Follow Me (Matt. 4:12-15) (1/25/26)

As we turn to the Word of God and the preaching

of His Word today, let us remember once again

that during this epiphany season, this is the

time that the Lord Jesus is revealed to us. These

are the portions of the Scripture and of course

all through the Gospels we see Jesus revealed

to us. But here today we continue to see people's

eyes open more and more and we pray that the

Lord would also give us epiphanies into Christ

Jesus. Let us pray. O Lord God, we give thanks

then to you that by your sovereign grace you

have made us your people. You have surrounded

us with your mercies and your protecting care.

Make us grateful morning and night, joyful in

your providential care and in your grace. Take

our eyes from our burdens and griefs and grant

that they may be always fixed on your goodness

and your grace. Teach us this day and always

the things that we need to know so that we may

serve you with all our heart, mind, being and

so make the words of my mouth and the meditations

of all our hearts pleasing in your sight for

the sake of Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ

our Lord amen For those of you that may be tuning

in it is our habit to preach the gospel from

Advent the gospel reading from Advent until Pentecost

and So once again our sermon text is our gospel

reading Let us now hear God's word. Matthew chapter

four, beginning in verse 12. Now when Jesus heard

that John had been put in prison, he departed

to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he came and

dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the

regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might

be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the

prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun and the

land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea beyond

the Jordan, Galilee. of the Gentiles. The people

who sat in darkness have seen a great light upon

those who sat in the region and the shadow of

death. Light has dawned. From that time, Jesus

began to preach and say, repent, for the kingdom

of heaven is at hand. 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. Then he said

to them follow me and I will make you fishers

of men they immediately left their nets and followed

him Going on from there He saw two other brothers

James the son of Zebedee and John his brother

in a boat with Zebedee their father Mending their

nets he called them and immediately they left

the boat and their father and followed him 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 diseases among the people. That 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 and epileptics and paralytics and he

healed them. Great multitudes followed him from

Galilee, from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and

beyond the Jordan. These are the words of Almighty

God. Receive them in your hearts. You know, one

of the things about being a parent is this, that

we have an expectation that our children do what

we ask. When they're little, what do we do? It's

simple instructions. Eat your green beans. Don't

stick your finger in the socket. Don't run in

the street and please come here Sometimes it's

other things we ask them we say come here come

here and they run from us and we have a gift

We have something for them. Maybe it's a few

M &Ms. Maybe it's a birthday present and they're

not with it But they run away and they don't

come You know one of the things that we really

want to strive with with all of our children

is to get them to obey right away, the first

time that we call. Now, this is, of course, a

great challenge for many. Well, really, truthfully,

I think for all of us, right? We're challenged.

We want them just to respond to our word. Come

here, please. And then, when they don't, what's

going on in our mind is, oh, man, what's the

next step? Now, the truth is, we know, as Christians,

we know what the next step is. We know that we're

supposed to go out, get up, Go after them and

discipline them right then, every time, so that

they quickly learn to come when we call. Why

do we do that? Well, we do it sometimes, to be

honest, for our own convenience. But mostly,

I hope that our desire is to see that our children

stay out of danger. We want them, if they're

dashing towards the street or to something dangerous,

when we say stop. That they stop immediately.

When we say come, they come. And so here today,

I want us to keep that in mind as we consider

the scriptures. There's three things I want you

to think about as we consider this passage. One,

during this epiphany season, we are told, it

is revealed to us that Jesus actively fulfills

the promises of God. Jesus actively fulfills

the promises of God. Second, like the disciples,

we must follow Jesus. We must follow Jesus. And

that Jesus himself proclaimed the gospel of the

kingdom. Our passage begins with the observation

that when Jesus heard that John had been put

into prison, that he left Nazareth, and headed

to Galilee dwelling in Capernaum. There's a continuity

from the ministry of John the Baptizer to Jesus.

John's ministry of repentance for the kingdom

of heaven is at hand, is continued by Jesus.

