Jesus didn’t spend his time with the influential or powerful. He walked dusty roads with fishermen, paused for widows, stood still for the suffering, and reached out to people whom society had pushed to the margins. To meet Jesus was to be truly seen, despite one’s weakness, and not to be condemned but helped. His power was not only in his miracles, but in his insight. He knew what people were going through, and he knew what they could become.
These encounters weren’t random. They were signs of something much greater: the good news of God’s coming Kingdom, a day when sorrow, injustice and death will be no more. Until then, Jesus calls his followers to live out those Kingdom values by acting with his compassion, particularly toward those in need.
Broken But Not Beyond Reach
Whether it was leprosy, poverty, depression or shame, Jesus met people in their lowest places.
One man, ostracised with a disease no one could cure, approached Jesus and said, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean’ (Luke 5:12). Jesus didn’t recoil, he touched him. That one moment broke a lifetime of isolation.
A woman, weakened by 12 years of bleeding and humiliation, reached for the hem of his garment. She was healed by her faith, but also restored, noticed, honoured (Matthew 9:20–22).
There was Mary Magdalene, released from deep inner torment (Luke 8:2). Jesus didn’t just heal her, he gave her belonging and purpose. She stood by his cross when others fled (Mark 15:40). She was the first to see him risen (16:9).
And there was the criminal on the cross. A dying man, whose life had unravelled, he saw something in Jesus that no one else there recognised: a coming king. In one of Jesus’ final acts, he turned to the man beside him and spoke hope: ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23:43).
None of these people came from privilege or power. They came as they were, hurting, desperate, open-hearted. And they were changed.
Called From the Everyday
Jesus didn’t recruit his disciples from the corridors of influence, but largely from the shores of Galilee. Peter was impulsive and outspoken, full of hope one moment and full of fear the next. Thomas doubted. Judas couldn’t let go of his own agenda.
Yet Jesus chose them, not for their perfection, but their potential.
Peter denied knowing Jesus, not once but three times (Matthew 26:69–75). Yet the risen Jesus didn’t cast him aside. He cooked him breakfast by the sea (John 21:9) and gently restored him, telling him, ‘Feed my sheep’ (vs. 15–17). Peter went on to lead and suffer for the Gospel with conviction and humility.
Thomas missed the Lord’s first resurrection appearance. Doubting, he wanted proof, and Jesus gave it. ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas confessed (John 20:28), in one of the most heartfelt declarations in the New Testament.
The message is clear: Jesus doesn’t wait for us to be ready. He calls us now, with our questions, flaws, and fears. He invites us to grow into the people God created us to be.
A Hope That Transforms
These encounters weren’t ends in themselves. They pointed forward: to a world healed, restored, and ruled by justice and love.
The hope of the Gospel is that Jesus will return to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, which will be a perfect realm where death and sorrow no longer exist. He invites us to be part of that future. Not because we’re good enough, but because we believe, we follow, and we’re willing to be changed.
Until that day, we are called to be his hands and heart in the world: bringing hope to the discouraged, kindness to the forgotten, and truth to those seeking it.
Someone Like Us
Maybe you’ve felt invisible, unworthy, ordinary. The people who followed Jesus weren’t polished experts, they were people like you and me.
Have you written yourself off as too ordinary for God to use? Jesus’ closest followers were fishermen and former outcasts. He sees who you are and who you can be.
Where have you felt unseen or disqualified and how might Jesus respond to that? His response is never rejection. It’s restoration.
What would it mean for your life to be part of something bigger, God’s coming Kingdom, and a community of believers until then? Jesus is still meeting people today through his words, his people, and his promises. And he’s still changing lives.
Perhaps it’s time to let him meet someone like you.
Richard Webb