After preparing for ministry through his baptism and time in the desert being tempted, Jesus begins his ministry.

In Matthew 4:12-25, He prioritizes three things in his ministry that should be present in ours and we learn what it looks like to follow him in that.

1. Jesus preached the Gospel (12-17)

Jesus verbally proclaimed the good news of the Gospel. That’s not all He did, but it was an essential part of His ministry from the very beginning. He didn’t simply expect people to view His life and be transformed. Certainly, if anyone had a life that exhibited what true love was, it was Jesus. But He knew that showing others true love required the powerful, life transforming words of the Gospel. We should learn from Jesus’ example that our lives must include sharing the message of the Gospel, for even the one with the perfect life still proclaimed a clear message to be received.

2. Jesus made disciples (18-22)

Jesus intentionally poured into others that they might follow in His way. Though He had a ministry that engaged the crowds, had a wide, inclusive audience, and certainly made a significant impact, Jesus focused his time and attention on a few select relationships that he might reproduce himself in their lives. Are we satisfied with a scatter shot approach that may or may not have a significant impact on particular individual lives, or are we intentionally making disciples of specific people? Let’s follow Jesus’ example that we might not allow our lives and ministries end with us.

3. Jesus cared for the sick and oppressed (23-25)

While Jesus knew words were required, he also exhibited that true holistic ministry involved tangible acts of love that manifest the love and grace of the Gospel message. They cannot be divorced from one another. We should be careful to minister the Gospel in both Word and Deed rather than swinging to either extreme of Word only or Deed only (Let’s be real, we’ve all been on one end of that pendulum or the other at some point in our lives.).

**Following Him Involved Immediate & Drastic Priority Change**

The reaction of the disciples in this passage always hits home for me. Their immediate response to follow Jesus humbles me as I recognize the slowness of my heart to heed Jesus’ call on me. Jesus is calling every single one of us in specific ways to follow him, to emulate his ministry, to show and share His love and message with others, and to multiply disciples. Are we responding immediately? Are we realigning our priorities with His that we see in the passage above? Or are we holding onto our current, comfortable, and safe status quo?

Jesus wants to use each one of us in significant ways. The question is: will we follow Him?