The Road to Easter – Twelve Unlikely Followers

If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB

Would you get a little pushback if you named a major airport after the son of a gangster? You probably think that might be a most unlikely scenario, but you would be wrong. Chicago O’Hare International Airport was named after Edward “Butch” O’Hare the U.S. Navy’s first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. O’Hare was killed in action on November 26, 1943.

Butch O’Hare was the son of Edward “Easy Eddie” O’Hare, a major figure in Chicago’s criminal syndicate in the 20’s and 30’s. O’Hare chose a path of life that led him into a lifetime business of crime, eventually becoming a partner with the legendary mobster Al Capone. Young O’Hare could have followed in his father’s footsteps except his father made a decision that would change the destiny of his family’s legacy. The one thing that Easy Eddie valued more than anything was his family which led to a decision that ultimately cost him his life. Easy Eddie decided to work with the government and testified against Capone which led to the conviction and imprisonment of Capone. O’Hare’s decision resulted in his being gunned down in the streets of Chicago, but his action gave his son the opportunity to go a different direction in life.

Butch O’Hare walked an unlikely road toward honor and respectability because of his father’s sacrifice for his family. Scripture records the journey of twelve unlikely followers of Jesus on their road to Easter. A group of men as diverse as you could get coming from different backgrounds, social statuses, and occupations. The group was made up of several fishermen, a tax collector, a carpenter, a financial whiz (Judas), an undercover spy, and some we don’t know about. Yet they all had one thing in common:  A man called Jesus.

“So why did they give it all up to follow a wandering preacher? The same question faces people today. Why did this person give up a promising legal career to become a preacher, throwing away a lifetime of high earnings for the insecurity and poverty of pastoring and teaching a church? Why did that person abandon her remarkable gift as a singer in order to study theology and get ordained? Why did this person become a teacher, that one a prison governor, this one a monk, that one a missionary? And – since these more obvious callings are only the tip of the iceberg of Christian vocation—why do Christians in millions of other walks of life regularly give up lifestyles and practices that look attractive and lucrative in order to maintain honesty, integrity, faith hope and love? The answer can only be in Jesus himself. (N.T. Wright, From Wilderness to Glory)

Following Jesus on the road to Easter should have been easy but it was anything but easy. They were expecting the Messiah and Jesus seemed to fit the bill. However, their stories on the road to Easter were filled with drama and tension as they encountered a different version of the Messiah than expected. They heard Jesus talk about compassion and kindness, yet when confronted with the woman pouring her most treasured possession upon Jesus, the disciples failed the test. “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” (Matt 26:8-9)

These disciples watched Jesus walking the road to Easter with humility and a servant’s heart. They heard Jesus tell the crowd that blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, are meek, righteous, pure in heart, and peacemakers. Yet as they talked about the kingdom of God, it wasn’t about how to have a servant-heart but about positions of power and influence. James and John had the audacity to ask for key positions of leadership (Mark 10:37) which only infuriated the others. “When the ten heard about this they became indignant with James and John.” (10:41)

Jesus walked the road to Easter with the twelve so He could model what faith could look like for them and, ultimately for us. He healed the blind man, cured the uncurable, restored a little girl, and called down Zaccheaus from a tree. He praised the poor woman who gave all she had for an offering and raised Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus walked on water, and every day his disciples watched him saturate his daily life in prayer.

Jesus’ disciples were twelve ordinary men who found themselves struggling with doubt, faith, jealousy, confusion, fear, and betrayal. Judas would turn away from the road to Easter and quit the journey in infamy. The other eleven would keep walking with faltering steps until they finished their journey.

“In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us—totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.” (Oswald Chambers)

These eleven unlikely followers of Jesus finished their road to Easter “totally, unconditionally, and without reservation.” These eleven who had quarreled, questioned, and even quit occasionally came to understand what it meant to be a disciple of the only One who could give them life. They would take Jesus’ message into every corner of the known world, sharing the Gospel and making disciples even though it would cost their lives and comfort.

Scripture only records the death of Judas and James. However early church writers claimed all except John were martyred, some by crucifixion, burning, stoning, stabbing, or some other form of cruelty. John survived being cast into boiling oil in Rome, being exiled to Patmos but died a natural death.

Would these unlikely followers walk this road to Easter again? Peter, who was crucified upside down according to tradition, because he didn’t feel worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus, sums it up well in the book of Acts. “Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

God is great!