Matthew 4:12-25
The call of the King
Pray
Intro
√ The call of the King
In our last study we followed Jesus into the wilderness where He took His war to the devil’s doorstep. In our text this morning we follow Jesus as He begins His public ministry.
Very important because what Jesus does and says in this section of scripture lays the foundation for what He will do and say throughout His entire ministry.
The purpose of His ministry is to rescue the people of this world from the chains of the devil and the darkness under which they live.
Jesus does this by means of a call to the people, the call of the King, a…
Call to repent
Call to follow
Call to serve
As we follow Matthew’s story I think you’ll find that a pattern develops that we can follow in our own lives and ministries.
Ap. The call remains the same
The call of the King was not just to the people who lived in the in the time that Jesus walked this earth.
Rather, the call of the King echoes down through history to us this morning and it is the same as it was 2,000 years ago…
A call to…
Repent
Follow
Serve
It is our duty to hear and respond to the call because it is the King who is speaking!
Call to repent (vs. 12-17)
Matt.
Matt.
Matt.
Matt.
By
the way of the sea, beyond the
Matt.
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”
Matt.
√ Call to repent
Matthew’s Gospel now follows Jesus as He begins His public ministry. He gives us some background information so that we can set Jesus’ ministry in the proper historical context.
His public ministry begins after John is put in prison.
He moves His
ministry headquarters from
His move to
Jesus begins to preach His message to the people.
What message does Jesus preach? Note vs. 17…
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The exact same message that John had preached before he was put into prison! (Ref. Matthew 3:2)
√ Repentance is the first step
It is very significant that both John and Jesus preached the same message…
…a message of repentance.
Why?
Because repentance is the first step every person must take before they can enter the
The reality of life is that every person begins life on the wrong road. We’re all born going the wrong direction!
Therefore, no matter how hard a person may try to get into a right relationship with God…
…they simply can’t do it because they’re headed down the wrong road!
So, Jesus, the King of the
Ex. Turn around!
A road trip – you can’t reach your destination if you’re traveling in the wrong direction. It doesn’t matter…
How fast you drive
How smart you are
How nice your car is
…if you’re driving in the wrong direction you’ll never reach your destination!
You’ve got to turn around and drive the right way.
Ap. Heaven’s the other way!
The King’s call to repent reminds us that everyone one of us is born going in the wrong direction! We can’t get to heaven if we’re traveling in the wrong direction. It doesn’t matter…
How hard you try
How smart you are
How nice you are
…you can’t reach heaven unless you turn around and to the right way!
Ap. Have you repented?
The first step to becoming a citizen of the
Have you repented?
Are you headed toward Heaven?
Or are you still on the road that you were born on?
Repentance means that you must…
Admit you’re going in the wrong direction
Change your mind and attitude in life
Turn around and go the other way – toward Jesus
Without repentance there can be no salvation because until a person repents they’re going in the wrong direction.
Call to follow (vs. 18-22)
Matt. 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Matt.
Matt.
Matt.
Matt.
√ Call to follow
Matthew now moves his account to record the King’s call to follow Him. He tells us that Jesus was walking along the
…Simon Peter and Andrew.
Matthew tells us that the King called to them…
“Follow me” – vs. 19
Then Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, whom He also called.
It’s important to realize that this is not the first time that these men had met Jesus.
Rather, they had met him before at the
So, Jesus wasn’t a complete stranger to them. But now He is calling them to a new relationship with Him. A relationship in which…
Jesus would lead them
They would follow Him
…a personal relationship between the King and His subjects.
The reason for the King’s call is that simply knowing Who Jesus is does not save a person…
…they must also heed His call to follow Him because it is through a personal relationship with the King that He leads a person to the Kingdom.
Ex. Repentance and following
Repentance means that a person changes their mind and turns around to go in the right direction. The next step is to follow Jesus on the path of life that leads to salvation.
Repentance = I recognize that I’m going in the
wrong direction so I turn around.
Following = I embrace Jesus and follow Him
because He alone can lead me to
salvation and the Kingdom of
God.
The reason that the King’s call to follow Him is so important for us to heed is that without submitting to His call there really can’t be a true salvation experience.
Ex. Pretenders
Matt.
Matt.
Matt.
