The King’s Men (Matthew 4:18-22)
The Kings Men
Matthew 4:18-22
As we study through Matthew’s gospel,
We get to yet another important aspect of the kingship of Jesus.
And that is the selection of his men.
Of these men Jesus said:
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
This men did not go looking for Jesus, Jesus went looking for these men.
And that in and of itself is an amazing fact.
For we are all aware of the type of men that Jesus chose.
He could have chosen the Jewish leaders,
Skilled in the Law and in social etiquette.
He could have chosen the Greek philosophers,
Skilled in reason, and relevant to the culture.
He could have chosen the Roman senators,
Entrusted with power and authority, men of dignity and influence
But Jesus passed on them all.
Instead He chose fisherman, a tax collector, and a terrorist.
He didn’t go for the most educated.
He didn’t go for the most influential.
He didn’t go for the most powerful.
He purposely chose ordinary men.
HE ALWAYS HAS
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
Christ purposely chose the weak, foolish, and ignoble.
If a wise men speaks wise words, no one is surprised.
If a strong man does brave things, no one is amazed.
If a noble man exhibits great leadership, it is expected.
But if you take the weak, foolish, and ignoble fishermen
And put in them the ability to do those things, people will pay attention.
And that was certainly the result.
Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”
When the weak and the foolish and the despised
Start exhibiting great wisdom, strength, and honor,
Then it is apparent that ability came from somewhere else.
And God is glorified.
That beloved, is why God chose me, that is why God chose you,
And that is why God chose the disciples we see today.
These were the men that Jesus determined to use to change the world.
12 ordinary, foolish, weak, ignoble men; but men who when filled with the power of God, would literally turn the world upside down.
And this morning Matthew gives us a peak into their calling.
But it is important to understand the chronology of the event.
I told you last week that Matthew was not a stickler for detail.
We already know that he omitted
The first 3 ½ chapters of John and part of Luke 4.
Matthew was not a historian, Matthew was a tax collector.
Matthew didn’t care if you knew history, Matthew wanted you to know the King.
And so Matthew only included the facts he wanted you to know.
And that is the case again this morning.
Do not assume that when Jesus walked along the sea of Galilee
That this was the first time Andrew, Peter, James, and John ever saw Him.
THIS WAS NOT THEIR INITIAL CALLING.
Their initial calling occurred in John 1.
John 1:35-42 “Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, ” Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 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, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”
This was the initial introduction of the disciples to Jesus.
Of course from there they spent the evening with Him,
And the next day they attended a wedding with Him
Where He turned water into wine.
After He turned water into wine:
John 2:11 “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”
That was the salvation of
Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, and Nathanael.
After that event, it is apparent that
The disciples returned to their homes, as did Jesus.
He actually went back to Nazareth to reveal Himself to His hometown,
Where they tried to throw Him off a cliff.
Then Jesus returned to Galilee.
Luke 4:31 “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;”
Matthew 4:12-13 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
After re-entering that region,
We know that Jesus went and stayed with Peter, at least for a little while,
For while He was there, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
Luke 4:38-39 “Then He got 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. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.”
So, at this point, the disciples are pretty well acquainted with Jesus.
He has saved them, they are believers,
But they have yet to be challenged to go beyond their saving faith.
But as we all know, Jesus is not content to leave us where we are. He always wants more for us.
The disciples day was coming.
• After Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, the sick started flocking to Him.
• So much so that He left for a secluded place to get away.
But according to Luke 4:42, the crowds found Him,
And tried to keep Him from leaving.
And it was in this wave of popularity
That Jesus received a crowd near the shore of the sea of Galilee,
And the day would change the disciples lives forever.
NO, THE DISCIPLES WERE NOT WITH HIM YET.
The disciples were still fishing. They had not yet left to follow Him.
Luke 5:1-11 “Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
Peter was well-acquainted with Jesus,
So when Jesus asked for the use of the boat, he was more than willing.
Then came the miracle in which Jesus blew Peter’s mind.
And not only Peter’s, but Andrew’s, James’, and John’s as well.
It was there that Jesus said, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
This is the same incident that Matthew speaks of here.
It occurred after the disciples were already saved,
At a point when Jesus wanted them to take the next step
And be more than lazy believers.
