January 2026: Pair Up with Jesus

Published on 01/01/2026 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

"Two are better than one." This fact stated in Ecclesiastes 4 holds true in many situations: having someone with you can lend you support, offer encouragement, provide protection, and grant power as in the case of our ministry.

Even though our Lord Jesus is the divine Son of God who can achieve anything in a blink of an eye with no human assistance, he, like his Father, enjoys working through and with his human agents. If you ask me, working with humans can often lead to a lot of headaches, since we're finite and flawed, not to mention sinful. Yet, despite the fact that we often mess things up, our Lord wants to work through us, not because he needs us to help him but because he loves us. Doesn't this awe and humble you?

So in our ministry, two is better than one when we pair up with Jesus: we get to be empowered by our Lord and enjoy fellowship with him as we serve his flock. We are the clay vessels and he's the power within us that makes us powerful witnesses for his Kingdom.

Today, we'll study the calling of Christ's very first disciples into ministry. All three synoptic Gospels record Jesus' call for four fishermen to be his disciples: Peter, Andrew, John, and James. Matthew and Mark give us a condensed version of the calling, whereas Luke zooms in on the account to give us more details. If we read only the synoptic Gospels, we would think that this was the first time that Jesus met Peter and Andrew. Only John's Gospel describes Jesus' initial meeting with them. Recall that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptizer. After John told him and another disciple of his that Jesus is the Lamb of God, Andrew and the other man followed Jesus and stayed with him that day. Afterward, Andrew fetched his brother, Simon, and brought him to Jesus, who gave Simon the name "Peter" to imply his new God-given destiny as a spiritual rock. Apparently, Peter and Andrew did not become Jesus' disciples till some time later, following the arrest of John the Baptizer, but continued their occupation as fishermen. We're unsure if Jesus met the other two fishermen, John and James, before their calling.

Fishing for Disciples

"Now it happened, while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets." (Luke 5:1-2, WEB)

Jesus was teaching the Word of God to the Galileans by the sea of Galilee, which also went by the name of the lake of Gennesaret, an older name of this body of water. The great multitude of people was pressing against Jesus, so he stepped onto one of two fishing boats docked at the lake and sat down to teach the crowd. This particular boat belonged to Simon (Peter), and Jesus asked Simon to row the boat a little away from the shore. After he finished teaching the multitude, Jesus turned around and instructed Simon, "Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch." (Luke 5:4)

Simon answered, "Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net." (Luke 5:5) Simon most likely had been catching fish since a young age, so he was an experienced fisherman. He and his fellow fishermen had spent the whole night out on the sea, yet caught nothing. When Jesus suggested that he let down a net for a catch, he perhaps let out a sigh, thinking that they would merely waste energy. Nevertheless, not wanting to disobey the great Rabbi, he did as he was instructed. To their utter amazement, lo and behold, their net caught such a great multitude of fish that it was breaking. Simon had to call out to their fishing partners from the other boat to help them pull the net onto the boat. Their partners were away washing and mending their nets. The fish that Simon caught filled both boats, which began to sink under the enormous weight.

At this, Simon Peter fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord." (Luke 5:8) He correctly assessed that only a righteous and holy man of God could perform such a miracle, and he sensed that he was too sinful to be near this holy man. Jesus was too holy to remain in his boat.

Jesus assured Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive." (Luke 5:10) To both Peter and Andrew, who was in the same boat with Peter, Jesus said, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men." (Matthew 4:19)

This would have greatly humbled Simon Peter. He felt himself unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus, yet Jesus was calling for him and his brother to be near him at all times as his disciples! Just think what could have been running through his mind that moment. He and Andrew were given the chance of a lifetime, a chance to personally learn from the greatest man they had ever seen and would ever see: the Messiah and Lamb of God.

The brothers, John and James, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon from the other boat, also received the same invitation from Jesus. Would these four fishermen, who had "lived" on the sea all their lives, abandon their boats to follow Jesus? Fishing had been their whole identity. But Jesus offered them a brand new and more important identity: fishers of men for God's Kingdom. For the first time, they were given the opportunity to do something marvelous for Yahweh. The fish they caught were to feed their own families; but the people they would catch would be to fill God's Kingdom.

To Simon, Andrew, John and James, it was an easy decision to make. When they brought their boats ashore, they immediately left everything--John and James left their father Zebedee--and followed Jesus. Their lives would never again be the same from that day onward.

