The 1992 United States Men’s Olympic Basketball Team was infamously nicknamed “The Dream Team.” It was the first American Olympic team to feature active NBA players, and with the likes of Michael Jordon, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, and Sir Charles Barkley on the team, it is no surprise that they shredded all of their opponents by an average of 40 points a game and cruised to the gold medal platform. Since then, 11 of the 12 players and 3 of the four coaches have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Many American sports journalists and historians believe that this was the greatest sports team ever assembled.
Whether it is the United States Olympic committee or an elementary school gym class captain picking players for a kickball game, everyone wants the biggest, fastest, and most talented athletes on their team. In business and politics, leaders try to choose the best and brightest to fill positions in their company or cabinet. Boards of directors try to recruit highly educated and broadly experienced leaders to run their organizations. If you were going to assemble a team, wouldn’t you want the very finest? Conventional wisdom and common sense motivates us to choose the people who are most qualified.
That is why Jesus’ choice of apostles is so peculiar. As he began to face increasing hostility from the Pharisees and other religious leaders, he knew that it was important to form a team who would carry on his mission after he was gone.
But none of the 12 apostles Jesus chose were “Dream Team” material. They were not from prominent families or prestigious backgrounds, nor were they highly educated or especially talented. They were certainly not qualified to lead a religious revolution. They were as common as a vanilla ice cream cone. They were just average blue-collar guys, and perhaps even a little rough around the edges. This was definitely not a “Dream Team.” So, why did Jesus choose these chaps?
Praying through Big Decisions (12)
The ministry of these 12 men was central to God’s plan of salvation. First the apostles would spend several years with Jesus, learning the ways of his kingdom. At the end of their training, they would witness his crucifixion and resurrection, which would finally prove to them that Jesus was the Christ. After this, they would go and preach the gospel to all nations, proclaiming the good news of salvation. And finally, most of them would be martyred because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
Since the apostles would be the foundation of God’s work in the world, it was absolutely essential for Jesus to choose the right men. So Jesus sought the solitude of a lonely mountainside to pray to his heavenly father. He prayed privately, passionately, and dependently, spending the whole night seeking God’s guidance for choosing the right apostles. (Ryken 254)
Jesus was always man of prayer. The gospels often portray Jesus going off to be alone and pray, but this is especially the case when he was faced major life decisions. And that is exactly what he does here before he chooses his apostles!
From this example we learn our great need for prayer. Like Jesus, we need to go to our own mountain of prayer when we face momentous decisions. We need to seek a solitary place away from the noise and clutter of our lives so that we can hear the voice of the Lord! We need to fervently request the wisdom and guidance of our heavenly Father and earnestly ask for his will to be done. And we need to humbly accept God’s answer, even if it is not the one we want or the one that makes the most sense!
I openly confess that I am not nearly the man of prayer that I would like to be or should be, but I am at least grateful that I have followed Jesus’ example of sustained solitary prayer when I have faced big decisions in my life. I remember spending countless hours in prayer when I was seeking God’s will on where I should go to college. He eventually opened the door made it clear that I should attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where I not only received an excellent education, but it is also where I met Jennifer.
A few years later, I remember spending a number of nights asking God if Jennifer was the woman that he wanted me to spend the rest of my life with. I certainly knew what I desired, but I wanted to be sure that she was God’s choice for me. He eventually answered those prayers by confirming his choice. (I guess that one didn’t turn out too bad!!)
And during my seminary days, I was faced with another major life decision: should I follow conventional wisdom and stay in a great situation in Massachusetts or should I apply for the pastoral position that was open at a church in Franklin, Vermont? I fell to my knees again and sought God both day and night. Well, he made his will known and the past 11 years has proven to be one of the best decisions I have ever made!
Are you facing any big decisions right now—college, relationship, spouse, kids, career, moving, retirement, health, or something else? Will you follow Jesus’ example and pray through these major life choices!
