SPEAKER_01: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_00: Welcome you this morning and ask that you would take your Bibles as we look at God's Word together from Matthew chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: We have been out of God's Word in the book of Matthew for about a month now, looking at other texts.
SPEAKER_00: I'd like to return to that.
SPEAKER_00: And I know some of you may have come this morning expecting to hear a Mother's Day sermon, and that is not what you are going to get.
SPEAKER_00: That is not specifically about mothers, because it's my conviction that even though we should celebrate mothers and we should honor them, we gather together to worship Christ the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And so it's best if we gather together to see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And then you scatter to honor your moms, as is proper.
SPEAKER_00: So let's see Jesus together for a few moments this morning from Matthew chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: I'd like to begin reading in Matthew chapter 4, verse 18, and we'll continue through chapter 5, verse 2.
SPEAKER_00: If you have a Bible, you can follow along in that text or take a pew Bible and do that as well.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 4, beginning in verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: It says, While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
SPEAKER_00: Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
SPEAKER_00: So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.
SPEAKER_00: And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decopolis, from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
SPEAKER_00: And seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain.
SPEAKER_00: And when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Well, as we've looked at in past weeks, the first several chapters of the book of Matthew describe to us Jesus as the one who fulfills all of the promises God gave throughout the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: He is the promised one.
SPEAKER_00: He's the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of God is the promised King of God's people.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we see the end of chapter 4, verse 17, the message of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_00: The kingdom of heaven is at hand because the king is present.
SPEAKER_00: And the proper response to be ready for the kingdom is to repent.
SPEAKER_00: Yet this king is not like other kings.
SPEAKER_00: This is the shepherd king who has compassion on people.
SPEAKER_00: And those are the two key themes that we're going to be seeing in this passage.
SPEAKER_00: That is, Jesus is the king who calls his own people.
SPEAKER_00: But he's also the king who is compassionate to people who need to experience that compassion.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this account takes place about three years before the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_00: And you might remember that in the book of Acts, the apostles turned the world upside down with their preaching of Jesus crucified, buried, and risen again.
SPEAKER_00: If one were to look at the four fishermen at the Sea of Galilee on this particular day when Jesus was walking by, and ask them if they were able to grab the attention of people and preach a coherent, convicting sermon, the answer would probably be, yeah, not so much.
SPEAKER_00: Not really.
SPEAKER_00: They were fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: On a daily basis, they handled wet, slimy, and smelly fish.
SPEAKER_00: And they mended wet, smelly nets so that people could eat.
SPEAKER_00: Now their profession was honorable.
SPEAKER_00: It was a great profession.
SPEAKER_00: Estimates are that there were some 240 boats fishing commercially on the Sea of Galilee during this time.
SPEAKER_00: So it was a proper professional profession.
SPEAKER_00: But surely these aren't the kind of people the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords would draft into his service as his ambassadors, are they?
SPEAKER_00: We must be careful when answering that question.
SPEAKER_00: If we're too slow to answer, we may begin to doubt the work of God.
SPEAKER_00: But if we are too quick to answer, we may neglect that it means that God can call me.
SPEAKER_00: Wherever and whoever I am.
SPEAKER_00: God did draft these fishermen into his service, and he can and may do the same with you.
SPEAKER_00: But this passage is not so much about these four fishermen who would become disciples and apostles and evangelists.
SPEAKER_00: It's about the king who calls them to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: We know that because throughout these verses, the action is consistently centered on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: He saw two brothers.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 19, he said to them, follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 21, he saw two other brothers, and he called them.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 23, he went.
SPEAKER_00: It's all about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one who called fishermen, working men, businessmen, normal men, fallen men to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: This is about the work of the king calling people to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: Now we need to know that this is not the first time that Jesus has encountered these men.
SPEAKER_00: It's not even the first time they've met.
SPEAKER_00: We know from the Gospel of John in John chapter 1 that Andrew and John were disciples of John the Baptist.
SPEAKER_00: And one day John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to them and said, There goes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
SPEAKER_00: From that point on, John and Andrew followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Shortly after that, Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus, and it's likely that John brought James.
SPEAKER_00: And at that time, their following Jesus was primarily in faith, in trust of who he is.
SPEAKER_00: They were in need of a Savior king, and John the Baptist identified Jesus for them.
