I Will Make You Fishers of Men (Mt. 4:12-25)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” The words of the blessing will bear fruit, and that evidence is in the Word of God. I hope you will bless yourself and bless and pray for the people around you that you meet. It is not through our tongues, but God works upon the evidence of His Word. We read the last section of Mt. 4, and the title of today’s message is, “I Will Make You Fishers of Men.”
1. Jesus Christ who fulfills the Word
The background of the Word is that Rome was an empire colonizing and taking over its surrounding nations. At this time, the Israelites had to pay taxes to Israel but also to the Roman Empire, so they were suffering financially. In this most difficult time period, God sent Jesus Christ to the Earth. In your lowest point, God changes it to a point of hope.
1) Region of Galilee
This is Jesus Christ’s first ministry after He received the filling of the Holy Spirit and overcame Satan’s temptations. When Jesus began His ministry, He went to the Region of Galilee.
(1) John the Baptist put in prison (Mt. 4:12)
At this time, King Herod was with his younger brother’s wife (his younger brother passed away), and John the Baptist pointed out that this was wrong by the law. When John the Baptist was put into prison for this, Jesus Christ began His ministry.
After listening to this news, Jesus didn’t visit John the Baptist in prison but went to Galilee. If you see the map, you’ll understand the region of Galilee better. This was an age where there were four kings ruling over Israel. This upper left portion is the region of Galilee. Below that are the region of Samaria and the region of Judah. The region of Galilee is in the north, which is why they were attacked by many nations. That’s why the traditional Jews, when they see the people of Galilee, say they are fake; they have the fake ideologies and traditions. It’s because the Assyrians and the Philistines invaded through the north, so the Galilee people had mixed blood. They were completely immersed in the traditions of the Jews. That’s why the people of Jerusalem actually looked down on the people of Galilee, saying they’re mixed blood and have the incorrect ideologies so they should be isolated.
(2) Went to Capernaum (Mt. 4:13)
In this region of Galilee, Jesus went to Capernaum, which is one of the neighborhoods of Galilee. In Isaiah, God prophesied this and talked about the Galilee of the Gentiles.
(3) To fulfill what was said (Mt. 4:14)
God prophesied through Isaiah that His Word will be fulfilled through the Gentiles. Why they called it the Galilee of the Gentiles, even though it was part of Israel, is because they were invaded so often and had many mixed people. Why did Jesus begin His ministry here? It was to fulfill the Word that was prophesied. What does this mean?
2) Prophesied Word (Is. 9:1-2)
If I believe in Christ and receive salvation, God is leading me with His Word. Then when I go there, there are answers. If there aren’t answers, that means God is leading me to another place. Then I am going to a place that has no relation to the Word of God.
(1) Galilee of the Gentiles (Mt. 4:15)
When Jesus did His ministry in the region of Galilee, He made disciples, and this was the place that began this.
(2) The people living in darkness (16)
When he looked at the people of Galilee, Jesus said these are the people living in darkness. Darkness means they have no hope, no light, no vision. But it says, “They have received a great light.” They have received the proclamation of Jesus Christ.
(3) Those living in the land of the shadow of death (16)
On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned, and Jesus went to the land of Galilee to fulfill this Word.
3) A great light
The region of Galilee was captured by flesh and blood.
(1) Rescued us from the dominion of darkness (Col. 1:13)
In Col. 1:13, it says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
(2) Freed us from death (Rom. 6:23, Rom. 8:2)
The people caught in the forces of darkness live in a place with no light. It says, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
(3) Freed from fear of death (Heb. 2:15)
In Heb. 2:15, it says “and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery,” so they are under this fear. It’s the same for all people. Especially the people of Galilee–they were like that physically. If Jerusalem was a shining light, then the region of Galilee was isolated. They were poor, uneducated, and not even acknowledged by the nation of Israel. But this was the region that Jesus first went to. The people all had this impoverished heart.
2. Word of Jesus Christ
Jerusalem is the capital with all the high priests and well-known people of Jerusalem, along with the kings and rulers, but Jesus went to the low of lows. Even for me, at my lowest point is when Jesus came and found me. I continued to have this desperation for the spirit. I kept worrying and wondering, “I graduated college, I’m working, and soon I’ll get married. Is this the right way to live? I need to get promoted soon. Is this the right way to live?” These are the concerns I always had. “If I die now, is there eternity after?” This is the desperation I had continuously, and because I was seized by Satan, I was suffering needlessly. And at that time, Jesus found me as the light.
