“Freedom to Follow Jesus” – Matthew 4:18-22

There are times we want to be chosen. Back in the school days, it was nice to be one of the first ones picked to be on a team in PE or one of the class games the teacher would sometimes let us play. It’s fun to be picked to serve on an important committee or to called out for recognition or reward.

Then again, it’s not always fun to be called. When the teacher calls on you to answer a question you didn’t study for the night before. Or when the boss calls you out for a blunder at work.

Then there are the times we are chosen for things we don’t really want. I remember listening to the draft lottery during the Viet Nam war. My mom would always let us know where our birthdays fell in relation to the draft, both her, my brother and I all grateful we were too young to be drafted. I imagine the Texans in Goliad weren’t too happy about being called out for drawing the black bean that meant execution.

There is one calling that should be approached with a sense of solemnity and a sense of gratitude. Because Jesus has set us free, we are free to follow Him when He calls us.

The Passage

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.”

This passage comes early in Matthew’s account of the Gospel. Matthew’s message is written for a primarily Jewish audience and the purpose of the letter is to point out that Jesus is the Promised Messiah Israel has been waiting for.

Matthew spent the first two chapters dealing with Jesus’ geneology, His birth and the escape to Egypt to avoid Herod’s persecution. In Chapter 3, Matthew introduces John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism. The first part of Chapter 4 focuses on Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Early in His ministry, Jesus decides the time is right to select a special group of disciples to train and prepare for the day when He would ascend back to the Father.

According to the Gospel according to John, Andrew and John had been followers of John the Baptist. They had listened to John’s descriptions of Jesus, and the two men decided to learn more about Jesus. Having spent the day with Christ, Andrew brought his brother, Simon, to Jesus. We don’t hear about James until this passage, but it’s reasonable to believe that James had also become a follower of Jesus through the influence of his brother.

Matthew presents this event as a happenstance. Jesus happened to be walking along the Sea of Galilee, when, low and behold, He came upon Peter and Andrew, then James and John. I do not believe Jesus ever did anything by happenstance. The walk by the sea was a deliberate journey to find these four men.

He first came upon Simon and Andrew casting their nets as they were beginning a day of fishing. Such a task was an everyday occurrence for the two brothers, since they were fishermen by trade. It is unclear whether they had already cast the net into the water or whether they were in the process of preparing to do so. It was probably the former, so Peter and Andrew had just begun their work when Jesus called them. Jesus’ words are clearly a play on their trade, because He tells them when they follow Him, they will become fishers of men. There is bigger game to find and a higher calling than their trade.

I find it interesting that they didn’t hesitate when Jesus called them. They didn’t talk about it among themselves or ask Jesus if they could at least bring in the nets and whatever possible catch was in it. They left their nets, they left their trade and turned to follow Jesus.

James and John were a similar tale. They were in their boat, out on the lake, but not yet having cast the net. In the boat with them was their father, Zebedee. Jesus calls the two sons, and we read that they, too, immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

It’s likely that James and John had spoken of Jesus’ to their father, and that Zebedee was aware not just of Jesus but the possibility He was the Messiah. We have no record of the father’s reaction, but we know that James and John immediately quit the fishing trade and became disciples of Jesus.

This passage tells us that Jesus knows who He calls, and that when Jesus calls, our response must be immediate and obedient. When Jesus calls, we must go forward with Him as He leads us and prepares us to become fishers of men.

Ordinarily, our message would follow the verses and seeing how each verse or series of verses speak to our lives, but this passage is somewhat different. It gives us several lessons, but none of the lessons really fit within the context of one or more of the verses. As we look at this passage, it is important that we keep the following in mind and try to answer the question, “What does it mean to follow Jesus?”

Central Truth: Freedom in Christ is a life following Him.

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

1. Listening to His voice

When I was 19 years old, I was doing something in my room one Saturday. Out of the blue, an idea came to me about how I would enjoy being a preacher. I didn’t think much about it, but the idea kept circulating until Monday. I had a meeting with my BSU director, and as I entered his office, I asked him, “Don, is there anyway I can talk God into calling me to preach?”

Don told me it didn’t work that way, and I knew it didn’t. What I didn’t expect is that Don took my facetious question and began to help me see that the issue wasn’t necessarily coming from me, but was coming from God. He counseled me and gave me some advice. He encouraged me to speak with my pastor and prayerfully consider where God leading. The advice was essentially, listen to Jesus’ voice.

