Jesus Begins to Preach.12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”[a] 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus Calls His First Disciples 18 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. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus Heals the Sick 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Many of us follow someone or something. Follow UK. Follow the Steelers. Follow our parents. Or even a rock star or celebrity. It is easy to play follow the leader. I wonder what it felt like to follow Jesus. What did Jesus expect of those following him?
I have identified there are at least five things.
First, absolute loyalty
Second, absolute compassion to those you will serve
Third, acknowledge that what you are doing comes not from yourself but from God.
Did the disciples know what they were getting themselves into? I’d say yes because Jesus wasn’t like none other. Other men would probably have been married already but Jesus places his own being into serving God.
This commitment is heavy. It changes your life. It changes your direction. If we do it right and to Jesus’ specification, it can change the world and isn’t this what Jesus came to do?
