“Jesus never wrote on paper; he left no printed book; instead he wrote his message upon men, and these men were the apostles.” These profound words were penned by the great Scottish theologian William Barclay.

At the end of his public ministry, Jesus had nothing tangible to leave as a monument of his life work. There weren’t any buildings, foundations, institutions, or scholarships left behind to memorialize him. Instead, he invested himself in a small group of men called the Twelve “Disciples” or “Apostles.” From them eventually came the literature and institution of the church. As we look back at Jesus’ life, it is easy to see that his most important work before his death and resurrection was the selection and training of these disciples who would represent him in the world after he was gone.

A striking contrast between Jesus and the Jewish leadership of his day appears in the way the relationship with the disciples was set up. In the Judaism of the time it was the obligation of the individual to seek out a rabbi to whom he would attach himself for instruction. This was probably the way John the Baptist gathered his followers. But Jesus was different. He took the initiative in personally selecting and calling each one of his immediate circle. The disciples were the product of the Lord. They bore his stamp. They were not self-made men. We would not have heard of any of them had not the Master passed their way.

This is exactly what Jesus does with us today. He initiates a relationship with us. He calls us to become his disciples. He wants us to be partakers of his kingdom by becoming his followers. The question that continually haunts us is, “Will I respond to his call?”

In today’s text, Luke tells us the story of how Jesus extended the call to his first four disciples and how they responded. There was nothing particularly special about Simon Peter, Andrew, James, or John; they were just a bunch of blue-collar small town boys. They were two sets of brothers from a small fishing village of Bethsaida along the Sea of Galilee. They all worked together in the same family fishing business. They did not come from noble families; they did not possess any advanced degrees; and they did not have any amazing abilities. But they all responded to God’s call to become Jesus’ disciples, and they changed the world!

As we look at the way these four men responded to Jesus’ call and became his disciples, we see a pattern for how we can respond to Jesus’ call and become his disciples too. Like the first disciples, we can become Jesus’ disciples by obeying his instructions, bowing before him in humility, and sacrificing everything to follow him. Let’s take a look at these prerequisites for discipleship individually!

1.) We become Jesus’ disciples by obeying his instructions. (1-7)

One morning a large group of people from Bethsaida followed Jesus to the Sea of Galilee. No doubt, they had heard the rumors of Jesus’ powerful preaching and miraculous healings from the nearby town of Capernaum, and now they were crowding around him to see if he was going to say or do something spectacular.

As he was walking along the shore, he came upon two fishing boats and some fishermen washing their nets. They probably had disappointed and exhausted looks on their faces because they obviously hadn’t caught any fish. Jesus got into Simon’s boat and asked him to push it out into the water so that he could teach the people from the boat. He did this to create some space and enhance the acoustics so the crowd could hear him better.

We don’t know what Jesus taught the people that day, but we do know what he said to Simon when they were on the boat. He told Simon Peter to go out into the deep water and lower his nets. Now you have to stop and think about this for a minute. What was Simon’s occupation? Right, he was a fisherman who had fished these waters his whole life. What was Jesus’ occupation? Right, he was a carpenter who had never fished these waters before. If you were a professional fisherman, how would you feel about receiving fishing advice from a carpenter?

Not only this, but Jesus’ instructions didn’t even make sense. Simon Peter and his colleagues had fished all night which was the best time to fish on the Sea of Galilee, and they didn’t catch anything. And now that the sun was coming up and the water was getting warmer, which was the worst time to fish, Jesus tells Simon Peter to go out further and let down the nets.

Simon had a dilemma! He had a decision to make! Was he going to trust his experience or was he going listen to Jesus? Was he going to follow conventional wisdom or was he going to obey Jesus’ instruction? We see that Simon made the right decision. His statement in verse 5 is powerful, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Simon obeyed Jesus’ instructions because Jesus knows best. And the catch was so big that both of their boats started to sink. Simon learned that Jesus was better than the best Bass Pro Fish Finder.

We who would become Jesus’ disciples face the same dilemma in our own lives. There are times when we have to decide between trusting in our experience and listening to Jesus’ voice. There are times when we must choose between conventional wisdom and heeding Jesus’ instruction. Sometimes Jesus’ instructions don’t make sense to us, but we need to decide who knows best—us or Jesus? If you want to become Jesus’ disciple, you have to obey his instructions!

2.) We become Jesus’ disciples by bowing before him in humility. (8)

When Simon Peter saw the miraculous catch of fish, he immediately fell to his knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Each of these actions shows Simon Peter’s humility before Jesus. First, falling before someone’s feet was an act of humility, symbolizing lowliness before that person. Second, when Peter tells Jesus to depart from him, he is declaring his humility. He did not think that a holy God should have anything to do with a sinful man, but what Peter did not realize that humbly admitting one’s sin is one of the most crucial prerequisites for becoming Jesus’ disciple. Third, Simon Peter addressed Jesus as Lord. These responses show that he understood his humble position below God and that he was ready to become Jesus’ disciple.

The famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn’t know what to do. Morse responded, “More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding.”

Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: “I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me.”

Just like Simon Peter, Samuel Morse bowed before Jesus in humility. If we are to become Jesus’ disciples, we too must understand our lowly position before God. We must be willing to fall down on our knees and admit our ignorance and our sin. We must acknowledge God for who he is and us for who we are! Even though Peter’s nets were full, he recognized that Jesus is really the one who caught the fish.

3.) We become Jesus’ disciples by sacrificing everything to follow him. (9-11)

The fishermen were so astonished by this miraculous catch of fish, and Jesus used this as an illustration for his call discipleship to discipleship. “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men,” have become some of Jesus’ most famous words. This was a call to leave their ordinary and comfortable lives behind and follow Jesus wherever he would go. It was a call from God to give their lives for the sake of the souls of other people.

Notice what is says in verse 11—“So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. It was the greatest single catch of their lives, and they were willing to leave it behind to follow Christ. They left their boats, their equipment, their families, their hometown to become Jesus’ disciples. They didn’t know it yet, but their decision to follow Jesus would ultimately cost them their lives. Each of these four fishermen would eventually be martyred for Jesus. They would follow him in life and they would follow him in death.

Sometimes following Jesus will cost you your job, your family, your friends, or even your life. Think about that for a minute! If you know that following Jesus would cause you to lose your job, would you do it? If you knew that becoming a disciple of Jesus would force you to give up your friends, would you do it? If accepting Jesus call for life meant leaving your family behind, would you still do it?

Following God’s call sometimes means sacrificing your plans, your, dreams, your goals, and your desires. Sometimes I think about my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters who have been called to be priests, monks, or nuns. I ask myself the question, “If God called me to a life of singleness (no marriage and no family of my own), would I have accepted his call?”

How about you? Are you willing to give up your livelihood or your family to become Jesus’ disciple? Would you, like these two sets of brothers, sacrifice everything to follow him? Now I am not saying that God will call you to sacrifice all of these things; he may not. But if he did, would you?

This story shows us that there are three prerequisites to becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ: obedience, humility, and sacrifice. Jesus is extending the call to each one of us today. Will you become a disciple?