The Call to Follow Christ

Introduction

It was Twitter, now it’s called “X,” which is a popular social media site that thrives on short text posts for people to read. If you like what someone has to say you can choose to “follow” them and what they have to say will show up in your personalized feed. What was once a quaint tool to interact with your friends quickly became a means to influence the world. See, when you have thousands and thousands of followers, a whole lot of people are paying attention to what you have to say. And so the goal becomes to get more followers so more you have more influence. If you have more influence you have more power.

So X has quickly become a power-grab. People try to get more followers to get more power. And now there are all sorts of websites out there that will give you tips on how to get more followers, because more followers also means more money. Churches can sometimes fall into the same category. We want more members because we want to feel like we’re making a difference. Some churches want more members to have more power. Some are quite blunt to admit that churches want more members to get more money.

Today we are looking at the story where Jesus calls people to follow him. And we might think that he does this for similar reasons. I mean, he is a king establishing his kingdom. . .who will he choose? The most powerful and wealthy? The most influential? We can see Jesus does not practice gimmicks or manipulative tactics to convince people to join his cause. Nor does he choose the richest. Rather he forthrightly goes to a group average fishermen.

True hope is found in the good news of the kingdom Matt. 4:12-17

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 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.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

In this first story we see God’s orchestration of events as well as fulfillment of prophecy. I want you to think about the first two major events in v. 12: “arrest” and “withdrawal.” These are not positive events. But it is certainly God who can take something seemingly bad and work something positive out of it.

In Israel’s story we know they were rescued from slavery and went through the waters to the wilderness. After the wilderness they conquered the promised land. . .partly. Then after their paganization and constant sin, they were captured by a foreign nation and deported into foreign lands.

God’s orchestration of these deep, dark events brings us to the brink of one of the greatest chasms of theological speculation in history. How can God be in control of seemingly harmful or terrible events?

When it comes to human evil the answer is quite straightforward: God has given mankind a will to act of his own accord. When I think of the free will, I don’t think it’s best to think of it floating in space not attached to anything, because certainly it is. Our wills aren’t just random or arbitrary, rather our wills are attached to what we know and what we want.

John’s arrest is not positive, it’s not good. However, God permits this to take place—you could say he even ordains it—in order that what he has planned might take place. And what is this plan? The spreading of the gospel to the nations.

This tension is seen again in Isaiah 10:5-7

Isaiah 10:5–7 ESV

Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few;

Notice in Isaiah that Assyria is God’s rod— his instrument of divine wrath. And yet, he is now going to punish the tool he uses? This seems quite ridiculous does it not? Does a painter punish his paint brush? Does a writer punish his pen? Does a golfer punish his golf club? Well. . .Maybe that’s not the best example.

Nevertheless, God’s chosen instrument has a will of its own that acts against God’s moral will. This is why, for example, when Israel is give laws around holy war they are not supposed to profit in any way from it. And this is because they are acting as God’s instruments of judgment. God uses the Assyrians to act as an instrument against Israel, but the Assyrians desire and intention is not God’s desire and intention (Is. 10:7)

So, God is sovereign and in control and at the same time man is free to act according to his own desire. God’s sovereignty never limits man’s responsibility or culpability.

So while Matthew 4:12 opens with these negative events of arrest and withdrawal, God’s hands are all over it working it for good. You could say, “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Notice to where Jesus withdrew in v. 13, “Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Matthew is mentioning these places specifically to lead into his quotation of Isaiah 9. Furthermore, the language he uses at the beginning of v. 13 tells us that Jesus is taking up residence in this region.

Capernaum was a largely Jewish city on the sea of Galilee that had a population upwards of 10,000 at this time. It was not as centrally located to Antipas’s rule like Nazareth was, so Jesus’s risk of arrest for being associated with the baptizer was greatly diminished. This event is a new stage in Christ’s ministry.

The prophecy that Matthew cites is from Isaiah 9:1-2 where again, these specific geographical locations are announced. In the original context of Isaiah, the light represents hope after exile. Here in Matthew, that hope, that light is Christ. And not just Christ, but also his proclamation. Notice what Jesus proclaims in v. 17, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —this is the same message that John the Baptist was preaching earlier, so we can see continuity between their ministries.

Jesus’s message of good news— that there is no judgment upon repentance —is only made possible through Jesus’s perfect life, substitutionary sacrifice, and resurrection. Because of what Christ has done for us, we can be a part of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is wherever God’s rule is made evident. Matthew says “of heaven” as most people believe this is a way to avoid uttering the divine name. But it also makes the phrase inclusive of both God and Christ.

True hope is found in the good news of the kingdom.

Where do you place your hope? Is it placed in this world or in the kingdom that is at hand?

The way we budget out time and our money shows us where are hope is truly placed, right? Do we make a point to spend time with the King daily, or do we find ourselves too busy with the things of this world?