God opened my heart 100% so I could accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, when I was in complete darkness. This doesn’t mean I was physically a failure. Even if you have everything, you’re not satisfied. Even if you’re living well, you’re not satisfied. Why? Because God created us to be eternal. People are continuously searching for this eternal thing, and that’s why they have no choice but to fall into the fear of death. That is the place Jesus went to. Patients who are ill need doctors; healthy people don’t need doctors. If I know I’m in darkness, I’ll know I need Christ, but if I don’t know this, I’ll look for other things.
1) Repent (Mt. 4:17)
This is the region that Jesus went to. What Word did he say? “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” This is similar to the message John the Baptist proclaimed, and this is the same message that Apostle Paul proclaimed, and Paul talked about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Even now, if the church is proclaiming the correct Word, they will proclaim Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. The entire 66 books of the Bible are talking about Jesus Christ, so we must proclaim Christ and the Kingdom of God. Jesus isn’t telling the unbelievers to repent. Jesus is telling the Israelites who know the Old Testament and have attended all the worships, to repent. It says that Jesus proclaimed to them why He is the Christ. Why must the Jewish people repent? At this time, these people were living a religious life.
(1) From me center to Christ center
Do you know what a religious life is? The characteristic of religious people is that they go to a religion and attend worship in order to fulfill what they want and desire, by using the names of the god the religion serves. These people do what the religion tells them to do to fulfill what they want. There are some unbelievers who have no religion. These people think, “I am god, so I’ll do it myself. With my strenght, power, and abilities, I’ll fulfill what I want.” But why do the Israelites need to repent?
Why do the church members of today need to repent? Of course, we need to change our incorrect actions, but it’s talking about the original problem. Even though our religion is different, we’re living the same life as the other religions. Because Christians focus on the Word, they hold onto the Word that fulfills their own wants and needs and pray about it, so it’s the same life as other religions. That’s why they have no relation to the Words that are proclaimed to them.
That’s why they really like the words, “The few will become many, the weak will be strong.” These are the words that relate to them. Change yourself from that–change your life from me centered to Christ centered.
(2) From legalism to being seized by Christ
How did these people perceive the law? It was based on whether or not you followed the law–if you did, you were blessed, and if not, you were cursed. All religions have rules. If you follow them, you’ll be blessed, and that’s why they follow it diligently. But that center is “me”; I use this law and follow it accordingly for myself.
The reason God gave the law is for you to realize you cannot fulfill the law and need to go before God. The law is just the precedent before Christ, but we cannot follow the law. Even though the Israelites were colonized by Rome, they focused on following the law, and that’s what Paul said–”I have nothing against the law.” They completely change the law; they are in a state where they have not come out of this religious life.
(3) From my vision to Christ’s vision
From there, you must change your life from me centered to Christ centered. Your vision must change from “my vision” to Christ’s vision. That is called repentance. Repentance is changing your life direction and center to Christ. That’s why when you say “Repent,” some people say, “I follow the law well, why must I repent?” It’s the same now. Legalistic and religious people say, “Try to follow the law as well as I do.” They don’t realize this Word. “I’m following all these Words and laws,” that’s why they don’t “need” the gospel. When you talk about the gospel instead, they say, “Oh, you just need to follow these actions.” That’s a religious lifestyle.
2) Kingdom of heaven is near (Mt. 4:17)
Jesus says, “The Kingdom of heaven is near.” The Kingdom of heaven is up in the heavens, so how is it near? Heaven is the place where Jesus Christ rules.
(1) Where Jesus is
The book of Matthew pertains to the Jewish people, and in the past, they could not use the word “God” because it was too holy, so they used the word “Heaven” instead. They couldn’t even write or say the “Kingdom of God.” Instead, they expressed it as the “Kingdom of heaven.”
(2) In your midst (Lk. 17:21)
“The Kingdom of heaven is near. It’s not here or there, but it’s within you.” There is a Kingdom of heaven where we will go in the future, but the Kingdom of heaven is also within you. When you live within the Kingdom of heaven here, you will go to the eternal Kingdom of heaven. If you’re not within the Kingdom of heaven, you will have no choice but to be within the kingdom of the forces of darkness and go to Hell. That’s why you have no choice but to live in the shadow of death, and fear death.