Now you probably noticed that Matthew left out a whole lot of the story.
WHY?
• In part because Matthew was not an eye witness of all of that. Matthew was not called until after that event.
• And in part because Matthew was more focused on the result, than the details.
Matthew simply wants you to see that Jesus called
And His disciples followed.
How or why was not as important to him.
And so this morning we look at Matthew’s account
Of the day Jesus called His men to be more
Than they had ever been before.
And as we study, let it be firmly planted in your mind
That the same is true in our case.
We may be truly saved, but Jesus is asking for more.
This morning’s text is actually broken into two categories.
First is the calling of Andrew and Peter
Second is the calling of James and John.
But because both callings follow the same outline,
We are going to look at them simultaneously,
And therefore learn the truths about following Jesus.
3 things
#1 AN OBSERVATION MADE
Matthew 4:18, 21a
In each of these verses we see basically the same thing occurring.
As two fishermen are engaged in some aspect of their daily work,
Jesus walks by and observes them.
In both cases the Scripture says, “He saw two…brothers”
Andrew and Peter were “casting a net”
James and John were “mending their nets”
(Because according to Luke 5:6, their nets began to tear from the large catch of fish Jesus orchestrated)
But as Jesus looked at these men.
He saw two who were striving to survive
He saw two who were recovering from the battle
And the best way to put it is that
Jesus saw a tremendous waste of potential.
Remember when Jesus first saw Peter?
John 1:42 “He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”
And you may remember that “Cephas” means “rock”.
And if you recall, for the next 3 years Peter was anything but a rock.
Simon was wishy-washy.
Simon was overconfident.
Simon was a coward who fled.
But Jesus didn’t seem him for what he was.
Jesus saw him for what he would become.
And those are the same eyes at work here.
If all these men ever do is catch fish, sell fish, and eat fish,
They will have wasted a life that could have been so much more.
And that is what Jesus saw here.
And so, we see An Observation Made
#2 AN OFFER GIVEN
Matthew 4:19, 21b
To Peter and Andrew Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
And although Scripture only says that “He called” James and John,
The same calling is implied.
• Jesus was offering a new life.
• Jesus was offering a new calling.
• Jesus was offering a life with purpose.
• They had heard John proclaim Jesus as the Lamb of God.
• They had seen Him turn water into wine.
• They had heard Him preach to the masses.
• They had seen Him heal His mother-in-law.
• They had seen Jesus orchestrate that huge catch of fish.
They had seen Jesus do amazing things,
And now Jesus was holding out His hand saying, come with Me.
TALK ABOUT AN EXCITING NEW CAREER!
This amazing man was giving them the offer of a lifetime.
He was offering them a life of adventure, a life of faith, and a life of victory.
I mean you only have to look at the next section of Matthew’s gospel
To see the type of life He was offering.
Matthew 4:23-25 “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”
This was no ordinary occupation Jesus was offering to them,
He was offering them a truly amazing life.
All they had ever done was pull fish out of the water.
Jesus was giving them the opportunity to pluck men from the fire.
Jude 22-23 “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
And that is precisely what these men were asked to do.
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
It is also quite important to note how the transition would occur.
Jesus did not command them to become “fishers of men”
Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men.”
We know the twelve.
Just because Jesus intended for them to be evangelistic
Did not mean they instantly were.
Remember the missionary heart of John?
Luke 9:51-56 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”
How about the missionary heart of the rest of the disciples?
Matthew 14:15 “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Matthew 19:13-14 “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
These men did not start out as great evangelists with missionary hearts.
They were a work in progress.
Jesus did not draft them as “fishers of men”
He made them “fishers of men”
And that is something that is important for you to realize as well.
You were called by Christ for a reason.
You were chosen by Christ for a purpose.
Maybe you are not a fisher of men as of right now,
But rest assured that is what He desires for you to be.
The tragedy is that most people who call themselves Christians
Live totally oblivious to that fact.
In fact a recent statistic says that 95% of all evangelical Christians
Have never shared their faith with another living soul.
BUT HOW CAN WE CLAIM TO BE FOLLOWING JESUS IF WE DO NOT SHARE HIS GOSPEL?
Charles Spurgeon
“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
So you are either fishing for men, or you are not following Christ.