SPEAKER_00: So they followed him in belief of who he was.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, when Andrew brought Peter, his brother, to Jesus, he told Peter, hey, we have found the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: So they came in belief of who he was.
SPEAKER_00: And the picture presented to us is one in which these men, after their belief in Jesus as the Messiah, continued to believe, while occasionally following him step by step in his ministry while still continuing their occupation of fishing.
SPEAKER_00: But here in Matthew chapter 4, the four men are called to be Jesus' steady companions.
SPEAKER_00: You might say they're called to be apprentices, to be in training to become fishers of men.
SPEAKER_00: It's a call to a more significant role of discipleship: to leave everything behind, saying goodbye to their occupations, to be devoted to the ministry of the king.
SPEAKER_00: And that's instructive for us.
SPEAKER_00: Discipleship is equivalent to trusting in Christ for salvation.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the end of Matthew tells us in Matthew 28, 19.
SPEAKER_00: As you're going into all the world, make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts tells us that the word disciple is synonymous with Christian.
SPEAKER_00: A Christian is a disciple, and a disciple is a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: But not all disciples are at the same place or stage, if we can use that term, in their following of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Every Christian is a disciple.
SPEAKER_00: And every Christian should be a disciple.
SPEAKER_00: See, following Jesus after believing in him is implied in the word disciple.
SPEAKER_00: Every Christian is in the process of discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: You, if you are a believer in Christ, are in the process of discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: We never reach the pinnacle of discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: We never get to the place of perfect learning, perfect understanding, perfect following.
SPEAKER_00: And so we're always pursuing Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We're always seeking to know more, to learn more, to know Him more, to love Him more.
SPEAKER_00: But we're all at various places on that line, aren't we?
SPEAKER_00: We're at different locations and our growth.
SPEAKER_00: But every Christian must always be prepared for the master to call them into a greater commitment to Him.
SPEAKER_00: These men leave their boats to follow Jesus because of who he is.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has an immense influence over their hearts and minds.
SPEAKER_00: So that when he calls, they follow.
SPEAKER_00: Does Jesus have that kind of influence over you?
SPEAKER_00: That when he speaks, you obey.
SPEAKER_00: Do you notice there's no dialogue?
SPEAKER_00: The disciples don't say, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you going?
SPEAKER_00: What are you asking us to do?
SPEAKER_00: Follow me.
SPEAKER_00: And they go.
SPEAKER_00: Those are interesting words to try to translate.
SPEAKER_00: Literally, Jesus says to them, Come after me, or come behind me.
SPEAKER_00: It's an expression of a command.
SPEAKER_00: He's commanding them to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: He's telling Peter and Andrew and James and John that their place is to come behind the master, not catching fish and mending nets.
SPEAKER_00: It's as if Jesus says to them, You believe that I'm the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
SPEAKER_00: That's good.
SPEAKER_00: Now you need to follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Come after me.
SPEAKER_00: Now, as fishermen, these men were hardworking, we might call them blue-collar men.
SPEAKER_00: They were educated.
SPEAKER_00: They were educated in the ways of the sea, in the wind and the waves, the fish and the nets.
SPEAKER_00: They surely smelled of fish and the sea.
SPEAKER_00: But they're quite fascinating men.
SPEAKER_00: We're probably most familiar with Peter.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one who in chapter 14 would walk on water and then sink.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one who would make the declaration of Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and then Jesus would say to him, Get behind me, Satan.
SPEAKER_00: He was privileged to view the transfiguration of Christ, to see him in all of his glory on the mountaintop with only two other individuals.
SPEAKER_00: And then he turned around and thought that he was being quite generous when he suggested to Jesus that he should forgive his brother only seven times.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, Oh no, you don't get it.
SPEAKER_00: 70 times seven.
SPEAKER_00: Don't count.
SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's the time in Matthew 26 that Peter said that he would never leave Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He would never fall away from him.
SPEAKER_00: And then he would turn around and deny him three times.
SPEAKER_00: And yet in the book of Acts, he becomes the first vocal leader of the disciples and the first apostle to preach openly about the resurrected Savior.
SPEAKER_00: What a change.
SPEAKER_00: What a change in that man.
