1/21/24 “Follow Me”
“Follow Me”
Matthew 4:12-25
How many of you have ever played the game, ‘Simon Says’?
In the game ‘Simon Says’ there is one person (The leader) who gives directions to everyone else playing the game (They are referred to as the followers)
As many of you know, the followers have to obey everything the leader tells them to do UNLESS the leader does NOT say ‘Simon Says’ before giving the command.
Consequently, If a follower performs the command without the leader first saying ‘Simon Says’, he or she is disqualified from that round of the game.
The winner, then, is the last remaining follower – this person will be the only player in that round who will have obeyed the leader 100% of the time.
‘Simon Says’ is a useful game for teaching people (Especially children) about listening skills – It forces the followers to actively listen to every word that the leader is saying.
Well, In the game of life, all of us will have opportunities to be a leader - and all of us will have plenty of opportunities to be a follower.
For instance, right now I’m in the role of leader as I bring the message to you this morning….but later today when Lisa wants me to help her with something in the kitchen, I will most definitely be a follower!
I am literally useless in the kitchen without someone telling me what to do…you’ve heard about people who are so bad at cooking they could literally burn water, right?....well, that’s me!
….This is why I spend so much time at Culver’s! 😊
If you think about it, we are all followers of something.
When we are children, we follow our parents.
When we are in school, we follow our teachers.
When we are at work, we follow our boss’s instructions.
We follow the stock market
We follow the news
We follow the weather
We follow the road, or the trail.
We follow people on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest
We follow our favorite television shows
We follow our favorite authors, or speakers
We follow our favorite sports teams and athletes
We follow our favorite musicians, or artists, or actors & actresses
We follow our favorite politicians (Be careful with that one!)
We follow our instincts…we follow our gut (Be careful with that one, too!)
Basically, we are almost always following something…or someone.
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Right from the beginning, the Bible is full of examples (Both good and bad) where we see people following something, or someone.
Eve followed the serpent’s deceptive & influential words in getting her to partake in eating the forbidden fruit.
Adam followed Eve in taking a bite of that forbidden fruit.
Noah followed God’s directions for building a really big boat.
Isaac followed his father Abraham up the sacrificial mountain.
The Israelites followed Moses…and Judges…and Kings.
But – by far - the most important person to follow is….Jesus Christ!
Our passage for today describes the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Matthew chapter 3 tells us the story of Jesus’ baptism,
…And the first half of chapter 4 tells the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
The last half of chapter 4 (Our passage for today) picks up after Jesus’ baptism & temptation – and it describes the way in which Jesus decides to begin his ministry.
Most theologians believe that about a year has now gone by since the baptism and temptation of Jesus.
Verse 12 of today’s passage (Matthew 4:12) tells us that John the Baptist had been arrested and thrown into prison.
If you recall, John’s imprisonment was because he confronted the local ruler Herod Antipas regarding a sinful sexual relationship that Herod was currently entertaining involving his half-brother’s wife, Herodias.
John’s courageous & confrontational act would eventually cost him his life…
We all know Politicians typically don’t like to be told that they are living in sin – and that was certainly the case with Antipas - as well as his mistress Herodias – who would eventually demand John’s head on a platter….literally.
Hearing this, Jesus made the decision to move from Nazareth (The town of his youth) to Capernaum.
Verse 13 of today’s text (Matthew 4:13) describes Capernaum as being “By the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
The lake referred to in this passage is actually the Sea of Galilee….to give you an idea of its size, the Sea of Galilee is about 8 miles wide and 13 miles long.
For reference, 13 miles is about the distance from LaValle to Union Center – with its width of 8 miles being roughly the same distance as LaValle to Reedsburg….
So, the Sea of Galilee is more of a lake than an actual sea, but it’s still big enough to experience dangerous storms, as we see in Matthew chapter 8.
At the time, Capernaum was a flourishing city on the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee with a very cosmopolitan flavor…there were actually more Gentiles than Jewish people living in this area.
Many people wonder why Jesus didn’t establish his home-base in Jerusalem – by far the most important city for the Jewish people.
One reason might have to do with Capernaum’s general accessibility compared to that of Jerusalem.
One ancient writer wrote that Jerusalem was “On the way to nowhere, while Capernaum was on the way to everywhere.”
People from all over the region came through Capernaum thanks to a popular trade route called “The Way of the Sea”
This road ran straight through town on its way to the Mediterranean coast, and eventually, South to Egypt.
