Unlikely Choices

I was reading the Bible in chapter 10 of Matthew's account of Jesus' life and about how Jesus chose the twelve apostles. A few things strike me as a little odd. First, he chose several sets of brothers. Maybe it seems just natural because nothing is ever made about it, but the last thing you want are family members bringing sibling rivalries or private jokes or whatever into a new circle of friends. I mean, look at what Jesus' brothers tried to do to him. They tried to have him committed because they thought he was crazy.

Then there's Matthew himself. He's a tax collector for crying out loud! Way to ruin a party, let alone a band of close friends. Just move the IRS in and tell everyone to act like normal. All I can say is he didn't do such a great job if he couldn't finger Judas for skimming from the money bag.

But the choice of Judas as an apostle is most perplexing of all. Whenever his name is mentioned in the Bible it is always in the context of his betrayal of Jesus. So you can't read about him without thinking about the rest of the story, both the betrayal and his subsequent suicide. If anyone in the world is damned, certainly Judas is chief. And Jesus knew it from the beginning. Yet Jesus chose him. To be an apostle. Judas preached the arrival of the Kingdom of God along with the other apostles. Along with them, Judas worked miracles. Judas received the same commission as the rest of the apostles. But Judas threw it all over. He abandoned it all. And Jesus knew it from the beginning. Still Jesus chose him.

I believe Jesus chose me to walk with him. Should I be grateful? Or should I be afraid?