(3) It is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons (Mt. 12:28)
But in Mt. 12:28, it says “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Even now, people are demon-possessed and suffering immensely. Where are the evil spirits and spirits of God? You can’t see them. These are people who don’t believe this realistically, they just know the Bible as a book. When you talk about demon possession to these people, they think of fortune-tellers and shamans in temples. But demon possession can be revealed in different ways. In other words, if the Kingdom of heaven doesn’t come upon people, the Kingdom of darkness cannot flee.
3) Israel’s heaven
But what is the Kingdom of heaven the people of Israel talked about?
(1) Messiah – Came as human
They knew that a Messiah would come. But what was the salvation these people talked about?
(2) Win and be liberated from the Roman Empire through warfare
They were thinking of the Kingdom of God and the Messiah as someone who would come and rule over the Roman Empire through warfare, and rule over the entire world through that. And because they had overcome the surrounding nations through war, they’d have peace.
(3) Kingdom that enjoys peace, rest
They thought the true Adonai–the true Lord–would come to rule over them. At this time, the Romans served Zeus, and they thought the Emperor was the son of Zeus. Caesar was not just a person, but was the son of Zeus. But because Jesus came as the son of God, he was going against the Roman Emperor. Because he came as the King of Peace, only Caesar was known as the king of peace, so he was going against Caesar.
The Romans saw the Savior in that way, but the Israelites always waited for a Messiah who would free them from the Roman Empire, and rule over other nations, so they would have salvation. But Jesus came, saying He was the Son of God, even though he came from Nazareth, with no background or position, and the son of a carpenter, so the people rebelled. The people were angered. What do you perceive as the Kingdom of God? All people have their own definition. Muslims, Buddhists, all religions have their own definition. They dream of it and follow it. All these people have their own Kingdom, a land flowing with milk and honey and beautiful women, and they encourage young believers to be martyrs for their kingdom. Do you wait for a Kingdom of God where everyone will kneel to you and you’ll be in comfort and rest? That’s what the Israelites did. But God said that is not the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the Kingdom of God, and where He resides, that is the Kingdom of God. Would the Israelites be able to understand? No, they couldn’t.
3. Discipleship ministry and healing
1) Sea of Galilee
After Jesus began this ministry, He later went to the Sea of Galilee. The first thing He did was call Simon and Andrew.
(1) Simon and Andrew – Fishermen (Mt. 4:18)
These two brothers were people of Galilee who were fishermen. Jesus saw them throw their nets. There were many people in the region of Galilee, but Jesus specifically saw them. How did you come to believe in Jesus Christ? He came to you. Why is it me among all people? It’s because Jesus Christ is interested in you. It was in the place where they were working diligently.
There’s a Word that Jesus tells them. “Follow me.” It’s an important Word. They were living on a daily wage, having to earn a living to feed their families, and even if they were rich, they’d continuously live to feed their families and maybe go up in position. But Jesus told them to “Follow me,” and these are not simple words. “Leave your life direction, and follow me.” In other words, “Will you entrust your life to me?” It’s not just going back and forth to church. “Will you entrust your life to me?” This is what it means to “Follow me.” You must believe in Him to the extent where you will entrust your entire life to Him. Don’t you marry someone because you find value and interest in the other person so that you can live the rest of your life with them? They heard the words, “Repent.” Because the grace of God came upon them, they had this turning point. “When you entrust your life to me, I will make you fishers of men.”
If you used to live only to fish and make a living for your family, change that, stop your fishing and leave that in order to do the work of saving lives. Because they were apostles, they abandoned their jobs and followed Jesus. But for the church members, the jobs you have right now–use them to save other people. That is the beginning of your faith. Of course, all people have their own journey and process. When Jesus Christ hits your heart correctly, you know you have been liberated from this fundamental problem. Because you go into the Kingdom of God, you live for the Kingdom of God.
(2) James and John – Fishermen (Mt. 4:21)
Jesus then goes on to call another set of brothers–James and John. These brothers were actually caring for their father. Jesus saw them and called them.
(3) He saw them (Mt. 4:18,21)
In v. 22, it says, “Immediately they left their boat and followed him.” Does this make sense? They left their father and left their jobs. If you have discovered something, it will make sense. A while ago, in my neighborhood, there was a very beautiful woman. She locked eyes with another young man in another neighborhood. When the parents found out, they were against their marriage, but this woman really liked this man, so they left in the middle of the night. Years later, they came back with a child in their arms. Why did this woman leave her family in the middle of the night? Something was planted within her. She was very interested in this man.
