Welcome to Day 12 of our 40-day devotional Journey to the Cross. As Jesus journeyed to the cross, He encountered several people along the way. Many times, He extended an invitation to them to join Him along the way. Today we look at two passages about Jesus’s first disciples who later became apostles. We begin in Luke 5:1-11:

“As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret. He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.” When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.” Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.”

Luke 5:1-11

On any trip, you will meet people along the way. Maybe a guy holding a sign on the side of the road, a sweet old lady at the gas station, or a helpful waitress. Sometimes you even encounter people you know on your trip. When I was a teenager, my family traveled from southern Oklahoma to Colorado Springs for a big family reunion. While we were there, we went to the top of Pike’s Peak. As we came into the little store at the top, we were surprised to encounter some people we knew from Ardmore. Sometimes it indeed seems to be a small world after all. More frequently, as you travel, you plan to see specific people along the way. Maybe you even plan to stay with friends or family.

Jesus didn’t have any chance encounters. He met countless people along the way to the cross. Many He encountered needed healing or other miracles. Some just needed His compassion. Jesus intentionally gathered unlikely people around himself: tax collectors, zealots, and fishermen. His invitation overwhelmed many. Some, like these men – James, John, and Simon Peter – Jesus chose for a specific purpose. He told these fishermen that instead of catching fish, they would be catching people.

In Mark 2, Jesus called another man, a tax collector named Levi. Beginning in verse 13, Mark records:

“Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. Then, passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him. When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:13-17

Levi is later called Matthew and he wrote the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel according to Matthew. The end of Matthew’s Gospel closes with these words from Jesus:

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:17-20

Jesus called these men specifically to become His disciples. He later commissioned them as His apostles to share the message of His gospel to all of the world.

Jesus invites you to follow Him as well. Your initial response may be much like Simon Peter. You may wonder what would cause Jesus to offer such an invitation to such a sinful person. If that is your question, remember that Jesus sees you through the eyes of His mercy. When He sees you, He sees someone precious. He sees a person for whom He died, someone He has loved from all eternity, someone to whom He longs to give a life of meaning and purpose.

Today as you pray, says something like this: “Thank You Lord for being an inviting God, who bids me to follow You and includes me in Your mission to save this world by sharing the good news of Your Son Jesus Christ. Teach me to follow You each new day.”

Thank you for joining me for Day 12. Tomorrow we will look at going beyond the main street to those who need to hear the gospel. Come back for Day 13.