Many times when we reflect on this story and make the assumption that this is the first time Jesus had ever spoken to these men, but that is probably not true. Jesus had been teaching and preaching in this region for some time and most likely these men heard Jesus’ message about the Kingdom of God. At least one of the fishermen, Andrew, had gone out to be baptized by John the Baptist and last week we heard that he left John to begin to listen and learn from Jesus. We also believe that another one of these fishermen, John, was the other disciple of John the Baptist who went with Andrew. So Andrew and John had spent some time with Jesus, they heard his message and experienced the power of Jesus’ presence and personality. Whatever it was they saw and heard during their time with Him began to convince them that Jesus was not just a great teacher but that perhaps he was even the Messiah, after all, John the Baptist had called him the lamb of God.
So this encounter is probably not the first time Andrew and John had heard Jesus and it makes sense to think that Peter and James had also at least heard Jesus teach and preach, but there is still something powerful taking place here for all four of them to drop everything and leave behind all the security that comes with a job and a family business. What will help us understand how these men were able to make this profound life change will be to understand how they ended up as fishermen in the first place. They weren’t just fishermen just because their father was a fisherman, they were there because up until this point, they didn’t measure up to be a disciple.
In first century Galilee, the most honored and important people in the Jewish community were the Rabbis so it was an honor and a great calling to be invited to be a disciple of a Rabbi. Only the best families among the Jewish people were allowed to send their young boys off to study with them and they did this with the hopes that their sons might one day be chosen to become a discipli, and then maybe in time even become a Rabbi themselves. The learning process just to become a disciple, however, was difficult. First these boys would have to learn the first 5 books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch or Torah. Now, I don’t mean they had to learn the names of the Torah or even learn them well enough to pass a test on what happened when Moses got to the Red Sea, these boys would have had to memorize the entire Torah, that’s Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – memorized. If they were able to do that – then they were chosen to keep going and if they weren’t the best of the best – they were sent home to learn the family trade.
But the process didn’t end there, after memorizing the Pentateuch, they then had to go on and memorize the rest of the Hebrew Bible, or our OT, that’s 35 more books from Joshua to Malachi, all the history, all the psalms, all the words of the prophets: both major & minor - memorized. Now I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time even memorizing the names of the books of the Old Testament let alone the entire Old Testament and while we may think this is excessive, keep in mind that this was a time in history when they didn’t have a lot of written materials. Rabbis couldn’t carry round a pocket Hebrew Bible, they couldn’t look up a passage on their iphones, and yet they had to be able to quote any part of scripture at any given time. So they had to simply know God’s word – all of it.
So after a certain age the boys would be tested again and only the best of the best of the best would be chosen to continue on as an actual disciple of the Rabbis, the rest would be sent home to learn the family trade. So Rabbis only called the best of the best of the best to follow them. Rabbis only chose the men who they felt could do what they did. They invited people to follow them that they respected and trusted and believed in and no one else.
So when we see that Peter, Andrew, James and John are all fishermen it’s because they were not considered the best of the best of the best. They are fishermen because they either didn’t come from the right families to be able to go and study with the rabbis when they were young, or if they did get that opportunity, they obviously had been sent home somewhere along the way because they just didn’t measure up. But everything changes when Jesus comes along. Jesus’ teaching and preaching is powerful and he speaks as one with authority. Everyone is beginning to see in him the power of God and some are even beginning to think that this unconventional rabbi is the Messiah. So when this Rabbi approaches Andrew and Peter and says, follow me, part of what he is saying to them is that he believes that they have the right stuff. Jesus believes they have the ability to do what he is going to do. This invitation to become fishers of men is an invitation to learn how to do what Jesus was doing and to follow in the footsteps of a great Rabbi. This was an incredible honor that very few people received and it told these simple fishermen that they were valued and respected and that Jesus believed in them and I think that is what enabled them to make such a profound life change.
What enable Andrew, Peter, James and John to drop their nets, leave the boats and families and business behind was knowing that the God who they experienced in and through Jesus believed in them and saw in them not just value but potential. To follow in the footsteps of a Rabbi was the greatest honor and privilege, it’s like being called up to the big leagues in baseball or starting a game in basketball or being selected the first chair in the orchestra and knowing that God believed in them and loved them that much changed their lives.
Knowing that God loves us and believes in us can help us make profound and lasting changes in our lives. The author Rob Bell has said that we are often told to have faith in God and to believe in Jesus, but we don’t often look at the other side of that. We don’t often hear the message that God has faith in us and that Jesus believes in us and yet, that’s the truth we see here. Jesus doesn’t call the best of the best of the best; he calls these fishermen and the tax collectors. Jesus called ordinary people to follow him because he loved them and believed that they could be like him and I believe it was this faith and trust that Jesus placed in these fishermen that enabled them to make this profound and lasting life change and I believe that when we begin to understand just how much God believes in us and loves us and even trusts us that we can begin to make some profound and lasting changes as well.
