The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - James and John Called to Serve

 

Text: Matthew 4: 18-20  – “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”   they immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

Yesterday, we saw Jesus calling Andrew and Peter as his disciples to be fishers of men. Today, we will look at the next two – James and John. They were repairing their nets (4:21) when Jesus calls them to leave their work and follow Him.

There are four different James spoken of in the New Testament.

• ·      James the son of Zebedee
• ·      James the son of Mary and Jesus half-brother
• ·      James the father of Judas – not Iscariot
• ·      James the son of Alphaeus – the other disciple named James.

The one we are looking at today is James the son of Zebedee and Salome.

We will start with what we know about James the son of Zebedee and Salome.

• ·      Salome is a sister of Mary the mother of Jesus
• ·      He was a cousin of Jesus and the brother of John
• ·      He followed in family business – he was a fisherman
• ·      The family had a lucrative business – shown by the fact that they had a boat, nets, and servants – Mark 1: 20
• ·      Jesus nicknamed James and his brother – Boanerges – Sons of Thunder because of their quick tempers
• ·      He later became a leader in the early church.
• ·      He sacrificed the family business and wealth to follow Jesus.

So, consider now James’ brother – John and what we know.

• ·      Brother of James, the son of Zebedee and Salome
• ·      Nicknamed Boanerges – Sons of Thunder because of his quick temper
• ·      Wrote the 4^th Redemptive Biography – The Gospel of John
• ·      Also wrote 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John and the Book of The Revelation.
• ·      Called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved.
• ·      Became known as the disciple of love.

Upon renouncing their nets (4:22) like Peter and Andrew, these brothers follow Jesus. They moved from knowing about Jesus to accepting Jesus and will be called to special service for Jesus.

This passage helps us see that  Jesus calls people in their walks of life. We also have noted that often there are multiple times of seeing Jesus before they establish a personal walk with HIm.

• ·      People hear of Him – The Lamb
• ·      He calls us to salvation
• ·      He calls all to service.
• ·      He calls some for special service

Andrew shows us the importance of bringing others to Jesus.

Peter teaches us that even when we fall from the heights of walking with the Lord, there is forgiveness, mercy, grace, and restoration.

James shows us that God calls us to sacrifice often in our walk with Him.

John demonstrates that when we come into contact with the Savior, He can change us from the inside out.

Ponder on your relationship with the Master. Where are you? Saved? Serving? Or, just sitting on the sidelines?