Following the Advent Messiah

Introduction

Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 5. We are going to read the first 11 verses. Time will not permit us to go through every verse expositionally. However, I want us to reflect for a moment on the Advent season. Some people spent time decorating the church, there was time put in with the special music that was offered, and there was time coordinating everything so that it would run smoothly. We sang together and read the word together.

But here we are the week after advent. The advent services are finished for 2023, the Christmas caroling is done, and the anticipation for the Messiah’s birth has passed. That leads me to ask a question, Now what? If I were to answer this question I would answer it with a question, what comes next? In answering this question, we find ourselves in Luke 5:1-11. The title of this sermon is Following the Advent Messiah. The story of events in Luke 5 occur shortly after Jesus’ ministry begins. Because we are not told much of Jesus’ childhood, and it is not told to us in the text that he proclaimed himself to be the Son of God (Luke 2:41-52), we must start with what the Bible gives us after his baptism by John. This is why John 1:35-42 was read earlier.

I want us to see that you and I are to Follow the Advent Messiah in three ways that he ministered. 1. We share the Gospel (v.1), 2. We meet people where they are (vv.2-5), and 3. We lead them to Christ (vv.8-11). With the course set, let us read Luke 5 verses 1-11.

1. We share the Gospel (v.1)

We begin our time together in verse 1 where we see the sharing of the gospel. This does not come to us as a surprise so early in Jesus’ ministry. After the temptation of the evil one, Jesus begins his ministry in Matthew 4:17 by preaching repentance for the kingdom of God is at hand. Therefore, the teaching that is in Luke 5 would not be any different.

But this was not an ordinary message. This was brand new. For decades even centuries, the people of God had been bringing there sacrifices to the temple. Malachi 1 tells us that the priests had brought forth sacrifices that were polluted because their hearts were not right. The people of Israel would have brought their sacrifices forth. This included the obeying of the law. Where do we get this from? Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” The people were still living in obedience to the Old Testament law.

Christ in sharing the gospel with the people, fulfills the law said about himself, and in doing so ushers in the New Covenant that will be instituted by the shedding of his blood.

But, before any of this is completed, Christ starts with the sharing of the gospel. The same reality is true today for lost human beings. They must “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Christ is as active in the lives of human beings today as he was when he walked this earth. The calling to repent ceases at the end of the earthly age. At the Great White Throne Judgment, there will be no opportunity to repent.

What did the people come to hear? Look at the middle of verse 1. They came to hear the word of God. What was the word of God that Jesus taught? I think Luke 4:43 gives us some clarity. Jesus said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God; for I was sent for this purpose.” I don’t think it was the newness of the message alone that captivated people. I cannot fathom for a moment that Jesus taught and preached in a ho-hum manner. He was BOLD! The Bible tells on several occasions that Jesus spoke with authority (Deuteronomy 18:19, Isaiah 50:4, Mark 1:22, John 7:46, Acts 3:22-23, Hebrews 4:12-13). One such text I want to read for you comes from Jeremiah 23:28-29. “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” This is how Jesus spoke as he taught and preached.

A statement could be made. Well, it was Jesus the Son of God who taught and preached the word so, of course it would be effective, powerful, and captivating. People after Jesus did not share the gospel the way he did because they were not God themselves. And therefore, I cannot share the gospel this way. This could not be further from the truth! We have been waiting for the past 4 weeks for the birth of the Messiah because we know that with his birth comes his redeeming work on the cross. Listen here, how have we come to know this to be true? Romans 10:17 gives us the answer. “So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” How has God preserved this over time? By the people of God faithfully sharing the gospel.

Permit me to give you a few examples from Scripture. In the face of being threatened with punishment, the believers in Acts 4:11-12 say, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 10:34-43 is another example of powerful preaching that demands salvation in Christ alone. Verse 43, “To him (that is Jesus) all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” After the death of Herod Agrippa I, “the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). There are other examples found in Acts 13:5, 46, 48.

Do you know what all of these examples have in common? They are faithful to the word of God. They did not have an unusual charisma. They didn’t possess a superb vocabulary and they were not experts in social skills. What they had, was the word of God and a passion to share the word of God with others.

So, what does this look like for us today? Who did Jesus preach to? The answer, as many as he could. Notice, that Jesus did not preach to every single individual that he was around. Remember the crowd that pressed in on him when the woman touched his garment? He speaks to her directly, not the entire crowd (Luke 8:48). That means that we are not going to talk to every person that we come into contact with. But may I implore you to have ears to hear and eyes to see when the Spirit leads you to share the gospel. It might be with your kids, grandkids, great grandkids. It might be with one of your co-workers and not the other. Pray that the Spirit would give you a passion to share the gospel faithfully like Jesus did.