Too many times when we look at the changes we want to make in life we tell ourselves that part of what we need to do is work harder and place more of our trust in God, but the problem with that thinking is that it places all of the work for change on us and it has always been my experience that I will fail. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to make changes in my life and while I might be able to accomplish these changes for a while, there comes a point in time when I fail and then I am left feeling defeated and wondering if I can really make any kind of life change at all, but when we begin to change our thinking and tell ourselves that God loves us and that God believes in us and that Jesus believes that we can live like he lived and not just do what he did but do even greater things than he did it gives us the power to make substantial and lasting changes.
Think about it, when other people believe in us and when other people have faith in us it gives us the strength and power to live life a different way. When I was in college some friends approached me about leading a Bible Study, I didn’t think I could do it but they said I could. Their faith and trust in me changed me. I’m not sure I would be here today if that first step wasn’t taken and I would never have made that first step if someone hadn’t had faith in me. Maybe you have experienced this in school with teacher or in sports with a coach. When someone believes in us it gives us the courage and the strength to do things that we might not do otherwise and it gives us the power to make profound life changes. If people believing in us and having faith in us can give us the strength and courage to change, then think about what God believing in us can help us do.
So we need to hear and take to heart the truth that God loves us and that he believes in us and that this love and faith can do more in us than we ever thought or imagined. In Ephesians 3:18-21 it says… When we begin to fully comprehend God’s love and power at work in our lives and how that love helps us do far more than we ever thought or imagined, we will begin to find the courage and the strength to make changes that we feel are necessary and important.
So it is not our hard work and discipline that helps us make profound life change, it is God’s love for us and God’s faith and trust in us that enables us and helps us, but there is something else God shows us here. Have you ever noticed that the first disciple called by Jesus wasn’t an individual but a team of four? God didn’t ask Andrew or Peter alone to make a significant change in their lives and I think this is important. The first people Jesus called to radically change their lives was a team of 4 men who already knew each other and worked well together as a team. Peter and Andrew worked together as fishermen, they were already a team that communicated well together, worked on common goals and supported and encouraged each other in business and in life, now they were making a significant life change together. And then it is says that without delay Jesus went and called James and John. It’s as if Jesus knows that Peter and Andrew were going to need more support and encouragement if they were going to follow through on this life change so he immediately calls 2 more people to follow him so they could do this all together, but it wasn’t just any 2 people Jesus called, it was 2 more fishermen who were not only brothers but fishing partners and most likely fishermen who had worked closely alongside Peter and Andrew.
Maybe Jesus called these 4 men as a group to follow him because he knew that the kind of change he was asking them to make was going to be difficult and while he believed in them and had faith and trust in their ability, maybe Jesus knew that they were also going to need each other. The truth is that to make lasting changes in our lives we need people by our side who will support us and encourage us and believe in us. If you have ever tried to lose weight or start an exercise program on your own you know how hard it is and how important support and encouragement and inspiration can be. The truth is that we need each other if we are going to make lasting and significant changes in life and I think Jesus understood this which is why he didn’t begin his work by calling just one person, but 4 and then anytime he called another person to follow him they immediately had people there, a strong team, who would welcome them and then support them in their life change.
If we want to make successful changes in life we need to make sure we are also surrounded by people who will love us, inspire us, encourage us and hold us accountable. We need people in our lives who will help us follow through on the changes we want to make and help us become the people we want to be. No change is easy, but lasting life change is possible when we understand the power of God’s love and begin to trust the faith God has in us, and lasting change is possible when we surround ourselves with people who will encourage us and inspire us through the difficult days of transformation. If there are significant changes you want to make in life, trust in the power of God’s love for you and trust in the power that family, friends and a team of support can give.
Next Steps:
Making profound life changes requires us to know that God loves us AND has faith in us.
Take time every day this week to hear this message of love and faith from God through quiet times of prayer and daily reading of scripture:
• Monday – Jeremiah 29:11-14
• Tuesday – Judges 6-9 (Story of Gideon: especially 6:36-40)
• Wednesday – Psalm 23
• Thursday – John 8:1-11
• Friday - Romans 8:28-39
• Saturday – Matthew 28:18-20
• Sunday – Philippians 2:11
Making profound life changes requires the support of others:
• Name the changes you (and God) want to make in your life.
• Name the people who can support you as you make these changes.
• Invite these people to be part of a support team that will help you make profound and lasting life changes.
