January 8: The 4 works of Jesus

Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people. So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them. And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River.  (Matthew 4:23-25 — NET)

Right before this passage Jesus called four fishermen to leave all they had and become His disciples — Peter, Andrew, James and John. Immediately afterwards all five traveled throughout Galilee “fishing for men”.

The type of fishing these two sets of brothers were used to was not rod and reel fishing, throwing in a line and waiting for a fish to bite. It was net fishing. There were no motors, only oars and sails, a heavy wooden boat, and a circular net with weights around the edges. Fishing in the Sea of Galilee in the time of Jesus was labor-intensive. We know from other passages that at times they would work all night and catch nothing — throwing out the net, hauling it back in, over and over again. Then at the end of a night of fishing they would have to clean and mend the nets. If they had fish, they would take them to the marketplace and sell them.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that today’s passage follows the calling of these four fishermen. The evangelistic work of Jesus, and now these four additional men, was also strenuous, it required traveling from one city to another, healing the sick, casting out demons, preaching the good news, and teaching them about spiritual truths. Just like fishing, it required hard work and at times brought few results, but required dedication and persistence. The one difference is that fish were caught, killed, sold and eaten, whereas catching people involved saving them from the grip of the devil, from sickness, freeing them from demons, and telling them the good news about God and salvation.

Crowds of people came to Jesus for help — from Galilee and Syria — because they were empty, sick, and possessed, or because a family member was. But the world is the same today. We should all be crowding around Jesus to receive the same type of help. No matter what we have or do, unless we find God and allow Him to change us, and then turn around and help Him change others, our lives will have been a total waste of time.

Jesus concentrated on four things: teaching, preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Let’s allow Him to affect our lives in all four areas also.