Matt 4:18-22 – Jesus Calls the First Disciples

Matt 4:18

1. This was not the first time Peter, Andrew, James and John met Jesus, but it was the first time Jesus called them to leave their work and follow him.
2. Jesus could have talked to them about this when they met in the synagogue, but he deliberately chooses to call them when they are in the middle of their work, a pattern not uncommon when God calls his servants.
   1. David was called when he was shepherding his sheep.
   1. Moses was herding his sheep when God was in the burning bush.
   1. Matthew was called while collecting money as a customs official.
   1. It certainly seems that God likes responsible workers.
3. These fishermen now became “disciples” of Jesus, which was not an uncommon system of learning in those days.
   1. Those who wanted to become rabbis often did so by first following a rabbi to learn. Instead of just sitting in a schoolroom, they got to see, learn and practice.
   1. However, there is a difference; the one who wanted to become a rabbi sought out a rabbi himself to become a disciple, but Jesus did the opposite; he chose his disciples.
      1. It is not we who choose God, but it is God who calls us and we answer either yes or no.

Matt 4:20

1. God likes it when we follow Him 100%!
2. Many of the disciples left both their jobs and their fathers when they became disciples of Jesus.
   1. The disciples were probably teenagers (apart from Peter) when Jesus called them.
      1. A first argument for the disciples being teenagers is that it is believed that the apostle John wrote his gospel as late as 80-100 AD, which means that he could not have been that old when he became a disciple.
      1. A second argument for believing that the disciples were teenagers was that only Jesus and Peter pay the temple tax in Matthew 17:24-27. According to Exodus 30:14, only men over the age of 20 would pay this tax.
      1. A third argument for the disciples being young was that it seems that only Peter was married (Matt 8:14) and normally people would get married at about 18 years of age.
3. Does everyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus have to leave everything, quit their job and move away from home?
   1. I believe that God calls some people to just that. I personally have left everything to follow Jesus. I have left my former life, job, etc., to devote myself full time to working for Jesus.
   1. I don’t believe that God calls everyone to this. There are many who serve God much better than me through their normal job. However, I am convinced that everyone needs to leave something in order to follow Jesus.