Looking into the Gsopels, there are some important questions that arise as to how Jesus chose people to carry out his plans. What attributes was he looking for, and why would he focus on those?
In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the 72. He doesn't specifically say what attributes are needed, but we can infer what attributes they may have possessed based on what he expects these people to do. For example, he tells them, "I am sending you out like lambs among wolves," which insinuates a level of courage that must be present. Some other attributes he looks for are patience, humility, boldness, and resilience.
In Mark 5, we see that faith is essential to being a follower of Christ, and with great faith, great things can happen. There is a woman who has been bleeding and suffering for 12 years. Seeing that no doctor has been able to heal her, she seeks the healing power of Jesus by touching the fringe of his robe. Her faith heals her from the life of suffering she had experienced.
In Mark 7, Jesus shows us that we must be intellectual in our words and thought to be a part of his plan. A story is told of a Greek woman who seeks healing for her daughter from a demon. Christ tests her by saying, "it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs," referring to the cultural barrier between the Jews and Gentiles. But knowing that Christ came for all, she replies with an intellectually sound statement, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And for this reply her daughter is healed.
Christ does not list off all of the attributes that he wants in his disciples, but he lets us know what he expects by showing us what has worked in the lives of his followers. He shows us what people had to do to bear fruit, and through these examples we can determine the attributes that must be present in our lives to be movement leaders for Jesus.
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