The new King began His ministry in Galilee, even at the Sea of Galilee, not in the holy city or in the holy temple. His forerunner ministered by the riverside, in the wilderness, but He began His ministry by the Sea of Galilee. Galilee was a place of mixed population with both Jews and Gentiles. Hence, it was called “Galilee of the nations” (Gentiles) and was despised by orthodox Jews (John 7:41, 52). The newly appointed King began His kingly ministry for the kingdom of the heavens in such a despised place, far from the capital of the country, dignified Jerusalem, with its sacred temple, the center of the orthodox religion. This implied that the ministry of the newly anointed King was for a heavenly kingdom, different from the earthly kingdom of David (the Messianic kingdom). John the Baptist ministered by the riverside because he was prepared to bury everyone who came to him in repentance. The new King ministered around the Sea of Galilee. In the Bible the Jordan River signifies burial and resurrection, termination and germination. But the Sea of Galilee signifies the world corrupted by Satan. Thus, Jordan was a place of burial, and the Sea of Galilee was the corrupted world.
In this portion of the Word there are four disciples who were called by Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Do you know where and when these four were saved? The answer to this question is in John chapter one. As John the Baptist was ministering, Andrew was brought to the Lord Jesus (John 1:35-37, 40). Andrew then found Peter, his brother, and led him to the Lord (John 1:40-42). When the Lord met Peter, He changed his name from Simon to Cephas, which means a stone (John 1:42). Therefore, in John chapter one both Peter and Andrew met the Lord Jesus. I believe they were saved at that time at the riverside of Jordan. The same thing happened to James and John. Of the two disciples of John the Baptist mentioned in John 1:35, one was the Apostle John. This John also brought his brother James to the Lord. Therefore, the four disciples mentioned in Matthew 4 had been terminated, germinated, and saved by the riverside of Jordan in John chapter one. However, they probably did not clearly understand what had happened to them.
I believe all this took place before the Lord’s temptation, while John was still ministering by the Jordan. After that, they returned to Galilee to continue their work of fishing. Probably they forgot what had happened to them by the riverside. They simply returned to their old occupation around the sea. But the Lord Jesus did not forget them. After His temptation, He began His ministry and came after them. It was the same with many of us. The first time we came to the Lord, He did many things to us, but we had no realization of their significance. Perhaps your riverside was in Canada or China. After meeting the Lord by the riverside, you came to a Sea of Galilee to make a living, to do your job of fishing, forgetting what the Lord had done to you by the riverside. Many of us simply forgot what the Lord had done to us in the past by the riverside of Jordan and did our best to make money working around our Sea of Galilee, in the evil, devilish, Satan-corrupted world. But one day, much to our surprise, the One who had saved us by the riverside came to our Sea of Galilee as the newly appointed King purposely to find us.
When the Lord came to us by our Sea of Galilee, there was something different about Him. In John chapter one, Christ’s recommender declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” When John declared that Christ was the Lamb of God, two of his disciples, Andrew and the Apostle John, followed the Lord Jesus. Eventually, as we have seen, both Andrew’s brother, Peter, and John’s brother, James, were also brought to the Lord and saved. Although it was wonderful to be saved, they later forgot their experience. Many of us did the same thing. Perhaps you said, “What happened there by the riverside of the Jordan? That was silly! We were put into the water and we met a Nazarene who was called the Lamb of God. But now we need to make a living. Let’s go back to our job. We have plenty of fishing and mending of nets to do.” Nevertheless, the King has His goal, and He needs you, just as He needed Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Thus, suddenly, the Lamb of God appeared at the very place where these four men were working to make a living. But this time He did not come as the Lamb—He came as a great light.
