The Purpose of the People of God - 4:18-22
The Purpose of the People of God - Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:12
0 ratings
· 24 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
The Purpose of the People of God
The Purpose of the People of God
Thank you for your prayers:
103 High Schoolers heard the gospel, heard that they are secure in that.
They all learned John 14:6 to the Darth Vader Theme
Over half of them memorized John 6:47
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”
They heard that though God will meet you where you are, He doesn’t desire for you to stay there. He desires for you to become His disciple.
This brings us to our text for today.
Mt 4.18-22
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was 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 And 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 And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Let’s Pray
As you probably detected today, we get two parallel stories, both the calling of two brothers to discipleship. Peter and Andrew and James and John. We’re going to look at these together.
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Last time we looked at the Sea of Galilee, a region roughly the size of Washington DC. Jesus is in Capernaum, formally beginning His ministry.
Here he encounters two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew.
We are probably familiar with Peter, we will see more of his story throughout this gospel. However, we probably don’t know much about Andrew.
He only shows up in 12 verses of Scripture, most of which are the calling of himself and Peter or a list of the disciples. He doesn’t have a “prominent” role in the story.
Disciple of John the Baptist (More Later)
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Thank the Lord for the faith of Andrew!
Some of you might pick up that this seems like a contradicting story, it is not, and we will get to that in a little bit.
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
The text tells us that they were fisherman. This is their career. Not a pastime.
Fishing was a lucrative industry in the area as much of the surrounding areas commerce was based upon it.
Bethsaida - House of Fishing
Magdala (Gk: Taricheae) - Where fish are salted
If you’ve heard that Peter was wealthy, this cultural perspective is where that comes from.
In the region, fisherman were considered artisans or craftsmen. This is not a shameful nor poor profession in the region of Galilee
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.
James and John
This time we get the mention of their father.
They are often referenced as the sons of Zebedee and eventually Jesus calls them the sons of Thunder, not necessarily a compliment.
Similarly to Peter and Andrew, we’re probably more familiar with John as he is the author of the gospel of John, 1, 2, & 3 John, and Revelation. Of note, this is not the James that I believe wrote the book of James.
Despite this, John is almost always listed as the brother of James. As such many believe James to be older.
Regardless, the combination of James, John, and Peter are the triad that seem to always be with Jesus.
James, though less known because he didn’t author Scripture, is martyred for the church.
1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them. 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
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;
Similarly to 4.18, Matthew makes special mention of their profession. They are “mending their nets.”
Once again, this is not a hobby, this is not a part time thing, this is full time.
Luke tells us that James and John are “partners” with Simon Peter:
10 and James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon, were also likewise amazed. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”
It is worth noting, that the Greek word for “partner” comes from the same root from which we get our word κοινονια which literally means “participation.” We often translate this as “fellowship.”
This should speak to the level of involvement that is required for Biblical Fellowship, it is not a holy huddle, it is not just hanging out, it is a deep level of participation.
Please don’t cheapen the partnership that God has invited us into in Him!
I digress. James and John, like Simon Peter and Andrew, are involved in a respectable and lucrative form of work.
19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
“and He says to them”
What is Jesus proposing here?
Jesus isn’t just saying follow me, He is proposing to them a career change. This isn’t part time, this is full time.
Jesus is proposing a completely different direction for Peter and Andrew!
What is this fishers of men? For now, we’re going to say that it is a hook. We are going to get that explained later in Matthew.
21 and He called them.
In the second part of 4.21 we get the shorter but parallel calling of Jesus. Given their response which we will see in a minute, and the parallel of what has occurred in 4.19, we can deduce that this is no less of a call than what was given to Peter and Andrew.
This is a radical change.
Let’s look at the responses:
20 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Their response is immediate.
This is a tall order.
22 And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Similarly, James and John do the same thing.
An immediate response to do what Jesus has commanded.
Matthew seems to emphasize the immediacy of their response. This is important.
This is difficult.
I will confess this had made me feel inadequate at times.
Their response was immediate. What is mine like?
I’ve often thought upon believing that Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John all just were immediately ready. Wow!
However today, I do not believe that is the case.
A Principle of Teaching:
Have exegetical humility. Say as much as you can say without being wrong. - Steve Runge
One of the places this comes out, is in the chronological order of Jesus’ ministry. I tend to defer to Luke on the marking of the order, but Luke doesn’t include every story about Jesus nor everything Jesus said. There’s also the likely probability that Jesus said many of His sermons more than once.
