Were you ever on the B team? Unless you were a stellar athlete, you may have spent time on the bench, warm-up pants firmly on, waiting yet fearing for the coach to call your name.

Jesus’ disciples may be the B-est B team in history. They were the unlikeliest bunch to be charged with the most important mission of all time: telling others about Jesus. They included lowly fishermen, a radical, a skeptic, a traitor, and even a despised tax collector.

In contrast, the A team of the day, the Pharisees, were bright and shiny, oozing with self-righteous biblical knowledge. Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for them: “You hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25). Their outsides looked pristine, but their hearts were black with sin. They desperately needed a Savior. They just wouldn’t admit it.

Do you ever wonder why Jesus chose the B team over the A team as his messengers? Maybe because the B team lived and worked with people just like them: people who knew they were flawed and in need of a Savior. Perhaps their hurting hearts were healed by the gospel. Thanks to the B team, the message of Jesus spread like wildfire.

It’s okay if you are on the B team. You don’t need social standing or money to love and serve the people around you. You can simply share Jesus’ message of salvation right where you have been placed.