Matthew 4:18-20
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
Why would Peter and Andrew leave everything to follow Jesus?
With the Super Bowl ending as it should (Go Baltimore), I was reminded about how many Dad’s want their boys to make it to the NFL, the best of the best and one day hold that coveted Super Bowl trophy.
Well, two thousand years ago Jewish dad’s wanted their sons to grow up and become Rabbis. It didn’t matter what job a dad had, his goal was to prepare his sons for the glory of spiritual leadership. The first “tryouts” came at age six when boys were tested on the Hebrew alphabet and the memorized “game book” of Leviticus. Those who were successful would have a chance to make the varsity team by memorizing the Pentateuch (The first 5 books of the Old Testament) by age twelve. The truly exceptional young spiritual-etes (Spiritual- Athletes) who made the cut would continue with a scholarship to the “School of Discipleship” also known as the “School of the book”, where over the next eighteen years they would study, hoping to make it to the Super Bowl of spirituality and be awarded the title “Rabbi” at age thirty.
For those young men who didn’t make it, who weren’t good enough, who didn’t make the cut, they were sent home with the instructions to join their fathers in the family business and pray that one day their son would grow up to become a Rabbi.
At the age of thirty successful spiritual-etes would hold up their Super Bowl trophies and enjoy the ticker tape parade of confirmation by two Rabbis. One who would vouch for the spiritual-etes ability to repeat what he was taught and the other to confirm that he could also interpret the scriptures.
Jesus the MVP of the Spiritual Super Bowl, was not confirmed by mere men, but by two “Hall of Famers”, John the Baptist and God himself when he said, “This is my son, in whom I’m well pleased.”
This great Super Bowl MVP Rabbi didn’t go to the “School of the Disciples”, to find the best and the brightest students to prepare to become spiritual-ete leaders. Instead, he goes to those two, dropout fishermen who had been told long ago that they didn’t have what it takes to make the cut.
He said to them, “Come, follow me,”… “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.”
Our God is a God of second chances. Jesus chooses the men that had already been rejected by their community.
These forgotten men left everything they knew and followed their new coach immediately. They said, “I’m all in”, and the world was never the same.
How about you? Have you been rejected, ignored, past over? You’re in good company. God wants you to join Him in an adventure that will change your game plan for eternity, but you need to be all in!
Matthew Shorack
