Matthew 4:18-21 (Jesus Calls the First Disciples)
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. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And 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.
Tag: Following Christ Typically Means Leaving Something Else.
In the above passage Christ is calling His first disciples to follow Him. When we put this into the context of the day we have to remember that, first, Jesus was not, at this point, popular, powerful, or prestigious. Jesus had no home, no office complex, no property. Jesus was the Son of God, but these disciples did not know that, yet. He tells them He is calling them to catch men for Him. That means they will have to stop catching fish for themselves. This is the second area to note: These men had means .. by the standards of the world in those days. They had boats, nets, occupations, families and, no doubt, connections in the community. They more than likely had a place each night to lay their heads down. We know at least one, Peter, had a family. But, Christ was calling them to follow Him. For both Peter and the brothers James and John, the “immediately” left their “nets” to follow Christ. The term “nets” is symbolic for “everything” of value. They hung onto nothing. They didn’t debate it. They did so immediately. They had no evidence that this “Jesus” was legitimate or a lark. Jesus simply spoke a word and they, by faith, stepped and left everything precious to them into His care. Since, after Christ’s death, Peter and the rest of the disciples go fishing (see John 21) we can assume they either sold the boats, or, more likely left them with family.
John 21:3
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Yet, we do know they “immediately left their nets” (no doubt full of fish). In John 21 the same thing will happen based upon Jesus’ words:
John 21:7-8
That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
Peter, in John 21, would not only leave the boats, he left a boat load of fish. Following Christ is not about getting a pass from hell and a ticket to heaven ... although that does happen. Following Christ is putting everything you love and desire at the feet of Jesus and giving Him complete rule and allegiance ... based simply on His command to follow Him. That is ultimate trust ... based upon the promises and principles of God’s word. We simply believe Jesus tells the truth and we follow Him, giving up everything so that He is paramount in our lives. We “all” need to “immediately” leave something when we come to Christ. We tend to cling to our “boats” in hope that they will give us what we need. But, Jesus says, “come, follow me ... .” We can’t follow Him without leaving behind something.
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