Jesus’ Call | 5 Discoveries of Jesus (Ep. 4)

Hi, I'm Bob Wrongly, and I'm your teacher and your guide in this course, Five Ancient Discoveries That Will Rock Your View of Jesus. We're already in our fourth episode as we're continuing to explore the life of Jesus and to see how some of these ancient discoveries illuminate the way of Jesus and help us to follow him more closely. So the last episode, we were in Capernaum on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee, and in this episode, we're going to continue in that same area around the Sea of Galilee, and we're going to look specifically at some discoveries that illuminate the call of Jesus for us as disciples. In our last episode, we saw just how beautiful this lake is, and we saw how Jesus centered his mission in this fishing town on the North Shore of the lake called Capernaum. So Jesus centered his mission in this home of Simon and Andrew, and this new kind of family became kind of the base of his mission. Now, one thing that we should understand is that Jesus had a very intentional missional strategy. It wasn't just kind of haphazard. And in fact, later, when he's sending his disciples out on mission, he explicitly trains them in the missional strategy that he himself has already been demonstrating for them. And he explains that in Luke 10, it says, whatever house you enter, oikos, of course, is the word there, peace be to this house, to this family, this extended family. And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. Now, to offer your peace was basically to offer a greeting and an invitation of friendship, shalom. And when it says, your peace will rest upon him, it means a person who receives that invitation to friendship and reciprocates. And Jesus says, if not, it will return to you.

So if they're not open to your friendship, no harm, no foul, you kind of keep moving on. But when you find that person of peace, he says, remain in the same house, the same family, eating and drinking what they provide, heal the sick in it, and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. Now, you see, this is a very specific strategy for reaching the lost. And here's basically what Jesus is saying. He says, offer your friendship. You don't have to stand on the corner with a bullhorn or pass out leaflets, just look for friends and offer your friendship, offer your peace. And then see who responds positively, see who's open to friendship, who reciprocates. And then go with them, stay with them, eat with them. I like it so far, right? I love to do all those things. Gets a little tougher now, he says, heal the sick, okay, there's a spiritual challenge, and tell them the good news. So it's fascinating that the tell them the good news comes kind of at the end of building this friendship and demonstrating the love and the power of God. But this is how Jesus reached the lost and called disciples. And this is how he trained his disciples to do the same. So probably good for us to consider how we're seeking to reach our lost friends. Are we following the same pattern? Now, we refer to this as the person of peace strategy. And a person of peace is somebody who welcomes you, who listens to you, and who will serve you. That's somebody who's open and responsive. Now, if you don't find people of peace, Jesus said, just shake the dust off and kind of move along. So first, you are the person of peace.

You welcome people, you listen to them, you serve them. That's what Jesus did for his disciples. And then when they do the same to you, basically, you build that friendship. That's what Jesus did with Simon and Andrew. He built a friendship with them. But Jesus is looking for more than just friends, he's calling disciples. So we're going to look now at this shift from friendship to discipleship. And, you know, as Jesus was teaching and healing and delivering, he was getting more and more famous. He was drawing bigger and bigger crowds. He couldn't fit in the synagogues anymore. He couldn't even fit in the towns. So he would go out into the hillsides to teach. And Luke tells us in chapter 5, verse 1, on one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. That's another term for the Sea of Galilee. And he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. We find out that one of them was Simon and Andrew's family fishing boat. The other one was James and John's fishing boat. Those two oikoi, those two families, had... kind of business partnership because you could fish in certain ways that were more effective if you had two boats. And so they had been out all night fishing and now they were washing their nets. Now Jesus is kind of getting overwhelmed by the crowd so he asks Simon if he can take his boat out and let Jesus use it kind of as a speaking platform. So he asked him to put out a little from the land and he sat down and taught the people from the boat. Now we don't have any archaeological evidence for the location of this but there is a cove just near to Capernaum right near to where Jesus was headquartered and it's perfectly shaped for what Luke is describing here. We call it sower's cove because during this time is when Jesus taught the parable of the sower and

