Jesus spent a significant portion of His ministry up in Galilee,
which, in fulfillment of Isaiah 9, enabled Him to be a light to the Gentiles. This morning, we trek with our Lord along the coast of the Sea of Galilee, where He begins to make preparations for the building of His church, upon laying the Cornerstone by means of His own death and resurrection. Here, He will call out, set apart, and begin to train, the first four of His twelve Apostles, who will be entrusted with the difficult, and yet, privileged task of laying the
foundation of the church, by means of the proclamation of the Gospel.
The Kingdom of God has arrived, and those who enter it, must do so, by God's means, which requires a change of heart, and not merely the outward show which has been presented by the religion of the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees. These ordinary, Galilean fishermen, will be set apart unto proclaiming the way into this kingdom. And it is no wonder then, that in Chapter 5, Matthew moves into the Beatitudes and the great Sermon on the Mount, which thoroughly describes the type of heart and life that will evidence those virtues and qualities that will (and must) identify all who are truly part of God's Kingdom in Christ.
That said, let us then move on, to consider our Lord's calling and setting apart of these four Galilean fishermen, who are to become fishers of men. |
