NOT FAMOUS BUT NOT INSIGNIFICANT
Mark 3:13-19 NKJV
13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
This is Mark's account of Jesus calling the twelve. In another gospel, Jesus spent all night in prayer before calling the twelve men. What struck me as I read this passage again is how many of these apostles we know nothing about.
We know Peter, James, and John, the inner circle of Jesus. We know a bit about Andrew because he is Peter's brother. We know about Thomas who gets a bad reputation for doubting the risen Jesus. And we know Judas for all the wrong reasons.
But what about Bartholomew, the other James, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite? Here are men who were part of the twelve, the ones who got to spend the most time with Jesus. These men were there for all the miracles and all of Jesus' sermons. These men were empowered by Jesus to preach, cast out demons, and heal the sick. And yet, we know little to nothing about them.
In our current culture, the famous are the ones we want to follow and emulate. Because of their popularity, these are the people who are deemed significant. These are the people that are thought to have the most attractive qualities. The famous are the role models. The desire to be famous has impacted culture in a major way. One of the biggest career goals of American youth is to be a YouTube influencer. To be seen means everything.
But does it work that way in God's Kingdom? God's Kingdom works off faithfulness and obedience. God's Kingdom looks more for fruit, not fame. These apostles, that we know so little about, were effective in fulfilling the plan God had for them. Although we don't know much about them, we do know that they were able to spend quality time with Jesus. We do know that they helped to spread the gospel after Jesus had ascended back to heaven. That they were with the other disciples in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Historians tell us that they were martyred for the cause of Christ. And that they will occupy a place of prominence in God's eternal Kingdom.
These men may not have been famous in Christian circles, but I don't think we'll ignore them when we see them in heaven. We will most likely treat them with great honor and hopefully get their perspective of how it was to walk with Jesus.
APPLICATION
Because of our celebrity culture, we tend to think the greatest Christians are the ones we know about. The famous preachers and singers are the Christian cream of the crop. But are they?
What about the scores of faithful believers who are not known but highly effective for God's Kingdom? What about the quiet ones who pray and serve behind the scenes to make ministry much more impactful? I believe that when they are passing out rewards in heaven we will be surprised. "Who is that?" and "I never heard of them" may be common phrases. But remember, the things that are important to men are not so important to God.
So be faithful and obedient to what God has instructed you to do. You may never be well-known, but you can be highly significant!