Hope has a way to motivate us. From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Lang, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I'll help pay the college tuition for every one of you." At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

Here’s something for you to look forward to: your kingdom is not of this world, it is a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The down payment has already be made for you in Christ’s sacrifice to be a citizen in this kingdom.

Think about how much hope can influence you: When you face temptation: what do you hope in? When you face discouragement: what grounds your hope? Hope is the light that shines out in the darkness. But not just an empty, vacuous hope; a specific hope in Christ’s kingdom.

But what is a kingdom without royal agents? The irony here is that these are not the royal agents are your average fishermen.

The Call to follow Christ is a Call to but Christ first Matt. 4:18-22

Matthew 4:18–22 ESV

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. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 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. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

It was common place during this time period to have rabbis who would have disciples. Usually the rabbi would already be known and a student would take initiative by beginning to follow behind him to become a disciple. These disciples are quite different. They may have some prior knowledge of Christ, but they certainly did not take any initiative. Jesus chose them, the disciples, not the other way around. John 15:16 “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.”

This is also different for a second reason: Jesus does not call these men primarily to learn, but to be active in doing something: fishing for men. In Jeremiah 16:16 ““Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. . .” “fishing” is used of people in a negative way (they will be caught for judgment). Here, fishing is positive, the people that are caught will be brought into the kingdom of God.

But I want you to notice these men’s response when they are called by Christ. If you like to mark in your Bible, circle the word “immediately” in v. 20 and v. 22. (“at once,” “straightway”). Now underline the word “left” in verse 20 and 22. Matthew, of course, is recounting this stories in such a way as to get a point across. I’ve summarized this as

The call to follow Christ is a call to pur Christ first.

In other words, there is a radical nature to following Christ. Deitrich Bonhoeffer says:

The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our  lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call.

Now, this is not a call to abandon your God-given responsibility. However, we should ask the question, “Is Christ first in such responsibilities?”

Jim Elliot was a famous American missionary in the 50’s who went to an unreached tribe in South America. Many of you know the story. They worked to build a relationship with this tribe giving gifts through an airplane. They established personal contact. But things took a turn for the worse and all the missionaries were slaughtered by the tribe who was gripped by fear. Was that sacrifice in vain? No. Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

The call to follow Christ is a call to put Christ first.

Is Christ first in your life? Or do you have misplaced priorities?

The Gospel of the Kingdom Turns the World Upside down Matt. 4:23-25

Matthew 4:23–25 ESV

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. 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. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Look back at verse 23 and underline the phrase “Gospel of the kingdom.” I remember years ago watching a lecture through a class on the gospels and the professor posing this question, “Does your gospel include the kingdom?” The question took me back for a second, but looking at the text more and more, the phrase is unmistakable. It says, “gospel of the kingdom”

Then look at the result of this proclamation: healing all sorts of diseases and frame spreading. The gospel of the kingdom turns the world upsidedown. Literally: it lifts up the lowly and humbles the mighty. It brings healing, wholeness, and true hope. The gospel of the kingdom is all-encompassing. It is not relegated to just one portion of our life.

But the devil and society wants us to relegate. It started with the secular and sacred divide. When I was a child growing up in a fundamentalist church I was told watching a specific popular cartoon would send me to hell. I was afraid. When I was a young teenager I rebelled against all such notions. I believed I could watch whatever TV show or movie I wanted because such practices were “secular.” Therefore, I can do whatever I please in the secular realm. Satan had me on such a lie!

But we hear the same lie all the time: “You shouldn’t cuss in church” “You shouldn’t lie in church.” “Oh, don’t drink around the preacher.” Listen: How about if something’s wrong, it doesn’t matter where you do it! You see, the gospel of the kingdom is all-encompassing. It effects every area of our lives, not just within the church walls! The gospel of the kingdom turns the world upsidedown!

You see it was the church that started schools; it was the church that started hospitals; it was the church that brought freedom to slaves; it was the church that started orphanages; it was the church that made defense of life; it was the church that brought democracy—separation of powers. Are we really going to let the pagans take all these things and run them into the ground?

Now I’m not proposing some sort of holy war. But it should be the Christian who is first in line to serve in the home, in the hospital, in the government, in the schoolhouse, in every good vocation and do it with excellence. Why? Because we’re better? No. Because we have a king who is Christ and an eternal kingdom we are seeking.

But what I am proposing is that we understand our faith, our religion if you will, is what motivates us inside the church walls to be encouraged to go outside these church walls and make a difference for Christ. We are called to build his kingdom.

So many of us have divided up our lives into “This is what I do for a living” “this is what I do at home” and “This is what I do at church.” But we have to understand that the kingdom encompasses all these things. The call to follow Christ does not just call part of you, but all of you; and gives you a hope that is above all hopes in a kingdom that is above all kingdoms.