For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.
Luke 2:30-31 ESV
In last month’s article, I shared about our honorable and urgent commission as followers of Christ. Being chosen for a significant task or responsibility usually means we’ve been found faithful and ready for it. Generally speaking, we all want to be found faithful and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)
We’ve just celebrated the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and there is something in that story I’d like to draw out. We don’t hear much about the wise men and shepherds who traveled from other lands after the story of Jesus’ birth, but they played a significant part in the story. God chose these wise men and shepherds and, as we see in Luke 2:15, the shepherds determined to go to Bethlehem and tell the story of what they witnessed. Several other characters in this story were also chosen by God to receive a prophetic word of our Savior’s arrival. Simeon was one, as we read in Luke 2:25-26. These verses don’t say Simeon was a great man of influence, but they do say he was devout and righteous. His heart was ready to be chosen, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to receive a message, and to see its fulfillment.
We also read in Luke about a prophetess named Anna. (Luke 2:36-37) She had been a widow for 84 years. She did not leave the temple complex and served God night and day with fasting and prayers. Anna was also not in an influential position, but her heart was ready.
Other than these very few wise men, humble shepherds, and a few righteous and devout people, most of the Jewish people didn’t know Jesus as the Messiah was coming. They didn’t understand their own prophetic Scriptures. They couldn’t see the signs and receive Jesus when he came. They weren’t expecting their Messiah to be born in such humility, but just the opposite. Their hearts weren’t ready to be chosen for something more special than they could possibly imagine.
Thirty years later, Jesus was walking the shores of the Sea of Galilee, choosing many of his disciples. Most hadn’t heard about Jesus, but when they heard his voice asking them to follow, something amazing must have stirred their hearts. His words made them drop what they were doing immediately and follow him without question. I’m sure they didn’t fully recognize the significance of their decision or the incredible role they would play in Church history. Jesus knew their hearts and hand-picked each one according to his plan. He knew that each one had their weaknesses and their strengths.
The disciples who stayed with Jesus to the end, even to their deaths, have a special place in history by setting an example in word and deed through their lives. They accepted the fact that God had chosen them and allowed Jesus and the Holy Spirit to shape them. They picked up their cross and shared the gospel with those who hadn’t heard it. Our task as followers of Jesus, chosen by God, is to share the Good News in faith that some will come to understand, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that they need Jesus as their Savior.
We are not chosen because of what we do or how good we are. Our works won’t get us to heaven or make God love us any more than he does. As we saw from the Gospel of Luke, God chose the ordinary and those whose hearts were ready to follow. The world needs to see us for who we really are: people desperately in need of a Savior because of our own unworthiness. They don’t need to see people trying in vain to be perfect, but people who can identify with and love them, and introduce them to their Savior.
Most of the Jewish people were unprepared for the Messiah’s coming over 2000 years ago. Unfortunately, billions are unprepared for Jesus’ coming return. In Scripture, we read that in the end days, because of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold (see Matthew 24:12). Have you noticed this in our society, if not in our own lives? It’s a warning that Jesus’ return is drawing closer, with billions of unreached still needing a Savior.
God has chosen us to obediently follow, be ready, pray the Lord of the harvest, and bring the Good News of hope and salvation to those who have not heard so they, too, can be ready for Jesus’ awaited return.