He doesn't call the qualified; he qualifies the called. Case in point: some fishermen and an I.R.S agent (of sorts). He clarified the fishermen's new purpose: "from now on you will be catching men" (Luke 5:10). As to the I.R.S. agent, He simply issued the call, "Follow me" (Luke 5:28). This they had in common: "they left everything and followed Him" (Luke 5:11. also, 5:28).
So the quality that Jesus values is not so much ability as availability. He supplies ability based upon availability, as we readily see with these apostles later in life, after three and a half years of intensive training in Jesus' discipleship course. This verse best describes what they became: "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13)
I've always been intimidated by scholars. As a simple man from a rural Midwest community, I'm a far cry from a heavy-hitting, learned theologian. And yet I've sought to be a diligent Bible student as I've grown in discipleship over the years. But if ever there was a compliment that I would be thrilled to receive, it would be one similar to that given to Peter and John, as recorded in Acts 4:13.
Those of us who lack "official" credentials in the theological realm are in good company. The men who took part in the greatest revolution the world has ever seen were common laborers who had this in common: "they left everything and followed Him" (Luke 5:11). They chose to deny personal ambition so that they could follow the revolutionary carpenter from Nazareth.
Lest we get a mistaken notion, Jesus is anything but an anti-intellectual. It is obvious that He was a diligent student of Scriptures, and was well able to quote Bible passages as was appropriate to the occasion. No one ever spoke with authority as He did (Matthew 7:29), and He clearly saw "the spirit of the law" while the religious leaders of the day were mistakenly hung up on "the letter of the law". He was, and is, a profound theological intellectual in the truest sense of the word. And that's the very reason we need to enroll in "the school of Jesus". His perfect mastery of truth and its application is what we each desperately need.
The first-century church, chronicled in the book of Acts, no doubt knew their "kingdom theology", but the resurrected Christ - king of the kingdom - actively taught them how to live as a radical "kingdom community" in demonstration of that great truth. As willing followers, the original church was equipped and taught by the living Christ.
Our Master today desires available followers. Your social and intellectual status mean little to the One who will abundantly supply the training and resources needed for your success and effectiveness. What He said to His original disciples He says to us: "Follow me" (Luke 5:28).
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
So the quality that Jesus values is not so much ability as availability. He supplies ability based upon availability, as we readily see with these apostles later in life, after three and a half years of intensive training in Jesus' discipleship course. This verse best describes what they became: "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13)
I've always been intimidated by scholars. As a simple man from a rural Midwest community, I'm a far cry from a heavy-hitting, learned theologian. And yet I've sought to be a diligent Bible student as I've grown in discipleship over the years. But if ever there was a compliment that I would be thrilled to receive, it would be one similar to that given to Peter and John, as recorded in Acts 4:13.
Those of us who lack "official" credentials in the theological realm are in good company. The men who took part in the greatest revolution the world has ever seen were common laborers who had this in common: "they left everything and followed Him" (Luke 5:11). They chose to deny personal ambition so that they could follow the revolutionary carpenter from Nazareth.
Lest we get a mistaken notion, Jesus is anything but an anti-intellectual. It is obvious that He was a diligent student of Scriptures, and was well able to quote Bible passages as was appropriate to the occasion. No one ever spoke with authority as He did (Matthew 7:29), and He clearly saw "the spirit of the law" while the religious leaders of the day were mistakenly hung up on "the letter of the law". He was, and is, a profound theological intellectual in the truest sense of the word. And that's the very reason we need to enroll in "the school of Jesus". His perfect mastery of truth and its application is what we each desperately need.
The first-century church, chronicled in the book of Acts, no doubt knew their "kingdom theology", but the resurrected Christ - king of the kingdom - actively taught them how to live as a radical "kingdom community" in demonstration of that great truth. As willing followers, the original church was equipped and taught by the living Christ.
Our Master today desires available followers. Your social and intellectual status mean little to the One who will abundantly supply the training and resources needed for your success and effectiveness. What He said to His original disciples He says to us: "Follow me" (Luke 5:28).
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
posted by steve @ 8:22 AM
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