Favorites: Mark 4:33-34
Even Jesus had favorites.
As a teacher, it is routine to have students argue about who my favorite is. Children do the same with their parents. Employees may even do this with their bosses in the right working environment. The reality is that everyone has people with whom they get along well and people with whom it is harder to be around. Having favorites is a natural process for humanity.
Today’s passage helps put this in perspective. When Mark talks about Jesus speaking to His disciples, he uses the phrase kat’ idian, which literally means according to His own. This is often translated to mean privately. It is a phrase indicating a closeness in both proximity and state. Mark calls the disciples Jesus’ own because they were close to him spiritually and physically.
The disciples repeatedly came to Jesus. They asked Him all kinds of questions. They followed Him all around Israel. They were His own because they recognized the importance of having Jesus in their life.
When we are teaching people new to the faith, we often teach that Jesus hand-picked the disciples. While true, this gives the idea that Jesus picked people because they were special and unique. Look at the medieval church, who canonized them and made them saints. Don’t get me wrong, they are people whom God used to accomplish awesome things. They were the people Jesus poured into. They were the foundation upon which Jesus built the church.
However, Jesus didn’t pick them because they had a supercharged faith. Jesus didn’t pick them because they could move mountains with their faith. Jesus didn’t pick them because they immediately understood everything He taught. In fact, how many times do we see the disciples unable to move mountains, unable to walk on water, and unable to truly grasp what Jesus is teaching? The disciples didn’t have some special characteristic that made Jesus pick them.
Jesus picked them because they were around. When it came time for a private conversation, they were there. When Jesus asked if anyone had any questions, they spoke up. The disciples were curious and open to Jesus. They were teachable. They weren’t afraid to mess up; they just wanted to try.
As a teacher, I’m not supposed to show favoritism – although I have favorites. I tell my students a secret. My favorite students aren’t my favorites because I like them best. My favorite students become my favorite students because they pick me. My favorite students are the ones who come back, who engage in conversation, who give me the opportunity to pour into their life.
Learning discipleship from Jesus means adopting a similar approach. Jesus was willing to talk to anyone in the crowd. He would talk about anything with anyone. But He got close to the people who repeatedly came and repeatedly gave Him opportunity. You don’t need a special quality to be a favorite of Jesus. You simply need to come and give Him opportunity.
Even Jesus had favorites.
