 |
 |
||||
Second Call. While this group of men went to Capernaum, Jesus went to Cana where He honored a court official’s request that He heal his son. Jesus then left for Nazareth, and there His hometown friends and the elders of the synagogue rejected him. It must have been a discouraging time, but it did not change Jesus’ plans.
The next chronological event occurred in Matthew 4:13-22 and Mark 1:16-20
where we are told that Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
Both gospels start by telling us that Jesus was walking by Himself.
There were no crowds. Peter and Andrew were casting nets in the water,
and James and John were repairing their nets. When Jesus approached
Peter and Andrew, He simply commanded them to “Follow me, and
I will make you fishers of men,” and they did once again! But
it did not last. If these men wanted to catch men, they had
to follow Jesus. That was Jesus’ message. There was a prerequisite
for catching men. There was and still is a condition attached to
effectively making disciples for Jesus. We must start by following
Him! We cannot effectively catch men if we are not following Jesus.
Why did they leave Jesus the first time? It would be wonderful to know. Why did Jesus come after them? While we do not know the answer to that question either, one thing is clear - they were not following Him and so Jesus came after them! And they followed Him into Capernaum and spent a day with Jesus. From there Jesus traveled throughout Israel and the people flocked to Him from the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Syria, and from beyond the Jordan.
The first call was to believe in Jesus. The second call was to follow. But only Peter, Andrew and John appear to have been present at each call. Yet, it is possible that James was present during the call to believe, but perhaps was not mentioned.
Third Call. When we come to our passage for this study, Luke 5:1-11, we find Jesus standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee surrounded by a crowd of people. 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 . . . (NASB) Luke 5:1 |
|||||
|
|||||
| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||
