In this message we shall cover more aspects of Christ’s work in His earthly ministry.
In His ministry Christ called disciples. It was not easy for the Lord Jesus to call out others to follow Him, but in His ministry He did such a work.
Matthew 4:18-22 describes Christ’s work in calling disciples. Verse 18 says, “Walking beside the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.” Here we see that Christ’s ministry began not in Jerusalem but by the seashore and consisted of catching men who were not so religious, who lived around the sea instead of in the holy place, and making them fishers of men.
Verses 19 and 20 continue, “He said to them, Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately, leaving the nets, they followed Him.” Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, had brought Peter to the Lord, in the place where John preached, prior to this (John 1:35-36, 40-42). That was the first time they met the Lord. When He met them the second time, at the Sea of Galilee, they were attracted by Him as the great light in the darkness of death (Matt. 4:16) and followed Him in the light of life (John 8:12).
When Peter and Andrew were called by the Lord Jesus, they were casting a net into the sea. The Lord called them to follow Him and promised to make them fishers of men. They left the net and followed the Lord Jesus to become fishers of men. Eventually, Peter became the first great fisher on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-42; 4:4).
When James and John were called by the Lord Jesus, they were mending their nets in the boat (Matt. 4:21-22). The Lord called them, and they left the boat and their father and followed Him. John and his brother, like Peter and Andrew, were attracted by the Lord Jesus and followed Him. Eventually, John became a real mender, mending the breakages in the church by his ministry of life.
Christ’s calling of these four disciples was the foundation for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens. These four disciples became the first four of the twelve apostles. Peter and Andrew were the first pair, and James and John were the second. Thus, the first four disciples caught by the Lord Jesus became the first four foundation stones of the kingdom of God, which are four of the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14).
In His earthly ministry Christ led His sheep out of the Jewish fold, out of Judaism (John 10:2-5, 7, 9). The sheep in John 10 are God’s chosen people. The sheepfold is the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody and ward until Christ came. In eternity past God with His foresight had chosen His people. In time, before Christ came, God put His chosen people into the custody of the law. After Christ came, He wanted all of His people to come out of the law’s custody. However, the Jewish religion had utilized the law to form Judaism. Hence, Judaism had become the sheepfold.
In John 10:7 the Lord Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” Then in verse 9 He continues, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out and shall find pasture.” Christ is the door to the sheepfold. As the door, He is both the entrance and the exit of the sheepfold. First, the Old Testament saints went into the fold, which was the law, through Christ as the door. The fold of the law, which eventually became Judaism, confined all of His chosen people. Christ is the door through which the believers may now come out of Judaism and come into Him as the pasture. Therefore, in His ministry Christ called His own sheep by name and led them out of the fold and into the pasture (John 10:3). The pasture signifies Christ as the feeding place for the sheep. Now that Christ has come, the sheep, God’s chosen people, must come out of the sheepfold and come into Him to enjoy Him as their pasture. The reason the Lord Jesus did not leave the sheep in the sheepfold was that the age, the dispensation, had been changed. During the time of the Old Testament, it was right for the sheep to remain in the fold. But since Christ has come and the dispensation has changed, the sheep should no longer remain in the fold. For this reason, even though the Judaizers may have accused Christ of stealing the sheep, He accomplished the work of leading the sheep out of the fold of Judaism. He was condemned by the Judaizers for doing this work.
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