Monday October 21
“They Forsook All and Followed Jesus”
Luke 5:8-11
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Jesus is in the process of calling his disciples and training them to be fishers of men. Remember that this is all happening on the north side of the Sea of Galilee in a little place called Capernaum, where Jesus preached to the crowd. Then He asked Peter to put his boat out a little from the shore. Then He told him to launch out into the deep. Then He told him to put out his nets for a catch. And Peter partially obeying, put out a net, began to catch so many fish he couldn't handle them all, and calls his partners James and John in their boat to come and help him. And they are all astonished at the great miraculous catch of fish, that only Jesus could have performed for them.
Peter falls on his face and says, “depart from me, I'm a sinful man, O Lord”. And Jesus responds by saying, “do not be afraid Peter, for from now on you will catch men”. At this point, the passage tells us that the disciples, “forsook all and followed Him”. My question today is, “what does it mean to forsake all”? And then my next question is, “what is your all”? Well, first I believe to forsake all, to follow Jesus does not mean that you leave your wife or your children.
The Bible teaches us that in a man when a man and woman get married, they become one flesh. In Genesis 2:24, when Adam received his wife Eve from Go, it says “that man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. You can't leave yourself. You are a part of her and she is a part of you. You don't leave your children. It doesn't mean that.
In the story of Abraham in Genesis 12, we find a great illustration of what means to forsake all. God called Abraham to go to a land that he would show him. Abraham got up and started his journey, but initially he took his dad with him to a place called Haran. When he left there to continue his journey, took his nephew Lot with him all the way to the Promised Land that God showed him. But was this the land that God was actually showing him?
I believe the Promised Land was of course a literal piece of land that God promised Abraham. But at the same time, it tells us in the book of Hebrews Chapter 11:8-10, that “by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place that he would receive for an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going”. We need to point out that whenever you are intending to forsake all, it is a journey of faith. By faith Abraham went out not knowing even where He was going. You don't know what the end is. You just trust the Lord Day by day. Hebrews go on to say, “By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.”
Now, you know what Abraham was looking for. He had eternity in mind. He was looking for that heavenly city. In verse 16, we read: But they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them”.
When you forsake all and follow Jesus, it means you enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ that is personal, intimate and real. That you're looking for that heavenly city called heaven. God promised Abraham, I will make you a blessing, and you will be a blessing, and your family is going to be a blessing to the whole earth.
My friend, when you forsake all to follow Jesus and become a fisher of men, you indeed are blessed like you have never been blessed before. The Lord will be with you. He will be your guide. He'll be your shield. He'll be your protector. He'll be your security. Everything you thought you left behind will be like nothing and you will find that Jesus satisfies you more than anything else on earth.
God bless!
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