Following after Jesus #38

Today we look at Luke's account of Jesus' first time teaching in a Synagogue. Luke 4:

 31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Notice just a couple of additions here to Mark's account. As Jesus is teaching, and people are astonished at how much authority Jesus spoke with, this man cries out - rudely interrupts Jesus. Note the way this first word is translated here: "Ha!' We would say: "Hey! Leave us alone!" In other words, Jesus had invaded their space. He was penetrating into deep spiritual territory, and as Satan and his demons always do, they arrogantly thought they were strong and in control. They also like to expose things people don't want anyone to know about. They thrive on fear and darkness.  But Jesus came to expose the darkness, and drive out fear. So He rebukes this group of demons and demands they come out. They stomp out like spoiled bullies, throwing the man down as they go.  Jesus showed them Who is really in charge, and that these demons were unwanted squatters in this man, in the synagogue, and in His presence. That's Who we need to come in and clean house - in our lives, in our churches, and in this world.

Following after Jesus #37

After Jesus called His first followers to join Him, Mark continues his account:

 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

This memory was very clear from Peter's perspective, as Mark was recording this on his behalf. We will see soon that Peter was living there in Capernaum. People knew him, and they were about to be introduced to Jesus. They were astonished by Jesus' teaching - a common response whenever anyone heard, or still reads, His words.  But when you are astonished, you don't say much. But someone did: this demon driven man.  It's hard to imagine this man being their for synagogue worship, but still today, on any given Sunday, we find such people in church pews too.  Jesus' words are so powerful they yield a reaction. Jesus tells him, but especially the demons within him, to be silent. That is not the kind of witness He needed, nor was it yet time that anyone could handle the truth at that point. Very likely, this almost went over Peter's head at that time, but remembered this statement very clearly later: I know who you are—the Holy One of God. For many of us, we hear bits and pieces from and about Jesus that do not click right away, but some day we put it all together. That was the general consensus that day: most people knew that Jesus was unlike no other, but at the time they could not put it all together. But He would be in Capernaum again.  Like them, may we come back to Him for more. 

Following after Jesus #36

Yesterday we looked at Matthew's perspective on Jesus' calling of His disciples. Today we look at Mark's, showing again the perspective of Peter:

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

As we compare these two accounts they are almost exactly the same, with two minor additions by Mark. First. Jesus said “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” The key addition here is "become" fishers of men. This was going to be a process, not some snap-of-the-fingers experience. That is exactly what we see happening as these men follow after Jesus. There is a lot of saying stupid things and coming to the wrong conclusions on their part as they listen, learn, and begin to live like Jesus. We call that sanctification - this process whereby God changes us over time.  But there is this dramatic decision that initiates the process: "I am going to follow Jesus." The second addition here is in the last verse we read: that they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants.  James and John were from a well-to-do background; their father had not only his own business with boats; he had hired servants. Both pairs of brothers here were fisherman, but their economic class was not necessarily the same. As they chose to follow Jesus, it was not choosing an easier life; it was probably a step down the economic ladder. For many of us in our society, if we are serious about following Jesus, it may include choosing a less comfortable lifestyle than we now live. Like Matthew pointed out in his gospel, all these men immediately followed after Him. Have you?

Following after Jesus #35

Today we switch over from John's Gospel to Matthew's in chapter 4: 

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.” 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.

First, we note that whereas John tells us what things looked like from the perspective of John the Baptist, who saw Jesus walking by, Matthew tells it from Jesus' side of things: while He was walking by, He saw these men fishing.  These men had met Him earlier, and were drawn to Him, but now His call to follow was much more involved, much more specific: He was not only calling them to follow Him to discover new life lived with Him, where they would learn from and obey Him; they were going to be in business with Him. They were going to switch from fishing for fish to fishing for me: to draw men to God. Let's think about that calling. Most people we know fish for fish with a hook and bait, for one at a time, in a sense deceiving these poor fish to lose their life for our entertainment or dinner, or both. But professional fishermen use nets, catching the fish alive and uninjured. Sometimes these fish are together; sometimes they are alone. The fishermen don't care which way they get them; in fact getting too many at one time can be a problem, tearing their nets. They just keep on casting their nets. In this case, they are casting their nets to bring them to the truth and grace of God.  Notice how they respond. Both pairs of brothers follow Him immediately.  That word would not faze me if it were in Mark's gospel, who uses it all of the time, but this is Matthew. He was struck by the fact of how quickly these men followed Jesus, because later on the same thing happened to Him: Jesus came to his tax booth, called Him to follow, and he immediately left all to follow Him for a new kind of life and business.  How quickly do you follow when Jesus calls?

Following after Jesus #34

 Jesus had begun to call disciples to follow after Him. After the first round of His draft, John tells us:

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son."

Jesus intentionally went to find and call Philip.  Philip then went and found Nathanael, and told Him about meeting Jesus.  Nathanael was skeptical because of Jesus being from Nazareth, but he was not so skeptical that he did not come and see. There is nothing wrong with a certain amount of skepticism about what we are told, but there is a problem if we prejudge before we "come and see."  Nathanael does not stay a skeptic very long. Why? What was it that turned him 180 degrees in a split second?  It was because when he met Jesus, he realized right away that Jesus knew all about him, including what he had been meditating on when under that tree. That is a resounding theme we will find as we follow after Jesus. The woman at the well in Samaria proclaimed: "He knew all about me." Repeatedly the gospel writers note that Jesus "knew what was in the heart of man." Because of that, and often despite that, Jesus wants us to come and follow Him. Jesus knows all about you-your past, your present thoughts, and your intentions for your future. He also offers forgiveness for your past, direction for your present, and a far more significant future, if you will follow Him. 

Following after Jesus #33

John the Gospel writer is sharing with us how he became a follower of Jesus:

 35 The next day again John (that is, John the Baptist) was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 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 means Peter).

John the Baptist was so in sync with God's plan through His Messiah, that there is a pretty much seamless transition from following Him to following Jesus. He had so prepared some of his followers for Christ that they were able to walk away just like that and start following Jesus.  That's humility. A lot more than most of us have. But it is an essential part of following after Jesus. What these disciples will find out is that Jesus is even more humble than John the Baptist was.  These two disciples, one of them John himself, are willing to submit themselves to Jesus' principles and lifestyle. They are willing to listen and learn and live in obedience to His instructions.  That is what He calls us to as well. He invites us to "come and see" the new life we can have in Him.

Following after Jesus #32

We are looking in John 1 at how John the Baptist presented Jesus as the One to be Followed:

 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John the Apostle, as he wrote, had presented Jesus as the Word of God, the preexistent Christ Who had come into the world. He now identifies him with two more titles, as he shares how John the Baptist talked about Him and introduced Him. First, He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! That is one big picture in one concise statement: Jesus replaced and fulfilled all those lambs that were sacrificed year after year, and beyond that, it was not just the sins of those who brought them that were taken away; His sacrifice was sufficient for the sin of all." John then shared how he would know when this Lamb had arrived, and that He indeed had shown up at His baptism.  On this particular day, the Lamb came walking by again, so John fixes his eyes on Jesus and said: "There He is! He is the One. He is the Son of God." These titles form the bookends of this paragraph. The Lamb, the Son, and the Word are all the same One. The Son came into this world to be the Lamb of God. He is the One to watch, to keep our eyes on, to follow.