“Motley crew” is a cliché describing a group of people from varied backgrounds and perspectives, often with conflicting personalities and traits, but usually with a common goal. This description certainly applies to Jesus’ apostles. His choosing of twelve hearkens back to the twelve tribes of Israel, which also displayed a great diversity.
We are never told why Jesus chose this random group of men. Scripture informs us that his Father gave them to him (John 18:9), but we’re not privy to the criteria used, such as an employment interview with the human resources department.
It is apparent that the disciples were chosen over time. John describes one process of selection near the Jordan River (John 1:28-51), whereas in Matthew and Mark, Jesus chooses the fishermen while walking along the shores of Galilee (Matt. 4:18-22. Mark 1:16-20). Jesus interacted with them, and the selection was a process.
For example, we have the first encounters between Jesus and Simon (soon to be named Cephas or Peter). The first is at the Jordan River and the second in Capernaum:
One of the two who heard John [the Baptist] speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter) (John 1:40-42).
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him (Matt. 4:18-20).
However, we are not told why Jesus chose these particular men. The Gospels only recount the choice of seven. We have no clue how or where he selected the other five. Some become quite well known, whereas others are found only in lists of names.
There are several lists of the apostles, with various names and descriptions. We will just look at Matthew’s list of the original twelve.
The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (Matt. 10:2-4)
Some were manual laborers; others were not. Some were older; others were younger; some were married, and others apparently single. Some had goals of personal grandeur, and others resented them for it. Most were from Galilee, but at least one was from Judea. Some were vocal and impulsive, others quiet and reserved. One was a wealthy civic leader, and another was also wealthy but a traitor, despised by his community. Most were honest and selfless, but one was a thief and later proved a betrayer. At least two of them were at the extreme ends of the political spectrum.
What a motley crew of men. We could anticipate intrigue, debate, disagreement, and hostility. Can you imagine this band of diverse men living and traveling together for three years as followers of a controversial rabbi? Maybe we see here a prototype of the future Church.
Let’s start with Peter, apparently an older married man who was a business owner, with partners and employees. He owned fishing boats and had a good reputation in the community. Capernaum was a city of many acres with a population of roughly 1,500. The location of Peter’s home indicates his social standing. His house was directly between the harbor, where his boats are moored, and the synagogue. This could be compared to “living next door to the governor.” Jesus did not pick a slouch to be the “CEO of his new enterprise.” Peter was strong and decisive, though he also displayed character flaws. But “grace builds upon nature,” and Jesus chose a strong and accomplished man to be named the “Rock” and given the keys of the kingdom.
Imagine Peter looking out from his upper room, glaring at the tax booth along the Via Maris at the entrance of the Jewish town of Capernaum. There sat a Jewish man despised by everyone in Capernaum. Their blood boiled when they saw Matthew the tax collector, also called Levi, with his fist full of their gold coins (Matt. 9:9). “Levi” implied he was of the priestly tribe of Israel (Luke 5:27-29). Like Zacchaeus (9:1-10), Matthew was a turncoat who had sided with the Roman oppressors to extort taxes from his own people. Tax collectors were the most despised of men (Matt. 9:11, 10:3, 18:17, 21:31; Luke 18:11). Soon Peter and Matthew would join each other as followers of the Messiah.
Jealousy can raise its ugly head in a troop of men when someone grasps for favorite status or special privileges, especially if their rabbi is teaching them humility and self-giving. Jesus taught his disciples,
Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. (Matt. 20:26-27).
This was an excellent example of team management. Jesus had noticed the indignation on the faces of ten of his disciples and the tones of anger in their voices. The reason? Two of the disciples, presumably the youngest two, along with their mother, had made a demand of Jesus in front of the other ten. Imprudently, the mother demanded, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom” (Matt. 20:21). One might wonder how long it would take for the hostility to dissipate. It seems their passionate and impulsive nature, displayed on several occasions, earned them the nickname Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
And yet Jesus did display what could have been viewed as favoritism among the Twelve. He publicly renamed Simon the “Rock” (Petros) and promised him exclusively the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). He also gave him (singular) the position of feeding and tending his flock (John 21:15-17). On several occasions, Jesus took Peter, James, and John aside as part of a privileged inner circle during some of the most significant moments. There is no indication why he exclusively took these three up the mountain to experience the Transfiguration, or into the Garden of Gethsemane to share in his sorrow, or into the house when he healed Jairus’s daughter. We can only wonder how the others felt about their exclusion.
Politics is one of the most divisive topics in public discussion, which is why we often hear the adage “in family gatherings, avoid politics and religion.” Left and right, Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives are sharply divided in our own society. Opposing opinions and tension can arise at a moment’s notice. This could have been the case among the disciples.
Simon the Zealot is one of the apostles about whom we know very little. Our knowledge is limited to his name in four lists of the apostles. In two, he is referred to as “the Zealot” and in two, the “Cananaean,” which scholars say means the same thing. The Zealots were a revolutionary group of Jewish nationalists, aggressively anti-Roman, who opposed the occupation and forced taxation of Judea, which they deemed as due to God alone. Zealots were often known to engage in armed opposition. Simon was not known by his father’s name, as were other disciples, nor by his trade. He was known for his zealous political affiliation—he was “Simon the Zealot.”
Can you think of two more opposite political extremes? We have a revolutionary Zealot resisting Rome and a Jewish national who betrayed his own nation to serve the occupying Roman forces, exploiting taxes from his own people. I fear to think of the conversations that flared up during their long walks, often as they passed Roman troops along the road. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus selected both a Zealot and a tax collector to be among his small band of apostles? Could you find two men at more opposite ends of the political spectrum?
Let’s look at one last example of the disparate temperaments and types of men following Jesus. We know two of the apostles had previously been disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35-37). They were certainly devout, practicing honesty and integrity as disciples of John long before their rabbi, Jesus, began teaching them the same things.
How do you think this tight-knit company would respond to one of their own who was a thief stealing from them throughout their time together? Hostility and recrimination would be the natural response. And why was Jesus allowing his own disciple to commit this crime to the detriment of his men and his mission? This would be both demoralizing and infuriating.
John reports this egregious conduct, implying that it was known to them all. Things like this don’t tend to stay private within a band of men.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:4-6).
This was certainly a motley crew of men who had chosen to follow this rabbi named Jesus, even though there was little to bind them together other than their belief in him.
The Church today is also a motley crew of believers, from every conceivable background and perspective. We also follow the Rabbi and believe in him, and he is radically conforming us to his calling and mission. I doubt that Matthew stayed a tax collector at heart, and it is unlikely that Simon the Zealot slipped away from the group at night to fight the Romans. They were all flawed, different, selfish at times, and tense with each other.
But Jesus knew what he was doing when he chose them. He also knew what he was doing when he chose us, and made us part of his motley crew of disciples.