Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 6 Study # 4
January 29, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Discipleship is pursued by Christ among men who are enamored by the deceitful "promises" of "life" by "The Sea".
Introduction: In our studies of this final paragraph of the introduction, I have made an argument for the existence of "geographical metaphors" as illustrative of the doctrines that
begin with the establishment of a reconciled relationship and
move from there into the development of that relationship unto "a mature man". The beginning of the relationship is rooted in "repentance" on man's part and "forgiveness" on God's. Then, the relationship is deepened and developed by "abandonment" on man's part and "leadership" on God's.
The geographical metaphors of the "wilderness" and "The Sea" serve to compel men to relinquish all hope in man's abilities (the first step in both "repentance" and "abandonment") and to turn in hope to the promises of God which rest upon His integrity alone (the second step in both "repentance" and "abandonment").
We have spent a significant amount of time on the metaphor of the wilderness, but less on the metaphor of "The Sea", so this evening we are going to go down the path of seeking to understand Jesus' summons of the four men whom He promised to turn into "fishers of men" (evangelists) and "menders of the nets" (edifiers).
- I. It Is Crucial That We Understand Jesus' "Walk Alongside The Sea".
- A. By title, it is "The Sea of The Galilee".
- 1. As a "sea" it is the most deadly "stable" environment on the face of the earth for air-breathing men (there is a warning of a coming environment of "fire", but it will not be an established environment, but, rather, a temporary one).
- a. Its potency was firmly established by The Flood.
- b. Its deadliness consists of its deceitful "promise of life" from its depths.
- c. Its destruction by God as an environment to which men may be subject is prophesied by the enigmatic statement of Revelation 21:1 with the background of Revelation 13:1.
- d. And its existence as a potent and deadly environment in the form of "a sea of glass mingled with fire" is first described in Revelation 15:2 against the backdrop of both "the fiery stream" of Daniel 7:10-11 and "the Lake of Fire" of Revelation 19:20.
- e. The bottom line: no man in his right mind will wish to have anything at all to do with this "sea" except as it is turned by God into a man-supporting "crystal sea of glass" (Revelation 4:6 and 15:2) that morphs into "a pure river of water of life" in Revelation 22:1.
- 2. As a "sea" set within the confines of "The Galilee", it is a deadly environment set within the confines of "man's ruthless and ignorant attitude" toward the One Whose coming from Galilee completely disqualifies Him in the eyes of those ruthless and ignorant pursuers of the glory of men [Note carefully the context of John 5:44 with 7:18 and then both 7:41 and 7:52].
- B. By the choice of the four by Jesus against the backdrop of The Sea of The Galilee, His walk along the sea becomes His claim of victory over this deadly environment.
- 1. Simon and Andrew.
- a. Simon is notable as one who has deeply embraced the promise of The Sea as his boastfulness, his return to "fishing" after his "sifting", and his failure in Antioch in Galatians 2:11 and following, reveal.
- b. Andrew is only notable as the "fisher of men" who snared his own brother, Simon, in his "net" (John 1:40-42).
- c. So we have one man who exemplifies the "problem" and another who exemplifies the "solution" ("following" Jesus: John 1:40).
- 2. James and John.
- a. James is notable as one of the "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) who was taken into the "inner circle" by Jesus (multiple Markan references to "Peter, James, and John"), and sought, with his brother, the "greatest" positions in Christ's Kingdom (Mark 10:35-41) and was martyred by Herod in Acts 12:1 who was, in turn, smitten of God and eaten of worms and died in Acts 12:23.
- b. John is notable as "that disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20) who was also in the "inner circle", sought with James the greatest positions in Christ's Kingdom, authored the Gospel of John, the Letters of I, II, and III John, and the Book of The Revelation, and died of a ripe old age as the only non-martyred of the original Twelve.
- c. So we have one man who was martyred for his faithfulness and one man who was allowed to live to a ripe old age for his faithfulness; one "glory-seeker" turned into a faithful martyr and another "glory-seeker" turned into an extraordinarily faithful dispenser of "LifeDoctrine".