Note the difference between those who are saved and those who are not…
…relationship (vs. 23).
Ex. Repentance alone
Those familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous know that the first step toward breaking their addiction is repentance…
…acknowledging that they’re going in the wrong direction.
But, just repenting doesn’t mean that person is saved!
They may chose their dog as their “higher power”.
The point is that a person can recognize their need for a change in their life and turn from their sin…
…but, if they don’t then follow Jesus they still aren’t saved!
Ex. Driving trip
Getting off the freeway because you realize you’re headed in the wrong direction is great…
…but until you get back on the freeway headed in the right direction you’re not going to reach your destination.
√ Cost to follow
Note that in order for the boys to follow Jesus that they had to first lay aside what they were involved in when He called them.
Peter and Andrew in vs. 20…
“They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”
James and John in vs. 22…
“…and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”
That is, there was a cost borne by the disciples in order to follow Jesus.
They left their trade
They left their parents
The point is that there will always be a cost to follow the King. He may not ask us to give up our…
Career
Parents
…but when the King calls us to follow you can be sure that there will be something that we must leave behind in order to follow Him.
Ex. Bike racing
The reason that we all bear a cost to follow the King is that we can’t serve two masters! Before we come to Jesus we all have something, or someone, in our life that we serve.
A career
A relationship
Possessions
Fame
Title
For me it was an Olympic gold medal. For Peter and the boys it was what they were good at…
…fishing (their security!).
Whatever it is we must be willing to lay it aside to follow Jesus because we can only walk on one path at a time.
So, to follow King Jesus we have to be willing to let go of anything or anyone that He asks us to leave behind.
Ap. Are you following?
The Christian life has always been, and will always be about following Jesus!
Anything else, even religious activity, is not an acceptable substitute for following the King.
The degree to which you follow Jesus is the degree to which you’ll experience the reality of the Christian life.
Don’t settle for an “arms-length” relationship by refusing to lay aside your “net”, or leaving your “father”…
Don’t be like the rich young ruler who turned away from Jesus because he loved his money more than a relationship with Jesus.
When the King calls you to follow – drop it and go!
Call to serve (vs. 23-25)
Matt. 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matt. 4:24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
Matt. 4:25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
√ Call to serve
Now that the boys are following the King, Matthew tells us that Jesus gets busy doing what He came to earth to do…
…serving the people.
We note that Jesus was busy about…
Preaching
Teaching
Healing
As Jesus did so He was modeling for the disciples the kind of life to which He had called them…
“Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men”
…a life of serving the Lord.
For the call of the King to follow Him to the Kingdom is also a call to reach out to those around us and invite to come along with us.
We do that by serving them.
Jesus told those who wanted to follow Him…
Matt. 20:26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
Matt. 20:27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—
Matt. 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
How do we serve the people? The same way that Jesus did. Do what the Father has given us to do!
Ex. We all have a part to play in the Body
Paul tells us in I Cor. 12 that every one of us has been given a gift by the Holy Spirit to use for the good of the people. Our job is to find out what gift He has given us and then use it!
Ap. Joy comes most abundantly to those who serve the Lord
Are you lacking joy in your Christian experience? If so, look at your life and honestly evaluate whether or not you’re serving as the Lord wants you to be.
√ Excuses
There isn’t a person in the Body of Christ that’s been called to be an observer! If you’ve been making excuses for not being involved then repent and get involved!
I’ve heard…
“I’m too young”
Really! David was only a teen when he fought Goliath, so was Timothy when he left home to work with Paul. My own kids were teaching Sunday school at 12 because so many of the parents in our fellowship then wouldn’t serve.
“I’m too old”
Really! Moses was 80 when God called him to deliver the people out of Egypt, Michelangelo wrote poetry and designed buildings into his 90’s, our own pastor Chuck still ministers full time at 79!
There are many things that one can do to serve God’s people even if your health is poor (i.e. prayer team, cards of encouragement, etc.)
“I’m too busy”
Really! Then you need to reprioritize your life because the only things worth investing your time in is doing what the Lord has called you to do!
Close
√ The call of the King
The call of the King is the same today as it was when Jesus began His public ministry! He is calling every person to…
Repent
Follow
Serve
The question is, have you? Are you?