Calling of the Disciples - Matthew 4:13-22; Mark 1:14-20
Between leaving Samaria and arriving in Capernaum, Jesus stated that he is the Savior in Nazareth and was cast out and he healed a nobleman's son from a distance of over 20 miles away, regardless of the order in which it happened. Matthew seems to indicate that this is the beginning of his formal ministry saying, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Mark affirms that Jesus taught "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Luke makes a point of saying that those he taught "were astonished at his doctrine: for his word with power." What did it mean that the Lord had power when teaching? Surely it meant that the Holy Ghost accompanied his words to the hearts of those who believed, strengthened their testimonies. But this phrase or concept is brought up several times throughout the gospels, that Christ had power or authority to teach, so what does that mean in the context of the scriptures? I seem to remember something about the Jewish teachers at the time, when they would teach, they would teach something but then cite back to the scriptures for validation, and that Jesus didn't do that, he just taught. JTC gives us some insight into the customs of the times saying, "A striking characteristic of Christ's ministry was the entire absence of any claim of human authorization for HIs words or deeds; the commission He professed to have was that of the Father who sent Him. His addresses, whether delivered to multitudes of spoken in relative privacy to few, were free from the labored citations in which the teachers of the day delighted. His authoritative 'I say unto you' took the place of invocation of authority and exceeded any possible array of precedent commandment or deduction. In this His words differed essentially from the erudite utterances of scribes, Pharisees and rabbis. Throughout His ministry, inherent power and authority were manifest over matter and the forces of nature, over men and demons, over life and death." It doesn't make any sense to us in our day because most people don't cite their sources, much to my dismay, everything everyone says is their own opinion and we take that with a grain of salt, but if the way in which Jesus taught was as if God Himself were speaking to the people and teaching them doctrine, then I can imagine that it would make quite a splash.
It is also significant that Jesus taught the people repentance. Of all the concepts that are in the gospel, of all the complex mysteries of the universe that the Savior holds, he teaches repentance, this is the basic building block of conversion. Repentance implies faith, because you must believe that Jesus is able to change you and you must believe that Jesus will make the change worth it to you. First is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second repentance, says that article of faith. Hand in hand, both go together and that's where it starts. You can't be baptized into the kingdom without repentance and you wouldn't want to without faith. The IM teaches, "The essence of John the Baptist's teaching and Mark's first recorded words of Jesus Christ's preaching both centered on the doctrines of repentance and forgiveness. This focus helps us understand the importance of this doctrine in the Savior's earthly ministry and in our individual lives. 'Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel. It is essential to your happiness in this life and throughout eternity. Repentance is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives you a fresh view about God, about yourself, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness.'"
With His ministry officially started, Jesus walks along the sea of Galilee where the fishermen are and sees "Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." This is a pretty dramatic call, they are being asked to leave their families and follow Jesus. JTC notes that until later when they are formally called and set apart "none of these had been distinguished by any special delegation of authority or appointment; they had been numbered with the disciples in general, through as we have seen, seven had received a preliminary call, and had promptly responded thereto by abandoning wholly or in part their business affairs, and had followed the Master."
JTC considers each disciple individually noting that Simon was "by vocation a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew were partners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently the fishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their boats and gave employment to other men." Let's discuss this for a moment. I had never considered the significance or fact that Simon owned his own boat. If Simon, or Andrew, James, or John for that matter, had been employees of a larger ship owner, or deckhands basically, when Jesus called them to follow Him, they would have walked away from their employer's boats and nets and equipment. He would have been charged with the care of his employer's good and abandoning them to thieves or the elements would have been to neglect one's commitments and obligations. But because they were his own property Simon could do whatever he wanted. Also if he had left his boss's things out of the open, this would have caused problems for his family because his boss would have inevitably shown up at his house looking for him, and with Simon run off with Jesus, his wife and children could have been harassed or even put into some sort of debtors prison or sold as slaves to pay the debt that Simon had incurred by just abandoning his boss's boat and nets. That would have been wildly irresponsible and we know that God doesn't work like that. We also know that the Lord cares for the families of those whom he calls and that many times God spends several years leading up to a call of full time service setting up a family financially so that they will be in a place to accept the call when extended. He was spiritually prepared by studying the scriptures and prayer, and financially prepared through frugal living and the grace of God. JTC continues, "Simon Peter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well to do in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to follow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporal possessions was as great as had been implied." He was prepared to accept the call when it came and left everything when it finally did. JTC reminds us that Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist and had brought the news of Jesus to his brother Peter. He is present at the performance of many miracles, but there is not much more information than this about him.
