I am always
amazed at how Jesus does it. You know what I mean. He will use the foolish of this world to
confound the wise. The simplest of all men can sometimes be the wisest of all
men. This is one of the greatest
treasuries of the Gospel to me. Not only does He want to save us but He wants
to use us for His glory.
Matthew 4:18 ( ESV )
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.
- Walking-Calmly and casually
during the course of His day Jesus would approach these men.
- Two brothers-Jesus would
use families in his ministry. This is also cited in Mk. 1:16-20 He had met them earlier near Bethbara
where Andrew had been a disciple of John. John in turn would direct him
towards Jesus. Jn. 1:35-42 Now Jesus calls
them for the long haul.
- Fishermen-Just common men
and they were not among the religious elite. There was nothing lowly per
se about the work but it was something that many men were doing. I love it
that Jesus will meet us wherever we are.
Matthew 4:19-20 ( ESV )
- Follow-So simple but so
complex. These men would start out on a short walk but it would become a
journey that would become their whole life. Following Him as Christ Little
ones is the greatest joy in all of the world. I want to follow in His
steps and become like Him.
- Fishers of men-He related
to them on their terms and now they would fish for men.
- Immediately-What obedience
as without one moment of hesitation they left it all for Him.
Matthew 4:21-22 ( ESV )
21And 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/John-Once again,
Brothers who are now called by Jesus to follow. Mk.
1:20 Left all including their Father and his Hired servants. (They
may have been wealthier then Peter and Andrew.) This James would also be
the first of the Apostles martyred in Acts 12:2.
- Immediately-This would be
the response of the apostles when He called them. (Just like Matthew the
tax collector who wrote this gospel. They forsook their occupations, family
and immediately obeyed.) Mark tells us they left their dad with his hired
servants.
Matthew 4:23-25 ( ESV )
23And 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.
24So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all
the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by
demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.
25And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and
from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
- Galilee-Reaching the
forgotten ones of Israel.
- Teaching-We should first
of all teach Christ to all.
- Synagogues-Houses of
worship that He went into.
- Proclaiming-Preaching,
like a herald or a town crier. His urgency that we talked about earlier is
now being proclaimed to all.
- Gospel-Lit. The GOOD NEWS.
Though we are all sinners and deserving of Hell we can live in light of the
Good news which is that Christ Jesus Died and rose again for me.
- Healing-He was concerned about
the physical needs of man as well.
- Every affliction-What is
so great about Jesus is that He was not limited in His healing abilities.
Leprosy, blindness, the deaf could hear and the lame would leap for joy. Later
on even death would bow its feet before Him.
- Syria-. The great
Roman province north and east of Palestine, and, at the time of our
Savior, including the latter. The cities of Damascus and Antioch were in
the province. —People's New Testament
- Healed them-The miracle
worker was among them.
- Decapolis-These were a
grouping of 10 cities in the area. They were formed to preserve the Greek
culture in this Semitic area.
Applications:
1.
Am I willing to share the Gospel with all men?
2.
Am I willing to abandon it all for whatever He
calls me to do?
3.
In our dreams of reaching the world are we
reaching the world that is next to our own houses?
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