Jesus Picks The Worst People
Jesus' disciples were washouts. They were not even has-beens. Each one of them was a never-was. They were a motley crew to be sure. While the Bible is clear about the occupation of some of the disciples, scholars can only guess at the background of some of them. Peter, Andrew, James the Elder, & John were all fisherman, according to Scripture. Philip, Thomas & James the Younger were most likely fisherman as well. Nathaniel was described as a Seeker of the Truth, a perpetual student, who never graduated (and also probably a fisherman). Judas, Thaddeus, Simon were all Zealots, conspiracy theorists, who hated the Romans, and who were most likely violent Jewish nationalists. Matthew was a Tax Collector, one of the most reviled of all vocations in Israel. These guys were nobodies. In the Jewish tradition they lacked the skills to be scholars, religious leaders, rabbis. They'd flunked out of the rabb...