Amazing

amazing thing happened. Simon and Andrew and John and James dropped everything to follow him. Something about this man intrigued them. Is it too dramatic to suggest that they were amazed by this man? And what was it that caused them amazement? If nothing else, it was perhaps the nerve of Jesus in extending this call to people he had never met. He spoke with great authority. He wasn’t hesitant. He didn’t ask a question. It wasn’t - with respect to the hymn of the same name - “Would you come and follow me?” Not at all. It was more in the nature of a command: “Come and follow me!” And they did. Jesus’ very confidence amazed them. They had no choice but to follow.

It really was amazing. Think about the sacrifices that these four men made to follow Jesus - someone they had never met before in their lives. They gave up family, friends, home, careers. All for the sake of responding to a call from Jesus. Think about this for a second. How much are we willing to sacrifice in order to respond to Jesus’ call upon our lives? How much? An hour a week? A few dollars in the collection plate? That’s wonderful. We do that today. But what are we willing to offer to Jesus tomorrow and into next week? How are we going to respond to Jesus on Thursday morning at 10:00 when we hear Jesus calling us? How are we going to live our faith 24 hours a day, seven days a week? A faith only lived for an hour or so on Sunday isn’t really a faith; it’s a habit perhaps, or a tradition, but not a faith! It’s a good question, isn’t it. What will we offer of ourselves in order to follow Jesus? Does Jesus amaze us enough that we’re willing to sacrifice for him?

But the amazing story continued. It wasn’t just these four who were amazed by him. Jesus arrived at the synagogue in Capernaum and began to teach. And the people who heard him were amazed. Jesus’ teaching was different. It was like nothing they had ever heard before. He spoke with authority. He didn’t argue with people; he didn’t try to convince or cajole; he didn’t lay guilt trips; he didn’t depend on the authority of the religious leaders and teachers to back up his position. None of that for Jesus. He simply spoke. He didn’t lecture the people or enter into debate; he simply proclaimed the word of God, as if - the nerve of him! - his words alone were sufficient. Which, of course, they were. And the people noticed the difference. This man spoke with confidence and with authority. This was someone to be listened to. The people were amazed. (Just as an aside, of course, it’s in this incident in the Capernaum synagogue when the jealousy of the religious leaders toward Jesus probably began. Verse 22 says, “... he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Undoubtedly, the scribes - the religious teachers and leaders - were as aware as any of the others gathered in that synagogue that Jesus was speaking with an authority they had never dreamed of possessing.)

Now, we’ve seen the amazement of the first four disciples. We’ve seen the amazement of the people who gathered and heard Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum. We’ve been able to deduce the amazement of the religious teachers who heard him and were moved to jealousy. They were all amazed by Jesus. But one question remains - a very important question. What is it about Jesus that amazes us? Is it the call of Jesus upon our lives?