Your Not-So-Average Joe ✌
05 June, 2015
Have you seen the new Entourage movie yet? My parents actually saw it a few weeks ago before it came out because they received schnazzy invite-only tickets to see it early. That was a rather large my-parents-really-are-cooler-than-me awakening. Semi-disheartening, to say the least. Anyways, they said the movie was relatively raunchy with lots of swearing. They told me not to waste my time or money because it wouldn't be my thing. The trailor looked decently funny, but I'm gonna take their word for it and not waste two hours of my life.
Although I haven't seen it and (probably) never will, I'm somewhat familiar with the storyline. As far as I know, a moviestar wants to direct his next movie instead of just acting in it, so he invites his best buddies along for the ride. They have different adventures of shooting the movie, lounging on yachts, and attending premiers, all rolling together as the actor's posse.
The other morning, I was reading through the book of Matthew in the Bible, which tells the story of Jesus start to finish. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus walks up to a group of four fisherman and asks them if they'd like to become fishers of men instead of fishers of, well, fish. All four were immediately mesmerized by Jesus, dropped their nets, and followed Him for the next three years without so much as saying goodbye to their family and friends. They joined Jesus's entourage, to put it plainly.
Let's say Jesus didn't come 2,000 years ago. What if He had decided to come down, say, today instead. Let's pretend He still wanted an entourage of twelve people to join Him on a three-year mission around the world. What type of people do you think He'd choose?
If I could choose anyone in the world to be in my entourage, I'd be so selective it wouldn't even be funny. A brain surgeon, the President of the United States, those two kids who won the national spelling bee last week... maybe raise Einstein from the dead, the recent Kona Ironman winner, the man who invented Post-Its ... I'd want smart, capable, driven people around me. I mean obviously, right?
Fishermen were not high on the totem pole in Jesus's time. They were pretty low, meaning just about anyone could join a fishing crew without real training. Fishermen weren't rolling in the dough like tax collectors or shop owners, they were just your Average Joes.
That apparently didn't bother Jesus, because He didn't choose just one but four, making fishermen 1/3 of His entourage... traveling with Him, eating breakfast with Him, laughing with Him, crying with Him...
Jesus didn't choose the men based on coincidence. He didn't randomly walk up and choose the first men He saw. He sought them out, choosing them to be His sidekicks. Men who probably swore like sailors, men who probably went days without showering, men who probably laughed at jokes that weren't the most appropriate. Normal, blue-collar men.
So, back to my original question, who would Jesus pick if He had come down today instead? According to the Gospels, I'd assume He'd select normal, every-day people. Maybe a plumber, maybe an electrician, maybe a janitor, maybe a waitress at a diner... He'd choose people with willing hearts and nothing to lose.
To the best of my knowledge, the Entourage movie is brimming with celebrity appearances, bright flashy lights, and remixed music. The main character, Vincent Chase, chooses the guys he knows will grant him the best help he can find. Jesus does just the opposite; He finds people without much to offer (by the world's standards) and uses them in mighty ways. People with a heart to learn and a humble mind.
Jesus is not the exclusive, judgemental man we so-often make Him out to be. Jesus is one of the guys, in a matter of words, and wants to hang out with someone as mediocre as you and me. The Bible explains how God plays no favorites, He loves those who love Him.