2) Jesus’ calling
Why did these disciples abandon their boat and father to follow Jesus? They need them to live and survive, right? I’m not telling you to abandon your family, house, and job right now, but change from the direction of life you have set right now. When I first believed in Jesus Christ, I was persecuted the most by my family, especially by my father, because he could never forgive or understand me for doing it. He thought, “I have raised my child to live well and survive well, but he abandoned his job and studies abroad, and is chasing something else.” That’s why my family could never understand.
When I tried to proclaim the gospel to my father, I said, “We believe in Jesus Christ,” and he responded, “We? ‘We’ is only our family, who is this other ‘we’?” He had this look of betrayal. My mother let it be and said, “Oh, this is our son,” but my father was saying, “This is our son, he must look after our family line. What is he going after now?” I was persecuted the most by my family, and secondly, by my friends. They thought, “Oh, he’s my friend, but now he’s changed. He has this new friend, ‘Jesus’, so our relationship is now different.” So our relationship changed, they thought, “Oh, he’s lost his senses.”
My friends would mock me, saying, “Pastor Park. Oh, if you’re a pastor, you’ll have the best business because you won’t have to pay taxes.” A few years after I accepted Christ, they started calling me “Pastor Park” mockingly. The relationship I had with these friends, which was based on drinking together, was disconnected. My face and body remained the same, but my inner state–the direction I raced towards–was different, so my friends were upset. It was because I had seen something. After I believed in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God came upon me, the darkness I lived in with my family changed into the light of Jesus Christ, so of course, there were these reactions. After two years of believing in Jesus, all the spiritual oppressions I’d had I was liberated from, through Jesus Christ. But people who have believed in Jesus since birth don’t understand this because they haven’t experienced that. From a young age, they followed their parents to church, and they know about God, the Bible, and the church, but they have no understanding of this. Even among the Israelites, there were people God had called, and they followed him. There are people like that. You can see that from me.
(1) Come follow me (Mt. 4:19)
What is it like now? All the people around me–my friends and family–are envious of me, and it will only be greater as we live on. Do I have a better personality because I believe? No, other people say I still have the same personality. There was another friend I talked to recently, and he said, “Because I see this peace you now have, I think I need to go to church.” Because the Kingdom of God comes upon me, the forces of darkness flee, and the fear and anxiety of death flee, so peace comes upon me. All the facial expressions I had when I was oppressed lightened up.
I constantly judged others with laser-like eyes and had this hardened expression, all to preserve and protect myself, so life was very hard for me. Whenever I met someone, I fought with them. It’s not that I physically fought them but I always regarded them as my enemy. Even if they had a slight disagreement, I would think, “I have to kill them,” I was killing them with my heart. Even unbelievers, I would go against them using the law. When you give the law to unbelievers, they can’t budge. Because I rushed towards them with all the laws I could bring, they couldn’t budge, even though I couldn’t follow all the laws either. Even when I was an unbeliever, I lived a legalistic life. Because I did not know this light of the gospel, I held onto and followed all the incorrect things. But Jesus has chosen me, and come into me as my Lord and Savior. For pastors, they make them completely abandon their jobs and follow after Jesus. There are some pastors who have second jobs too, and it’s according to their faith. But for me, I prayed, “If I’m a pastor who has to have a second job, then just return me to my original job at a company.” In other words, I just lived with the confidence in Jesus Christ.
How did my friends and family see me as a follower of Christ? There are some pastors who say, “Oh, I’ll follow Apostle Paul, and have a second job.” But I’m not sure about that, why wouldn’t I have those thoughts either? Whether I die by starvation or other ways, it doesn’t matter because I still die for Christ. It’s the same for you. Jesus Christ is giving you the Word, saying, “Oh, you have your job and all these things to survive, but wouldn’t it be better to just follow me?” Don’t follow him with your calculations, because then you’re not actually following Christ, you’re just having your own calculations. Come out of your religious life and turn. A life that is purely through only Jesus Christ. Think about your state before you believed in Jesus Christ. Things didn’t happen because of your skills. You have been changed through the grace of Jesus Christ. Constantly remember this. If you don’t remember this, you’ll have misconceptions. You’ll think you got to this point through your skills. One day, it seemed like it all worked out, you received salvation, but you will return to the state from before you believed. Even though you’ve received salvation, you return to your previous state. That’s why your suffering continues. That’s why, constantly go before the cross. When I go before the cross, it means “I” die. It means I can’t do it on my own. I died with Christ, and now I live unified with Christ and this is the life I must live.