Jesus' work is the continuation of the work of

God towards man through all of history, beginning

in the Garden of Eden. God's axe is laid at the

root of the tree of Israel. That's what John

says, right? The prophet of Jeremiah shows us

that God uses the axe of empires to bring down

nations God will use Rome as the axe that destroys

the temple Jerusalem and all the Jews who oppose

Jesus For years many across Judea had risen up

in rebellion to overthrow the Roman Empire Which

explains why you see pilot inherit concern with

riots and why the priests and other conspirators

Against Jesus focus on Jesus as an evildoer deserving

death They keep insinuating that he's a rival

king and in one way he is but What he's doing

what they're doing is Hey, he's gonna cause a

riot. As a matter of fact, we're responding in

a riotous way because of Jesus. And so Pilate

and Herod both capitulate. The enemies of the

cross, this is real important, the enemies of

the cross know what buttons to push on the civil

magistrate to cause them to give an unfavorable

result against Jesus and his church. We've seen

that very recently. They know what the civil

magistrates' idols are. In other words, the idols

of the age that the officials will not cross

out of fear. We're seeing that develop all over

our country. So for the church, we should expect

to receive the same treatment as our Lord. So

what does Jesus do? He goes out and he preaches

and he teaches the gospel of the kingdom. What

is this gospel? You know the great hymn. This

is my father's world Do not forget God is the

ruler yet The Lord is king Let the heavens ring

That is the gospel of the kingdom every square

inch of everyone's life Whether they're covered

up and hiding it It is yet God's world It is

Jesus declaring that it is His Father's world.

And so let the heavens ring. So Jesus leaves

the town of Nazareth and heads northward around

the Sea of Galilee. John preached, and many came

from all over Judea and Jerusalem. So we have

Jesus who is going out, and we have John who

is stationary by the River Jordan. Judea, where

all those came from, Checking out John is understood

as the region of the southern kingdom all of

those who returned after the exile and Jesus

he doesn't go there He ventures out to the region

of the old northern kingdom which fell into judgment

of exile about 135 years earlier than the southern

kingdom Now God not only delivered the northern

kingdom into exile, but also directed the Assyrians

to plant into the land all kinds of Gentiles

and unbelieving nations. The two most northern

tribes in this northern kingdom are Zebulun and

Naphtali. And so our text provides a prophecy

of God's promise of epiphany or illumination

for the people in these regions. So, John, he's

proclaiming the truth, and it's primarily to

those who are already thinking of God. And Jesus

goes into a mixed land filled with all kinds

of people from all kinds of nations. Verse 15

reminds us that in the land of Zebulun and the

land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea beyond

the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people

who sat in darkness, these people have been infiltrated

with all kinds of idolatries. In that darkness,

Jesus goes. They've been sitting in that darkness.

They've seen a great light. And upon those who

sat in the region and the shadow of death, a

light has dawned. Where people came to John,

Jesus goes into the region here, revealing who

he is. But this great light is not just for the

Jews, but also for the Gentiles. Jesus does proclaim

the same thing. He says repent for the kingdom

is at hand and he does this beginning in the

synagogues But throughout his ministry he will

touch and heal and forgive Jew and Samaritan

and Gentile alike This quote is from Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

9 and it starts with that revealed shining light

in this region and then then proceeds to go to

a very familiar passage. So this light is promised

by the prophet Isaiah to this very mixed area

of the world, and then we see later down in Isaiah

9 a very familiar passage beginning in verse

6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son

is given, and the government will be upon his

shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful,

Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. Prince

of Peace. Of the increase of his government and

peace, there will be no end upon the throne of

David and over his kingdom to order it and establish

it with judgment and justice from that time forward,

even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will

perform this. The Father is revealing that Jesus

as the Son whom he has placed on the throne is

the one Who will bring the light who will transform

not just Israel? But bring his promises of restoration

to all mankind in this mixed land of the northern

kingdom And of course all of this is made true

not by any work of man But by the zeal of the

Lord now you might be looking out there at the

world around you you might be seeing all kinds

of things going on And you're like this land

is lost and perhaps this nation is But you know

who's not lost? All the people whom God has called.

So what do we do? We must live as lights and

obedience to Christ. And you say, how can I do

this against all these overwhelming odds? This

is how you do it, by the zeal of the Lord. Now

it is here in this region, as our narrative goes

on, that we see Jesus pursue and call his first

disciples. Unlike other rabbis of the time, what

would happen is you'd have a rabbi, he'd be teaching,

and then someone would come to him and say, hey,

can I be your student? No. Again, here we see

the sovereignty of God's work of salvation. Jesus

goes and he calls. And so here we see Jesus.

It says he was walking by the Sea of Galilee

and he sees two brothers. Simon and Peter. And

what are they doing? They're casting a net by

the sea. Why? Because they were fishermen. And

Jesus says to them, follow me and I will make

you fishers of men. And they immediately left

their nets and followed him. And of course he

goes on from there and he saw two brothers, James

the son of Zebedee and his brother John. And

they're not only just out there doing this, but

they're with their father and they're mending

their nets and they're with their boat. And it

says, he called them and immediately they left

the boat and their father and followed him. So

Jesus walks along the shore of Galilee and comes

to Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Now remember,

Jesus had already met Andrew and Peter. As you

know, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptizer

and heard John announce that Jesus was the Lamb

of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Andrew of course follows Jesus and in turn brings

Peter to Jesus. Our passage today occurs sometimes

after this. Jesus walks up to both sets of brothers

and bids them to follow him. And I will make

you fishers of men." So he's going to transform

them. He calls them, and then he's going to transform

them from fishers of just fish to fishers of

men. And this, of course, reminds us of the prophecy

in Ezekiel 47, where the vision of the new temple

is described with water proceeding out of the

temple, rising deeper and deeper, flowing farther

and farther into the world, all the way to the

sea. and it will heal the waters of the sea.