SPEAKER_00: His brother Andrew is always seen in Scripture as bringing somebody to meet Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Every time you see Andrew in your Bible, he's bringing somebody to introduce them to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What a challenge.
SPEAKER_00: Are we Andrews?
SPEAKER_00: Are we so caught up in Jesus that we want people to meet him and we are willing to introduce them to him?
SPEAKER_00: James was one of four men in the New Testament with this name.
SPEAKER_00: This particular James was always mentioned alongside his brother John.
SPEAKER_00: You never see them separately.
SPEAKER_00: This James had the honor of being the first apostle to be martyred.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: In contrast, his brother John was the longest-living apostle and the writer of five of our New Testament books.
SPEAKER_00: Those two, James and John, were the sons of Zebedee, apparently a well-to-do man who owned a fishing business, and Peter and Andrew were their partners in business.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus calls James and John the sons of thunder, presumably referring to them as quick-tempered, rough men.
SPEAKER_00: How ironic then that John would become known as the disciple of love.
SPEAKER_00: Why do we see those kinds of changes in those men?
SPEAKER_00: It's because they listened and obeyed the call of the Master.
SPEAKER_00: You see, there's an important truth here.
SPEAKER_00: When the king calls you, he doesn't leave you where you are.
SPEAKER_00: He takes you and he begins to mold you from the inside out to be like him.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't leave you there rotting in your sinfulness.
SPEAKER_00: He begins to make you holy as he is holy.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's rapidly.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes God will take a sinful habit that you have and completely eradicate it from your life.
SPEAKER_00: At other moments it's at a snail's pace, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: And we wish that he would move more rapidly.
SPEAKER_00: But he never leaves us where we are.
SPEAKER_00: He's always moving us, taking us to be like him.
SPEAKER_00: Now notice in our text here, in verse 20 and 22, the double use of the word immediately.
SPEAKER_00: That's one of Mark's favorite words.
SPEAKER_00: Mark likes to use the word immediately, but not so much for Matthew.
SPEAKER_00: It's fairly rare in Matthew's gospel, so it jumps out to us when we see it consecutively here in such a short time period.
SPEAKER_00: It's not by chance that the response of these four fishermen to the call of the Lord is described by the word immediately.
SPEAKER_00: As soon as they heard Jesus call them to follow him, without delay, they dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now it seems as though Peter, if we're trying to paint the picture of what's going on here, the image that we have is that Peter is, Peter and Andrew are fishing from the shore.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they've stepped out into the water, away from the shoreline a little bit, and they're casting their large nets in a circular pattern out onto the water.
SPEAKER_00: The leaded weights on the edges of that circular net would sink down to the bottom and they would be drawn in to capture fish.
SPEAKER_00: Well, their business partners are sitting perhaps on the boat, anchored a little bit away, mending nets.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus comes along first to Peter and Andrew and says, Follow me.
SPEAKER_00: They immediately left their nets and followed him.
SPEAKER_00: In my former life, I was a carpenter.
SPEAKER_00: Worked making cabinets.
SPEAKER_00: Grew up with my dad as a carpenter.
SPEAKER_00: So here's a little secret about me, I'm going to tell you.
SPEAKER_00: I get a little nervous when I can't find my tape measure.
SPEAKER_00: When I can't find my drill, I get really nervous.
SPEAKER_00: These men left the primary tool of their possession, of their profession, seemingly on the beach.
SPEAKER_00: They just left it and said, We're going.
SPEAKER_00: They followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, what must Zebedee have thought?
SPEAKER_00: I hope Zebede is in heaven because I want to talk to him someday.
SPEAKER_00: This traveling teacher comes along and suddenly Zebedee's running a fishing business without his sons and his partners.
SPEAKER_00: They've just up and left to follow this traveling teacher.
SPEAKER_00: What must Zebedee have been thinking?
SPEAKER_00: They left their nets, they left their boat, and they followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the indication that we have from scripture is that it wasn't that cut and dried.
SPEAKER_00: It seems as though Peter especially struggled at times with leaving his profession completely behind.
SPEAKER_00: Because you remember when Peter denied Jesus three times and then Jesus was crucified and buried.
SPEAKER_00: What did Peter do?
SPEAKER_00: He went fishing.