The Daydream Team (13-16)
As I mentioned before, when we look at the list of men who Jesus actually chose to be his apostles, it doesn’t look anything like a “Dream Team.” As a matter of fact, we could probably dub this team of disciples “The Daydream Team” because the list makes us wonder if Jesus may have been daydreaming instead of praying.
We have Simon Peter, who had some leadership qualities but also had a propensity for sticking his foot in his mouth. He was brash and outspoken, but didn’t back up his words with actions. He would go on to deny Christ three times when his own life was in jeopardy. Next, we have Andrew, who had been a disciple of John the Baptist, and introduced his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. Other than this, the Bible doesn’t tell us much about Andrew. He remained behind the scenes throughout Jesus’ ministry.
Next we have James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Even though these two joined Simon Peter in Jesus’ inner circle, they were also the ones who exhibited selfishness when they asked Jesus to let them sit at his right and left hand in glory. These first four disciples were all Galilean fishermen by trade—not really dream team material!
Then we have Philip, who introduces Bartholomew (Nathaniel) to Jesus, but who also showed a lack of faith when Jesus asked him where should they buy bread to feed the crowd of 5000 people. Although Bartholomew was a man of great integrity, he was the one who spoke the famous words about Jesus, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46) Neither of these two were dream team material either!
Matthew (Levi) was a filthy yellow-bellied tax collector who sold out his own people to work for the evil Roman government. He made his fortune through extortion. Simon the zealot is also an odd choice. The term “zealot” identifies his as a Jewish nationalist, a militia group that sought to overthrow the Roman government. These two men came from backgrounds that generally hated each other, but Jesus chose both of them to be on his team. Dream team material? I think not!
Thomas may have had the greatest potential of all of the apostles, but I doubt it!! Even today, 2000 years later he is still known as “Doubting Thomas” because he would not believe that Jesus was resurrected unless he could put his finger in nail scars. James the son of Alphaeus and Judas son of James are the most obscure of all of the 12 apostles. Other than being listed with the others, we hardly know anything about them. And finally, there is Judas Iscariot, the most well known traitor in the history of the world. He betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss for a mere thirty pieces of silver. Would you want any of these guys on your dream team?
So, we return to the question, “Why would God choose men like this to carry on Jesus ministry? The answer is very simple: to display his awesome power! God doesn’t need people who are smart, talented, or charismatic to transform the world. All he needs is someone who is willing to follow Jesus and learn from him.
Although it took them a while even after Jesus was gone, God used these 12 ordinary men to establish the Christian church and spread the gospel all over the world. He used this rag-tag group of disciples to start a movement that would 2000 years and become 3 billion people strong.
As we look at these apostle profiles, it makes us realize that these guys aren’t much different from us. We all have character flaws, inadequacies, and weaknesses just like them. Most of us are not dream team material, but if we are willing to follow Jesus and learn from him, God will display his power in us and use us to accomplish amazing feats for his kingdom.
These 12 apostles act as a mirror for our own discipleship. If we look close enough, we will see a little bit of ourselves in these men. Is there anyone here like Peter—a brash, outspoken, loudmouth who is quick to act and slow to think. Have you even denied Jesus when you were under pressure? Do we have any James’ or John’s among us? Maybe you genuinely love the Lord, but you like to look out for your own interests too. Is there anyone here like Philip, Bartholomew, and doubting Thomas? Maybe you are following Jesus, but you are still struggle with doubts. Do we have any Matthew’s or Simon the Zealot’s? Do come from a dubious and destructive background? Do you have trouble overcoming your past mistakes? Maybe we have some people like Andrew, James, and Judas—is your life overshadowed by other family members or friends and you are sentenced to a legacy of relative obscurity? And finally, do we have any Judas Iscariot’s in our midst today? Is there anyone here who would be willing to sell Jesus out in the pursuit of money?
Well, I doubt if there is anyone here today who is discipleship dream team material, but that is OK! God doesn’t need the best and brightest; he doesn’t need the most magnetic personalities or the most talented skill sets; he doesn’t need the most educated or experienced! All he needs someone who is willing to follow his son Jesus? Are you willing to be Jesus’ disciple?