Public Reading: Luke 5:1-11
The Story:
• Jesus’ background
o Healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law
o Left to preach the Kingdom of God in other towns
• Came back through the area
o The people wanted to hear him teach
o Borrows Simon’s boat as voices carry over water
• Fishing Trip
o Simon had fished all night with no luck; Remember that Simon is a professional fisherman.
o Agrees to do so as he trusts Jesus, who is a traveling teacher/carpenter
o Remember that he saw Jesus heal his mother-in-law so there was some trust build up
* St. John tells us that Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was a follower of John the Baptist who heard John call Jesus the “Lamb of God” (John 1);
* Andrew then went and found Peter and brought him back to follow Jesus
* This is most likely how Jesus meets Simon in the first place.
* It may also explain why Jesus went to Capernaum (where Simon lived) after being kicked out of Nazareth (Lk 4)
o Huge catch of fish
• Jesus calls Simon to follow
o Also calls John and James
Disciples:
• 1st Century Jewish education
o Bet Safar –ages 5 to 10 – taught by the local Rabbi – memorized the Torah
o Bet Talmud – ages 10 to 14 – memorized Psalms, prophets, etc – taught how to ask and answer questions
o Bet Midrash – at age 14 the best of the boys would try to find a Rabbi to take them in
• Following a Rabbi
o Choosing a Rabbi to follow was a BIG deal
o The young man’s family would look around and try to find a suitable Rabbi
* Some young men would look around themselves…but their fathers had a say so in who they followed
o If the young men impressed the Rabbi, then they would leave their families and travel/life with the Rabbi
• The purpose
o Ate, drink, lived with their teacher.
o Disciples memorized the words of their Rabbi
o It wasn’t just about learning what they ‘knew’ but learning how to be like them… to think, act, and do like them.
o There are stories of disciples following their Rabbi into the bathroom!
o Old blessing based upon Jewish proverb in the Mishnah:
“May you wear the dust of your Rabbi.”
* Meaning that you follow your Rabbi so closely that, as he walks, you get covered in the dust that his sandals kick up as he walks.
o This brings new meaning to the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1
“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”
o And there was…and still is…a huge difference between a student and a disciple. A student would want to know what his teacher knows…but a disciple wanted to live like his Rabbi lived. Huge difference…
The Difference of Jesus
• Jesus’ disciples mostly came out of the trades
o Most likely this meant that they had been rejected by Rabbis already and had then pursued a trade.
o These guys were passed over by the religious community once already…they were the rejects.
* May have been in their late teens or early 20’s
o The one exception to this is Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother
* In the Gospel of John we see that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist
• This means that his family was open to the new movement of God in their community
• Jesus’ disciples didn’t approach him and ask if they could be his disciple. He found them and approached them and asked them to be his disciple.
o How powerful is that?
o Jesus is seeking after us!
o He is seeking a loving relationship with us!
Does this remind you all of something? How about out “Experiencing God” study last year? 😀
1. God is always at work around you
- Jesus was preaching and healing folks around them
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal
- Jesus sought them out
- Went to Simon Peter’s house for lunch
3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work
- Jesus asked Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James to follow him
- He is asking us the same
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways
- Jesus talked to them face to face
5. God’s invitations for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action
- These fishermen had a choice to make
- They could continue to fish, which was an honorable profession
- Or they could become a disciple of Jesus
6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing
- They chose to leave – which was a HUGE adjustment
- Remember, Peter had a mother-in-law so he must have had a wife
- James and John had to leave their home
7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you
- Look at what they got to experience!
- They got to know the Creator of Heaven and Earth!!
- We are still talking about them today!
We have the same choice…are we going to be covered in the dust of Jesus? Are we going to stick so close to Him that the dust off His feet covers our garments?
Sadly all too often we want to do what He did without living like He lived.
Let’s change this…let’s do what Jesus did; Let’s be covered in His dust!