“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” — Luke 2:14, NKJV
Let the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be glorified. Today, let’s reflect on an often-overlooked truth: Jesus chose His apostles not based on human merit, status, or moral perfection — but based on divine purpose and grace.
Before selecting His twelve apostles, Jesus spent an entire night in prayer:
“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” — Luke 6:12–13, NKJV
This reveals something deeply theological: divine calling precedes human qualification. Jesus didn’t consult resumes — He consulted the Father.
The name “Zealot” refers to a radical Jewish nationalist group determined to overthrow Roman rule. They were known for violent rebellion and would be considered religious extremists by today’s standards. Simon, one of them, would have been seen as a terrorist by the Romans.
Yet Jesus called him.
This teaches us that no ideology is too extreme to be redeemed by Christ. Even a man of violence can be transformed into a man of peace.
Tax collectors were viewed as traitors and thieves, working for the oppressive Roman Empire and profiting from their own people. In Jewish society, they were outcasts.
“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him.” — Matthew 9:9, NKJV
What’s astonishing is that Jesus united Simon (the anti-Rome extremist) with Matthew (a Rome-employed tax collector) in the same ministry team. This shows the power of the gospel to reconcile enemies and break down societal barriers (see Ephesians 2:14–16).
Judas was not just a traitor; he was motivated by greed and possibly disillusioned with Jesus’ peaceful, non-political mission. He stole from the ministry funds (John 12:6) and ultimately betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16).
Jesus knew Judas’s heart — and still gave him the opportunity to change.
“Have I not chosen you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” — John 6:70, NKJV
God’s grace allows even the most flawed people to walk closely with truth — but it does not override personal choice. Judas tragically squandered his calling.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen — a trade often looked down upon. They were uneducated by rabbinic standards (Acts 4:13), yet Jesus called them to be fishers of men.
“Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” — Matthew 4:19, NKJV
Peter was passionate, sometimes violent (John 18:10), and yet he became a pillar of the early Church (Galatians 2:9).
James and John once asked Jesus to destroy a Samaritan village with fire from heaven — echoing Elijah’s Old Testament judgment (Luke 9:54). Jesus rebuked them:
“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.” — Luke 9:55, NKJV
This rebuke reminds us that zeal without love is not the Spirit of Christ.
Theologically, this tells us that:
God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).
Redemption is for everyone — the rebel, the traitor, the hypocrite, the thief, the outcast.
The church is made up of people from every background, united not by past performance, but by grace (Romans 5:8).
Transformation is the evidence of true calling (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Maybe you’re corrupt, addicted, proud, broken, violent, or deeply ashamed of your past. Maybe you’ve made choices that hurt others. Maybe society has rejected you. Jesus is still calling you.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28, NKJV
You may be a politician, a businessperson, a street vendor, or even a fraudster. Regardless of your background, Jesus calls you the same way He called Peter, Matthew, and Simon the Zealot.
What matters isn’t where you begin — it’s how you finish.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” — Matthew 22:14, NKJV
All of the apostles, except Judas, were transformed. They became bold, faithful, Spirit-filled witnesses, willing to die for the gospel. Judas alone rejected that transformation.
Don’t let that be your story.
Wherever you are today, start afresh with Jesus. He accepts you just as you are — but He loves you too much to leave you there. He wants to make you His chosen one, just as He did with His apostles.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV
May the Lord bless you and guide you as you respond to His call.
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