SPEAKER_00: He gathered some of his friends, the disciples, and said, Hey guys, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is dead.
SPEAKER_00: We may as well go fishing.
SPEAKER_00: And what did Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: He caught them fishing.
SPEAKER_00: And he made them breakfast of fish.
SPEAKER_00: And he said to Peter, Peter, feed my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: Don't catch fish.
SPEAKER_00: They left Jesus and they left their profession and followed him.
SPEAKER_00: When the Savior calls, do we participate in delayed obedience?
SPEAKER_00: I hope you know what that is.
SPEAKER_00: Let me explain it to you if you don't.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, oftentimes, I tell my son to do something, and he just looks at me.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever experienced that?
SPEAKER_00: If you've been a parent, you have.
SPEAKER_00: I know it.
SPEAKER_00: You just might not admit it.
SPEAKER_00: I tell him to do it again, and he just looks at me.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe this time with a grin on his face.
SPEAKER_00: And each time there's something stirring inside of me, and my voice gets louder and louder.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00: When the Savior calls, do we participate in delayed obedience?
SPEAKER_00: Do we look at Jesus and say, uh, where are we going?
SPEAKER_00: Do we hear and obey?
SPEAKER_00: You see, these men knew Jesus was the Messiah, and at least at this point, they listened and instantaneously obeyed.
SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of difference Jesus made in their lives.
SPEAKER_00: They left their nets, they left their boats, and they followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But let's not overlook that they were fishermen at work.
SPEAKER_00: They were mending their nets, they were fishing.
SPEAKER_00: They were busy at work doing what they were supposed to be doing in life.
SPEAKER_00: Being busy doing life is often the place from which the Savior calls you to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we expect God to open up the heavens and to shine down like Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's kind of rare.
SPEAKER_00: Happened once.
SPEAKER_00: God may step in and the king may say to you, wherever you are in your work, whatever life is like for you, and he says to you, Follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Now these men know what is involved in fishing, they they understand the world of fishing.
SPEAKER_00: They understand the world of boats and nets, but Jesus says it's time to learn what's most important.
SPEAKER_00: It's time to learn how to be people fishers.
SPEAKER_00: And you may face a similar call.
SPEAKER_00: In the midst of your normal life, Jesus may call you to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of those things I think we often confuse.
SPEAKER_00: We think this is the action of the fisherman.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus calls them, follow me, and so they they make a decision to follow him and they go, and there's truth to that.
SPEAKER_00: But we often think, isn't it neat?
SPEAKER_00: Isn't it wonderful what they were able to do?
SPEAKER_00: Isn't it wonderful that they were able to become so useful to the master?
SPEAKER_00: They adapted their knowledge of fishing for something different.
SPEAKER_00: They were able to evolve and adapt to a new situation in life and take the skills that they learned in fishing and apply them to fishing for people.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that fantastic?
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that wonderful?
SPEAKER_00: Well, friends, notice that these men do not simply become fishers of men.
SPEAKER_00: It is not in them to become evangelists and church leaders and men who turn the world upside down.
SPEAKER_00: People don't simply evolve to become disciples of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, I will make you fishers of men.
SPEAKER_00: That's the sovereignty of God in action.
SPEAKER_00: To choose, then to mold, and to use his people for his purposes.
SPEAKER_00: I have a saying that anybody who's been around me much will hear often.
SPEAKER_00: God pays for what he orders.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, if God sends you on a journey, he's going to provide everything you need for that journey.
SPEAKER_00: He does not call you to do something and then not give you what you need to accomplish his desire.
SPEAKER_00: He gives you everything that he needs.
SPEAKER_00: Now it may be in his power, not yours, and so that makes us a little uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: But if God calls you to do something, he's going to provide everything you need for that.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Jesus says, I will make you fishers of men.
SPEAKER_00: There's a certainty there.
SPEAKER_00: He will do it.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Jesus never leaves a person where he finds them.
SPEAKER_00: He takes them and he begins to change them.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but always, always moving them to greater maturity and fuller discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: Now, as these men began to follow Jesus, they became regular, sustained disciples, and they're walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: They're learning, they're witnessing, they're observing, they're participating, they're understanding the work of the king, and he makes them into his fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: They think they're already fishermen, but Jesus would make them into true fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: How does he do that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, verse 23 begins to show us there's a shift here, and he went.
