Come, Be My Disciples

Scripture:  Matthew 4:18-22 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. (Matthew 4:18-22 NLT)

In this brief vignette, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee and came upon some fishermen. Simon Peter and Andrew, two brothers, were casting their net from the rocky shoreline. Jesus boldly said, “Come, be my disciples and I’ll show you a new kind of fishing!” They left their nets and went with him. A little farther along the shore, they came upon brothers James and John, mending nets in a boat with their father. Jesus called them to come too, and they immediately followed him along with Peter and Andrew.

This isn’t the first time Jesus and these men had met. Weeks or months earlier, down in Judea where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing, Jesus had met and spent time with all four of these men. They had been disciples of John, and he had introduced them to Jesus.

Following Jesus is a journey and a process. These men had curious minds and hungry hearts and they were looking for life—a God kind of life! They learned from John, John introduced them to Jesus, then Jesus called them into a growing teacher/student relationship, and ultimately they carried the Gospel of the Kingdom to a whole generation!

Following Jesus has a pattern: We have curious minds and hungry hearts. We become aware of Jesus and we make a response. He calls us further, and we respond. He begins to give us opportunity to help others, and we respond.

Sometimes it seems that our Christian lives have stalled out, that our faith has gone stale. Has he called for a next step and we’ve not responded yet? Here’s a quick faith health check: Whose move is it, his or yours?

Prayer:

Father, Thanks for including us in the greatest thing that’s ever happened! We have curious minds and hungry hearts and we want to follow you more closely and know you better. Help each of us today to be clear on whose move it is and to be quick to respond! Thanks for seeing in us what we can’t see in ourselves and for being patient with us as we learn to follow.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.