In Matthew 4, just after Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, it says in verse 12 that Jesus "withdrew" or "departed" to Galilee. This word "withdrew" (came from my New Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version...KJV says "departed") struck me in a weird way, so when I dug a little deeper, this Greek word breaks down into the base of two separate words and one of them has the meaning "to go forward, advance, proceed, succeed". I love that last part, because when I first read "withdrew" it sounded like Jesus had been defeated, but, to me, it sounds like this word means more of a navigation of the situation which leads to success. It's a strategic withdrawal, if you will. But, that's really not what I want to focus on today.
You see, once Jesus withdraws to Galilee, he begins his ministry. Matthew says he begins his ministry by preaching "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." But then, just after he begins to preach, he also calls his first disciples. He calls 2 sets of brothers as his first four disciples in Matthew 4:18-22. First it was Simon who is called Peter and his brother Andrew. They are fishing when Jesus walks by and says to them "Follow me, and I will make you fisher of men." (v 19) Then he called James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother. They are also fishing when it says "[Jesus] called them.
Now, I am always amazed by this story. I am struck by the faith of these men. It was almost like they had been waiting for this their entire lives. It was like they had finally heard exactly what it was they had been waiting for their entire lives. And, once they heard it, the Bible says that all four of them "immediately" left what they were doing. You will find that I believe strongly that words matter. Not because I use them so well, but because the Bible does. I find the Greek translations of these words generally, fulfilling in their meaning, so I often go back to important words when they are used in the Bible like this one. The Greek word used in both of these situations if "eutheōs". Its etymology, per the Lexicon, comes from the root words "eu" and "tithēmi". The first word is defined as "to be well off, fare well, prosper" or "acting well". The second word has multiple uses in the Bible but the 2 that struck me in this definition were "to set forth, to establish" AND "to put down, lay down".
Now, again, when you go back and look at the actions of these men. They immediately left what they were doing to follow Jesus. But, when you look at the meaning of the word, I seem to understand that they acted rightly and laid down their lives to follow Jesus. That's what it should mean, but it really is hard to imagine. These men were out working for a living and they just walked away with no doubts that this was the right thing. James and John were in the boat with their father and they just left him there...for the call of a stranger. I am sure their are New Testament scholars who have a better reason for this, but can you imagine it today? You are out in a boat, fishing on a lake or the ocean for a living and some stranger is walking along the beach and calls and says "Follow me!" I could come up with 100 responses and none of them would be "Sure! Be right there!" Remember, these men had no idea this was the Son of God. They may have felt it deep in their soul, but at this time, they had no clue who this man was and why he was calling them. I liken it to the first time I met my wife. She didn't know me and I didn't know her, but I met her because she was friends with another girl who I liked. There was a large group of people on this trip and one night we all crammed into my car and drove to the restaurant. My wife happened to sit on the console next to me as we drove to the restaurant and about half way there, I had this overwhelming feeling that something was happening deep in my bones that was meant to be, but I didn't know what it was. I left that weekend not really even remembering my wife. It wasn't until about a month later that I called my friend at his house and my wife happened to be there. My friend put her on the phone when he had to go do something and once we began to talk, that same feeling overwhelmed me again. That was it. I knew that this girl was going to be a part of my life forever. Her spirit ran deep inside of me. I have to believe that this is the feeling that these disciples must have felt as they walked away from their lives and give their lives to Jesus.
I see God in these men, because it was these men who allowed the gospel to be communicated after Jesus died. It is the reason you and I have the Word of God available to us today. It is why I know Christ! It is why I know he came and died for my sins and through grace provides me with salvation. It's because of these men who "immediately" followed Jesus. Let them be an example to us all today as we actively listen to Jesus calling us today to follow him.
Have a blessed day! Listen to him calling!
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