Most of us probably think of ourselves as a chump, benchwarmer or star. In the first-century world in which Jesus existed, most people were chumps when it came to school, and so most people were chumps when it came to religious influence. For instance, if you wanted to apply follow a rabbi, religious teachers who were highly regarded in that time, you had to be at the very top of your class and you had to apply to the rabbi.

Jesus flipped that script. He, as an unconventional rabbi, approached guys who were at the bottom of their class and invited them to follow him. This challenges how we think of status and purpose in our world. According to Jesus, we don’t earn our purpose by being the best. We all simply have purpose as God’s people.

Sunday message from January 26, 2014.