(Following the Footsteps of Christ) Back to Galilee — Willie Mullan

Tundra done fifty-seven piece. Six, five, seven. There comes to my heart one sweet string, glad and a joyous refrain. I sing it again and again, sweet peace, the gift of God's love. Six, five, seven.

It's difficult to sing a little bit, but all the good singers now need to sing out and keep it going and all the rest of it, you know all about it. Six, five, seven piece. You said that we have another Bible reading ready for you for next week.

These are just a few that I brought along to remind you of them. And what we're going to do, we're going to go through the book of the Liberation and pick out some of those outstanding messages that we preached in those days.

Jesus’ Temptation and Return to Galilee

We're at Luke's Gospel, chapter four please. Luke's Gospel at the fourth chapter. You remember last week we were following the footsteps of Christ in the wilderness of Judea. And we saw him going through that terrible trial of temptation from the old tempter himself.

And we learned that Jesus suffered being tempted. Now he's leading the wilderness here, verse thirteen. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season, and that ought to be marked.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. I like that bit. Because you know he was raised of the Spirit into the wilderness. You remember when he was baptized with Jordan, that the Holy Ghost descended upon him as a dove.

And it was the Spirit that led him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Well he came through that whole battle of temptation without even a scratch. And he's still filled with the Holy Ghost as he heads for Galilee.

Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. I think that's worth noting that if you go to Matthew, chapter four, you'll find something else to put beside it. Verse eleven. Then the devil dideth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. So that immediately that the temptation was over, John was arrested soon after that. Was cast into prison, and Jesus returned to Galilee filled with the Holy Ghost.

But you can see that circumstances played a part in his departure into Galilee. I think that's all worth noting. I think there are one or two things more worth noting. Let's go to John's Gospel. And we're at the first chapter.

John the Baptist and the First Disciples

John's Gospel, chapter one. When we're following the footsteps of Christ, we have to put the four Gospels into one to get the steps properly. And we remember John saying in verse thirty-three,. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me.

And we remember that he was sent from God. There was a man sent from God. And God said unto him, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

And you remember John saw this when Jesus was baptized with water. And after that John testified and said, I saw, and bear record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples were looking upon Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God.

I think that's a great mark for the picture, isn't it? When he takes his disciples and those who sit at his feet, and he directs them to behold the Lamb of God. It's a great fill for me when I can fix and focus your attention upon the Lord Jesus.

Now here's what happened then. Verse thirty-seven, And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. You know John is decreasing here and the Lord is increasing, and that's exactly what John wanted.

Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said unto them, What speak ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? I think that's a great question, but you have to watch what way you say it.

See, I'm teaching a lot of preachers out at the school that we have, and I've been trying to pump it into them, that no matter what text you take, you should turn it over in your mind and in your heart and in your soul until you get where the source should be laid.

Where you put the emphasis is what I say to them. See how you can say this question, Where dwellest thou? And that's prophetic, that's what that is. When you ask the Son of God, Where dwellest thou? That's supposing you should say, Where dwellest thou?

That's specific, isn't it? You want to know where dwellest. I don't think they said it like that at all. I think they said, Where dwellest thou? They weren't taken up with a building, you know, or the place, or the party.

They were taken up with a person. That's dynamic. There's nothing pathetic about that. That's dynamic. They were taken up with him. John had focused their attention upon the right one. And we're going to look for a moment just now at the first name of the Master.

You see, before he went really back to Galilee, this took place. And there was the conversion and the call of some of these names. And you'll have to learn to differentiate between the conversion and the call.

Conversion and the Call to Ministry

Some of the critics come to me and talk about Peter. One told me, said to me, well there's a contradiction here. It's said in John 1 that Andrew found Peter and brought him to Jesus. And it says in Matthew chapter 4 that the Lord Jesus called Peter at the Sea of Galilee.

And they said, you can't see the difference. Is that your trouble? I said, you know, the day that Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, he got saved that day. That's his conversion. But a few years later, a week later, in my well-being, the Lord called him into full-time service.

Read my books and come on with me. There's surely that difference. There's a difference between the conversion and the call. I can take you to the spot where I was converted. And it was some years later when the Lord called me to leave all and follow him.

That's differential. Well, we're going to look at these men, the first men that were with the Master, and we're going to look at their call, and we're going to look at their conversion. And then we're going to go back to Galilee with him, and we're going to look at the first message the Master preached.

That is, the first recorded message. And the whole recording is here. It wasn't made on a recording machine like what we have. And on the Holy Ghost-inspired John, with every word that the Master spoke.

