Jesus called twelve random young men to follow Him and be part of His radical movement that changed the world. He didn’t choose those who had it all together. He called the unlikely, the common, the unreligious. 

A story in the Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus saw two rugged fishermen, Simon and Andrew, fishing on the Sea of Galilee. They had been fishing all night. Jesus used their boat to speak to the crowd gathered around the shore. Afterward, Jesus told Simon and Andrew to throw out their nets to catch some fish. Simon, the expert fisherman, explained to Jesus that they had fished all night and had not caught a thing, so it was futile to try again. 

Nevertheless, Simon and Andrew followed Jesus’ advice and caught so many fish that the nets began tearing. Later, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ feet and groaned the words:

“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. (Luke 5:8–9)

Simon was undone by this act of God. He was gobsmacked by Jesus, this man who represented God. Faced with Jesus’ profound power, his life was exposed. He knew he had done things that wouldn’t qualify him to be blessed by this man. He felt completely unworthy. 

This didn’t bother Jesus. Here’s His response:

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10–11)

“Don’t be afraid of your past. Don’t be afraid of your previous sins. Don’t be afraid of me, because I love you.” These may be what Jesus meant when he said, “Don’t be afraid.”

If Simon, later called Peter, saw himself as a sinful man, yet Jesus called him to follow Him, then Jesus saw something in him that he did not see. Jesus did not call perfect men because no one was perfect, not even the religious leaders of the day. He called people who knew their need of Him before they knew what he could do for them. 

This is Good News for all of us! He is comfortable choosing those who are acutely aware of their imperfections because He can work with them.

Jesus calls another ‘sinful’ man

The religious leaders of the day criticized Jesus for His choice of friends. One day, Jesus saw Levi, a tax collector, at work and called Him to join His group of disciples. Tax collectors were despised because they worked for the Roman government. They became wealthy, collecting more than they should. Levi (later called Matthew) quickly left his job and followed Jesus. Levi then invited Him and his disciples to his house for dinner. He also included other tax collectors and nefarious people. It must have been quite a party!

The religious teachers were shocked when they saw this. They asked His disciples why Jesus ate dinner with these unsavory characters. Maybe they thought that association with someone like that would make them ‘unclean.’

This was Jesus’ reply:

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Story in Mark 2:15–17)

Call the sinners? What? 

This was radically countercultural. Usually, the rabbis who trained young men to become leaders in Judaism chose the ones from respectable families. They would have to be the best and the brightest, certainly adhering to the laws of their religion faithfully. Yet Jesus called the common people, even the “scum,” those the people looked down on. 

So the rough fisherman, Simon Peter, and the despised tax collector, Matthew, became two of the twelve apostles who led the early church after Jesus returned to Heaven. Jesus radically transformed their lives and filled them with His Holy Spirit. He empowered them to do extraordinary things, though they were ordinary people with a questionable past. 

God is calling whoever will come to Him. Your past doesn’t matter. Turn away from it and give your future into God’s hands as Peter did. He will transform you and reveal His love to you. All we have to do is follow Him. Who knows what incredible things lie ahead for those who follow Jesus?