Jesus’ message of hope would eventually be for all people – so what better place to proclaim such a universal message than… Capernaum.
In our text for today, Matthew goes on to quote a portion of scripture from the 9th chapter of Isaiah.
If these verses sound familiar, they should…we looked at this passage of Isaiah back on the first Sunday of Advent as this is one of the most popular texts in the entire Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah.
This passage also foretells the geographical area in which the Messiah’s ministry will begin.
Verse 15 (Matthew 4:15) describes the area of Capernaum through referencing Zebulun and Naphtali – they were the two Jewish tribes who had originally settled there.
Verse 16 (Matthew 4:16) describes the Messiah as a great light that will come to people who were living in darkness.
This certainly describes Jesus, who came in a very dark time in Israel’s history.
For over 400 years, God had been silent.
Centuries had gone by since a prophetic word from God had been revealed to the people of Israel.
The Jewish people were also suffering politically under the oppressive Roman empire…
They were a people in despair – they prayed for the light of hope to pierce the thick darkness that had settled upon their land…
Their prayers were finally answered - in the person of Jesus Christ.
The long-awaited Messiah had arrived!....tragically, however, many Jews rejected Jesus’ offer of the Kingdom…..which is why, after His resurrection, we see Jesus begin to direct his message of salvation toward gentiles.
In Matthew 28:19, just before He ascends into Heaven, Jesus says “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Verse 17 (Matthew 4:17) tells us that Jesus picks right up where John the Baptist had left off.
If you remember, John the Baptist lived all alone in the wilderness and preached a message of repentance to his fellow Jews– telling everyone to prepare themselves….for the Kingdom of Heaven was near (Matthew 3:1-2)
Jesus would begin to preach the need for repentance as well, only this time (Unbeknownst to the vast majority of people) the man delivering the message was God himself!
The word ‘Repentance’ (Gr. Metanoeo) literally means a change of perception, a change in the way we see something.
Back in high school, one of our science class projects involved looking at things under a microscope.
I remember enjoying the process as we viewed such items as sand, and paper, and salt.
Then my lab partner came up with the genius idea that we should begin viewing various foods at high levels of magnification….
Has anyone here ever looked at a strawberry under a microscope?
Well, if you haven’t…..DO NOT DO IT !!!!!
Not only do strawberries look disgustingly hairy under a microscope, but you can actually see tiny bugs called aphids moving all around on the outside of the berry….Seeing this made me physically ill.
seriously, it took me years before I was able to eat a strawberry again after that life-altering day in science class….and I still think about those images today when biting into a big old juicy strawberry!
When we repent and God gives us a new heart, we begin to see sin for what it truly is….It’s like having a spiritual microscope where we are given a glimpse of the true hideousness and destructiveness of sinful behavior.
With God’s help, we are given the ability to see what sin really looks like - and we are appalled…. just like 16-year-old Andy was appalled by what he saw under the microscope that day in science class.
Once we have that true perception of sin, it changes us….we don’t want to take part in it any longer because we have been given a glimpse of its hideousness.
This knowledge of sin and its destructiveness should inspire us to live in obedience to God.
Jesus speaks to this reality in Matthew 3:8 when He simply says: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
In other words, those who have repented know the truth about sin – so then act accordingly!
Paul conveys a similar truth to Timothy. When talking about the soul that has been redeemed – he says this: “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25)
Genuine repentance brings with it spiritual knowledge – a kind of spiritual knowledge that only believers possess.
If you look closely at today’s passage of scripture, you’ll notice three main sections….
Verses 12-17 describe Jesus’ coming, verses 18-22 describe Jesus’ calling of his first four disciples, and verses 23-25 describe Jesus’ compassion for humanity.
His Coming – His Calling – His Compassion
Verse 18 (Matthew 4:18) brings us to the calling of Jesus’ first two disciples…Simon Peter, and Andrew.
Simon (Later given the name ‘Peter’ by Jesus) and his brother Andrew were fishermen by trade.
In verse 19 (Matthew 4:19) Jesus simply says to the brothers “Come, follow me…and I will make you fishers of men.”
This simple invitation to ‘follow me’ is the same offer Jesus extends to everyone today who hears the message of the gospel.
Notice how simple it is….there’s no concern over the brother’s credentials, there’s no discussion over Simon and Andrew’s level of education, there’s no talk of taking a student ‘pre-test’ of any kind…just a simple ‘follow me.’