The whole message is there. And we want to see the recording of the message, and then we want to see the results. Let's have a look at these first men. It's quite clear this, isn't it? The text, verse 38.

Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and said unto them, What fit ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? He said unto them, Come and see.

They came and saw where he dwelt. That doesn't tell you where it was. Was it the secret place of the Messiah? Doesn't tell you where it was. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.

For it was about the tenth hour. It was four o 'clock in the afternoon. And they went with him, and they abode all day, and I have a feeling that they abode all night, but it doesn't say anything about the night.

Because there's no real night where Jesus is. There'll be no night in heaven. Now, one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew. That's the first one we're going to think about. I think the other one was John himself, the writer, because in his gospel he always hides himself.

You know, they're always spoken. If you don't pick them up and say what you should say about them, you're in trouble. But here was the man who always hid himself. But he gives the other fellow all the change he can.

He says, One of the two which had John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. The word Andrew is a very wonderful word, you know. It's a great name. It means manly. And I think you know of all the disciples and all the apostles, he certainly was one of the manly ones.

And this fellow had great courage. Well, if you had a big brother and they called him Peter and he was like Peter, it took a manly man to go home and tell him. It says that he first found his own brother Simon.

I think the way John writes this, he covers up himself and he covers up what he is doing. Because I think he was home to find his brother too. He was home to find James and John were brothers. How could Andrew be confused?

But he first, he says, he first found his own brother. The word first is there to direct us if we just take what time. He had no need to say that it was only Andrew who was finding his brother. It's very carefully done.

It's the mark of a very humble character. We should learn from that. It took a man with great courage to go home, you know. Because when you get sick, you know, home is the most difficult place. You could nearly tell the queen or you could nearly tell anybody but when you go in through your own door, you know, and take your shoes off there, it's not as easy there.

But that's where Andrew headed for. He went home. And I can tell you this, it took a manly man not only to go home and say that he had given his life to Jesus, but it took a very manly man to tell his brother all about it.

Because Peter was a difficult character, you know. There wasn't any sort of wee fellow Peter. I always think he was a big man. Tempered, you know. Cut the ear off you with a sword in a minute. You are said when he drew the sword in the garden, he was either a very clever swordsman or he was a very poor one.

For if he meant to cut the fellow's head off, he only cut his ear off. But if he was only one to take his ear off and leave his head alone, it was a pretty good shot, wasn't it? But he was a quick-tempered character.

You know, Peter was one of those men who would rush in where angels would fear to turn. There's a whole lot of us still living, you know. And we make more blunders than anybody else. And at the same time, you know, while he was quick, and while he was ready for anything, he was a weakling at heart.

When a weak girl spoke to him, he nearly fainted once. So you can see the character that Andrew had to go home to. And I'll tell you this. Here's what he said when he went home, verse 41. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said unto him, We have found the Messiah.

I'll tell you, that's a mouthful, isn't it? He's a fisherman, you know. He's the wee brother of a big man. And he's coming into the house and says, Listen, listen, Simon. We have found the Messiah. Well, nobody in Palestine would have dared say it.

He was pretty sure about what he was about, mind you. When you go home and say to your brother, I have found the Savior. There must have been something taken place in your heart. I had two big brothers in with me the other night.

They're in the meeting now, bless them. And the big one said, You know, I met the Lord. I could see Him when He was coming up the field. I could see Him on the cross. I went into the barn and got down on my knees.

I went in and said to my brother, I've met the Savior. Brother says, you know, I didn't care about them things at all. It takes a man to go in and tell his brother, doesn't it? If something has happened to you, will you go and do that?

Now, a man who was just the wee fellow of this family. He was a manly wee fellow. He says, Listen, Peter. I know you're a big man. We have found the Messiah. It takes a man to do that. But he went further than that, you know.

It says this. We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted to Christ. And He brought Him to Jesus. Aha! Isn't that thrilling? You know, Peter became the big man of the party. Oh, he's the man that preached on the day of Pentecost.

I'll tell you who brought Him to Jesus. It was Andrew. And if we had a lot more wee, manly Andrews in the church, we might have a lot more of big, burly Peters. But we need the wee Andrews. Don't be afraid to go home, you know.

And bring Him to Jesus. Now, I want you to watch how these men came to Jesus. This man was brought. This is what you call a personal worker, isn't it? Andrew became a personal worker. You never see him preaching in this book.

I don't think he could do it. I'll tell you how Andrew was brought. Through Peter. John the Baptist, behold! Some folks are saved through Peter, you know. Some were saved through personal workers. These two boys came different roads.