the seed and they've done audio testing to show that somebody from a boat could be heard by 5,000 people sitting on the hillside there. It's like a natural amphitheater and so it's almost certain that this would be the place where all of this was happening and it's fascinating. We always go there and take a swim and just kind of immerse ourselves in this environment as we think about what Jesus did on this day and so it was while Jesus was out there on the boat that he was teaching the crowds and the day was carrying on it was getting hot so people finished his teachings the crowds went away and then Jesus began to interact with Simon out on the boat. Now fascinatingly in 1984 there was a drought and the level of the lake went down and buried in the mud on the bottom of the seashore a couple of guys stumbled across the remains of an ancient boat. They went through a painstaking process of preserving the boat but now when we go there we can see this beautifully displayed first century fishing boat. It's about 28 feet long it's about 12 feet wide it could easily handle 12 or more people had a mass that could be tipped up in fact here's a reconstruction of what it would have looked like. It had four oars and a steering oar so this is the exact kind of boat that Simon and Andrew and James and John used in their fishing business and that Simon had let Jesus use kind of as his pulpit if you will. Now as the day had worn on and the people went away Jesus began to engage with Simon he says put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Now I just have to tell you this is terrible fishing advice because at the Sea of Galilee when you're net fishing you fish at night because that's when the fish come kind of close to the surface to feed and you don't fish out in the deep part of the lake you fish close to the shore where you can trap the fish between your nets and the shore and so Jesus has got it all wrong here. Now Simon is a professional fisherman like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him he's got a very successful fishing business based on his house we know that he was making a good living he had a beautiful home and a beautiful spot this guy knows how to fish and he just fished all night and didn't catch anything so you can imagine how he's feeling about this stone cutter from Nazareth telling him how to fish right. But look at Simon's answer master notice notice his his posture he's posturing Jesus as his master he says we toiled all night and took nothing you can just hear the frustration in his voice he says but at your word I will let down the nets it's incredible isn't it Simon even though it's the thing that he knows best even though he's frustrated he chooses to trust Jesus he he chooses to submit to Jesus and to follow his direction even though Jesus doesn't seem to know anything

about fishing right it's an amazing moment in Simon's life and it's amazing because when they let down the nets they caught so many fish that the net started to break and when they started to haul it into the boat the boat started to sink he had to call his partners James and John over with their boat both boats were full remember 28 feet long 12 feet wide I mean these are big boats full of fish and this was truly a miraculous catch and Luke goes on in verse 8 he says when Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus knees saying depart from me for I am a sinful man Oh Lord, he realized that Jesus was more than just a man and he felt his own sinfulness by contrast. And then Luke says, for he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken. So also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men, people. You're gonna fish for people, Jesus says. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. This was an incredible turning point where they realized that the life that Jesus was living, the life that he was offering, was so much better. They had a good life. Sometimes we think, oh, the disciples were poor peasants. They had nothing better to do. No, they had a good business. They had a great family. They had a really good life. But when they saw Jesus, they saw the fruitfulness of his life. It's a life that was so much richer, so much more fruitful, so much more abundant.

And as Luke says, they were willing to leave everything to follow him. They realized that to be a disciple of Jesus was to live the best kind of life that they could live, not just to be friends who would serve him. They were like, yeah, use my boat, stay in my house, no problem. But now they were taking it to the next level to become followers who would submit to Jesus, that would follow him wherever they led him. And so to be a family on mission, first of all, a family has its own personal mission, right? We gotta catch fish to make a living and feed our family. And they were really good at that. But now Jesus was offering them something more. He was inviting them into a kingdom mission to see lives transformed, to see God's kingdom come, to see the lost be found in this new kind of family. And the only way to fulfill that mission was to become followers, to become disciples, to submit to Jesus. And we need to consider that for ourselves. Are we a disciple of Jesus? Are we living as part of his family, seeking and saving the lost and making disciples? You know, in the first century, there was a very special relationship between a rabbi and his disciples. Jesus said, believe in me. And that's the teaching function of a rabbi.