2. We meet people where they are (vv.2-6)

We turn our attention to verses 2-5. This part of the text I found uplifting. It is here where we see Jesus meeting people where they are. And because Jesus did that, so must we. Jesus, aware of his surroundings sees two boats in the lake. Jesus got into Simon’s boat for two reasons. 1. He did it so that the entire crowd could hear his teaching, and 2. Jesus was able to have a personal moment with Simon and the fishermen aboard. The beginning of verse 1 tells us that the crowd was “pressing in on him.” Meaning that it would be difficult to teach effectively to the large mass of people. It also allowed him to be with Simon and the other fishermen who were going to experience the miraculous catch of fish, where the crowd would not.

This leads us to verse 4. Jesus meets the fishermen where they are in a lake with there nets present. He does not take them to a place that is suitable for him. I want you to notice that Jesus did not bring Peter to church! He did not bring him to the synagogue. Jesus came to them! And in doing so, he commands Peter to lower the nets for a catch. Here is what we need to see, Jesus had no right as a human carpenter to tell another man how to do his profession. However, Jesus had every right as God to command one of his creatures that he made. Could Simon have refused? Yes. People refuse the Lord every day. But in God’s grace, he had set Simon apart to be a chosen slave of his.

Here is where the Bible comes to life in relevancy for us today. Simon heard from the lips of John the Baptist and of his brother about the Messiah being present on earth. And yet, Andrew had to go and get his brother to show him the Messiah for himself. In other words, if Peter were invited to church he would have said, no! But Andrew went to get him, most likely at a fishing spot because that is what Peter did. What does that mean for you and me? It means that we cannot invite people to come to church and then walk away. If we stop at the invitation to come to church, we have missed the point!

Now, to verse 5. The initial reaction by Peter was that of frustration. He tells Jesus in layman’s terms, we just got done doing this. Our nets aren’t dry yet. And to top it off, we caught nothing! And you are telling us to go to the same spot and drop the net again!? I think this is where Peter remembers the words of John the Baptist and his brother as recorded in John 1:40-42. Why? If he had thought that Jesus was just a human being, he would not have lowered the net. Especially because Jesus was a carpenter, not a fishermen.

Listen, we call Jesus, Christ. As in a kind of last name sort of way. Christ is a title. In fact, the Greek word for Messiah, means Christ. John the Baptist says that he is not “the Christ” (John 1:19). John 1:41 specifically illiterates that Messiah means Christ in parentheses. In this moment in the boat, Peter yields to the Christ’s command to lower the net. And what is the result? Look at verse 6. “They enclosed a large number of fish.” In other words, they were blessed upon obedience. There is an occasion in the Old Testament that rivals this. Turn with me to 2 Kings 5. We are going to read verses 9-14. This is a familiar passage in Scripture. One of the go to stories for children as they are taught the word. It is the story of Naaman and his leprosy. I want you to see the similarities between both texts. We begin in verse 9. Read the verses. Did you see the similarities? There was a command given by the Lord through Elisha via a messenger in verse 10. It is not a hard task that is given. He is to wash in the Jordan. The fishermen in our text knew how to drop a net into the water. The responses from Naaman and Peter are similar. Verse 11 says that Naaman was angry. In verse 5 of our passage in Luke, Peter’s response to Jesus’ command ends with an exclamation point. That is not out of excitement! He said we just did that earlier this morning. The final similarity is that Naaman obeys the command of the Lord, just as Peter did. As the fishermen are blessed with an unbelievable catch of fish, so Naaman is healed of leprosy instantly upon obeying the command of the Lord.

Turn back with me to Luke 5. It is clear that Jesus meets people where they are. Each one of us who has trusted in Christ, he has met you and he has met me where we were. He knew our brokenness, our need for him. And what did he do? He brought us to himself. This is what he did with Peter and the others who were present. He brought them to himself as he lived amongst them.

If you have not trusted in Christ for salvation, he knows exactly where you are. Not the seat that you are sitting in. He knows where your heart is. He knows your struggles, he knows your sorrow, he knows your foolish pride, he knows everything about you, he knows you better than you know yourself, he knows where you are headed in this life. You can never escape him. But just like those who refrained from believing him at first, there is the promise that if you come to him today, he will save you from the penalty that your sin incurs, and that is eternal separation from God in hell. Would you come, and trust the Savior this morning?

3. We lead them to Christ (vv.8-11)

We share the gospel, meet people where they are, and with that we launch into point number 3. The end goal is to lead people to Christ. Let us turn our attention to verse 8.