The quick and firm decision to follow Jesus that the two sets of brothers made shows that they were men who knew and appreciated the importance of their divine calling. They were Israelites who yearned for more than what their humble lives offered, and they were willing to leave everything behind to pursue a much greater treasure and be part of God's wondrous plans.

Power over Demons

Accompanied by his new disciples, Jesus went into the synagogue in Capernaum to teach the people, as he customarily did on the Sabbath. The attendees marveled at his teachings, "for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes." (Mark 1:22) Being the Messiah, he taught with the greatest authority and accuracy.

Among the crowd was a man possessed by a demon. Seeing Jesus, the unclean spirit cried out through the man, "Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!" (Luke 4:34) The demon was well aware of who Jesus is: the holy Son of God. It thus also knew that Jesus had the power to destroy it and other demons, and wondered if Jesus would do so there and then.

With the same authority in which he taught the people, Jesus commanded the demon, "Be silent, and come out of him!" (Luke 4:35) The demon threw the man into convulsion and cried out loudly before coming out of the man, who was otherwise unharmed. With a simple command, Jesus had liberated the man from demonic bondage; one wonders for how long he had been trapped and bound in such a horrific possession.

Witnesses of this miraculous deliverance were astonished by what they saw. They said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" (Luke 4:36) They had never seen such a thing or even heard of it, for no prophet prior to Jesus had ever delivered someone out of demon possession. Being the Son of God, Jesus has authority over all beings, both physical and spiritual. Witnesses of his mighty work spread word of this deliverance so that the report of it went out "into all the region of Galilee and its surrounding area." (Mark 1:28)

Power over Fever

After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they went to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew where Peter's mother-in-law lay sick with a high fever. (Peter and Andrew were previously from Bethsaida, but it appears that they had moved to Capernaum.) They told Jesus of her illness and begged him to heal her. Just as he rebuked the demon, he rebuked the fever. Taking her by her hand, he raised her up. Her fever was gone. She was immediately made well, evident by the fact that she was able to serve him.

That day, when the sun was going down, "all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him [Jesus]; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke 4:40) The crowds were so great that it appeared that the whole city "was gathered together at the door." (Mark 1:33) But who could blame the people? Some of the sick could have been ill for years or even their entire lifetimes, so when they heard of Jesus' healing power, they and their friends and families wasted no time to seek him out to be healed. With great compassion, he healed every one of them, turning no one away. People kept coming after the sun had set, and Jesus kept healing (Mark 1:32). Many days and nights would be spent like this, leaving Jesus little time to rest.

Among those who were healed by Jesus were demon-possessed people. Upon seeing him, the demons would cry out, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" (Luke 4:41) All demons immediately knew who Jesus was, and were afraid of him. Unlike people, demons are spirits. Before they became rebels against God, they used to live in heaven once, with God and Jesus, so this was why all of them knew Jesus when they saw him--they were acquaintances.

Every time, Jesus rebuked the demons to stay quiet and not speak out his identity. He didn't want the crowds to know that he's the Messiah just yet, especially not from the demons.

In those days, the Jews had preconceived ideas about the Messiah, and their beliefs did not coincide with the Messiah whom God intends to be and who Jesus is. To the Jews, the Messiah would be a warrior figure like David who would overthrow the Roman domination to set Israel free. But the true Messiah had to be a suffering Servant of Yahweh first before he could be a warrior for Israel. Isaiah foretold of the Messiah's suffering for the sins of the people, but the Jews didn't understand his prophecies, such as the ones in Isaiah 53. This would be one reason why Jesus didn't come out publicly as the Messiah: he didn't want to be identified with the wrong Messiah whom the people had conjured up in their mind. Instead, he revealed his identity to only a select few, namely to his closest disciples and to the Samaritan woman, for the Samaritans apparently did not hold the same erroneous beliefs about the Messiah as the Jews did.

The Purpose of the King's First Coming

Though he spent the night healing what seemed like the whole city, Jesus arose early when it was still dark, left the house and went to a secluded place to pray. But he didn't have quietness for long, as his disciples found him and told him that everyone was looking for him. True enough, multitudes soon appeared. Once they found him, they "held on to him, so that he wouldn't go away from them." (Luke 4:42) Jesus resisted, saying, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent." (Luke 4:42) To his disciples, he said, "Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason." (Mark 1:38)

The crowd wanted Jesus to be all theirs, to remain with them forever. But his mission was to bring the gospel to all of Israel and to heal people from other towns and cities. He couldn't and wouldn't be restricted to one location. For now, he would have to depart and was purposed to go to the other side of the sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:18). But he would be back to Capernaum.