There was lots of good information that a rabbi would convey. And Jesus has the best information there is, right? The truth that sets us free. So understanding Jesus' teaching and who Jesus is and believing in him, having faith in him is critical. But Jesus also said, follow me. And that means imitate my way of life. Pattern your life after the example that I have set for you. And this is what it means to be a disciple. A disciple lived in such a close relationship with the rabbi that they could not only hear what the rabbi said and understand and believe their teaching, but they could also see what the rabbi did so that they could imitate that way of life, that they could follow the pattern and the example of their rabbi. Jesus said, for I've given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. That's a disciple. A disciple is somebody who's decided to follow the example of Jesus, to let Jesus' example shape their lives in every way. Are you a disciple? A disciple learns to know what the rabbi knows, but also learns to do what the rabbi does. That comes from the relationship. And in that relationship, you become like the rabbi. That is the goal of discipleship.

And that is our goal as disciples of Jesus, to become more like him. And so to bear more of the fruit in our lives that Jesus bore in his life, to see the lost found, to see the broken healed, to build a new kind of family where everyone is welcome, to learn to live out the kingdom of God, doing God's will on earth as it is in heaven. The apostle Paul says it this way, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. Now, Paul was not a perfect person. He persecuted the church, right? He had lots of flaws, but Jesus was alive in him. And he was confident enough of that to say, hey, come and imitate the Jesus that you see in my life, and I'll show you his way. This is Jesus-shaped discipleship. It is about the information. about the truth that will set us free. Jesus has the best information ever, but it's also about the imitation, about learning to follow Jesus' example. And we need people in our lives that can show us that example. And we ultimately need to become those who can give that example to others. And ultimately, it's not just about imitating another person because it leads to innovation. We each have a unique set of gifts and calling and context. And so the way that we carry out our mission

is gonna look different for each one of us. But this is what it means to be a disciple, who makes disciples, information, imitation, and innovation. Now, a lot of times when we say, well, follow me as I follow Christ, I feel awkward saying that. You know what? You don't need to be a perfect example. We already have a perfect example. His name is Jesus, and that's who we focus on. But we need people in our life that help us to see what it looks like to follow him. And we in turn can become that example for others. We're not a perfect example, but we can be a living example. And I know this was a game changer in my own life when I realized that discipleship wasn't just about studying and getting more information, but it was about learning the way of Jesus, patterning my life intentionally after Jesus, looking to others who could help me learn that way of life, and then turning around and inviting others intentionally to follow me as I follow Christ, to be a living example to others. Now, who did Jesus call to be his disciples? Well, he had 12 full-time disciples. They were the ones like the fishermen who left their jobs and went full-time. Some of us are called to that, but not most of us. He also had his everyday disciples. Luke talks about the 72 that he sent out on mission.

Those were the people that they still had their day jobs. They were still doing their thing, but they were disciples who were learning to live as a family on mission with Jesus. There were fishermen. These were blue-collar workers, tax collectors. These were hated outcasts. There were zealots. These were kind of the radical rebels of the time, women who were not ever considered disciples in Jesus' culture, but Jesus had lots of women disciples, and so everyone was called to be a disciple who ultimately reaches the lost, brings the kingdom of God, and makes disciples. Jesus said, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. See, that's setting an example for people to follow and inviting them to learn how to live a Jesus-shaped life, and then Jesus gives us this promise. I am with you always to the end of the age. By his Holy Spirit, he is alive in us, and he's the one who will show us how to live this kind of life, how to make disciples and live as a family on mission. So who will you call?

If you are a disciple, then your goal ultimately is gonna be to make disciples, to become like a rabbi who makes disciples. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you following him? And if you are, then I would ask you, who are your disciples? Who are the people that you've intentionally invited into your life to learn how to follow Jesus as your father? This is the way of Jesus. This is the abundant life. This is what Simon and Andrew was willing to leave their business behind in order to pursue that life. So I encourage you to consider the same thing. So let's just take a minute to reflect as we finish this segment. What is Jesus' call for each of us? What is God saying to you? And what's the next step of faith that he's calling you to take? This concludes our fourth episode of our course, and I encourage you to come back for our final episode, which is gonna be an incredible journey to the city of Jerusalem, where we are gonna consider the most amazing events of Jesus' life, ultimately his death and his resurrection. So come and complete this journey with us in episode five.