Oh, he's saved different. You'll find that out before we're through. And then he took this and he brought Him to Jesus. You know, Peter is a tremendous character. We went through the two epistles of Peter and we know a lot about them just now.

Andrew Brings Peter, and Philip Is Called

You know, his name was Simon. Of course, he was a rough diamond. Of course, he was quick-tempered. Of course, he was a rough man. Of course, he was a weakling. Maybe he knew all this about himself. I have a feeling he did.

You know, big men who make blunders at times in the quietness of their own heart and soul, they know they're far too rash. There are times in my life when I step away in the back there somewhere when I wish to God I had been a dummy.

But I wasn't. I think, you know, you might have said it's all right, Andrew, I've been easy. Go you and serve Him, son. Because if I go down to Him and give my life to Him, you know, I'll do something and I'll spoil a thing.

I think you might have been afraid to go. Oh, Andrew says, come on, Peter, come on. Why not have a look at him anyway? And I'll tell you the moment he came. Watch it now very carefully. Verse 42, And he brought him to Jesus.

And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou, Simon, the son of Jonah, thou shalt be called Cephas. Which is the old Aramaic word for stone. And the English word for stone is Peter. He says, look, don't you be afraid because you're so miserable.

I'll make you a stone. And I'll put back bone in you. I'll tell you, you know, that's what the Lord said to him. He says, don't you worry, you know, I'll make a new fellow out of you altogether. Are you afraid to come to the Lord?

I'll tell you, the Lord will do things for you. Take a moment. Yes, you know, this is how Peter came. It was a personal work on the bottom. It says, verse 43, The days following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, that's what it tells you, just before he went to Galilee, and find Philip and say unto him, follow me.

Did you get that? Because I can tell you, no preacher speaks to Philip. And nobody bothers him. Exchange letters, nobody cares. No preacher, no brother, no friend, no personal worker. Christ came and got them.

When we all, Jesus will get them. I'll tell you a wee thing. This is the first man who was asked into full-time service. He was not only converted, he was brought into full-time service on the same day.

The Lord said, you just leave all that. Follow me. That's different. He said, and they're all get saved differently. And as I went through the whole book of all the people who got saved, they're all different.

See us all in here, we're all different. All got saved differently. Wonderful. Don't be going after somebody else's experience. The Lord has won for yourself, you know. It'll be all your own. It's yours.

I think that's worth thinking about, isn't it? Well, Philip was called. And he was called to leave all and follow Christ. Now, Philip was of Bethsaida, it says, the city of Andrew and Peter. They came from the same spot.

Philip foundeth Nathanael. He becomes a personal worker. Philip said unto him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He was a personal worker and he was willing to go and talk, but he put his foot in it.

I wasn't perfectly taught about Jesus being the son of Joseph. That blethers. Sometimes we have wee fellows who make mistakes. Never mind about the mistakes. The Lord will bless the mistakes. Don't behold them back because you just make a blunder, you know, son.

The Lord will bless the blunders too. Yes, he was willing to go. And I'll tell you this. Nathanael said unto him, 46, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Oh, Nazareth was a terrible place. We have looked at it one of the nights we were here.

It was a stinking hole. There was nothing but ground and archs in Nazareth. That's why it was so humiliating for Christ to be called a Nazarene. Nathanael says, can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

You see, if you're going to be a personal worker, you'll find this, that when you go, there'll be opposition at times. Everybody doesn't say amen, you know. And everybody doesn't lick on your arm and follow Jesus.

Some of them will say to you, look, I'll tell you the thing that this man did, you know. When this fellow started to argue, this is what Nathanael said. This is what Philip said. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?

Philip said unto him, Come and see. Come and put Jesus to the test. This is a great thing to say. People start shying off. They look at you. You come and put Jesus to the test, see what they say. Go and put him to the test.

You put my Jesus to the test. He will not let you down. There are promises he hath made, and he'll have to keep them. He'll keep them. So you can see this. You can see these men. These are the men. The first man was the master.

Nathanael Encounters the Son of God

And it was after this, you know, that the Lord Jesus went to Galilee. I think I should do this little bit here just for the class. Verse 47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, Behold, and this shall light indeed, in whom is Nogail.

You know, I like this scene. I can see Philip bringing Nathanael and Nathanael has a whole lot of doubts in his mind. He didn't like this at all. Could any good thing come out of Nazareth? And when he's just coming up to the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus said, Behold, and this shall light indeed, in whom is Nogail.

