It's all about Jesus: Call His Disciples (Pt.1)

(Part 1)

“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 o 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.”-Matthew 4:18-22.

Upon returning from the wilderness, after being baptized and tempted of the devil, before he launched out into his earthly ministry; Jesus chose twelve men to follow him. Scripture refers to these men as disciples.

A disciple, simply defined, is a follower or a student of a teacher. Nevertheless, the implications of being a disciple, according to Scripture, were far deeper than what is generally accepted as being a follower in today’s culture. Today we can follow athletes’ statistics online or follow friends, family and celebrities on social media without any real connection or accountability to that individual; however becoming a follower of Christ requires more than merely scrolling through a litany of tweets on our smart phones. To become a disciple of Jesus Christ we must embrace the same expectations that Jesus had for the men he had called to follow him.

Discipleship of any kind always begins with an invitation. Jesus called out to twelve men and invited them to join him. The first step in becoming a disciple of Christ is that we must respond to his invitation and then determine to follow him. This requires a definitive decision on the part of the disciple to acknowledge one’s allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, and commitment to the one leading. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33:

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

Becoming a disciple of Christ is a very public decision that should be reflected in our thoughts, attitudes, and lifestyle.

The decision to respond to his invitation was then followed by yet another difficult decision. The disciples were a rag tag bunch of guys; fishermen, tax collectors, and social activist. They had virtually nothing in common except one thing:

“So they pulled up their boats on shore, left everything and followed him.”-Luke 5:11.

Although they came from different social strata and upbringing, the one thing these men had in common, that made each of them great candidates for discipleship, was that they were each willing to leave everything to follow him.

 

Matthew 19:23-30 tells us of a story of a rich young ruler who came to Jesus to ask what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments, to which the young man replied that he had kept them. Then Jesus told him:

“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”-Matthew 19:21.

Scripture tells us that the young man, when he heard this, went away sad, because he had great wealth. This young man received the invitation to join Jesus’ band of disciples, but because he was unwilling to leave everything, he walked away from God’s calling on his life.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church