The Way of Jesus

The word “context”
From Latin contextus, meaning “together” (con-) and “weave” (-textus)

The words of Jesus
Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). 

Context is everything. If you weave together the broader reality of these words, the context is: Jesus is Rabbi. The practice of this ancient day was that potential disciples would ask to follow a Rabbi. Rabbis did not ask disciples to follow them, especially people like Peter and Andrew, who had already returned to the fishing trade of their father. Yet here it is. Jesus as Rabbi recruits fishermen to be his disciples or to become “fishers of men.”

At first glance, it may seem that Jesus, with this “fishers of men” phrase, is making a cute analogy about a shift from their current occupation (fishermen) to a future vocation (fishers of men). We assume Jesus is saying, Right now you catch fish in nets for your occupation, but get this, one day your vocation will be to “catch” people with the gospel “net.”

Cute, but probably not context.

Some scholars weave together that Jesus as Rabbi invites uneducated fishermen to learn not just the way of the Torah or the Law, but learning the way of Jesus. In fact, the invitation to these fishermen is to become like Jesus the Rabbi by becoming “rabbis” who invite others into the way of Jesus. Or to use another analogy, Jesus as the Light of the world (John 8:12) is inviting the disciples to become the light(s) of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). Context is everything.

The same is true for us. To become “fishers of men” or “lights” in the world, context is everything. We need to understand the broader context that we too are invited to follow in the way of Jesus. We do this following not in isolation but in relation with the broader communities in which we live, like our towns and cities. We do this as “rabbis” and “lights.” We do this needing to understand our own ministry contexts whether that is Emden, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; Wright, Iowa; or Chicago, Illinois. We do this by not waiting to be asked by “potential” followers of Jesus about Jesus but by intentionally inviting people to step into the way of Jesus and follow him.   

As your Resonate Regional Teams, we believe context is essential, but that God’s kingdom is everything. Yes, we are churches scattered throughout Canada and the United States, and we find ourselves in different ministry contexts. Yet, we are one people and one church spread across our region but woven together to follow Jesus, proclaim his kingdom, and live out his ways.

When we do this, there is light.

We live in a world where isolation, desolation, and the lack of illumination exists. Therefore, we long for light to shine brighter in our region so more and more people discover the hope and joy found only in Jesus. How does that happen? We are inviting you to join us as we “Look for the Light.”

Look for the Light by identifying where you see light in your churches and communities and sharing those stories. Look for the Light by naming areas of darkness in your ministry context and patterning with us to discover ways you can increase the lumens of your light in your community. Look for the Light by being woven together as the light so that more and more people hear the invitation from Jesus to “Come, follow me.” 

Brad Meinders is Resonate’s Regional Mission Leader for the Central United States region