SPEAKER_00: Crowds of people who desperately need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples are taken from schools of fish to crowds of people.
SPEAKER_00: Now, even though he often drew a crowd, Jesus was not interested in what we've come to know as attractional ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus wasn't about gathering tons of curious onlookers wanting entertainment.
SPEAKER_00: He was looking for disciples.
SPEAKER_00: So what did he do?
SPEAKER_00: Tells us he went throughout all Galilee.
SPEAKER_00: It's a continuous, repeated action.
SPEAKER_00: He keeps on going throughout all Galilee.
SPEAKER_00: We're not told that he went to every town, but that he covers the region and he keeps on doing it.
SPEAKER_00: But interestingly, it shifts in verse 24 to a completely different region, Syria.
SPEAKER_00: He's ministering in Galilee, but word has spread to a different country.
SPEAKER_00: His fame spread throughout all Syria.
SPEAKER_00: So what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it tells us he taught in their synagogues.
SPEAKER_00: Now that's that's much, much more is involved there than simply our notion of coming to church on a Sunday morning and then leaving and not participating again with the rest of the body the rest of the week.
SPEAKER_00: The synagogue was the center of the community.
SPEAKER_00: It was the center of activity.
SPEAKER_00: It was, yes, a place of worship on the Sabbath day, but it was a place of education, of fellowship, even legal proceedings took place in synagogues.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus went there where the people gathered and he taught them.
SPEAKER_00: That's the passing on of information so that learning can take place, so that knowledge and understanding can grow.
SPEAKER_00: He also proclaimed the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: He proclaims it as a herald, as an announcer of the good news, the good news that the kingdom is here because the king is present.
SPEAKER_00: And if the king is present, you must repent.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus has a threefold ministry.
SPEAKER_00: He's teaching and preaching, he's making disciples, and he's healing.
SPEAKER_00: Very similar, by the way, to the command he gives us.
SPEAKER_00: As you're going, make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.
SPEAKER_00: So what happens?
SPEAKER_00: His fame spreads throughout other countries.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 25, it says it's Galilee and the Decopolis, that's ten cities, ten major cities in the Roman Empire in that area.
SPEAKER_00: Jerusalem and Judea, even beyond the Jordan, the entire area beyond Israel is hearing of his fame.
SPEAKER_00: They are hearing what?
SPEAKER_00: That he's a good teacher?
SPEAKER_00: Hearing that he's the king?
SPEAKER_00: Hearing that the kingdom is present?
SPEAKER_00: No, the word that's being passed on is he's a healer.
SPEAKER_00: Come and get healed is the word that is being passed along, and that's why they are bringing to him all that are sick, afflicted with diseases and pains, oppressed by demons, those who are epileptics and paralytics, and he heals them.
SPEAKER_00: They're hearing of the healings, not hearing of the king.
SPEAKER_00: So we're told in verse 25 that crowds followed him, and not just any crowds.
SPEAKER_00: Mega crowds, great crowds.
SPEAKER_00: Now these people aren't following Jesus so much because they they believed in who he was.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't following him because they believed in him as their king.
SPEAKER_00: They were there for the miracles.
SPEAKER_00: They desired the healings and the free food from Jesus' miracles.
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, at the end of Jesus' message in chapter 7, they're surprised by the things that come out of Jesus' mouth.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't expecting it.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't there for listening, but for other things.
SPEAKER_00: What a contrast to the four fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: They left all they knew to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The crowds surged after Jesus as long as they benefited personally.
SPEAKER_00: Very similar to today's fascination with the prosperity teaching and those who promote the health and wealth gospel.
SPEAKER_00: People aren't into those movements for the truth.
SPEAKER_00: They're in it for what they can get out of it because they believe that it will benefit them in this life.
SPEAKER_00: They're told that they can have their best life now.
SPEAKER_00: There are some, some even who believe that Jesus and the disciples practically eliminated disease and sickness from Palestine during their ministry.
SPEAKER_00: It's not in Scripture, it doesn't say that, but it does give us an idea perhaps of how much healing Jesus actually did, that there is much more.
SPEAKER_00: John even tells us that there's much more that could be included so that even the libraries of the world couldn't hold it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was constantly doing these things.
