Day 16

Jesus now moves into a period of transition in the ministry. After preaching in Nazareth in his hometown synagogue and being rejected by the people, Jesus moves. Where will He go and how will the ministry change? His fame is becoming widespread now and people are coming from all over looking for Him.

Jesus, during this time,  will make four transitions that we want to point out before we look at how he trained his ministry team and the six fishing trips. Lets take a look at the four transitions!

Read Matthew 4:12-22, Mark 1:14-20, John 3:24


What is Jesus modeling during this time of transition?

What do we know about Capernaum and Galilee from these passages?

What do you think are some of Jesus’ thoughts?



After a year and a half of investment in His first followers, Jesus takes some time out to make some significant changes in His life circumstances to prepare Himself and His team for this new season of great harvest. One of the first transitions Jesus makes is a physical move from the small town of Nazareth to the more populated city of Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). Jesus heads off to Capernaum to relocate the ministry to a larger center where there were more people and more business going on. He needed to be closer to the masses he wanted to reach. If you want to examine why he does this, read Isa. 9:1-2.

Another transition is one of leadership- like the passing of leadership from John the Baptist to Jesus. John goes to prison as Jesus is moving his home to Capernaum. Jesus attends the second Passover of His ministry and takes the platform in front of all Israel as the new “leader”.

A Third transition is a transition in message. Jesus begins to preach, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”. We’ll look at this closer later, but part of the reason for this change is surely because John the Baptist is now in prison and his message was the same. In the place of John, Jesus picks up the battle cry. He is still telling people that he is the Messiah, but also calling the people to repent.

The last transition that we see here is a transition in calling. Jesus issues a new call to His young followers. “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). People begin to leave their fish nets and families to follow him. It was a call to come closer and learn to multiply disciples. They were excited and ready for the new challenge. Are you? 

Forgive me for the usage of the following terms... but I'm not sure what other words to use....

Maybe it is time to move from being a Christ-follower to being a disciple of Christ. A follower comes and goes as he wants, a disciple has left everything to follow Christ. A disciple has sold-out, he’s a Jesus freak, consumed with nothing but Jesus. A disciple hangs on to every word that Jesus says. He is working to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2Cor.10:5). We will be looking more at this move from Christ-follower to disciple in the coming days and will watch it take place in those early followers as they are challenged to become an active part in the harvesting of disciples.

As we begin this section, I want to encourage you to take a step from being a "follower" to a "disciple". PLEASE DONT MISUNDERSTAND.... being a disciple does not mean you are perfect... or more holy... or don't have bad days/moments.

But here's the question that we need to ask, "Do I really follow Jesus or am I just a fan?"

Transitions are very important in our lives. Equally important are transitions in ministry.

Sometimes transitions are necessary in order to help us follow Jesus more. Sometimes transitions are important because they make room for Jesus. Have you experienced a transition that helped you get closer to Jesus? Have you experienced one that hurt your relationship with Jesus? Do you foresee one in your future? 

Do some self-examining and ask yourself where you are in your relationship with Jesus. Are you a Christ follower or a disciple of Christ?