Jesus Didn’t Pick Perfect People; He Chose the Messy Ones on Purpose

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If you flip through the Gospels, you’ll notice something Jesus never said: “Come back when you’ve got your act cleaned up.”

He didn’t walk the shoreline of Galilee hunting for the holiest, most polished citizens.

He went after fishermen who smelled of dead fish, tax collectors with sticky fingers, zealots with hot tempers, and women pushed to the margins.

The truth is, Jesus never asked for perfect people — He picked messy ones on purpose.

Jesus’ Track Record with Imperfect People

When Jesus called Peter, James, and John, they were ordinary laborers. Nothing holy about cleaning nets all night (Luke 5:1–11). Matthew, the tax collector, was a social outcast and viewed as a sell-out to Rome (Matthew 9:9–13). Mary Magdalene carried deep wounds, and rumors trailed her name (Luke 8:2).

If you were forming a movement to change the world, would you choose these people? Yet Jesus did. He built His kingdom out of cracked stones, not polished marble.

As Paul later wrote, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise… the weak things… to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Messiness Is Not a Disqualification

Some of us carry the quiet ache of believing we’ll never measure up. We think, if I could just be more faithful, more disciplined, more holy, then maybe God would use me. But Jesus flips that script.

Nadia Bolz-Weber once said, “Never once did Jesus scan the room for the best example of holy living and send that person out to tell others about him. He always sent stumblers and sinners.”

That’s the point: our messiness isn’t a barrier — it’s the very space where grace shines brightest.

Why Did Jesus Do It This Way?

Because perfection was never the requirement. Love was.

When the Pharisees grumbled about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, He said plainly: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12).

Brian Zahnd puts it like this: “Jesus doesn’t begin with the demand for perfection. He begins with the offer of mercy.”

Jesus called broken people because broken people know they need help. They’re not pretending to have it all together. And when they encounter grace, it’s not theory — it’s lifeblood.

What About Us?

So where does that leave you and me?

It means your doubts don’t disqualify you. Your anger doesn’t exclude you. Your rough edges don’t make you unusable.

Think about Peter: he denied even knowing Jesus three times. Yet after the resurrection, Jesus didn’t discard him. He restored him (John 21:15–19). The story of the early church was carried on the back of a man who failed publicly.

Rachel Held Evans once wrote, “The gospel doesn’t need a coalition devoted to keeping the wrong people out. It needs a family of sinners, saved by grace, committed to tearing down walls and throwing open doors.”

That’s the kind of community Jesus started with, and that’s the one we’re still invited into.

The Power of Grace in the Mess

Now hear me on this: Grace isn’t a ticket to stay stuck. It’s fuel to grow. But growth doesn’t erase the fact that Jesus loved us first, while we were still messy.

Romans 5:8 reminds us, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Notice Paul doesn’t say “after we cleaned up” or “once we proved ourselves.” Grace met us in the dirt.

And grace still does.

Living Like This Matters

Here’s the challenge: if Jesus picked the messy ones, maybe we need to stop trying to curate our image of perfection and start telling the truth about who we are.

Because honesty breeds connection. Vulnerability breeds compassion. And the world doesn’t need more perfect Christians — it needs more honest ones.

Now, somebody might be saying, “But what about the verse that says, “Be perfect as I am perfect '?” I’m glad you asked. Let me explain:

If you look at the verses right before Matthew 5:48, Jesus is talking about love for enemies.

He says God makes the sun rise on both the good and the evil, and sends rain on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). Then He pushes His disciples beyond tribal, transactional love.

So when He says, “Be perfect, as your Father is perfect,” He’s calling them to grow up into God’s kind of love — complete, impartial, generous love.

Barbara Brown Taylor once said, “Jesus hung out with all the wrong people. So if you’re trying to avoid the wrong people, you’re going to miss him.”

That’ll preach.

Take This with You

Jesus never asked for perfect people. He asked for willing people. He called the messy, the doubting, the overlooked, and the broken — and He still does.

So the next time you catch yourself thinking, I’m not good enough for God to use me, remember this: your story is exactly the kind of story Jesus builds His kingdom on.

Not the polished one. Not the Instagram-ready one. The real one.

And that’s very good news.

© Gary L Ellis