When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John, He literally called them in every sense of the word. They heard His voice, they understood His words and they responded in the only real way we can respond to Jesus’ call.

When Jesus was speaking to His disciples in John 10, He called Himself the Good Shepherd. In identifying as that, Jesus said He “knew His sheep and they knew Him—just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father” (John 10:14-15a). Jesus said His sheep “listen to His voice” (v.3) and that the sheep “follow Him because they know His voice” (v.4).

We who are saved are the sheep, and Jesus assures us we know His voice and we follow Him. No, Jesus doesn’t have a distinctive way of sounding—no one alive has ever heard Jesus’ actual voice. But we can hear Him as He speaks to us in prayer and Bible study. We can hear His voice in fellowship and in the advice we receive from brothers and sisters in Christ.

Over the years, I’ve come to understand Jesus’ voice as that idea that pops into my head that seems out of the blue or speaks directly to a question. God spoke to me the day I was saved, the night my dad died and at other times. It’s not a daily occurrence, but it happens often enough that I know when God is speaking.

The first way we follow God is by listening to His voice.

2. Giving up our “security blanket”

“Peanuts” was a very popular comic strip, and still is, years after Charles Schultz died. The characters had their own unique qualities. Lucy was crabby. Charlie was a “loser.” Schroeder had his piano, and Pigpen was a perpetual mess.

One of my favorite characters was Linus. He was insightful, the philosopher of the group. But Linus always carried a security blanket wherever he went. He needed his security blanket and would go into frantic moments if it was taken from him.

Even though you and I may not have a literal security blanket, we all seek something that makes us feel secure. Maybe it’s our work. It could be our family, or our friends, even our possessions. It may be a title or reputation. We all have “security blankets.”

When Jesus called the four fishermen, He spoke to them while they were at their work. He didn’t call them after the day was over, or before the day had begun. All four men had a trade, one they were good at. It provided security for them and their families. When they responded to Jesus’ call, they gave all that up.

What would have happened if Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow Him, and Andrew said, “Jesus, that’s an interesting offer, and I’m leaning toward. I just need to know a few things first. Do You have a job description, detailing what You will expect from us? What will the hours be, and will we get vacation and personal time? And what about insurance? 401(k)?” Had Andrew or anyone else raised those issues, they would have been too late to follow the call.

When the four men left their boats and followed Jesus, they were giving up everything that secured them in this world. They cut the bonds that secured them and accepted the uncertainty of going where Jesus led.

But they also gained a greater security. By following Jesus, they lived a life of faith and hope that rewarded them in ways that fishing never could or would. By following Jesus, the four gained incredible training and fellowship with the Son of God. They gained keen insights into the ways of God and the ability to trust in the Holy Spirit that came to them when Jesus ascended back to heaven.

We follow Christ by giving up our “security blankets” and putting our trust in Him.

3. Taking the path He sets out for us

When the day began, Peter, Andrew, James and John had their lives pretty much planned out. They’d earn their living fishing for as long as they could. Sure, it was a life filled with hard labor and unexpected circumstances each day. With each cast of a net, they never knew if it would come up full, empty or in between. They were skilled at what they did, but they knew what it meant to be a fisherman, and they figured it was the best way to provide for family and themselves.

Then along came Jesus, and suddenly the paths of the four lives were never to be the same. Each would follow Christ in his own way, and each would come to a point in their lives where they would have to part company and follow the road Jesus had laid before each one.

It can be unsettling to move forward without knowing where one is going. We hire tour guides and travel planners to provide direction for our travels. We check websites and maps to determine the best way to get somewhere and the best places to go. It is he rare person who simply gets in the car and heads out, never knowing where they will go or how they will get there.

That’s true of travels, it’s true of life. From the moment we’re old enough, we’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As we get older, we begin to ask ourselves that question, “What do I want to do with my life?” We enter college, and the question becomes, “What’s your major?” We graduate, and the question becomes, “Where will you work?”

Jesus knows us and He knows what He can do through us. True, He may lead us away from the life we mapped out for ourselves, and He make take us places we never imagined, but when we follow Jesus, we find the path to be rewarding and to be worth the trip.

We follow Jesus when we stop trying to control our destiny and start taking the path Jesus takes us on.

Conclusion

Going back to the idea of being chosen, we would do well to remember that God chose each one of us. If you have a personal relationship with God, if Jesus is your Savior, then you were chosen by Him. You are called by Him and He calls us each day to follow Him and be committed to Him.

Are you hearing the call? Are you giving up your nets and following Him?