Synoptic Gospels 3: Shepherd and King (2)
Pray Psalm 28.8, 9.
The LORD is their strength,
And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever.
Sing Psalm 28.8, 9.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
Our strength are You, O Savior, our strong defense and sure.
Anointed with Your favor, we rest in You secure.
Save us, and bless us, Jesus, upon us turn Your face.
With shepherd’s care, LORD, keep us forever in Your grace.
Read Matthew 4.18-22; Mark 1.16-20; Luke 5.1-11; meditate on Matthew 4.18-22.
Preparation
1. What did Jesus want these men to do?
2. How did Jesus get them to follow Him?
Meditation
Peter and Andrew were not the sort of people one might select to begin a world-changing movement. Neither were James and John, and neither are you or I. But Jesus knew what He was doing with them, and He knows what He’s doing with us. He is working in us to make us “fishers of men.” Peter and Andrew seized on that image, although they could not possibly have understood what it meant. James and John followed as Jesus called them, perhaps because they saw their friends in His company. But the call of Jesus to His chosen sheep is irresistible. When He calls, they will come.
Like them, we are called as His sheep, called to be fishers of men, to reach the souls of people—lost and saved—with Good News about Jesus and His Kingdom. If we can help people to see Jesus, like these first four disciples did, He’ll take it from there.
These men were so compelled by Jesus’ call that they left their work and went after Him. This was not their first encounter with Jesus (cf. Jn. 1.40-42), and it would not be the decisive one for Peter (cf. Lk. 5.1-8). But Matthew wants us to understand that following Jesus means being willing to surrender everything for the sake of taking up His calling and agenda.
We’re not all called to leave our occupations, families, or settled way of life. But we are all called to follow Jesus, and to reach out to the souls of people around us with the Good News of His Kingdom and righteousness. He is our Shepherd, and we are His flock, and there are yet many more lost sheep to be found.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
All three of our passages today have the same overarching message from Jesus: “Follow Me.”
But in the Luke passage Jesus enlarges the idea by giving guidelines to His Kingdom work.
Here is His expansion on how to be a fisher of men. As always, Jesus made things plain to His hearers and used familiar situations to teach the lesson.
1. We get marching orders from the Lord.
“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Lk. 5.4).
2. We make excuses why we can’t.
“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing” (vs. 5).
3. Then we have a change of heart and listen to His command.
“Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (vs. 5).
4. We see that obedience to God is right and good. And successful.
“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking” (vs.6).
5. We realize that we need the entire Body of Christ to do His work efficiently.
“So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them” (vs. 7).
6. We understand that more disciples need to be made for all the work to be accomplished.
“And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (vs. 7).
7. We are overcome with our own sinfulness and overwhelmed with God’s mercy and grace to use us.
“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (vs. 8).
8. We are astonished with the Holy Spirit’s power at work in our Personal Mission Field.
“For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken” (vs. 9).
9. We hear Jesus’ assuring words of His Presence with us in our work.
“Do not be afraid” (vs. 10).
10. We determine that there is no other way we choose to live, than to follow Jesus.
“So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him” (vs. 11).
Blessed to be called by Him, we strive to do His Kingdom work as He guides and as He chooses.
“The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
Holy and awesome is His Name” (Ps. 111.2-9).
“We are all called to follow Jesus, and to reach out to the souls of people around us with the Good News of His Kingdom and righteousness. He is our Shepherd, and we are His flock, and there are yet many more lost sheep [fish] to be found.”
Reflection
1. Do you have that sense of being “called” by Jesus? How do you know? How would you explain this calling to a non-Christian friend?
2. Why is it so important that we grow in our understanding of the works of the Lord?
3. How do you experience the shepherding care and love of Jesus?
Here they proved that they were true sons of Abraham, because by a similar pattern they followed the Savior on hearing God’s voice. For they immediately gave up hope of material advantage that they might seek eternal rewards. Chromatius (fl. 400), Tractate on Matthew 16.2
Pray Psalm 28.1-7.
Call on the Lord to strengthen you for this day’s work. Commit your way to Him and resolve to follow in His righteous path. Rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks and praise.
Sing Psalm 28.1-7.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
I cry to You, our Savior, O, be not deaf to me!
LORD, speak to me with favor, lest I should dying be.
Hear now my supplications when for Your help I cry.
Receive these, my oblations, before Your throne on high.
LORD, count me not among those who walk in sinful ways.
With words of peace their tongue glows while evil fills their days.
Your works they disregard, LORD, while evil fills their hands.
Destroy them by Your Word, LORD, and let them no more stand.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus, for He will hear our prayer.
His strength protects and shields us with mercy and with care.
In You our heart rejoices; You help us by Your Word.
To You we raise our voices to praise and thank You, LORD.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. In our twice-weekly Crosfigell column we have begun a new series on Brendan, called “The Navigator.” Why was he called that? Join us and find out. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, enters the home stretch now by leading us to pray for our church’s impact. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
