When Jesus began His ministry He had no disciples, no followers, and no-one knew Him outside of His close friends and family. He was a humble carpenter.
What He did have was a strong relationship with God and a deep understanding of scripture because of years of careful study. He preached boldly and without apology.
In Matthew 4:18-22 we see Jesus call His first disciples, who were fisherman. He connected with them immediately by using a metaphor that they could understand.
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Jesus’ disciples responded quickly and decisively when He called. There is no indication that they, as fisherman, had any previous relationship with Jesus upon which to draw to trust Him. They did not have a full understanding of His ministry and teaching when they chose to follow Him.
The disciples had to decide to follow Jesus first… and that led them to the opportunity to spend years growing to know Him and His teaching intimately. And later, with the Holy Spirit as their helper they were formidable indeed as they spread the good news of the gospel to sometimes friendly, but often hostile audiences.
The same is true for us today. If we decide not to follow Jesus until we understand all of His word in the Bible, we will never follow Him. It is only by the bold decision to follow Him that we will study and learn more about God’s word and develop that intimate relationship with God that transforms our lives in the image of Christ.
Are you following Jesus with all your heart or are you holding something back? He is calling each of us to come to Him wholeheartedly. Do not wait until you have all the answers… follow Him today!
Take a few minutes to pray and ask God to show you how to get started. Thank Him for inviting us even when we are not worthy.
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.