Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 4:18-22.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).
We are continuing to track the life of Christ as faithfully
recorded in Matthew.
We have learned of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, his rearing
in Nazareth, his baptism by John, his temptation in the wilderness, and his preaching
in Capernaum and throughout Galilee. Now we read of how Christ drew men to
himself and called them to become his disciples.
A disciple is a student or a follower, something like an apprentice.
How did you learn a trade in the first century? You followed an expert around
and learned from him by watching his example and listening to his words. Many
trades and professions still work that way today (from plumbers to physicians).
Christ is the master teacher, and his disciples or followers
are his students. To become a believer is to enter the school of Christ and to
learn from him.
Matthew 4:18-22 describes the call extended to two sets of
brothers: Peter and Andrew, and James and John. They would be among the
original Twelve apostles and would be mightily used of God. There is value in
seeing the call of the men Christ sovereignly chose to be the pillars of his
church.
There are also general things we learn here about
discipleship that apply to any of us, who will never be apostles, about what it
means to follow Christ.
First, Christ also sees us and calls us to follow him. “If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow me” (Luke 9:23).
The first disciples were ordinary fishermen. Later when the
apostles preach Jesus in the temple, the authorities will take note of their boldness
marveling that they were “unlearned and ignorant men” that “had been with Jesus”
(Acts 4:13).
Second, the call to follow is urgent and demands thoughtful yet
immediate response: “And they straightway left their nets and followed
him” (Matt 4:20); “And they immediately left their ship and their father, and
followed him” (Matt 4:22).
Notice that they left their nets behind. Whatever our other
vocation, we have a new primary vocation and that is serving Christ. For some
it will be, in fact, a call to the vocational ministry, for all God’s people, however,
there will be a call to be part of the great work of evangelism, drawing in the
gospel net and seeing men and women come to Christ.
Notice that James and John left their father behind. Christ must
have first place above all our human relations, precious though they may be.
Christ calls us to count the costs (cf. Luke 14:25-33). Don’t start a tower you can’t finish. Don’t enter
a battle that you will later flee from. After counting the costs, however, one should also respond with
immediacy and with joy. Let us put our hand to the plow and never look back. In
the end, we will find that it will have all been worth it!
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
It has been my usual custom when teaching about early
Christianity and making a reference to non-Christians as “pagans” to take a
second to explain that this term comes from the Latin word paganus, meaning
a rustic or country-dweller and that this term had come to refer to
non-Christians after the faith spread to the cities and towns of the ancient
world, and the only ones who still practiced the old pre-Christian religions
were those who lived in the unreached countryside.
Recently, however, when reading Henry Chadwick’s The Early
Church (Pelican, 1967, Penguin reprint 1990) I came across this footnote on
the word “pagan” (p. 152):
“The term ‘paganus’ to describe a non-Christian first appears
in two Latin inscriptions of the early fourth century. It remained a
colloquialism, and did not penetrate Bible or liturgy. In secular usage it had
two meanings (1) ‘rustic’, and (2) ‘civilian’ as opposed to military. Orosius …
writing in 417 thought the Christian usage explained by the fact that the
countryside was still heathen after the towns had become Christian. But this
was not the situation as early as 300. Therefore the correct explanation is
probably that the ‘pagans’ were those who had not by baptism become soldiers of
Christ and so were non-combatants in the conflict with the evil powers. In the
East the Christian word for non-Christians was ‘Hellene’.”
JTR
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17).
Matthew begins his account of Christ’s public ministry by
placing the spotlight on the Lord Jesus as a preacher.
His ministry did not begin with the performing of miracles,
signs and wonders, though he had the power and authority to do such things.
It did not come with him leading a political movement. Thus,
the Lord Jesus will say to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John
18:36).
It did not come with him establishing an army. Later in
Matthew, when the Lord Jesus is arrested and Peter draws a sword to defend him,
Christ will say to Peter, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they
that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matt 26:52).
He did not come as a community organizer, trying to make
things just a little bit better for everyone.
He did not come as a social worker, as a psychologist, or as
a counselor, saying, “Let me help to soothe your troubled mind.”
He came as a preacher. He came to exercise the ministry of
the Word. To proclaim God’s Word has it had been revealed to man. What was the content of his preaching as Matthew
summarizes it?
His first word was, “Repent….”
Christ’s first word to men was not, “You are OK just the way you
are, and you need to just love yourself and live your best life now.” No, his
first word was that you need to change. You need a change of heart that leads
to a change of mind and life.
His second word was, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The rule
and reign of God is present now in me and my ministry. He will tell his
disciples in Luke 17:21, “the kingdom of God is within you.” Heaven has broken
into earth, awaiting the day when God will be all in all.
You will notice that the Christ’s preaching seems to be exactly
what John preached (cf. Matt 3:1-2). The difference is that John was the
opening act and Christ was the main event. John said he baptized with water
unto repentance, but Christ would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire
(3:11). Christ would tell men not only to repent of their sin, but also to
believe in him. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”
Christ still preaches to men through his Word and the ministry of
his servants, calling upon them to repent and to believe in him.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
