How could they

First Jesus came to Simon and his brother Andrew, they were fishers and had been fishers all their grown-up life, Simon was married and needed fish to support his family. Jesus just stood there on the shore of the lake and said, come here and follow me and they left everything they had to support their family and themselves, this looks like stupidity and totally irresponsible. They were grown up responsible people, how could they act like this

Synagogue teaching

Was this spiritual magic, no this was the work of John the Baptist preparing the ground for the one that came after him who Simon and Andrew knew very well, they knew Jesus, they grew up together and all Jews knew each other in this dangerous surroundings with the romans looking for soldiers to their army. Not all who lived in Israel were Israelites, many of them were of Assyria further north. However, every Israelite knew their story told from their parents and from the Synagogue teaching

Save them from the Romans

And now on the beach stood the one John told them about, they did not know he was God and Messiah, however they knew he was a lot stronger than John and was able to baptize them with the Spirit and fire. Simon and Andrew knew the Scripture taught to them every day, they longed for a liberator who could save them from the terrible Romans, who crucified and terrorized their families and people.

Reliable hearts

Did Jesus know Simon and Andrew before He met them at the lake of Galilee, yes, he did. Filled with The Holy Spirit and his sinless personality made that He could see people and know them before he met them, like Paul said, “I am absent in my body but present in my spirit” Jesus knew Simon and Andrew and wanted them to bring the good news to the world. Jesus did not look for educated people, He looked to their heart and found the reliable hearts of Simon and his brother Andrew  

Questions and expectation

When Jesus said “come here and follow me” they felt lucky, like inheriting a million shekel or denarii of Roman money. They knew that this man would look after them and their families and they also knew that this was Jesus the carpenter from Nazareth now living in Capernaum. However, they also had learned that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, they had a lot of questions and high expectation.

But how?

Jesus did not just pick them to follow Him, He also promised them education and work, He said “and I will make you fishers of men”. The education was how to fish humans, and the teacher was Jesus and the work was men fishers and they knew their leader, Jesus. Simon and Andrew were exited about the future, they knew who to follow, who to listen to and who to administrate their future life, but how?  

Questions

1. Do you understand the power of the Holy Spirit?
2. Did Jesus depend on His Father?