AND IT IS TRAGIC WHEN THE CHURCH FAILS TO FOLLOW
John MacArthur shared a modern day parable
In his commentary on this chapter.
“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, a crude little life-saving station was built. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted crewmen kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for themselves, they went out day and night, tirelessly searching for any who might need help. Many lives were saved by their devoted efforts. After a while the station became famous. Some of those who were saved, as well as others in the surrounding area, wanted to become a part of the work. They gave time and money for its support. New boats were bought, additional crews were trained, and the station grew.
Some of the members became unhappy that the building was so crude. They felt a larger, nicer place would be more appropriate as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with hospital beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Soon the station became a popular gathering place for its members to discuss the work and to visit with each other.
They continued to remodel and decorate until the station more and more took on the look and character of a club. Fewer members were interested in going out on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional crews to do the work on their behalf. The lifesaving motif still prevailed on the club emblems and stationery, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room were the club held its initiations.
One day a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in many boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty, bruised, and sick; and some had black or yellow skin. The beautiful new club was terribly messed up, and so the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside, where the shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether, as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted on keeping lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that, after all, they were still called a lifesaving station. But those members were voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives they could begin their own station down the coast somewhere.
As the years went by, the new station gradually faced the same problems the other one had experienced. It, too, became a club, and its lifesaving work became less and less of a priority.
The few members who remained dedicated to lifesaving began another station. History continued to repeat itself; and if you visit that coast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
[MacArthur adds] What a striking illustration of the history of the church. Yet the work of evangelism, of spiritual lifesaving, is nonetheless the purest, truest, noblest, and most essential work the church will ever do. The work of fishing men and women out of the sea of sin, the work of rescuing people from the breakers of hell, is the greatest work the church is called by God to do.” (pg. 111-112)
And so I think you get the point.
Jesus chose His followers with the intention that
Some day they would become fishers of men.
Observation Made, Offer Given
#3 AN OPPORTUNITY SEIZED
Matthew 4:20, 22
As we said, these disciples were in a rut.
Day in and day out it was the same old grind, the same old routine.
And then Jesus comes by and offers them a chance
To live with Him and for Him.
“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”
“Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”
No doubt Matthew wants you to see that these men did not hesitate.
On one hand because it was a great offer.
And on the other hand because this was their Lord who was asking.
And you will notice that their obedience meant sacrifice.
“They left their nets”
“They left the boat and their father”
It’s not that Jesus has anything against fishing nets,
Nor is it that Jesus had anything against Zebedee.
But you couldn’t carry your nets around if you were going to follow Jesus.
James and John couldn’t drag their father in a boat and follow Jesus.
It wasn’t that Jesus demanded that they get rid of those things,
It was that they couldn’t keep them
And follow Jesus where He was going.
Many a missionary has learned this lesson,
As they left their homes and possessions and family behind
To go and live on the mission field.
This is what Jesus had in mind when He said:
Mattew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
There is nothing wrong with stuff,
Just make sure that stuff doesn’t keep you from following Jesus.
And if it does, leave it on the sand and follow.
These men did, and the rest is history.
EVEN MATTHEW WAS THE SAME
Luke 5:27-28 “After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.”
Matthew sure would have looked funny following Jesus
With a tax booth on a two-wheel dolly.
He couldn’t take it with him.
But Jesus was moving on.
He had a choice, and he chose to leave it all and follow Jesus.
So this morning, let me ask you.
HOW IS YOUR LIFE?
WHAT ARE YOU FISHING FOR?
Jesus has a plan for you that is beyond your wildest dreams.
In fact, He actually calls it B
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
We just studied in 1 Timothy,
Paul’s encouragement to the rich of this world concerning this very thing.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
Paul said, there is “life indeed” out there,
But it isn’t found in the riches of this world.
SO WHAT ARE YOU FISHING FOR?
These men were not special men,
But they were chosen by Jesus and molded by Him. And it was these ordinary men who literally changed the world.
And now imagine if they had chosen to stay where they were.
What difference would Peter and Andrew have made in the world?
What difference would James and John have made in the world?
What difference would Matthew have made in the world?
NONE
But by answering the call of Jesus and seizing the opportunity
What they did in reality made all the difference.
This morning let me encourage you to follow the Master.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
