The Recruiter

John 1: 43

Pearl Harbor is the site of a major U.S. naval base, where a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft inflicted heavy damage and brought the U.S. into World War II.  It was the next day that our Congress declared war on Japan, and Germany and the recruiters for our military did not have to solicit young men they were coming to them in mass.  We use recruiters in the business world everyday and our military, which is now voluntary, also has many recruiters, but have you ever given any thought to Jesus Christ as a recruiter?

John’s gospel sheds some light on Jesus as a recruiter in chapter 1, verse 43. “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Now that sure sounds like a recruiter, so I began to wonder was Philip’s case special, or have I missed this attribute of Christ, is Jesus a “Recruiter”?  In the gospel of Matthew 4:18-20, we have this account of Jesus the recruiter; and Simon and Andrew left nets, fishing boats and followed this man who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  He must have be a good recruiter because we are told they immediately left their nets and followed him.  As they walked away from the nets, from the businesses they owned, from all that they knew, they came on two other men and this account is amazing.  Picking up the story in Matthew 4:21-22, “And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”  Jesus, the recruiter has a strong appeal to these men, they followed him without delay, but were they the norm? 

Could it be that these guys Jesus recruited were in a bad business deal, maybe the fishing business was not what they wanted and they were looking for a career change, did Jesus ever recruit anyone with a thriving business, and they dropped everything to follow him?  That was precisely what I was thinking and Doctor Luke addresses it in his gospel, chapter 5, verses 27&28, “After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth.  And he said to him, “Follow me.”  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.”  For any who may wonder, tax collectors were no more popular in the time Jesus walked on earth than they are today, and we know that Levi, was a man of wealth, for in the next verse we are told that he had a dinner party in his house and invited his friends, and who were his friends, tax collectors and some others who I’m sure were not accepted by those being taxed.  In fact, the Pharisees and the lawyers ask this question of Jesus; “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Looking at Jesus as a recruiter opens your eyes to see that is what He did, and when it came to addressing, “is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm,” Jesus recruited a man with a withered hand, and you can find that account in Luke 6:6-11.  We all know the story of Zacchaeus, but read it again in Luke’s gospel chapter 19:1-10.  This small man who is a tax collector wants to see Jesus, so he climbs up a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passes, and the “Recruiter” looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  And why was Zacchaeus recruited, so that he and his family could come to a saving knowledge of the Christ.  This is what Jesus the “Recruiter” said to the crowd who were not happy that he was going to the house of a sinner.  “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the loss.”  Wow, the “Recruiter’s” job was seeking out those who were lost.

I’m sure you recall the man named Saul who was sent out by the Chief Priest to arrest and kill Christians, and his encounter with the “Recruiter,” Jesus Christ.  The book of Acts is Doctor Luke’s account of when Jesus recruited Saul and changed him from a tool of Satan to a follower of Christ, the full account is found in Acts chapter 9.

Was there ever an account of Jesus recruiting a person, and them rejecting his offer?  The answer is yes, we have the account of a very rich man who wanted his goodness to buy him into eternal life, and this I’ve come to understand, the “Recruiter” Jesus Christ, sees past the exterior into the heart.  This rich guy wanted Jesus on his terms, and Jesus ask him to give up the false god he was serving, but the god of wealth had his heart and he went away very sad, for he was extremely rich.  It is amazing as I reflect back on my encounters with the “Recruiter,” I also walked away sad, because I wanted control of my life.  But He sent others and then He came back to me in a hotel room, and I followed him.

Jesus is a recruiter; his mission statement is clear; “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)  Need more information look at John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  If you are not sure please read John 3:18 also, Jesus is looking for all who will put away the little worthless gods and follow him.  I understand that the enemy of your soul also is making an offer, but Jesus the “Recruiter” tells us in John 10:10, it is not in your best interest to listen to those lies.  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”   For many have bought into the package of lies, the false gods of wealth, sex, but it really comes down to wanting to live life on your terms, you do not see any need for the “Recruiter” but to all who are lost, the “Recruiter” Jesus Christ’s job and mission plan is to seek out and offer life, now and it is eternal.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice