Follow Me
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Please take your Bibles and open with me to Matthew 4. We will be finishing chapter 4 today. I found this passage of Scripture to be convicting especially given our times. I was reminded of a lighthouse and a team of rescuers.
This lighthouse was lacking in beauty and comfort. Yet, the lighthouse did its job in housing rescue teams and a beckon of light. Rescue teams would lodge there as they were on call to go out and rescue ships adrift at sea. However, because the lighthouse had become so rundown, a few of the rescue team members decided to fix up the lighthouse. They made it look nice on the inside and comfortable. Nothing brought about discomfort. In doing so, more people began to join the rescue team; however, the rescue efforts decreased. They began to neglect to leave the comfort of the lighthouse and rescue ships and people. They had nice lighthouse, but they neglected their sole purpose to save lives.
I find that this is telling of many churches today. Many churches have worried so much about having a nice building, feel good sermons, and a comfortable social environment that they have neglected the task of soul-winning.
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
pray.
Main idea: The true disciple of Jesus Christ follows Jesus no matter the cost.
We have been given the commission to make disciples. In that, we must understand what is a disciple. We will evaluate three aspects of a disciples of Jesus Christ.
Disciples acknowledge their greatest need while others reject it.
Disciples acknowledge their greatest need while others reject it.
As we look at this passage of Scripture, we see that Jesus, the Great light, has appeared. He has appeared with purpose.
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
Jesus has been baptized by the John the Baptist earlier in this chapter. Now, John the Baptist has been arrested, and Jesus goes to Galilee. In fact, the text says withdrew which indicates this was probably done in order to protect Himself. John was gaining prominence as he proclaimed Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadduccees were hearing John proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah while he was calling for the Pharisees and Sadduccees to repent. This push against the religious elite came at a cost which was imprisonment for John. Knowing that it is not the time for Jesus to be put to death, Jesus withdraws to the region of Galilee.
Specifically, Jesus would go to Capernaum in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfill what was written in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.
13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
Matthew 4:16 (ESV)
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
As Jesus goes to the land of Galilee, He is going to be among the Gentiles. Isaiah had prophesied in the Old Testament that this is the region in which the Messiah would begin His ministry in Isaiah 9:1-2. Now, Jesus arrives and that is exactly what is taking place in accordance with God’s divine providence.
This breaks the mold of what the Jewish religious leaders would think of the Messiah. That thought that the Messiah would come and be an earthly king establishing an earthly rule for themselves, the Jews. However, Jesus arrives in Matthew 4 and He is going to the land of the Gentiles to begin His ministry and institution of His kingdom. Notice how the text describes the land and people. It is a people dwelling in darkness, dwelling in the region and shadow of death. The Gentiles were those that were outside of the covenant community. In essence, they were not Jews or God’s chosen people. Because of that, the Jewish people considered them to be people dwelling in darkness because they were outside of God’s covenant community. They were deemed unworthy of God.
Though they were a people outside of the covenant community, they had the same need that the Jews did. They needed Jesus for salvation from sin. Jesus arrives and goes to them. That is why the text says that a great light has dawned on them. Jesus is the great light. He is the light of the world that came to save both Jew and Gentile. He is the Sovereign King that has come to save His people.
Notice the message of Jesus.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus goes to the Gentile region and preaches. This is vital. Preaching was effective and essential for Jesus. Preaching is effective and essential for the church today. Likewise, Jesus preaches calling people to repent or turn from their sin. The common factor between both Jew and Gentile is sin. Sin is a problem that impacts all of humanity. We all sinned in Adam and sin spread to all mankind.
Please understand, sin is not just a sickness. Sin is not a minor problem. Sin is a grave problem that has resulted in us being born spiritually dead in need of rebirth in Jesus.
John MacArthur describes sin in comparison to the disease of leprosy:
“The disease of sin has a similar effect (as leprosy). It desensitizes man’s spiritual and moral nature, destroying even the limited natural protection he has against evil, snuffing out the residual light that remains after the Fall.”
Jesus knew that sin was the issue. That is why He came to save sinners. He preaches that the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom was coming upon His death on the cross and resurrection. He was calling for the people to repent of their sin in order to be saved from the wrath for sin. This is turning away or fleeing sin and running to the righteousness of Jesus.
Application: The disciple acknowledges that his or her greatest need is forgiveness of sin. We are totally depraved meaning that apart from Jesus Christ we can do nothing of spiritual good. Even the good deeds that we do without faith in Jesus are tainted by sin. We can do nothing to save ourselves. No amount of service, church attendance, money, social work, social status, or church work can save us from our sin. We need the pure grace of God. Many will reject the truth of Scripture that we are totally depraved apart from Christ. Some will advocate that humanity is not that bad. They will say that people are generally good. However, that is contrary to Scripture. Scripture teaches:
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Charles Spurgeon has written of the neglect of understanding that man is totally depraved in sin writing:
“The withholding of the doctrine of the total depravity of man has worked serious harm in many who have listened to a certain kind of preaching. These people do not get a true healing because they do not know the disease under which they are suffering. They are never truly clothed because nothing is done to strip them.”
Humanity is sinful. Out of our heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Likewise, we are spiritually dead in sin and because of our sin we are paid with death. Sin is serious and all of humanity is totally depraved as the Bible teaches. However, the disciple acknowledges that Jesus is the true light that has dawned in order to save sinners from their greatest need. Many will reject this truth of man’s depravity, but the disciple acknowledges his sin before God and his need for salvation.
Disciples act upon the call of Jesus.
Disciples act upon the call of Jesus.
We saw that Jesus was preaching repentance as man’s greatest need is forgiveness of sin. Now, we see that Jesus chooses His disciples.
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
As mentioned previously, one would think that Jesus would come as the Messiah and be with the Pharisees and Sadduccees because they were the Jewish religious leaders. However, Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles. Now, Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee and sees two brothers that are fishermen. As He sees them, Jesus knows them and the plan that He has for them.
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus calls out to these two fishermen brothers with a command. He tells them to follow Him. It was typical in the first century of rabbis to have disciples that would learn from them. However, as Jesus comes, He goes to the bank of the seas to call His disciples. Jesus gives them a command to follow Him and a promise. He will make them fishers of men. They cannot make themselves fishers of men. Jesus will work in their lives teaching them, discipling them, and giving them the power through the Holy Spirit to take the Gospel taught to them to the nations, mankind.
Jesus chooses them and promises to use them.
Notice their response,
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Simon and Andrew were eager and ready to follow Jesus. Jesus called and they responded with faith.
However, Jesus did not only call Simon and Andrew. He also called James and John.
21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
As Jesus calls these men, we know that they were fishermen. They had a trade that brought in income for themselves and their families. Because these were fishermen, we know that they were not counted among the social elites nor among the religious elites. They were men of a craft seeking to earn an income to provide. These are not men that one would assume Jesus the Messiah King would call as His disciples. However, these are exactly the men He did call. He chose them by His grace.
Not only did He choose them, they had responsibility to obediently follow Him and they did. They immediately dropped their nets and followed Jesus. They heard the call and followed the Messiah. They did not ensure that their finances were in order. They did not store up fish. They did not clean themselves up before going. They immediately dropped what they were doing and followed.
That is a true disciple. Upon hearing the choosing call of God, they denied themselves by dropping their tasks and following Jesus.
Jesus gives instruction on what it means to be a disciple.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The call of the disciple of Jesus Christ is to deny himself. This means that we deny our righteousness knowing that we are unrighteous and our greatest need is salvation from our sin. We are totally depraved needing salvation from our spiritually dead state.
Secondly, the disciple must take up his cross and follow Jesus. This means that the disciple considers the cost. Knowing the persecution and ridicule that will come they are ready to be obedient anyway.
Jesus chooses and the disciples respond appropriately. We know that Jesus chose them because He tells them in John 15:16
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
As Jesus chose the disciples, He is still choosing new disciples to follow Him in salvation. This is why the Great Commission is so important. Jesus chose the disciples who were rejects ultimately.
We are much the same. Because of our sin-fallen nature as we saw previously, we are considered rejects. Yet, Jesus through the proclamation of the Gospel sends out His effectual call so that those who will repent and believe will do so resulting in their salvation.
God chooses those that the world rejects to be used for His glory.
You may say, are you saying that God chooses those who will be saved?
Yes. That is what the Bible says and that is what we see in Matthew 4. Also, we do see man’s responsibility. We saw the disciple’s called by Jesus to follow Him. Likewise, we saw the disciples had a responsibility to respond to that call. They responded with obedience.
God sovereignly calls and man has the responsibility to respond to God’s call. These are theological truths that must be held in right tension just as the Bible hold them.
Application: Understand that God chooses us purely by His grace. This is not something that we should shy away from. This is not a doctrine that we should look upon with scorn or scowls on our faces. We have idealized man to much. We have come to think so highly of man to the point of thinking that salvation was made possible because God needs us. God does not need us.
David Platt writes:
“We have such a dangerous tendency to reduce Jesus to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging for you and me to accept Him into our lives. As if Jesus needs to be accepted by us! Jesus doesn’t need our acceptance; He is infinitely worthy of all glory in the whole universe, and He doesn’t need us at all. We need Him.”
There is nothing within us that would cause God to desire us. We are sinners in need of divine wrath for our sins. God is holy and just to condemn us. Yet, in His grace, He chooses to call us to salvation in His Son Jesus Christ. Such grace is unmerited and unearned. This grace beckons us to look to God our Father with worship at His grace poured out on us as wicked sinners. We are now called to salvation, and we have responsibility to respond in faith or rejection. Which one have your responded with today?
Disciples announce the One who saved them.
Disciples announce the One who saved them.
To bolster Jesus’s preaching, He also did miraculous healings of the sick and casting out demons.
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
In preaching and healing, Jesus’s name was spreading like a wild fire throughout the region. He would teach with authority that the scribes and Pharisees did not have. He was also proclaiming the kingdom of God which was His kingdom that was being established. To affirm His kingdom and preaching, He would heal the sick, cast out demons, and draw people to Himself. Just as Jesus was going about with the Gospel, so should we be going about with the Gospel from place to place making Christ known. As Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This too should be our message.
Application and Invitation: We are to go out and share the grace of God that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In going out, we go to make more disciples. We go to call others to follow Jesus. Disciples will respond to the call and those that are not disciples will reject. Our responsibility is to go.
One commentator notes (John MacArthur): “Some researchers estimate that as many as 95% of all Christians have never led another person to Jesus Christ.”
What a sad reality. Knowing how we were beforehand in our sin. Knowing that God has graciously chosen us to follow Him. We are still disobedient to the Great Commission to make disciples. We must take the Gospel to those around us. This is a wake up call to us as The Church at River Mills. Will we be faithful to take the Gospel? Or, will we simply be numbered among the 95% who never share their faith in Jesus Christ? What a sad statistic.
How can we share the Gospel?
As you are working with a patient at work, show them the grace and love of Christ as you care for them as an example of your Christian faith. Cause them to inquire about your faith and share the Gospel.
As you are on the factory floor, work putting in such effort that people notice. When they ask why you work so hard explain that you work hard for the glory of Jesus Christ and share of His saving work on the cross of Calvary.
As you go to the grocery store, be patient with others. At the restaurant, show kindness to the waiter or waitress and extend hospitality to them instead of hostility.
Look for simple ways to extend a Gospel witness and be ready to share your faith when inquired about. That being said, in other moments, step out and share the Gospel with someone just because.
The Church at River Mills must never be like the lighthouse mentioned in the introduction. Our commission from Christ is to make disciples. With that commission may we never neglect to carryout our mission of calling people to salvation in Jesus Christ. We cannot become so cozy in our sanctuary that we never go out from it to proclaim Jesus. Sharing the Gospel will require time, energy, and trials. However, it is our calling.
Sharing the Gospel does come at a cost. It cost the disciples their lives. However, Jesus said that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. He has all of our lives. Now, we proclaim Him.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Realize, then, that to acquire soul-winning power, you will have to go through fire and water, through doubt and despair, through mental torment and soul distress.”
Sharing the Gospel is not easy. We were never promised that it would be. Soul-winning is essential. If you have repented and believed in Jesus Christ, you were chosen by Jesus Christ to be His follower. Just as the disciples were chosen, so were you. Because of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we are now given the Great Commission to make Him known.
10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Are we willing to endure everything for the sake of sharing the Gospel in order that others would come to faith in Jesus Christ?
Oftentimes, it seems like we are willing to do everything to ensure we are comfortable and the church remains a social club.
We are no social club. We are The Church at River Mills. We exist For Christ’s Glory. The way in which we glorify Jesus Christ is through obedience to His Word and the proclamation of His Gospel. Is your heart-breaking for those that are without Jesus? Or, is your heart longing and looking for excuses to not share the Gospel? Do you deem that you are not educated enough? Or that you do not know the Bible good enough? Understand this, the disciples did not either. Yet, Jesus called the uneducated to become educated in the Word and proclaim the Gospel.
Charles Spurgeon has also stated, “It is not our way of putting the Gospel, or even our method of illustrating it, that wins souls, but the Gospel itself does the work in the hands of the Holy Spirit.”
We are not the one’s that convert souls. God is. We are to be faithfully sharing the Gospel of Jesus’s death on the cross, burial, and resurrection. God does all the rest in drawing the sinner by the Holy Spirit to repent and believe in Jesus’s finished work all for God’s glory.
We simply call people to understand their hopeless estate apart from Jesus Christ. They are totally depraved and dead in their sin in need of salvation. We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We need rescue. Jesus came and lived the holy and perfect life that we cannot. He never once sinned. In His perfection, He was hated and despised by the world. He was hung upon a cross where His perfect blood was spilled. As He hung there He took our sins upon Himself and bore God’s wrath for us. He was buried in a borrow tomb, yet He rose in victory after Three days to save sinners. He is ascended back to heaven and is at the right hand of God the Father.
Today, you can repent, turning from your sins, and place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Christian, today is the day that we reaffirm our commitment to share the Gospel in order to make more disciples of Jesus Christ.
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