Verse 16 says, “The people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death, to them light sprang up.” John the Baptist was a burning and shining lamp (John 5:35). But this new King was the light. In fact, He was not only the light, but a great light. Peter, Andrew, James, and John did not realize that they were in darkness as they were working there by the Sea of Galilee to make a living. They were in the shadow of death. This is a picture of today’s situation. Many Christians met the Lord Jesus at some riverside and were saved. But later they did not care for that experience; rather, they cared for making a living. Therefore, they went to the Sea of Galilee to earn a living. Without knowing it, by going to the Sea of Galilee to earn a living, they entered into darkness and into the shadow of death. All those striving to earn a living in the large cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago are in darkness and in the region and shadow of death. Praise the Lord, the new King did not remain in Jerusalem! He came to the Sea of Galilee, and He is still coming to the Sea of Galilee today, walking about the seashore seeking to catch us. This time He comes not as a little Lamb, but as a great light. As Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea, this great light shined upon them. As He stood there shining upon them, He might have said, “Peter and Andrew, what are you doing here? Don’t you remember that I met you by the riverside of Jordan? Peter, don’t you recall how I changed your name?” That day by the Sea of Galilee a great light was shining upon them.
Our experience was the same as theirs. We were saved at the riverside of Jordan. But we later forgot what had happened to us and went to the Sea of Galilee to make a living. As we were working there for our living, the One whom we had met as the Lamb of God by the riverside of Jordan came as a great light to shine upon us. As He was shining upon us, He inquired, “What are you doing there?” I can testify that this happened to me one day. As I was working by the Sea of Galilee earning a good living, suddenly a light shined upon me, and the Lord said, “What are you doing here? Don’t you remember what happened to you by the riverside? You may not remember it, but I do.” Then the call came, “Follow Me,” and I followed Him. I believe that, in principle, a great many of us have had this kind of experience. You were saved at the riverside by the Lamb of God, but you were called by the Sea of Galilee by the shining of a great light. Although it may be easy to forget about what happened by the riverside, you cannot forget the time the great light shined upon you by the Sea of Galilee.
Although the record is very simple, the actual history is not that simple. It was not a simple matter for the Lord to call you. Firstly, He had to meet you by some riverside. Later, He had to come to you by some seashore. One day as you were working, the room where you were sitting was enlightened, a great light shined upon you, and the Lord asked you, “What are you doing here day after day?” When this happened to certain brothers, they threw down their pen and said, “What am I doing here?” Then the Lord asked, “Don’t you remember what I did to you by the riverside? Now you must follow Me.” Do not read the record of Matthew 4 merely in an objective way. We must read this chapter and even the whole Bible in a subjective way, applying it to ourselves. Praise the Lord that so many of us have had the experiences at two places—by the riverside and by the seashore!
The new King’s ministry for the kingdom of the heavens began not with earthly power, but with heavenly light, which was the King Himself as the light of life, shining in the shadow of death. When the Lord began His ministry as light, He made no display of power and authority. He walked upon the seashore as a common person. But as He came to those four disciples by the Sea of Galilee, He shined upon them like a great light, shining in the darkness and in the region of the shadow of death. At that juncture, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were enlightened and attracted. We have pointed out that John the Baptist was a great magnet. But the Lord Jesus is the greatest magnet of all. As He shined upon those four disciples, they were attracted and captured. They immediately forsook their jobs and followed this little Nazarene.
In Matthew 4 there is no record, as in Luke 5, of any miracle being done by the Lord when Peter was called. However, in Matthew 4, there was the great light that attracted the first four disciples. This attraction came not from what the Lord Jesus did; it came from what He was. He was a great light, a great magnet, with the power to attract people and to capture them. In this way He attracted and captured the first four disciples. No one who follows the Lord because of what He does can be trustworthy or faithful. The trustworthy ones are those who are caught by what the Lord is. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were attracted and captured at the seashore, not by seeing what the Lord did, but by realizing what the Lord was. Because they had been attracted and captured, they became faithful followers of the Lord Jesus unto the end. Eventually, they were all martyred because they followed the King of the heavenly kingdom.
Moreover, when the Lord Jesus called these four disciples, He did not start a movement or a revolution. Rather, He attracted the disciples to Himself for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens.