Quick Devotional from Matthew 4:19 (Observation from the Greek)

This is from my daily Greek exercise of sight reading a few weeks ago, courtesy of Vincent S Artale Jr.

Our text is from the Greek translation of Matthew 4:19.  Here is my translation:

“καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. ”
And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Here are some observations:

 

1. Verse 18 gives us the context of what’s going on: “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.“
2. Jesus here is speaking to Simon and Andrew.
3. There is a command given here: “Follow Me”
   1. This is not a command only for Simon and Andrew.
   2. In Matthew 8:22 we see Jesus said to a group of disciples: “But Jesus *said to him, ‘Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.’“
   3. In Matthew 9:9 Jesus said “Follow Me” to Matthew.
   4. This is a command for us believers as well.
4. What specifically does following Jesus entails?  The second half of the verse mention: “and I will make you fishers of men.”
   1. Andrew and Peter were fishermen as their trade when Jesus encountered them.
   2. Here Jesus is saying they will be like fishermen still but with men.
   3. Specifically they will be “Catching” men for God.
   4. This entail evangelism and discipling followers of God.
5. The call to follow Jesus in general is not easy.  Both Matthew 10:38 and 16:24 talk about carrying the Cross as part of following Jesus.
6. Yet whenever God command us something He also gives us the grace to be able to obey.
   1. Consider also the salvation that God gives us to not as reward, but a free gift.  That alone should already motivate us to follow Him!
   2. But it doesn’t end there!  In Matthew 19:21 Jesus also commanded listeners to “follow Me.”  But Jesus adds an incentive: “you will have treasure in heaven.”  There will be reward for faithfulness.

Application:

• Have you realize that following Jesus comes with a cost?
• Have you decided to follow Jesus to the point that you will be willing to sacrifice things to follow Him?
• Have you shared the Gospel to others recently?  Who was the last person you shared Jesus to?  Take the time right now to pray for the person.
• Are you involved with discipling others?  If not, pray about it.  If you are, pray for the person you are discipling.
• In what other ways recently have you carried your cross?
• Meditate on God wanting to reward us for obedience.  Let that move you to loving obedience of God.