This event leads Peter to a confession of his sin. He hears the teaching of Jesus, he experiences the truth and reality of Jesus, and that leads him to see himself in the face of Jesus. Everything that John the Baptist had said about Jesus, Peter now sees as reality. The only response to seeing Jesus as he is, is to fall on your knees and worship and this is what Peter does.

Without Andrew leading Peter to Jesus, Peter might not ever been saved. The same is said of us. Most of us can recall an influential person in our lives who brought us to the throne of Jesus Christ. They might not have been present upon our confession of sin, but the gospel that they shared has the power to transform lives.

I want you to notice that Peter is not the only one who is affected. James and John are included as well. In verse 10, they are named as being partners with Simon, those who came to help haul in this large amount of fish. Now, there is some debate as to who the unnamed follower of John the Baptist is in John 1:40. Some attribute this to the beloved disciple, that is the apostle John.

Regardless of the debate, John and James were eyewitnesses of the miracle of the fish catching. They were convinced that Jesus was the Christ. I would not be surprised one bit if Andrew was not also instrumental in leading James and John to the Lord as well. If John is the unnamed follower of John the Baptist, then sweet fellowship emerges between him and Andrew. If he is not the unnamed disciple, Andrew was also partners with James and John, and as Andrew shared the truth of the Messiah to his brother, I am sure it spread to James and John. The gospel is contagious. It is true hope and joy for this world. It is the gospel that we use to lead people to Jesus.

All of this comes to its conclusion at the end of verse 11. After the teaching of Christ has commenced, the catch of the fish in showing them that he is God, and the confession of sin, it leads the fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave everything behind and follow Jesus.

Now you might thinking the fishermen’s life is an easy life to leave. Who would want to do that job? Let me tell you that they did not just leave behind a vocation. The amount of fish that was caught would bring forth a very large pay day as they took it to the market to be sold. They left their source of income. During there time of ministry alongside Jesus, we are not told of their source of income besides Judas being the holder of the money box. But the Bible does tell us that they were provided for.

For James and John, it meant leaving behind their beloved father. They spent time with him often as fishermen. There was a close relationship between them. Under normal circumstances it would not have left their father. But this was not just any old circumstance. They left their father to follow He who is greater. James and John are the example set forth of following Jesus words in Matthew 10:37. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Being led to Christ means that a forsaking of something is necessary. That is the meaning of taking up one’s cross (Matthew 16:24). It is also the reason that Paul writes those comforting words in Philippians 3:7-8. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

As we have concluded the celebration of Christ’s birth, may I ask you, now what? What are you going to do with it? Have you forsaken everything to follow Christ? Do you have a vigor to lead others to Jesus so that they can experience the freedom that you have in Christ? Is the connection from birth to death in the life of Christ a precious truth to you? If it is, may we not stop at the birth of Christ, but take it to its end. Christ the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of men!

Conclusion

I think it is safe to say that in no way are we called to take in all the theology and wisdom that comes from Advent and keep it to ourselves. Jesus did not stay a baby. As he got older he worked, he was involved in the lives of people, he met people where they were, and his main goal was and still is to see human beings saved. If Jesus desired men not to be saved, he would not have called men to himself. It is a miracle each time someone is saved, and it is discipleship as Jesus did that keeps the new believer growing in Christ. There are three means of application, and they stem directly from the sermon points themselves.

1. It all starts with the sharing of the gospel. New converts cannot be made unless they hear the gospel (Romans 10:14). The same is true for growth in the believer. Whether new or seasoned, where does growth in Christ come from? His word! And it is fleshed out in the time that we spend together in the word. This does not mean that we have to go out into the community and share the gospel to perform this. There are many opportunities in our own families where the gospel can be shared and shared again. We have had several people in this flock bring to our attention the desire to see change in loved ones. That change occurs as they hear the gospel. Might you be a gospel proclaiming person!
2. Second, you and I meet people where they are. What does this look like? It looks like discipling people in the stage of Christian life they are in. You would not disciple a seasoned Christian exactly the same as a new one. It looks like spending time with those who are hurting like Jesus did with Jairus’ family when his daughter had died or Lazarus’ family when he died. And as we spend time with hurting people we give them the greatest news that provides true comfort in their time of hurt. That is the gospel! This can be said for those who are unloved, those who are thinking about transitioning, those who are having difficulty with gender ideology. The list goes on. Jesus would say that every person regardless of circumstance needs to hear the gospel, but how can we do that if we don’t meet people where they are?
3. Finally, you and I are to lead people to Jesus. We model after Andrew who led his brother Peter to the Lord Jesus. He went and found Simon who was most likely fishing or getting ready to. You and I are called to lead the sinner, not to church, not to programs in the church, not to a thriving children’s ministry, but to JESUS!