Living Stones – Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Family business
Matthew 4:21
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them …
Today, much of the fish we eat is caught and processed by big fishing establishments who hire many diverse people. Their vessels, trawlers, are often manned by a motley crew. When they return from the sea the catch is collected by other employees who take them into a processing facility to be cleaned and gutted and made ready for sale to fresh fish purchasers or sent on for further processing by those selling packaged fish or other processed and value-added fish products.
Jesus went walking on the seashore of the Lake of Gennesaret in Galilee where He encountered fisherfolk. People who fish for a living.
Fisherfolk by the seaside tend to be persons in the family fishing business. Fishing is a business not just for the support of the individual families, entire coastal communities depend on the fishing business. The best example of this was the BP Oil Spill in the USA. The world got a chance to see fisherfolk for coastal communities in America talk about the nature of the family businesses and the generations of fishermen in their families.
Over two thousand years ago when Jesus walked that seaside things were no different. Jesus encountered groups of family fishers. In our short passage, Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus first encounters two brothers, “Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.” Matthew 4:18 Then He met a family of fishers, a father and his sons in the business, “Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.” Matthew 4:21.
The call of Jesus caused personal upheaval, here individual men were challenged to examine themselves and decide if a total commitment to Jesus was what they were prepared to give. Men had to decide if they were ready to walk away from family, from business or other personal pursuits, and if they were prepared to engage and interact with the community differently.
Often today we see many people “going forward” at big crusades where the Gospel is being preached for the salvation of men. However, when we get to the church next week the number of new converts is way less than the number of decision cards filled. Many times, this difference is due to the “convert” having time to think if this kind of commitment is really one they want to make.
The next big upheaval is the family upheaval. When one person in a family decides to make a total commitment of their life to Jesus it impacts the entire family (unless of course, this convert is a part of a family whose members have already been following Jesus). Family traditions and family activities are often disrupted by the change in the family member who now has a different “standard” by which they intend to live. And, where the family business is concerned, the impact could affect livelihood.
In telling and teaching our bible stories we often neglect the impact of the events on all of the persons involved. This neglect is the reason why sometimes in our evangelistic zeal we fail to address the real challenges new converts, or potential new converts, face.
Think for a moment about Zebedee’s dilemma. In modern times his business might have been called – Zebedee and Sons – boasting of the finest catch sold at the best prices in Galilee. Zebedee is at work in his boat with his sons who he had trained in the business and Jesus shows and calls them away, “and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” Matthew 4:22
Zebedee might have seen problems we could only imagine. How would he now work alone, would he have to hire staff to replace his sons, who will inherit the business, what will happen to him and his wife in their old age, what about his customers, and on and on and on. Zebedee was probably hoping that this was just a phase of youth. They have run away from work with a young friend who might have been a bad influence but after they get home tonight he would straighten them out. Imagine his reaction when he finds out that they had committed to their young friend Jesus for life. Fortunately, Zebedee was a wealthy fisherman with staff who could keep the business going, “And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.” Mark 1:20.
In the case of Zebedee’s household, things turned out well. Fishing for men became a family business just as fishing for fish was. Salome, his wife, is believed to be among the women who funded Jesus’ operation, Luke 8:3. We know for sure that, Salome, probably driven by her business background and social status even went to Jesus to seek promotion for her sons, Matthew 20:20. And, at the crucifixion, Salome was among the women who brought the expensive spices to anoint Jesus, Mark 16:1
We must always be conscious of the potential impact of the Gospel that we share. We may be focused on the individual, as we should, but we must never forget that this person is from a family, a community, an organisation, all of which would be affected by their response to the Gospel.
Think on these things:
- Was there any personal upheaval when you became a Christian?
- Are you from a Christian family or was there some kind of family reaction to your conversion?
- How can we be more sensitive to people family and other connections as we share the Gospel?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would see households and families transformed by the Gospel of Jesus as we share it.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
