Follow Me

Matthew 4:12-23

Have you ever been in a public place say a waiting room or an airport terminal and listened in on a conversation. I know, it is not polite to eavesdrop but the topic of conversation is so irresistible that you cannot help yourself but crane your ear surreptitiously towards your conversation partners unbeknownst to them. As they continue on this topic you are so interested in you find yourself reacting to what they say. You chuckle as one of them makes a humorous turn of phrase. You frown as the other makes a statement that you don’t agree with. Then you hear something from one of these folks that is so interesting and mind boggling that you have to put aside all politeness and join in on the conversation. What are they talking about? What is it that is so intriguing that you have to say, “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about…” Therein lays your passion. That irresistible voice of Jesus saying, “Follow me.”


Anyone who knows me would say that I am a peace and social justice kind of girl. That anytime there is a conversation about politics, the state of the world and you mix in a bit of God and Jesus, I am there! My whole life I’ve never been shy about sticking up for myself or for those who are unable to stick up for themselves. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved God with my whole heart and was interested in the rites and rituals of my church. Undergirding these passions was Jesus’ voice calling, “Follow me.”


In this morning’s Gospel, we see Jesus beginning his ministry by calling his first apostles in the midst of their ordinary lives to follow him. Peter and Andrew are casting nets out into the sea and Jesus calls out to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus. James and John are in the boat with their father Zebedee and Jesus calls out to them, “Follow me.” And immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. Some note that what is striking about this passage was the immediacy of the disciple’s response to Jesus’ call. “It is as if they were compelled to follow Jesus and to obey him, almost as if they had been waiting all their lives to hear this voice, to be issued this call, so that when it came, they dropped what they were doing.” (1)Augustine, one of my favorite theologians of all time states, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” Indeed these disciples hearts were restless-so restless they could do no other than to leave everything behind to follow Jesus as soon as they heard Jesus’ voice calling them. Some note, “Perhaps they were simply responding to what had already been imprinted on their souls from birth—the knowledge of the voice of God—so that when they heard the voice, all they could do was obey.” (2)


Obedience to God’s call wasn’t always my strong suit. Rather listening to the irresistible voice calling, “Follow me.” I listened to the voice of fear saying I had to find work that would provide enough money to pay the rent, find health benefits, buy necessities and start paying off my student loan. Rather than persevering and getting extra training to go into the career where I could serve God and seek justice, I panicked and went into a job that gave me immediately the money, benefits and security I needed. I went into banking and finance because that was where the jobs were at that time. I was good at banking, but not great. I moved up the ranks a bit and floated from job to job hoping that, “this would be the position that will make me happy.” But I never found what I was looking for.


In order to pursue God’s calling to become part of the body of Christ I had to let go of a lot of my fears for my own survival in order to go after that irresistible voice saying, “follow me.” God knew me, my gifts and my liabilities and God knew how this world would react to what I had to offer. I had to learn how to ask for help and know that it wasn’t all up to me. When I made the decision to turn my life towards God, God provided me with more than enough of the things I needed in order to take care of myself and my family. The lesson I learned through all of was that it was fear that led me away from listening to God’s still speaking voice and it was love and grace that brought me back to God. I had to let go of my worries of this world in order to take my particular part in Christ’s body building the kingdom of God here on earth.


This morning’s gospel reading has a very interesting beginning. “Now when Jesus heard that John [the Baptist] had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee” (v. 4:12) He left Nazareth and moved 20 miles to Capernum to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah and “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (v. 17) Why is it that Jesus’ public ministry begins at the end of John the Baptist’s?


Biblical Scholar John Dominic Crossan notes that Jesus began his spiritual life as a disciple of John the Baptist before he embarked on his public ministry. We remember that Jesus got chest deep in the muddy waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. John was quite a controversial character according historians of his time. The authorities feared John because the crowds would become agitated by his sermons. The fear was that John’s sermons would stir up crowds that would lead to an uprising against the Roman occupation.


John’s sermons were quite fire and brimstone. He spoke to those who were oppressed by the Romans occupation of how God would come as a violent avenger to destroy the Roman power structure to set things right and restore the kingdom that God promised to Israel. John was an apocalyptic prophet who gave hope to those lived under the crushing thumb of the Roman power that through divine intervention God would end their oppression to bring a new, just world into being. (3)  Jesus had a high opinion of John stating, “no one born of a woman is greater than he, yet the least of God’s kingdom is greater than he.” (v. 11:11) Eventually, Jesus’ view of the kingdom of God had become different from John’s apocalyptic vision of an avenging God. Perhaps when John was arrested Jesus realized that it wasn’t enough to wait for God to change the world but that maybe God was waiting for disciples to become God’s hands, feet and voice in building God’s kingdom here and now. (4)  It was then that Jesus began his irresistible call to his disciples to follow him.


I began my sermon with an overheard conversation that is so irresistible that you cannot help yourself but join in. Within that conversation is your greatest passion, the gift that God has given you to use in building God’s kingdom here on earth. It is Jesus’ call to you to discipleship. Drop your nets, get out of the boat, surrender to Jesus’ call and there you will find your greatest joy. May it be so. Amen.


(1) Rodger Nishioka, Feasting On The Word “Matthew 4:12-23-Pastoral Perspective” 286.
(2) Ibid., 286.
(3) John Dominic Crossan, Who Is Jesus?: Answers to Your Questions About the Historical Jesus. (Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999), 32-36.
(4) Ibid., 37.