We always want to have exegetical humility. As such, we want to remember that Matthew is ordered thematically, not chronologically.
My proposition:
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began to preach and say
This is indicative not of the first time Jesus taught, but of a shift in Jesus’ message.
In Mt 4.17, Jesus has just begun preaching and teaching. Though not recorded in Matthew, It is surmised that Jesus was teaching as a Rabbi before He called them to follow Him.
Earlier we referenced Andrew and his telling Peter about Jesus.
35 On the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37 And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus. 38 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. It was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
That whole day?! What do you think they talked about?
10th Hour? 10:00AM (Roman) or 4:00PM (Jewish)
If we go to Luke’s orderly account, we find Jesus as a child “teaching” by asking and answering questions:
46 And it happened that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.
Later, Jesus after being tempted, teaches in the Synagogue regarding the fulfillment of Isa 61
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written,
AS WAS HIS CUSTOM - this is not a new practice
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Following this, we get more:
31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
Even still:
38 Then He stood up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. 39 And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she stood up and began waiting on them.
In Matthew this isn’t recorded until chapter 8!
It is not until Luke chapter 5 that Jesus calls the first disciples in Luke
10 and James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon, were also likewise amazed. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When Matthew says that Jesus “began to proclaim” the emphasis is on the message, not Jesus starting to preach. He has been preaching already, but now He preaches “Repent!, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
20 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
As I mentioned earlier, this clearly articulates the immediacy of their response, but this is not the first time they have seen or heard Jesus.
Remember, the Jews are looking for the Messiah. They are not unfamiliar with this concept.
Furthermore, Andrew was a disciple of John. What was John’s purpose? To prepare the way for Jesus! Don’t you think Andrew knew this?
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).
Of course he did!
Andrew was well prepared to understand who Jesus was claiming to be, who he claims Jesus to be!
Jesus had been teaching in the Synagogues and on the Sabbath. JtB had been teaching about Jesus. Jesus had healed Simon Peter’s mother in law. He had performed miracles of them catching fish. This is not these brothers first encounter with Jesus!
In fact, I think they already know who Jesus is, the Messiah! This is Jesus’ invitation to them to go deeper, to be His disciples!
So since we recognize that this is not chronological, Matthew has placed these events out of order to emphasize his thematic purposes, we need to ask the question,
Why does Matthew put this here?
Gospel of Matthew:
1:1-17 - Jesus is the Expected Jewish Messiah
1:18-25 - Jesus is the Son of God
2:1-12 - Gentiles (Magi) Recognize Jesus as King
2:13-23 - Redemption (Second Exodus) has come
3:1-6 - Change your why! The Kingdom is coming!
3:7-12 - The Sons of Abraham?!
3:13-17 - The coming King brings “justice” for the nations
4:1-11 - All Authority belongs to Jesus
4:12-17 - Salvation is for the nations
4:18-22 - ??
4.23-25 - ??
4:23-25 - The Gospel of the Kingdom goes beyond Israel
Thematic Progression
Remember that 1-4 are the introduction. What happens in a good introduction? All of the major thematic elements are brought to the front. In essence, you get the short version, it doesn’t answer all of the questions, but it certainly tells you what the point is.
Who remembers the point of the Gospel of Matthew?
Discipleship
18 And having approached, Jesus spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on the earth.
19 Therefore, having gone, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all I have commanded you. 20 And behold I am with you all the days until the completion of the age.
4:1-11 - All Authority belongs to Jesus (Mt 28:18)
4:12-17 - Salvation is for the nations (Mt 28:19-20)
4:18-22 - The First Disciples (Who will carry the message?)
4:23-25 - The Gospel of the Kingdom goes beyond Israel (The Result)
Then in the Sermon on the Mount (5-7), Jesus defines discipleship.
So where does this leave us today?
Takeaways:
Faithfulness and Prominence are not the same
Look at Andrew and James
Discipleship Requires Change
In the case of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, everything changed. I’m not saying you have to change your career and be a pastor. That’s not what the Scriptures are teaching us. But what Scripture does show us, is that being a disciple takes a high commitment and it costs your time.
It is supposed to be the main thing in the life of the believer!
How will you respond?
The invitation to be Jesus’ disciple is open. You can start today. If you’ve believed in Jesus for eternal life, then you have been called to follow Him, just like Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
How will you respond?
Let’s Pray!
Benediction Scripture:
19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
