you haven’t joined a group. What’s holding you back? Jesus set the model. His words were important, but so are relationships with other people. People remind us of Jesus’ words. They help us live them out.
Note: Some thoughts inspired by a sermon called “Doing Life Together” by John Ortberg.
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