It says this in verse seven of Ezekiel 47. When

I returned there, along the bank of the river,

there were many trees on one side and the other.

And he said to me, this water flows towards the

eastern region and goes down into the valley

and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea,

its waters are healed. And it shall be that every

living thing that moves wherever the rivers go

will live. There will be a very great multitude

of fish because these waters go there, for they

will be healed and everything will live wherever

the river goes. And it shall be that fishermen

will stand by it from the Ngedi to the Ngalem,

and they will be places for spreading their nets.

Their fish will be the same kinds of fish of

the Great Sea, exceedingly many. but its swamps

and marshes will not be healed. They will be

given over to the salt. Along the banks of the

river, now here it is, along the banks of the

river on this side and that will grow all kinds

of trees used for food. Their leaves will not

wither and their fruit will not fail. They will

bear fruit every month because the water flows

from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food

and their leaves for medicine. Jesus is calling

his disciples to be transformed into the foundation

of the new temple and in that Become fishers

of men Whom the spirit brings the light so the

spirit flows out from the presence of God we

see this in Ezekiel we see this in Revelation

the spirit flows from the throne where the father

and the son are sitting so he proceeds out and

he brings life to the world and Everyone that

he gives life to the fishermen are pulling in

and adding to the living stones of the new temple.

We're told that all four men immediately left

their nets and followed Jesus. And for James

and John, we see that they not only left their

nets, but they left their father and their boats

as well. These men heard the call to follow Jesus

and rightly prioritize their lives. The whole

of the Gospels tell us that none of these men

abandoned their families or jobs or responsibilities

to follow Jesus, but they rightly ordered their

loves so as to submit every area of their lives

under the rule of following Jesus first and then

to attend to everything else with God's will

being done here on earth as it is in heaven.

To be sure, The disciples through the ministry

of Christ showed all kinds of sign of sin and

boneheadedness. But Jesus called them and they

followed Jesus immediately. We see that Jesus's

influence and fame grows throughout all of Syria.

Now the Syrian, when the scriptures talk about

Syria, it's actually talking about this whole

region of the Northern Kingdom. So all. of this

region of Jews and Samaritans and Gentiles. Do

you wonder why Jesus' fame and influence doesn't

grow in the world that you live in? Do you get

up and follow Jesus immediately? Last week we

were reminded in our service that we are no longer

in bondage to sin that is reigning sin. And that

Jesus kept his word and sent the Holy Spirit

not only to transform us, but to remind us of

everything that Jesus has said. That is, every

bit of the whole Bible. So again, do we obey

the word of God immediately? What are we hesitating

on? What are we attempting to negotiate with

God over? God calls you. obedience now not tomorrow

and not after lunch so confess your procrastination

you know we are saved by grace but the conditions

that God gives us right do not nullify grace

but the conditions that God gives us to walk

in obedience to him are fulfilled by his grace

he sent his spirit that reminds us of Jesus'

words and has given us a new heart and has renewed

our mind. And he has taken us and given us the

ability to walk away from sin. So put it to death.

Follow Jesus first. Let his words, every part

of scripture, determine the order of your priorities.

Then again, following Jesus immediately, let

each of you do what? Your thinking, your speaking,

your working, your playing, how you relate in

all of your relationships. And do it in quick

submission to God. We too often demand this from

others and do not expect it of ourselves. We're

often quick to point out everyone else's failures

and failure to follow Christ immediately Well,

they know what to do So why don't they do it?

All right, what does God charged you with? To

follow him immediately to remember his words

so once again Confess your sin confess your procrastination

So that You too will be lights in the world and

you'll see the world around you transformed Jesus

has come bringing light into the world driving

out the darkness with all authority and His name

is wonderful and counselor mighty God everlasting

Father and Prince of Peace of this new creation

light and life has come and Light and life has

come to you and you are to share it with the

world We've been blessed by the new life given

to us by the Father by the work of Jesus through

the power of the Spirit Follow Jesus Obey immediately

and in this you will bring the light and life

of the gospel of the kingdom in Jesus to the

world Let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you

that you sent Jesus to bring light into the world

and that he drives the darkness from your people.

Help us we pray to see our sin and to follow

Jesus in all things without hesitation. Grant

us your spirit to bring your light to the world

and become fishers of men to your glory. We ask

all this for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord

who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit forever

and ever.