Don’t Miss Your Calling
Matthew 4:12 – 23
There is so much rich material in today’s scripture. From the image of light in the darkness to the fulfillment of prophecy to the mention of healing and miracles, there are several things that if we advertised, we could draw a good crowd. Really, people come out of the woodwork when we talk about prophecy—just announce and publicize that you’re going to do a Bible study on Revelation and see how many people show up. The same thing happens with miracles and healings, too. Benny Hinn still fills arenas with thousands of people who are seeking a miracle, and who can ever forget the stadiums filled by folks wanting Oral Roberts to lay hands on them? But, announce you’re preaching a sermon on “calling,” which is the essence of today’s passage, and most folks tune out or turn off, because “calling” is interpreted in such a limited way—usually reserved for those who have articulated a call to vocational ministry. Today’s passage deals with the subject of calling, and I actually see three distinct calls that all of us must heed if we would be faithful to Christ. I see the call to faith, the call to discipleship, and the call to ministry. Let’s look at each of these briefly this morning, so that we’ll be sure not to miss our calling.
For Matthew, this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He’s been baptized by John and led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by Satan. He gets the news that John the Baptist has been arrested, so he heads back to civilization to begin his ministry. It’s there we find the first calling on people’s lives—the call to faith.
The call to faith is the call to change our mind, and it is the call that all of us, at some point, must answer. Literally, Jesus’ first word in ministry in verse 17 is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The translation I read says, “Turn from your sin and turn to God.” That is the translator’s interpretation of the meaning of repent. The word means “to change your mind,” and Jesus begins ministry with the call for everyone who hears his voice to change their mind. It is a call to turn from sin. It is a call to turn from unbelief to belief. It is a call to turn from death to life.
It’s not vogue to talk about sin. After all, we’re all sinners, and we’re not supposed to judge, and if we talk about sin, we might get too close to judging and we’re good Methodists, so we don’t want to do that. Of course, the alternative is also a possibility. We don’t really think we’re sinners. Culture and pop psychology have taught us that we’re good people. It’s the “I’m okay, you’re okay” mentality that makes us say we don’t need to repent…we don’t need faith. Or, we think we’re not as bad a sinner as someone else.
When we think of sin we think of the Big 10. You know? Murder, stealing, lying, adultery, covetousness, those types of things. Or, we think rape, or child abuse, or some other crime that’s easy to acknowledge is wrong. Sin, though, as the Bible defines it is anything that misses the mark. That’s what the word means—missing the mark. That image should never diminish the seriousness of sin because the reality is there was a mark and we missed it. We miss the mark in so many areas of our everyday life. Surely, we’re not murdering, or stealing, or lying (at least I hope we’re not), but what about the small things that also reflect on our character? I think about what our Catholic brothers and sisters have called the seven deadly sins—greed, gluttony, pride, anger, lust, sloth, and envy. The belief is that at the heart of all sin lies on of these. I can think of the times in my life I’ve been greedy, and let’s not even get into gluttony knowing how much I love to eat. I could do my own bullet list for each of those and I come to realize that even still I’m one who needs to repent as a matter of faith.
Repentance opens us to grace that God desires to pour into our lives. Repentance is our acknowledgement that something is wrong, that something needs to change. Who can argue with the brokenness we see in our world today that something needs to change? The call that everyone must answer is the call of Jesus to turn from our selfish, sinful ways, to consider the claims that Christ makes, and determine whether we will believe, or continue to go down a path that is ultimately destructive to us and those around us. It’s a call everyone must answer. Even refusing to answer is an answer.
There is another call that goes beyond the call to faith, and it is the call that Jesus gave to Simon, Andrew, James and John in verse 19. There, Jesus tells them, “Come, follow me,…” This is the call to discipleship. There are a lot of people who answer the call to faith. They consider the claims of Jesus and find them valid, but then just sort of leave the information there and never go deeper in the life of faith. Jesus’ call to these fishermen was a call to a deeper life, a changed life. We might say that if the call to faith is the call to change our minds, then the call to discipleship is the call to change our lives. This was Jesus’ call for these men to change their lives.