SPEAKER_00: In a world filled with crackpot physicians and snake oil salesmen intent on making away with people's money, the knowledge of a true physician with genuine healing would spread like wildfire.
SPEAKER_00: Who wouldn't want to come?
SPEAKER_00: As a result, crowds followed him, not just any crowds, but great crowds.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus intentionally took his four fishermen into the crowds.
SPEAKER_00: I would have turned around and ran.
SPEAKER_00: Why does Jesus do that?
SPEAKER_00: Why does he go into the crowds instead of running away?
SPEAKER_00: Well it's because of his great compassion.
SPEAKER_00: It's a theme that Matthew will develop as we go on.
SPEAKER_00: Looking a little bit later in Matthew in chapter 15, verse 32, says Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion on these crowds because they've been with me for three days and they haven't eaten anything.
SPEAKER_00: Go find them some food.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to feed them.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 14, Jesus was out in a boat and he comes into land and says he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
SPEAKER_00: Then in Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, it says, When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Sheep without a shepherd are easy pickings for any enemy that might come along, and Jesus is compassionate to them.
SPEAKER_00: He feels for them because they're harassed and they're helpless.
SPEAKER_00: Is it any wonder then that Jesus would express himself in John chapter 10 as the good shepherd?
SPEAKER_00: It's because they need it.
SPEAKER_00: The crowds need the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: And if the crowds need it, then the four fishermen need to learn how to show Jesus to those who need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: So what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: If he knows that they they need a shepherd, how does he respond to that?
SPEAKER_00: He went up on a mountain and he sat down.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he did.
SPEAKER_00: He went up on a mountain and he sat down.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples came to him, they sat down around him, and the crowds came and they sat down to listen.
SPEAKER_00: And you can see chapter 7, verse 28, the crowds were listening.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a prime opportunity for the king to speak about the kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Here's Jesus, Emmanuel, ready to draw people into his kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the shepherd being compassionate to sheep without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: What does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He opens his mouth and he teaches them.
SPEAKER_00: As you're going into all the world, make disciples teaching them.
SPEAKER_00: Do what Jesus did.
SPEAKER_00: What he taught them is what we call the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
SPEAKER_00: We'll look at next time.
SPEAKER_00: But we need to understand here that this king is still calling people to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: He's still calling people to be his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Will you follow or will you stick with the crowds?
SPEAKER_00: He is a king, yes, but he's a king who is a gentle shepherd who cares about your soul.
SPEAKER_00: He knows that in many ways you are helpless and harassed.
SPEAKER_00: And he wants you to come and listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: He's calling.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps he's calling you to trust in him, to once and for all cast aside your thoughts of being good enough to get into heaven, of having tried hard enough.
SPEAKER_00: And of resting in simply in what he's done for you.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps he's calling you to more intense discipleship, telling you that it's finally time for you to become more focused on learning, on maturing, on growing up in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps, perhaps he's calling you to leave your boats and your nets and to follow him to serve those without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Now, all of those, whichever option fits your life, they all require trust in the King.
SPEAKER_00: They require trust that he is worthy of following him, of believing in him.
SPEAKER_00: Requires trust that he is good, that he is kind, that he is just, that he is faithful, that he will shepherd you.
SPEAKER_00: It requires trust that he will hold you fast as you commit to him because tomorrow is uncertain.
SPEAKER_00: If you follow Jesus today, you have no idea what tomorrow will bring.
SPEAKER_00: But he is a faithful good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: So it requires trust and holding on to him as he holds on to you.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is calling to you today, follow me.
SPEAKER_00: How will you respond?
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, we we confess that too often we resist your call.
SPEAKER_00: We say no to you for various reasons.
SPEAKER_00: None of them good reasons.
SPEAKER_00: Break down our reasoning so that we might follow you in the way that you want us to follow.
SPEAKER_00: Cause us to know what it means to have you as a good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, it can make us nervous to follow you, to leave behind our version of boats and nets.
SPEAKER_00: It can make us uncomfortable not knowing what you might ask us to do.
SPEAKER_00: So help us to know that you are the good shepherd who is compassionate.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to know that always and forever you will hold us fast to yourself.
SPEAKER_00: You are trustworthy, and you are faithful.
SPEAKER_01: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_01: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.