Allegiances

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 10:2-4)

We don’t know a lot about the backgrounds of the 12 men Jesus chose to be his first disciples. We know that they were all Jews. We can assume they didn’t make the cut as theological students under a sitting rabbi; thus, their taking up other occupations. We know that Peter, Andrew, James, and John became fishermen. We know Matthew decided to pursue a lucrative career as a tax collector for the Roman government. We know that Simon belonged to a sect we would likely today refer to as a terrorist group (perhaps like the old IRA in Britain). We also learn that Peter was gregarious and often led by his emotions in the moment. Similarly, James and John had the nickname of “sons of thunder,” likely revealing their tendency toward volcanic anger.

Let’s for a moment consider their differences and how this could have easily become a fractured and perhaps explosive group of men. In the Jewish culture, Matthew was considered a traitor as well as a thief. He worked for the enemy and took advantage of his position to extort his fellow Jews. Imagine how Simon felt towards him. Or Peter, Andrew, James, or John. Their natural bent would have been to despise him, and in the case of Simon, perhaps even to kill him.

James and John, it appears, were raised to think much of themselves. We see that evidenced in their mother’s request of Jesus to have them be the most exalted disciples (Matthew 20:20-22). Or when they felt qualified to call down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village which refused to welcome Jesus (Luke 9:54). Imagine in those early days how hard it was for these two to get along with the others.

All the men were expecting a political outcome when they accepted Jesus’ call. They all expected him to lead an overthrow of the Roman oppressors; none more than Simon. He is likely to have pushed a political and perhaps violent agenda among them. In those early days, this would have added to the tension among them.

Looking at this group through the lens of a 21st Century culture where polarization is extraordinarily high, even among professing Christians, one must ask two questions. First, what was Jesus thinking when he chose a group of individuals with such disparate personalities and views on life at that time? Secondly, how in the world did they manage to stick together over three years and beyond? Only Judas left the group and went his own way.

To answer the first question, I think Jesus wanted his followers to reflect the reality of the Kingdom of God. To the second question, I could come up with all kinds of possible reasons, but really there is only one definitive answer—Jesus. Without Jesus, this group would have never found itself together, or if it had, it would have been a short-lived union.

I recently read Truth Over Tribe by Patrick Miller and Keith Simon.  In it, they try to tackle how Christians can overcome the polarization in our culture. And their answer is found in the subtitle of their book: Pledging Allegiance to the Lamb, Not the Donkey or the Elephant. The only thing that maintained the disciples’ unity was their allegiance to Jesus. And his call was to love each other so that others would recognize they were followers of Jesus (John 13:35)

Let me ask you a blunt and straightforward question: Do you truly love (not only in words, but deeds as well) your Christian brothers and sisters who have different personalities and points of views on a variety of issues? Would your love allow the equivalent of a tax collector, a self-righteous political operative, an arrogant, ill-tempered person to become a part of your group or your church?  Given how we prefer being around people who are like us, if we are honest, while many of us might say yes, we likely would prefer them not to join us.

I can only imagine the looks on the disciples’ faces as he invited Matthew to leave his tax collector’s booth and join him. Or when he invited Simon to become a disciple. Neither of these would have been chosen if the decision was left to the disciples. Only because of Jesus did they become affiliated with one another.

Truly, the polarization that exists among fellow believers today over politics and cultural issues is caused by the fact our allegiance to Jesus is faltering. What is happening is entirely unsurprising if we take Jesus out of the equation. He proclaimed that while the enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, he came to provide us with abundant life, not just in heaven but here and now (John 10:10). Which vision of life are we currently living?  

Jesus was the reason for a disparate group of men staying together and loving each other despite their natural differences. He being at the center of our lives, with our willing submission to him, is our only hope. Without Jesus, the enemy will continue to bring destruction and death to our love and unity.

His command to his disciples and to us to love one another was not based on being from the same culture, speaking the same language, having the same political affiliation, or taking the same stance on a variety of cultural issues. Our love for others is solely based on our love for, and our allegiance and submission to Jesus. If that was enough to overcome all the differences of the original 12 disciples, surely it is enough to overcome those between us today.

© Jim Musser 2023 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.