December, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
439
Jesus chose four of the early disciples who were later to become apostles. There were two pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and James and John. These were to be leaders among that band of intimates that Jesus would gather about Himself for the purpose o f carrying on His work and establishing the kingdom. They were of different temperaments ; each man was formed in a separate mold, and each bore peculiar characteristics. Together, they represent the various classes who would become followers of the King. The invitation given them carried the promise that, if they followed the Lord, He would make them fishers o f men. Their experience would teach them something of what would be required in thé way of patience, perseverance, and hard work. The one stipulation was that they follow Christ. Following Him, all the responsibility would be upon Him, not upon them. No one can follow Him without finding that His Word is true and without becoming a fisher of men, coming into intimate fellow ship with the Lord and sharing the high honor of being a colaborer with Him. The response was immediate. Peter and Andrew appear to have been casting nets from the shore, while James and John were in the boat with their father. The former two at once “left their nets and followed hiHi,” and the latter two “ left the ship and their father, and followed him.” This is the c h a r a c t e r of the obedience that leads to fishing for men. Thèse disciples left all—the implements of their business as well as the ties of nature— and they found immeasurably more than all they left. Such is the obedience the Lord waits for today, and such will be the reward. IV. T h e M in is t r y to a ll N eeds (23-25), The ministry of the Lord Jesus at this time was threefold: He went about teach ing, preaching, and healing all manner of sickness and disease. It was such a ministry that His fame rapidly grew, until the whole country was vocal with His praise and His fame. Mul titudes flocked to His side when they heard o f His healing grace and power, and all who came found relief from their dis tresses. Sickness and disease, torments and demons, lunacy and palsy, all were healed at once and completely. There was no demand for faith, no insistence upon in vestigation, no spectacular performances. Simply and graciously, Jesus Christ healed all who came, irrespective o f the amount of faith, or even whether faith was present or absent. Indeed, the future story reveals how lacking in any real faith these people were. But the ultimate result was that while the healing attracted them, and the preach ing amazed them, the teaching so repelled them that in three brief years the people were so estranged from Christ that they cried out for His blood, desiring a mur derer to be released in His stead. Thus our Lord is treated today; His gracious ministry is desired when we find our selves in any trouble, but His teaching rouses the hatred of the natural man. Lesson Questions Vs, 12-16. Why did Jesus depart into Galilee and particularly Capernaum? V. 17. What is repentance? Why did Jesus demand it? What kind o f a king dom did Jesus proclaim? Has such a kingdom been set up? Why? Vs. 18-22. Whom did Jesus call first as His disciples? What sort of equipment did they have for their task? What one condition for discipleship did Jesus lay
down ? How did they respond ? What did Jesus forsake for our sakes when He came to earth (Phil. 2:5-8)? What does He promise those who forsake all and fol low Him (Matt. 19:29)? Vs. 23-25. To whom did Jesus preach the gospel o f the kingdom? What charac terized His ministry in Galilee? Did He heal in response to faith on the part of those who needed healing, or was His power manifested unconditionally? Why? What was the ultimate effect of His benev olent ministry? Jesus Finds Some Helpers M a t t h e w 4:18-25 Memory Verse : “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). Approach: Jesus needed some follow ers who would go with Him and help Him, as He went about and preached to the people. They were to be His closest
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friends. They were to go w i t h Him everywhere He went. They were to carry on His work after He went back to heaven. He must choose carefully. L e s s o n S t o r y : One day, as Jesus was walking by the sea o f Galilee, He saw two brothers,
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Simon Peter and Andrew, “casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.” He looked at them and said, “ Follow me, and I will make you fishers o f men.” I wonder if they knew just exactly what He meant! I wonder if they knew that they were to follow Him for the rest of their lives, and that now, instead of just catching fish, they were to go about and tell people that Jesus Christ, the Saviour, was come. Even if they did not understand all of this, they must have known that Jesus was the Christ, and that if He told them to follow Him, He must have work for them to do, for the Bible says that “straightway” they left their nets and followed Him. Then Jesus saw two more brothers who were fishermen. Their names were James and John. They, too, were busy down at the seashore; And they, like Peter and Andrew, answered the call o f Jesus and immediately followed Him. The Lord Jesus has always called people to follow Him. Today when we believe on Him as the Son of God and join a Chris tian church, we are His followers. The great work which Jesus came into the world to do was to get people to follow Him, because following Him leads them to God. Golden Text Illustration A lad began to learn the printer’s trade at small wages. After he grew to man hood, he bought a large printing business and gave his notes for nearly the entire amount of its cost. He worked hard and met the notes as they became due. When the last note was paid, he came home with a beaming face. He handed the receipted note to his wife, and said: “God has been good to us. W e owe it to Him to spend the remainder of our lives in His service.” The next evening the pastor of the church o f their choice was invited to their home, and they expressed their desire to him. The following Sabbath morning they were re ceived into the church. That man has be come a man o f wealth and prominence in his state and is a stalwart Christian char acter. “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”— H allo ck .
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