Matthew continues that Jesus went on and "saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him." Mark notes that it wasn't just Zebedee, James, and John in the boat mending nets because when James and John left "they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and we after him." This demonstrates that they didn't just abandon their ship or supplies, and that they were well to do as business owners, and it also makes sense that there were other people there to do the work while Peter, Andrew, James and John were out with Jesus. They might have felt obligation to their companies, they might have missed their families, but they knew that this was what the Lord had asked them to do and so they did it. We aren't usually asked to give up everything we have in order to serve the Lord and die for Him. We are asked to be good examples, to be kind and to teach the gospel. We are asked to render service, go on missions, pay tithing and give generous fast offerings, that is what the Lord asks us to do, and do we do it? The IM quotes Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin as teaching, "Is the Savior were to call you today, would you be just as willing to leave your nets and follow Him? I am confident that many would... We might define a net as anything that entices or prevents us from following the call of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Nets in this context can be our work, our hobbies, our pleasures, and above all else, our temptations and sins. In short, a net can be anything that pulls us away from our relationship with our Heavenly Father or from His restored Church... It is impossible to list the many nets that can ensnare us and keep us from following the Savior. But if we are sincere in our desire to follow Him, we must straightway leave the world's entangling nets and follow Him."
It is also significant that Jesus taught the people repentance. Of all the concepts that are in the gospel, of all the complex mysteries of the universe that the Savior holds, he teaches repentance, this is the basic building block of conversion. Repentance implies faith, because you must believe that Jesus is able to change you and you must believe that Jesus will make the change worth it to you. First is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second repentance, says that article of faith. Hand in hand, both go together and that's where it starts. You can't be baptized into the kingdom without repentance and you wouldn't want to without faith. The IM teaches, "The essence of John the Baptist's teaching and Mark's first recorded words of Jesus Christ's preaching both centered on the doctrines of repentance and forgiveness. This focus helps us understand the importance of this doctrine in the Savior's earthly ministry and in our individual lives. 'Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel. It is essential to your happiness in this life and throughout eternity. Repentance is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives you a fresh view about God, about yourself, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness.'"
With His ministry officially started, Jesus walks along the sea of Galilee where the fishermen are and sees "Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." This is a pretty dramatic call, they are being asked to leave their families and follow Jesus. JTC notes that until later when they are formally called and set apart "none of these had been distinguished by any special delegation of authority or appointment; they had been numbered with the disciples in general, through as we have seen, seven had received a preliminary call, and had promptly responded thereto by abandoning wholly or in part their business affairs, and had followed the Master."
JTC considers each disciple individually noting that Simon was "by vocation a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew were partners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently the fishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their boats and gave employment to other men." Let's discuss this for a moment. I had never considered the significance or fact that Simon owned his own boat. If Simon, or Andrew, James, or John for that matter, had been employees of a larger ship owner, or deckhands basically, when Jesus called them to follow Him, they would have walked away from their employer's boats and nets and equipment. He would have been charged with the care of his employer's good and abandoning them to thieves or the elements would have been to neglect one's commitments and obligations. But because they were his own property Simon could do whatever he wanted. Also if he had left his boss's things out of the open, this would have caused problems for his family because his boss would have inevitably shown up at his house looking for him, and with Simon run off with Jesus, his wife and children could have been harassed or even put into some sort of debtors prison or sold as slaves to pay the debt that Simon had incurred by just abandoning his boss's boat and nets. That would have been wildly irresponsible and we know that God doesn't work like that. We also know that the Lord cares for the families of those whom he calls and that many times God spends several years leading up to a call of full time service setting up a family financially so that they will be in a place to accept the call when extended. He was spiritually prepared by studying the scriptures and prayer, and financially prepared through frugal living and the grace of God. JTC continues, "Simon Peter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well to do in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to follow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporal possessions was as great as had been implied." He was prepared to accept the call when it came and left everything when it finally did. JTC reminds us that Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist and had brought the news of Jesus to his brother Peter. He is present at the performance of many miracles, but there is not much more information than this about him.
Matthew continues that Jesus went on and "saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him." Mark notes that it wasn't just Zebedee, James, and John in the boat mending nets because when James and John left "they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and we after him." This demonstrates that they didn't just abandon their ship or supplies, and that they were well to do as business owners, and it also makes sense that there were other people there to do the work while Peter, Andrew, James and John were out with Jesus. They might have felt obligation to their companies, they might have missed their families, but they knew that this was what the Lord had asked them to do and so they did it. We aren't usually asked to give up everything we have in order to serve the Lord and die for Him. We are asked to be good examples, to be kind and to teach the gospel. We are asked to render service, go on missions, pay tithing and give generous fast offerings, that is what the Lord asks us to do, and do we do it? The IM quotes Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin as teaching, "Is the Savior were to call you today, would you be just as willing to leave your nets and follow Him? I am confident that many would... We might define a net as anything that entices or prevents us from following the call of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Nets in this context can be our work, our hobbies, our pleasures, and above all else, our temptations and sins. In short, a net can be anything that pulls us away from our relationship with our Heavenly Father or from His restored Church... It is impossible to list the many nets that can ensnare us and keep us from following the Savior. But if we are sincere in our desire to follow Him, we must straightway leave the world's entangling nets and follow Him."
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