I want to introduce you to two of Jesus' earliest followers, among his "12 disciples": Matthew the tax collector & Simon the Zealot.
Matthew (also known as Levi) was a tax collector by trade, which meant that he was contracted by the Roman Empire to collect taxes from the Jewish people. Tax collectors were notorious for lying about how much people owed and pocketing the difference. They were traitors. They were rich. They were hated and despised. They were seen as the worst kind of sinner.
Simon was a part of a Jewish sect known as the Zealots, who were bent on revolution and looking for a Messiah to violently overthrow Rome, the oppressor. In the mind of the Zealots, the promised Messiah would come and lead a Jewish military uprising, re-establishing Israel as God's land and Jerusalem as God's holy city. They were violent. They were extreme. They were the worst form of religious passion.
Simon was called, chosen by Jesus to be one of his earliest followers. Simon didn't choose Jesus; Jesus chose Simon, a religious extremist who justified violence as a means to liberty. And he taught him to love his enemies.
Matthew was called, chosen by Jesus to be one of his earliest followers. Matthew didn't choose Jesus; Jesus chose Matthew, a despised tax collector who was seen as the filthiest of sinners. Jesus dined with him in his home, with his friends. When the Pharisees got mad at him for it, he told them "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. …I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:12-13).
Simon and Matthew were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, and yet they were chosen and called by Jesus to follow him together. This would have been impossible, but Jesus made it beautiful.
It wasn’t their proximity to one another that changed them, but their proximity to one another centered around the presence of Jesus.
That’s what Jesus does. He changes us in proximity to one another centered around his presence. It’s in that space we find that we’re more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the good news of Jesus, and it’s worked out in the community of his people following him together.