Now why did he say that? Now what's that for, to talk for? Listen to what Nathanael says. Nathanael breaks what he is. Nathanael says unto him, Whence Nostami? I'll tell you, this shocked him. He nearly jumped out of his sandals.

He says, Whence Nostami? He never spoke to me before. Whence Nostami? Listen to what Jesus said. Verse 48, in the middle of the verse, Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

You know, the Lord Jesus is not just the Lord in every five acts. He was God the Son. He saw this man under the fig tree long before Philip called him. What was he doing under the fig tree? Well, it's very easy if you look at the text.

He was sitting reading the Old Testament. He was reading the story of Jacob. Reading how the angels ascended and descended upon the ladder. He was reading how Jacob had lied to his father. How Jacob had bittled his brother.

How Jacob had whipped his employer. He was all Jacob. He would never be like Jacob. He would be an Israelite. He would be the new man. The Lord knew all about him. Jesus said, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no God, but whence most of me.

It was before that Philip called thee, I saw thee. What's Nathanael's answer? Verse 49. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. He was persuaded immediately.

He was content now, wasn't he? He'd heard the answer. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I call thee unto the victory believers now. Of course he did. Thou shalt see greater things than these.

And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the ladder. Not on your life, but on the Son of Man. Because that ladder was speaking of the only way back to God.

So you've seen the first name, haven't you? You've seen their call, and you've seen some of their conversions. We'll find the call of the rest of them sooner or later. But let's go back to Luke's Gospel, chapter 4, because we're going up to Galilee with the Lord Jesus.

Jesus Reads Isaiah in the Nazareth Synagogue

I think you can follow this on the chart without me doing very much about it. You see the wilderness of Judea is right down here. And John was here at Bethlehem beyond Jordan. And it was here that he was speaking to these disciples.

And then it was in this time that they were called. And then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit back into Galilee. He's going back to Galilee. Now let's watch this. Verse 14, may that be. Luke's Gospel, chapter 4, verse 14.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. And there went out a flame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in the synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth.

This is this miserable, stinking town that we were talking about. Where he had been brought up. Of course, he was about 28 years in this town. Came back from Egypt just over two years of age, a little bit.

And stayed here in the carpenter's shop until he was 30. And then went out in his full-time ministry. So he was 28 years here. And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

He had done this when he was a boy, you know. And he had done it when he was a young man. He had done it when he was 25 and 26 and 27. I think they should teach the whole lot of us the whole lot of things.

Because I'm perfectly sure when, as a young man, he sat in the synagogue, he must have heard things that must have amused him. Sometimes I go to conferences and hear young preachers and they amuse me.

They talk in riddles, but they don't know. But I would never take it out on one of them. I would try to help them quietly. He would never know I was doing it. At least, I wouldn't want him to know. Talk to him.

Kid with him. Tell him at the same time, here's my coach. I'm sure there were a thousand things in the synagogue that would have made him get out if he'd been as crooked as some of you. Yes, I hear about boys and there is little things.

You're so treacherous. God pity you. Your master went to the synagogue and sat for years. And there must have been a thousand things he could have put his finger on. Old fellas handling the Word of God that were no use.

Some fella said to Dr. Aaron Sanders, there's not a perfect church in this town. Dr. Aaron Sanders said, where were you looking for one? He said, I'd been looking for years and when I get a perfect church, I will join it.

Dr. Aaron Sanders said, well, that'll be it finished when you join it. There are no perfect churches, you know. And if there was one and you joined it, that would be all over. But you're not perfect. But don't let's get off too high on the high end.

Watch this. He killed a Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on this other day. He'd done that when he was a boy and when he was a young man. And stood up for to read.

Because, you know, they recognize in the synagogue those that can read and those that can minister a little bit. Recognize. And he must have been recognized long ago in this synagogue for this particular morning he stood up to read.

Verse 17, and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. Yes. It's just the Greek way of saying the Hebrew word Isaiah. It's the prophecy of Isaiah. I think that the superintendent of the synagogue would ask him the moment he stood on the seat, what book do you want?

And he would say, Isaiah. It wasn't a book like this. It was a long scroll rolled out on each side. When I was up in Samaria I had this scroll one day of Isaiah and I, it was written in Hebrew, of course, and I was fit and through to find the place because there are no chapters of rashes.

And to get what we would call chapter 61 in Isaiah, you would have to know where you were about. But the Lord Jesus knew. And it was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written.

The Spirit-Anointed Mission of Christ

And this is chapter 61 now in our Old Testament, but don't turn there now. It was what it said. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. It fills me to think that the Lord Jesus read these very words one day in the synagogue.

