Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” Matthew 4:20

.

.

REVIEW – After hearing that John had been arrested by Herod, Jesus left Judea and returned to the area of Galilee, which fulfilled two prophecies in Isaiah. Jesus WAS that “great Light” that “had begun shining” and “had dawned in a region and shadow of death.” There, Jesus began His ministry, preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

.

.

Matthew 4:18-20.

Jesus was now living in Capernaum, at the Sea of Galilee. It was time to begin calling and choosing the men who would follow Him, learn from Him, and one day preach the Gospel of His life, death, and resurrection to the world.

It began on a normal, sunny workday down at the docks. As Jesus walked by the Sea, He saw two brothers casting their nets into the water, trying to catch fish – Simon Peter and Andrew. These were men chosen from before the foundation of the world to be among the first ambassadors for the Messiah.

Jesus raised an arm in greeting and called, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of MEN.”

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Wow.

.

.

Matthew 4:21-22.

Going a bit farther, Jesus saw two more brothers, the sons of Zebedee, whom He would later name “the sons of thunder” for their hot tempers and demands for justice. James and John were mending some of their nets along with their father – a very boring but needful job. Again Jesus hailed them with the same invitation.

And immediately THEY left their boat and their father and followed Him. Jesus now had four fishermen whom He would train over the next three years to “catch” and bring men into His kingdom.

.

.

Did you wonder with me how these men, busy with the tasks they had done for years to support their families, could just get up, walk away from it all, and follow Jesus?

What did Zebedee think? (Hey! Where are you going? What about these nets!) And Andrew and Peter’s hired hands, did they simply carry on without the two brothers? Did they all wonder WHO in the world was this guy, who, like a Pied Piper, had called and evoked such immediate responses?

Let’s take a step back to the reading of John’s gospel. These men had encountered Jesus before. Andrew, and perhaps Peter, were followers of John the Baptist. They left John to follow Jesus for a time, then returned to Capernaum. Now Jesus was calling them to long-term discipleship.

.

.

(NOTE: This is certainly a clear lesson for me. Have I left all to follow Jesus? No, I’m not a missionary or an evangelist to leave my home and husband and travel the country or the world. But have I left the things in MY life that would keep me from wholehearted service and obedience to my Lord?

Busyness, crafts & hobbies, lunches and ‘coffee’ meetings, and adult learning or exercise classes at the YMCA; do these come first? Do I let gardening or reading that novel keep me from time in His Word and prayer, seeking His will for my life? Oh, that I would put Jesus on the throne of my life, and “immediately leave all to follow Him.”)