The Outsiders | Removing Barriers

The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking along he said, "Look! The Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, "What are you looking for?"

They said, "Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?"

He replied, "Come and see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.

One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Christ). He led him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). 

John 1:35-42 (Common English Bible)

We live in a world obsessed with qualifications. Want to go to a good college? You need the right GPA, the right test scores, the right extracurricular activities. Want to get a good job? You need the right degree, the right experience, the right connections. Want to move up in your career? You need the right certifications, the right track record, the right recommendations.

At every stage of life, we're told we need to prove ourselves. And if we don't meet the standard, we don't get in. And this system wasn't invented in the modern world. It's been around for thousands of years. And it was alive and well in first-century Judaism when it came to becoming a disciple.

Becoming a disciple wasn't something that just happened. It was a privilege reserved for the best students. If you wanted to become a rabbi's disciple, you had to seek him out and ask, "May I follow you?" Then the rabbi would examine your credentials. He'd want to make sure you'd memorized enough of the Torah. He'd test your ability to debate and interpret the law. He'd determine whether you were the kind of student who could one day become a rabbi yourself.

Most people didn't make the cut. Most people who wanted to become disciples were rejected and sent back to their family's trade. That was just how it worked. The system had standards, and those standards kept most people out.

And if a rabbi rejected you, it wasn't just about that one opportunity. It was a statement about your potential. It meant you weren't disciple material. It meant you'd never be more than a fisherman or a carpenter or a farmer. The door to a life of studying Torah and teaching others was closed.

So when we read about Jesus calling his first disciples in John 1, we need to understand how different this was from the normal system. Jesus doesn't examine their credentials. He doesn't ask them to prove themselves. He doesn't test their knowledge of Torah. He just says, "Come and see."

And when Andrew brings his brother Simon to meet Jesus, Jesus doesn't interview him either. Jesus doesn't ask Simon to demonstrate his qualifications. Jesus just welcomes him.

This would’ve been shocking to everyone who understood how disciples were chosen. Rabbis were supposed to be selective. They were supposed to have standards. They were supposed to protect their reputation by only choosing the best students.

But Jesus wasn't interested in maintaining that system. Instead, Jesus tore down the barriers to becoming a disciple. But the church keeps trying to rebuild these barriers today.

Sometimes those barriers are explicit. We say you can't really follow Jesus unless you believe exactly the right things, or come from the right background, or live the right way. Sometimes those barriers are implicit. We create cultures where certain people feel welcome and other people don't. We communicate through our words and our actions that some people belong and other people need to prove themselves first.

But we need to remember that Jesus didn't require people to prove themselves before calling them to follow him. Jesus called fishermen who'd been passed over. Jesus called tax collectors who'd never been considered rabbi material. Jesus called people who didn't meet the qualifications.

So if Jesus tore down the barriers to becoming his disciple, why do we keep trying to rebuild them?

Prayer:

God, we confess that we're comfortable with systems that require people to prove themselves. We like having standards that determine who's qualified and who's not. But Jesus tore down those barriers. He called people who didn't meet the qualifications. Forgive us for rebuilding barriers that Jesus destroyed. Help us welcome people the way Jesus welcomed his first disciples—without requiring them to prove themselves first. Amen.