That I should be privileged to stand up and read the very same thing that he read. None do I'm sure that my master did all things well. But I think you should read well, you know. Learn to read well. Go to the commas every time.

And go to the semicolon and then take a little bit more time. And go to the full stop and take more. Learn to read the thing right. He stood up and held this scroll and said, The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. To preach deliverance to the captives. And recovering of sight to the blind. To set up liberty then that are bruised. To preach the acceptable hear of the Lord.

And he closed the book. And I can tell you that he stopped at a comma. He didn't finish it. I know there's a full stop where we're looking. Have a look back at Isaiah 61 just for the fun of the thing.

Isaiah 61. And we don't need to read it all over again. You see verse 2 when he read right down he said, To proclaim the acceptable hear of the Lord. Then he closed the book. He stopped at a comma. He didn't go on to finish the thing.

Because the next phrase says, On the day of vengeance of our God. Because he differentiated between the dispensations. Some people try to talk to me about dispensational preaching. I can tell you that the Lord Jesus knew all about the dispensations.

There'd been no mistakes about that. He had not come on the first occasion to bring vengeance. Not at all. That's for later on. He'll come again to this world. And he'd come with vengeance. So he knew what dispensation he was in.

And he stopped at the comma. That was very wonderful. You know, it's thrilling to see the Master do it. And you should learn from that that there must be dispensations. Otherwise he would have went on and finished the phrase.

Christ’s Humility and Ministry to the Needy

I think this was a great message. And we'll get into it in a moment. You know, when you look at it, it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

And I like that, you know. You know, I think this brings up the humility of the Lord Jesus. We know already that he who was rich became poor. That we, through his poverty, might be made eternally rich one day.

But you know, he didn't only become poor. And he didn't only live in a poor family because we saw that when Mary had to offer a sacrifice, she could only muster two turtledoves. She hadn't got the money for a lamb.

Of course he worked in the carpenter's shop at the carpenter's bench and was known as the carpenter's son. He didn't only become poor and live in a poor family. He came to the poorest district of a poor country.

And when he went out preaching, he knew that his congregation would be the poor. His God has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. You know, the poor heard him gladly. They were glad to hear him.

Of course it's the same tonight, you know. When people are making tons of money and they have plenty, they have no time for God. You'll find that the poor have a better ear for the gospel. It shows the humility of Christ because he was quite prepared to have a poor congregation.

And then he went a little bit further in this message. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted. And if the first phrase, preaching to the poor, shows his humility, then the second phrase shows his deity.

I've gone to broken-hearted souls a thousand times, you know, but I can never heal them. You know, this is the Lord's work himself. Why, when tragedy has come to some life or some home and you walk in.

I walked into that little home where a mother and four or five daughters sat and the son was in the coffin, a bullet to his head. You see our man shot down there at our man. What am I going to say to that woman?

I just know that the least I say the better. You need to shut up and weep. You need to learn to weep with them that weep and stop talking. There are hearts in this meeting that have come through tragedy.

And you know tonight that only Jesus healed you. Only Jesus. That shows his deity. And you can see this, not only was he sent to preach to the poor and to heal the broken-hearted, but to give deliverance to the captives.

Ah, that's his ability, isn't it? Thank God he set me free, you know. There have been drunkards in this meeting. Set free! There have been bad men and bad women. Set free! Ah, he gives deliverance. Yes, when he came to preach to the poor you could see his humility.

When he can heal broken hearts, he's God himself. I can tell you when he sets the captive free what ability he has. Set me free. Look at this. It says, and recovering of sight to the blind. You know, friend, that's his sufficiency.

Ah, some of the nicest people in this world, self-righteous religious people have been so blind. Only Christ is sufficient to give them light. The old devil has blinded them. And the sufficiency of the Lord is here.

And I think you can see this. To set at liberty them that are bruised. You know, with a voice of authority in which your chains shall fall off. Can't you see the humility of the Lord? Can't you see the deity?

Can't you see the ability? Can't you see the sufficiency? Can't you see the authority for whom the Son sets free? Free indeed. Then he calls the book. Gave it to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

The Nazareth Sermon and Its Rejection

He was a great preacher. He could hold the congregation. Never lanced faith like this man. And he began to say unto them, This day is this picture fulfilled in your ears. And all bearing witness and wonder got the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? Which that's what they'd always believed. They thought he was Joseph's son. It was the common chatter on that day that he was the carpenter's son. No, he wasn't the carpenter's son.