I have not traveled much, but I have been told on many occasions that in many countries a person’s future is determined for him fairly early on. In these systems, a student is at some point assigned to a college track or a trade school track. He or she does not really have a say in the matter. I once had a friend from Germany who came to the U.S. to go to college because she was placed on the non-college track back home. Her future was already decided for her. She had to travel across the Atlantic to have a chance at a different future.
In a similar fashion, a person who was to be a rabbi had to pass through several stages of schooling. At any point, he could wash out if the right people thought that he was not up to snuff. Those who were not up to snuff were sent back home to be a tradesman. Only the brightest and most talented people were allowed to make it to the place of being a disciple. Being a disciple would probably be equivalent in today’s world of being a medical intern. A person could not just decide to be a disciple.
This is why it is so unusual that Christ chose tradesmen to be his disciples. They had already washed out as some point. Someone at some point in their life has said that they did not have what it takes. Jesus could have chosen from many of the students in rabbinical schools of the day. No doubt, there were some promising intellectuals in the mix. No, Jesus went to fishermen, tax collectors and even someone from a terrorist party and asked them how they would like to join the elite of the society of that day.
I was taught from a young child by a very godly father that God seems to make a point of choosing the most unlikely vessels to do his greatest works. Scripture is filled with unlikely leaders, prophets and history makers. As God said to Samuel, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” In a move that makes no sense in our understanding of the world, God chooses losers and makes them winners in his work.
