In Jesus' time students who were the best of the best would apply to a well known rabbi to become one of that rabbi's talmidim (desciples). A better translation of Tamidim could be APPRENTICE. The rabbi chose those who he believed could become like him - to do what he did to become his talmidim and apprentice under him. The goal of a talmidim wasn't to know what the rabbi knew, but to become just like him. When a student desired to become a rabbi's talmidim he desired to take the rabbi's yoke, his way of teaching and doing, upon himself, to learn to do what the rabbi did. Those who were not able to fulfill this difficult task were politly told, "You don't have what it takes. Go home, learn the family business, have lots of children and pray that they become rabbis." To the other he would say, "Come follow me." The student would leave every aspect of his life behind and follow the rabbi.
 

At the acge of 30, when when a rabbi usually began public teaching we learn that Jesus was walking along the sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simpon called Peter and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the lake - they were fishermen. They were fishermen because they probably didn't make the cut, they weren't considered good enough to by their former rabbi. Jesus calls the "not-good enoughs." As the story goes, "at once they left their nets and followed Him."

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In this context can you imagine what it would have been like to have a rabbi say, "come follow  me"? Jesus took some boys who didn't make the cut and changed the course of world history.