I have one plant in my home. I do not have a green thumb, but recently my one plant has been growing exponentially. I am really proud of how it has flourished. After all, I know it is growing because I am taking care of it by giving it proper sunlight and water. I understand that that plant is completely dependent on my care to grow. That plant is not growing like a weed because of anything it has done. It is growing because of the care I have given it. On a much larger scale, the same is true in our own spiritual lives. We are like my plant, totally dependent. We are totally dependent on God to work in our lives as we take steps to follow Him. As we set out to be fully devoted followers who depend on him, He is at work in far greater ways than we could imagine.
Jesus made it clear when He called Peter and some of the other first disciples that their calling did not depend on them or their actions, but on what He could accomplish through them. So far this week in our Bible study together, we have looked at Mark and Luke’s account of this calling. Today we will look at Matthew’s account of this calling in Matthew 4. You will notice that this account is very similar to Mark’s account. Jesus saw Peter and Andrew fishing, and He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people” (verse 19). The New King James translation of this verse says it this way, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This translation helps us understand something important about Jesus’ call to His disciples: it did not depend on them. Jesus Himself would make them “fishers of men.” He would change their hearts and minds so that they would become His fully devoted followers. Their responsibility was to follow Him, and Jesus would make them His fully devoted disciples.
What was true for Peter and the rest of the disciples is true for you and me today. Like the first disciples, our call is to follow. If we obey this calling, Jesus works and changes our hearts and minds. The apostle Paul wrote about the difference Christ makes in our lives in 2nd Corinthians 5. He wrote in this passage of Scripture, “Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive this new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them” (verses 14-15). Because of Christ, we no longer live for ourselves. We are transformed. That is why Paul wrote several verses later, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (verse 17). This new life has nothing to do with us. We are transformed not because of our performance or our efforts, but because of Christ. That’s why Paul continued writing, “All of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ” (verse 18). The change in us and transformation of our hearts is not because of us. It “is a gift from God.” The pressure is off, my friend. If you follow Christ with full devotion, spend time with Him regularly, and follow His example, He will transform you.
In our day and age, we place so much responsibility on ourselves. We don’t like asking for help. We want to earn and achieve everything on our own. The truth is, we are entirely dependent on Christ. He does the work in our lives as we commit to following Him with full devotion. We need Him every second of every day, and that is a good thing.
Your challenge today is to acknowledge your dependence on God. Admit that you cannot live this life on your own and that you need Him every step of every day. As you set out today to make Him known and to honor Him in all you do, pray “Help me.”
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
The Ministry of Jesus Begins
12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
The First Disciples
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Crowds Follow Jesus
23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24 News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.
