The Most Important Conversations: Matthew 4:18-22
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Intro
Read Matthew 4:18-22
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.
A seemingly one way conversation
Read Matthew 4:18-19
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.”
Lets put some context around this
Read Luke 5:1-11
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Ok so lets break this down
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
There is so much more to the conversation than what we see in Matthew and Mark
Jesus doesnt just start with come and follow me
Instead he shows them who he is
Jesus gets into the boat and teaches the crowd
I think sometimes we miss the context here because the other gospels go quickly through this story
But we can not miss the fact that Jesus was being followed by a crowd
Sometime we paint a picture of solo Jesus walking by these guys and he says follow me and they just leave everything
We marvel at these mens faith
And we say oh man we must have that faith
Jesus calls and we leave everything to follow him
But this passage in Luke makes it a bit clearer for us
Jesus was followed by the crowd
He gets into simons boat
Then he TAUGHT
What did he teach
Mark 1:14–15 “14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””
Jesus teaches the crowds and when he is done he moves his focus onto the ones he plans to call
and he gives them a test
A test of obedience
Read Luke 5:4-7
4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
Whe n he finished teaching the conversation became intimate with simon
He calls simon to go out after cleaning his nets and catching nothing to go out again
Simons response master we have worked got nothing
Its not even the right time now
But after hearing this teacher teach maybe he has something here
Simon obeys
Buat at your word I will do as you have commanded
This is more like our own stories
We didnt just see jesus walking on a shore then he says follow me and we came
Instead we heard what Jesus taught first
Our hearts were stirred
Then we heard the call to trust and we responded
Trusting Jesus has it privileges
Peter responds in obedience and the pull up a harvest so bountiful it almost sinks his ship
for a second time in this conversation jesus made it clear who he is
there is no actual reason for why they would have caught such a bounty
Except for there is more to this man than meets the eye
At face value Jesus is just a man
But after hearing his teaching and see his actions he was more than just a man
The response to Jesus’s call
Read Luke 5:8-11
8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Simon declares his sinfulness
why???
Look at verse 9
For all were astonished at he catch
This miracle has gotten everyones attention
It was clear Jesus was something more than a man
More than a teacher
More than rabbi
He was special
and his call will be effective
Do not be afraid from now on you will be catching men
Follow me
Do not be afraid
Your lives will be now oriented as mine is to serving others
I will help you catch men in the net that saves for eternity
Where you through this new net of the good news of Jesu Christ
Men will be saved by it
Caught up in it just as you are now
After the effective call then these men follow
Again it was not a blind leap
the context matters
This is the most important conversation we can have
When we are introduced to Jesus
and we hear his call
Will we follow?????
What did Jesus promise Simon Peter and Andrew when he called them?
How does the context of Jesus teaching the crowds add depth to the story of his calling the disciples?
What miracle did Jesus perform that astonished Simon Peter, leading to his recognition of Jesus’ authority?
What was the significance of Jesus saying 'Do not be afraid' to Simon Peter?
Why do you think Simon Peter described himself as a 'sinful man' in the presence of Jesus?
What does the phrase 'catching men' suggest about the mission Jesus was calling the disciples into?
