We are nearing the end of our lenten season and as Easter approaches I have been thinking a lot about our idea of Jesus, who He was, what He did, and why it matters so many years later? Mostly, what does it mean to follow Him? Jesus means lots of different things to different people and how we perceive Him is very subjective. Before setting out to write this blog, I messaged some of my greatest mentors from life and asked what their favorite stories about Jesus were. You might think this is strange considering my goal is to understand Jesus, but I think we can learn so much about the stories and traditions the surround a person. The people that love and trust and believe in someone know them and their actions and we can learn from that. The bible is a recount of stories from over 40 different authors, that spanned something like 1600 years. I reached out to understand how people I have learned so much from perceive Jesus through the stories we read about them.. and so begins my blog series on understanding Jesus.
This is the story of Jesus calling disciples and its from the book, Matthew. Matthew is the first of four gospels. If you're not super familiar with the bible, it is broken into to sections. The first tells the story of the Old Testament beginning with the Creation and following through the years before Jesus was born. The second part is the New Testament which tells the story of Jesus' life. The gospels can be found at the beginning of the New Testament.
What we know about Jesus is that he hung around with those were considered the lowest of the low. The first people He chose to call as His followers were what many of the religious leaders at the time would have considered worthless. Jesus hung around with the prostitutes. He healed the lame and saved the sickly. He called the tax collectors and the fisherman.
In Matthew, chapter 4, we see Jesus call His first disciples. (18:22)
"18 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.19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b]20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 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.22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."
Can you imagine the faith it would take to drop everything and follow some strange, bearded man claiming to be the son of God? Some man that just yells across the waves? Someone who says things as trivial as, "I'll make you fishers of men"... What does that even mean?
This bible verse has always seemed confusing for me, but when I think about it, most of my favorite memories from my life take place at a lake swimming, knee boarding or pretending to know how to fish with my dad. I was never very good at fishing because I'm not very quiet and I can't hold still to save my life, but I remember every time I caught a fish it felt like I was on top of the world. I'd hold it up for a goofy picture and then release it back into the world it had always known. I think Jesus was working the same way when He chose those first disciples and still today when He calls us. People in that time looked at fishermen and tax collectors the way many people today look at fish. They only see the slime, the dirty lake water, and the weird fishy smell. Jesus chose took look past the dirt, the poverty, the sin and more to choose the people that would follow Him and one day live out His legacy.
The thing with Jesus, is that He stops the world. He picks us up. He loves us and it changes our lives. He gives us purpose and then He sets us free in the world, hoping that the grace He gifted us and the lessons He taught us will help empower us to change the world.
It was all those years ago that Jesus called the first disciples to come and follow Him. They dropped their nets and lived their lives in devotion to His plans.
I love this story because it shows the way God has plans for all of us. It may be our choice whether to follow or not, but He is there reaching for each of us.
He is calling us to follow Him and change the world. We have been caught and released, so now we must decide which way we want to swim and will we bring anyone with us?
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think! Stop by again next Sunday to read about
The One Where He Tells Off the Temple People.. or something like that.
"If you gave your life to love them, so will I"
This is the story of Jesus calling disciples and its from the book, Matthew. Matthew is the first of four gospels. If you're not super familiar with the bible, it is broken into to sections. The first tells the story of the Old Testament beginning with the Creation and following through the years before Jesus was born. The second part is the New Testament which tells the story of Jesus' life. The gospels can be found at the beginning of the New Testament.
What we know about Jesus is that he hung around with those were considered the lowest of the low. The first people He chose to call as His followers were what many of the religious leaders at the time would have considered worthless. Jesus hung around with the prostitutes. He healed the lame and saved the sickly. He called the tax collectors and the fisherman.
In Matthew, chapter 4, we see Jesus call His first disciples. (18:22)
"18 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.19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b]20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 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.22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."
Can you imagine the faith it would take to drop everything and follow some strange, bearded man claiming to be the son of God? Some man that just yells across the waves? Someone who says things as trivial as, "I'll make you fishers of men"... What does that even mean?
This bible verse has always seemed confusing for me, but when I think about it, most of my favorite memories from my life take place at a lake swimming, knee boarding or pretending to know how to fish with my dad. I was never very good at fishing because I'm not very quiet and I can't hold still to save my life, but I remember every time I caught a fish it felt like I was on top of the world. I'd hold it up for a goofy picture and then release it back into the world it had always known. I think Jesus was working the same way when He chose those first disciples and still today when He calls us. People in that time looked at fishermen and tax collectors the way many people today look at fish. They only see the slime, the dirty lake water, and the weird fishy smell. Jesus chose took look past the dirt, the poverty, the sin and more to choose the people that would follow Him and one day live out His legacy.
The thing with Jesus, is that He stops the world. He picks us up. He loves us and it changes our lives. He gives us purpose and then He sets us free in the world, hoping that the grace He gifted us and the lessons He taught us will help empower us to change the world.
It was all those years ago that Jesus called the first disciples to come and follow Him. They dropped their nets and lived their lives in devotion to His plans.
I love this story because it shows the way God has plans for all of us. It may be our choice whether to follow or not, but He is there reaching for each of us.
He is calling us to follow Him and change the world. We have been caught and released, so now we must decide which way we want to swim and will we bring anyone with us?
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think! Stop by again next Sunday to read about
The One Where He Tells Off the Temple People.. or something like that.
"If you gave your life to love them, so will I"