(2) I will send you out to fish for people (Mt. 4:19, Mt. 28:18-19)
(3) Left their nets, boat, and father and followed Jesus (Mt. 4:20,22)
3) Synagogues (Mt. 4:23) and field
The first location Jesus went during his ministry was to the synagogues in Galilee. When the Israelites were captives of Babylon, they couldn’t worship at the temple because it was destroyed, so they built these synagogues to worship, where they prayed first, then read the scripture, then someone came out to give the lecture. That’s why these synagogues were religious locations to receive the Word, but it was also a place where immigrants could gather together.
(1) Proclaimed the good news of the kingdom (Mt. 4:23, Mk. 16:15)
Jesus found this place, read the scriptures, and gave his lectures. That’s where he taught and preached the good news of the kingdom. It’s not just any gospel, but the good news of the Kingdom. When the gospel goes within you, you change into the kingdom of God. That’s why it says, “Preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and disease of the people.”
(2) Healed disease and sickness – Kingdom of God (Mt. 4:23, Mk. 16:17-18)
When Christ comes upon these people, they are liberated from sins, curses, and disasters, and that is why these works of healing arose. That’s when large crowds followed and gathered together in Galilee.
(3) Large crowds followed because of the healing (Mt. 4:25)
When Jesus came to the Earth, he said, “Go, make disciples of all nations.” In Mk. 16, it says to heal diseases and those who are demon-possessed and ill. Do as Jesus said. But you can’t do it on your own. “That is why I will be with you.” What does it mean for Him to be “with” us?
“Will you entrust your life to me? Then, through you, I will do the work of discipleship and healing. Don’t live, holding onto your incorrect things and motives, but instead, entrust your life to me and follow me. That is why, through your life, other people will be saved, they will be healed from their diseases and demon possession. And my Kingdom will be established. Will you entrust your life to me? Then, I will do this work through you. I will give you authority over all heaven and earth. Do you just want to make money? Don’t you want to be a businessperson who saves lives as well? You’re not living a life until the very end, where you’re in a state where you can do nothing, but will you just entrust your life to me? I will be with you and do this work. I will be with you, so just entrust your life to me, and we will go together.” That’s why for these people of Galilee, who were isolated, looked down upon, and constantly looking for something, their lives were completely changed.
America has many churches, but why is it that they are closing down and transcendental meditation is becoming more popular? It’s because the churches haven’t had this “turn.” Because the churchgoers come to church in order to fulfill what they want, they are no different from the world. That’s why God desires to give you grace according to the Word. I hope you will be used in the work of saving lives and shining the light upon all the people in your field. In order to do that, you yourself must enjoy the gospel immensely. Enjoying the gospel means “I” die and I enjoy being with Christ.
All things arise within the sovereignty of God. All problems contain God’s plan within them. People who don’t have this live a religious life; they are not people who believe in God. They believe in the Living God, but they don’t believe God is interceding for them and is with them in their everyday lives. Those who believe in God’s absolute sovereignty believe that God works in every aspect of their lives. When you believe this, you will be liberated from your scars, and evil spirits will flee. There are no other methods. It’s not something that can be solved with counseling. Counseling that arises from human ideologies cannot change a person’s spirit. Oh, will you make religions boom with American ideologies and power? No, you can’t do that. You must believe exactly what Jesus said, and follow it. Then, God will work according to the Word He has given us. When you believe and follow this, that is the work of the Life Movement. I hope you enjoy this blessing the most and share this blessing with others.
Conclusion
1. Enjoy and follow the word of the Gospel
2. Through the strength of the filling of the Holy Spirit
3. Find disciples in the field and establish the kingdom of God…
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word God has given us.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. Thank you for liberating us from the shadow of death and sin and making us into the Kingdom of God within Your light. We thank you for giving us the mission and the plan of the Kingdom of God and for being with us. May this Word of the gospel be proclaimed to the entire world. We give our offering to you at this time. Wherever it is used, may Your Word be fulfilled. Upon all the people who have given this offering, may You give them the evidence that You are in control of all things. We believe that You will bless this offering as Yours as we give it back to you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We believe You will bless them with the Word fulfillment upon them and the new life. Bless them to be the ones to save Karen, Myanmar, Mongolia, and the 237 nations. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to be fishers of men and live for the Kingdom of God and Christ, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.