God Chose, Well, Not the Sharpest Tool in the Shed

He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:20–28)

Jesus’ message of the Good News went to the last people anyone would expect: “infants.” That is, people like Jesus’ disciples: ordinary people from all walks of life, some wealthy, some not, some politically involved and some not. Jesus did not bring his words to the best and brightest of his generation.

Those who would listen, those who would believe, those who would accept the words of Jesus were rarely those who were in positions of power and authority. His followers most often came from the lower classes. They were the disadvantaged and those whom the ones in authority viewed with disdain. Jesus found his strongest followers among the women, the children, and the “sinners” of society. That’s what Jesus meant when he said that the greatest in the kingdom of God were those who were least. He told his followers that they must become like “little children” in order to see the kingdom of God.

We can take comfort in the fact that we do not need to be special in any way for God to reach us or to use us. We are just the sort of people that God wants to have.

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About R.P. Nettelhorst

I'm married with three daughters. I live in southern California and I'm the interim pastor at Quartz Hill Community Church. I have written several books. I spent a couple of summers while I was in college working on a kibbutz in Israel. In 2004, I was a volunteer with the Ansari X-Prize at the winning launches of SpaceShipOne. Member of Society of Biblical Literature, American Academy of Religion, and The Authors Guild
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