The Calling

The Calling of the First Disciples
18As 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.

21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

What was it about Jesus that caused the first four disciples to drop what they were doing and follow Him. I've often asked that question to myself - certainly every single time I've read this passage. But even beyond that, the motivation to do things completely out of the ordinary has to come from somewhere.

As a school kid, I'd read that Adolf Hitler's voice was hypnotic and that listening to him in the German language was to listen to a master orator and to become enticed by his message. He would soothe his crowds with pride and false promises and make his people believe whatever he had to say. It didn't hurt that he was able to deliver on a lot of his promises early on and his early victories only helped promote the power of his speeches. But I still wonder, was his voice enough to bring people to commit genocide? How about places like Rwanda? Or the killing fields of Cambodia? Or Dresden? Must there always be a compelling figure to push people to do things they'd never do in normal circumstances?

So, if it wasn't Jesus' gift of gab, then it must have been his eyes. He must have cast a spell on them with His eyes. One look at the disciples and they must have seen that Jesus was God - even if they didn't recognize it just yet.

But wouldn't that be cheating? Wouldn't that be a tipping of the hand? Surely all of God's power and authority rested on Jesus's shoulders, but then why didn't the entire ancient world flock to his side? Why only 12 disciples? Why only fishermen and tax collectors?

I finally received my answer yesterday and the implications were profound. Jesus did use his God given powers, but not to bewitch his disciples. He merely looked into their hearts and knew that they were ready to follow. It wasn't that Jesus picked them out of the crowd and said, "He's good with catching fish, I'll bring him along." Jesus looked at a crowd and found twelve whose hearts were ready to find the truth. Twelve who were ready to serve the son of man. It was nothing that Jesus did to make them ready. It was already inside of them.

So, if you were in a crowd of other folks and Jesus walked by, would He call to you? Would you hear Him? Would you drop what you were doing and come to his side? Jesus won't beguile you with His power. He won't bewitch you with His words. He will simply call you and hope that you answer.

Are you ready to serve Him?