Matthew succinctly wrote: "Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him." (Matthew 4:23-25)

Jesus went throughout Galilee, preaching the gospel of God's Kingdom and healing people everywhere he went. There was no illness he could not heal. Naturally, word of his teaching and healing spread like wildfire far and wide, so that gentiles from surrounding lands such as Syria brought their sick to Jesus for him to heal their loved ones. Hordes of people followed him like bees swarming around honey. They came from throughout Israel and across the Jordan on its east side.

The King Bearing People's Suffering and Sickness

Jesus' healing ministry fulfilled Isaiah 53:4, which says, "Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering," which Matthew quoted in Matthew 8:17 as: "He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases."

Isaiah's prophecy which Matthew quoted prophesied the fact that Messiah would remove our sickness, disease, and grief by bearing them himself. Jesus did so when he healed the multitudes during his earthly ministry. But he will do so on a much greater scale when he comes the second time. At his return, all the righteous will be instantly healed of all their illnesses, and the righteous dead will be resurrected with perfect health. No one will ever again grieve or experience sorrow. His atonement not only heals us spiritually but also physically, for bodily sickness is the result of our spiritual illness (sin), though this doesn't mean every person's illness is due to their own sin. When he paid the penalty for humanity's sins, we will no longer have the physical effects of sin upon his return. Hallelujah!

Isn't what our Lord did for us mind-boggling and marvelous? His love is so infinite that he died for us when we don't deserve it to give us a gift so stupendous that we cannot fathom it. We can only humbly accept it. So, come, do not refuse Lord Jesus. Make him your Lord today, if you haven't yet, and you'll be fulfilled beyond your wildest imagination!


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: Yahweh operates on this principle in His justice system: "You must take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise." (Exodus 21:23-25, WEB). What does this principle mean?

Answer: This principle simply means that the punishment has to equal the sin in degree of severity. A lesser sin should have a lesser punishment, while a greater sin requires a greater punishment. For example, murder is one of the greatest sins, so it requires the greatest punishment: the death penalty. On the other hand, injuring a person is a lesser sin than murder, so the punishment should be less severe.

The "an eye for an eye" principle in God's justice system prevents injustice. Specifically, it:
a) Prevents people from receiving a greater punishment than necessary. For example, people who committed manslaughter (unintentional homicide) should not receive the death penalty.
b) Ensures that people will receive the appropriate punishment for their sins. For example, murderers should be executed according to God's Law for all of Noah's descendants (Genesis 9:6).

Yahweh God gave the "an eye for an eye" principle to His people so they would know how to judge each unique case. This way, He did not have to list every possible way a sin should be dealt with. If His people came across a situation that was not specifically named in the Mosaic Law, they would simply need to judge the severity of the sin and execute the appropriate punishment.

In Matthew 5:38-39, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also." Was Jesus speaking against Yahweh's justice system? Is there a contradiction?

No, Jesus was not at all contradicting Yahweh's laws or speaking against them.

Yahweh's justice system ("an eye for an eye") was made to govern the nation's judicial system. It was a principle that the judges should operate by while deciding the appropriate punishment for various sins. It was the judges who worked according to this principle in judicial matters, not anyone else.

However, the Jews by Jesus' day were abusing this principle. Instead of confining this law to their judicial system for the judges and magistrates, they were using it in their personal, private lives. They were misusing this law to take personal revenge on those who had wronged them. For example, if someone slapped them on the cheek, they would actually use this law to justify their action for slapping the other person back.

Thus, in Matthew 5:39, Jesus was telling them not to use this principle in their personal lives. People should not seek revenge for insults and other wrongs done to them that do not amount to actual crimes being committed. For example, Jesus was not saying that we should not do anything if a person tries to murder us or our family. Rather, we should not seek revenge when we have been insulted or wronged in other less serious ways. If we have been wronged by others in a serious way, such as if an actual crime was committed against us, then certainly we should bring our case to the judges. But in our daily life, we should live in peace, and not strike back when someone mistreats us, or mocks us, or insults us. Instead of slapping someone back for slapping us, we should even prepare ourselves to be slapped on the other cheek. Thus, we should submit to the little wrongs done to us, while taking the greater wrongs to the court and not try to handle such big cases on our own. It's only the judges and magistrates who should operate by the "an eye for an eye" principle.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then you may subscribe to Dr. Shirley's newsletter by filling out the subscription form at the bottom of this page.