I think it’s a little presumptive for us to think that Jesus was such a compelling person that these men just left everything at a simple word. Actually, that sounds cultish not Christian. The likelihood is that Jesus had encountered these men before. They were likely familiar with Jesus and his teaching. If we read John’s Gospel, which doesn’t record this particular episode, but we get the impression that Jesus has already encountered Andrew and Simon, and perhaps even John, as well. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. One day, Jesus walked by and John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist was saying, “This is the guy I’ve been telling you about.” Andrew and another disciple that scholars believe was John, the son of Zebedee, followed after Jesus. Jesus asked them why they were following him. Let me make a long story short. They hung out with Jesus for a while, then Andrew went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We’ve found the Messiah,” and Peter went to meet Jesus. That’s when Jesus told Simon his name would be Peter. Yes, it’s likely they knew Jesus, and more importantly, Jesus knew them, and he called them to a deeper life—to be disciples.
The call to be a disciple is a more challenging call than the call of faith. Jesus said, “Follow me.” It was Jesus way of saying, “Do what I do. Walk the way I walk. Imitate me.” The way Jesus was walking was the way of selflessness and sacrifice. Jesus would take the basin at the end of his days, wrap a towel around himself and wash the disciples’ feet, and then went to the cross. It was not an easy life to which Jesus was calling these men. Discipleship is costly. Discipleship is about making the kingdom of God the priority of our lives. It is a leaving the old life and beginning a new life of faith, hope and love. There are a lot of people who hear, and even answer, the call to faith, but fewer are the people who hear and answer the call to discipleship, though the call goes out to everyone who answers the call to faith. How do I know?
Jesus called ordinary, common, hard-working fishermen. These guys made their living on the Sea of Galilee as commercial fishermen. Ever watch The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel? That program chronicles the hard scrabble life of commercial crab fishermen off the coast of Alaska. It portrays the life of a commercial fisherman as brutal. That’s the same kind of life these first century fishermen endured, too. It was hard, dangerous work, and the men who did it were simple, not highly educated, hard-working men who only sought to make a living for their families.
I’m simply pointing out that Jesus isn’t necessarily looking for well-educated, well-qualified persons to be disciples. Jesus is looking for willing persons, persons who are willing to hear the call to faith and the claims of Jesus, and then be willing to join him in transforming the world. That’s the call to discipleship, and he’s calling all of us to be his disciples.
But, there is a call that flows out of answering the call to discipleship, and that is the call to ministry. I’m not speaking of vocational ministry, but of service in the kingdom of God. Every person who answers the call to be a disciple is called to ministry. Jesus, after inviting these men to “follow” him, adds that he will “show them how to fish for people.” He gave them a job to do—to work with him in transforming the world. If the call to faith is a call to change our minds, and the call to discipleship is the call to change our lives, then the call to ministry is the call to change the world. Jesus is calling us to work with him in transforming the world. Don’t you think if Jesus could call a few common fishermen to change the world, he could call you and me, as common, ordinary and unprepared as we are? Jesus doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. We are called my brothers and sisters. Will we answer the call?
Jesus needs Christian business men and women who can reach non-Christian businessmen and women. Jesus needs Christian law enforcement officers who can reach non-Christian law enforcement officers. Jesus needs students, and grocery clerks and doctors and nurses and teachers who will go into the places of their lives and witness to His saving grace. Jesus called these hard working fishermen to reach their community. He’s calling us to reach our community.
Some of you may be afraid that Jesus’ call means you’ll have to pack up and leave your job and family, so you resist. It may mean that for some of us, but the more likely proposition is that he’ll use us right where we are. If we look at the later life of these fishermen, we find after the crucifixion and resurrection they are back mending their nets and fishing. Most of them never ventured far from home, nor gave up their trades. They did, however, make a difference in the Kingdom because the Kingdom became their priority. Telling others, serving others, sharing the Good News became their priority.
Jesus is calling us to faith, to discipleship and to ministry. He’s calling us to change our minds, to change our lives, and to change the world. It’s likely if you’re here this morning, you’ve already answered the call to faith. But, just in case you haven’t, Jesus is calling you to faith today. Don’t miss your calling! There may be others here who haven’t answered the call to discipleship. You know he wants you to go deeper, but you’ve been afraid of the cost of going deeper so you’ve resisted. Don’t miss your calling! Still others may be here who have gone deeper and feel in love following Jesus, but have resisted serving because you felt you weren’t capable. Don’t miss your calling!