That’s so refreshing for us today as well, isn’t it?
Jesus doesn’t care how academically advanced you are, he doesn’t care what you look like, he doesn’t concern himself with your bank account, or your social standing in society.
When Jesus calls disciples (Followers) he’s looking for people who are available, trainable, and faithful.
Have you made yourself available to Jesus?....have you prioritized the things of faith over everything else in your life?
Have you made yourself teachable to Jesus?...do you make it a priority to learn the truths of God’s Word – and be discipled by others - on a regular basis?
Have you been faithful to Jesus?....are you living in obedience to your savior?....is there fruit in your life that demonstrates a genuine relationship?
I love verse 20 of this morning’s passage (Matthew 4:20)
Look at Simon & Andrew’s simple response to Jesus’ invitation…
The text says that Simon and Andrew immediately leave their nets and follow their new Rabbi….
As a former business owner, I can’t imagine doing that!
I’d be like “Ok Jesus, I’ll follow you but just let me finish out the day here on the lake” or “Let me wrap up my financials for the business year, and then I’m all yours!”
Not so here….here we see that Simon & Andrew left “At Once” and followed Jesus….they were available…they were trainable…and they were faithful.
“Simon says….I will follow you, Jesus”….and so does his brother, Andrew.
Verses 21 & 22 (Matthew 4:21-22) chronicle an almost identical situation when Jesus comes upon two other brothers – James and John.
James & John were also fishermen and when Jesus calls them to follow him, the text says that they “Immediately” leave their boat behind– along with their father – and follow Jesus.
See ya, Dad! …. We’ve got more important fishing to do with our lives!
And, in reality, they did have something more important to do….little did they know at the time the importance of the mission set before them!
They were now available, teachable, and faithful to the mission of fishing for men…of being discipled – and making disciples for Jesus!
We are given the same mission today.
We are ALL called to be ‘fishers of men’….not just Pastors, or Elders, or the Deacons…. We are ALL called to the same mission of sharing the gospel with others.
Back when I owned the music store, we had a customer who would come in every few weeks to purchase a ukulele.
We loved seeing him come through the door – it was a guaranteed sale for that day….and most of these high-quality ukuleles were in the $100 - $200 price range – so they weren’t super cheap instruments.
After a few years, and about 40 ukuleles later, I finally asked the man what he does with all of the ukuleles he purchases?
I was expecting to hear that he was giving them away to underprivileged kids…or donating them to charities of some kind.
His answer saddened me. He said that he buys them just to have them hang on the walls all around his house.
Now, don’t get me wrong…I’m not anti-collector – in fact, I have a collection of toy tractors filling up numerous shelves my basement.
But musical instruments are a bit of a different animal – they are made for one purpose, and one purpose only….to be played.
A musical instrument that is never played is….like a boat that’s never launched into the water…or an airplane that never takes to the skies…
When we hang a musical instrument on a wall and never play it, we are actually withholding happiness from those who could be enjoying its sound…
Folks, this is exactly what we do when we keep our faith to ourselves…
If we never share the hope of the gospel with anyone, we are withholding something much more important than happiness – we are withholding hope – we are withholding the light of life – AND we are potentially withholding eternal salvation from a soul headed for destruction.
This brings us to the third and final segment of today’s passage – the Compassion of Jesus.
Verses 23, 24, and 25 describe how Jesus taught large crowds of people about the Kingdom of God and displayed his deep compassion for humanity by healing individuals of all kinds of diseases and sicknesses.
Oh….that we would have this same level of compassion for others!
If you are someone who works in the health-care industry – I applaud you!!
Through your occupation, you are demonstrating the kind of compassion for the physical needs of others that our savior demonstrated when he healed the sick and restored sight to the blind.
We also are called to be concerned about the spiritual health of others…
And this type of compassion comes only through an active faith of obedient discipleship.
According to pastor John MacArthur, “Obedience is the spark that lights the fire of passion – the way to develop a love for souls is to obey Jesus’ call to win souls.”
But isn’t that the case with every facet of our faith?
The more we live in obedience to our savior, the more useful we are to God…and to His Kingdom.
In conclusion - there are so many things competing for our allegiance in our world today.
We have so many choices as to what (Or who) we will choose to follow and make a priority in our lives…
Just make sure you are following the one true source of hope, light, love, life, and Joy.
Make sure you are following the Savior…
The great shepherd…
The bread of life….
the Son of God – Jesus Christ.
Let’s Pray.