Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Let the Adventure Begin! | The Gospels | Matthew 4:18–22

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

What would you leave behind if Jesus said, “Follow me”? Are comfort and control keeping you from saying yes? What could you become if you let Jesus remake you? In today’s episode, Jeff shares how Matthew 4:18–22 shows Jesus calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John into an unexpected adventure, and how his invitation to follow is still changing ordinary people today. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Matthew 4:18–22

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jeff Parrott. Adventures are wonderful, especially when they're unexpected. Near the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless masterpiece, The Hobbit, we're given this introduction to the main character, a hobbit who is mainly surrounded by comfort and control. Here's Tolkien. This Hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins.

The Bagginses had lived in the neighborhood of the hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected. You could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. Quick sidebar here, because I care about you. If you really want to hear this passage and this entire book read well, do yourself a favor. Download the version read by Andy Circus. Press play, go on a hike, go on a road trip. It doesn't matter what you're doing. Just listen. to it, you can thank me later. You're welcome. Now this introduction to Bilbo Baggins is so captivating

because it paints this amazing contrast between his past life of predictability and his future experience into the unknown. Tolkien helps us appreciate the awesome power that comes in the advent of an adventure, in the beginning of a new story that takes us places we never thought we'd go and makes us into people we never thought we'd become. Our passage today in Matthew is a story of how some unsuspecting fishermen in the first century had an adventure. As we examine their on-ramp to an adventure with Jesus, we'll consider how we too, even in this day, even in this moment, are being called into something that is altogether unexpected. And as we approach God's word together, let's slow down and ask for his grace to move through this special time we've got.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of life and breath, and thank you for your word. We bring before you in this moment all of our experiences now, our joys and our sorrows. We bring before you our anxiety and our excitement. We bring before you our calendars and the things we have planned, but also our contingencies and the things that are unplanned, yet heading our way. meet us in this space. Jesus, help us abide in you as we engage with your truth. Holy Spirit, we ask you to move in and through this time in Matthew's Gospel account.

As we read your living word, may it read us and restore us to life with you. In Jesus' name, amen. Now right before our passage for today, we're given this summary statement. of Matthew's gospel account, a short thesis statement for the ministry of Jesus overall. In Matthew chapter 4, verse 17, we read that Jesus was beginning to preach, saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The kingdom of God has come near. The ancient story of God's promises and purposes are arriving in the person and the work of Jesus. And in response to that gracious movement of God, Jesus calls people to repent, to change direction, to move with the grain of God's kingdom as he engages with our world. Now, on the heels of this amazing announcement from Jesus, we get this narrative of how ordinary people are drawn into the extraordinary movement of God's kingdom.

Here's Matthew chapter 4, verses 18 through 22. While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He, Jesus, saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Immediately they left their nets and followed him. and going on from there he saw two other brothers James the son of Zebedee

and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father mending their nets and he called them immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him

okay as Jesus calls these unsuspecting fishermen these two pairs of brothers we can't help but notice a pattern In each case, the brothers are doing something routine, something familiar, something known. They're casting a net into the sea. They're mending their nets.

This isn't unimportant work, but it isn't unexpected work either. There's a semblance of comfort and control in the rhythms of their life up to this point. But then comes Jesus, and when he calls, the rhythm of life is reimagined. all of these fishermen hear the voice of Jesus and leave behind the thing that was routine or familiar or known. That's the pattern, hearing the call and then leaving the comfortable, leaving the control. Like Bilbo Baggins, they are leaving behind the expected for something altogether unexpected. But the adventure their beginning isn't just about where they're going with Jesus. It's also about who they're becoming in Jesus.

Notice what Jesus says in verse 19. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. There's an element of character transformation that will take place in this adventure with Jesus. Each of these fishermen will be made into something, made into someone new. They will become fissures of men. They will be used by God to gather people

into the movement of his kingdom. By entering this adventure, they are participating in something far bigger and far beyond the confines of their lives. This calling is altogether unexpected, and it is absolutely an act of God's gracious invitation. Now, what does this calling of four fishermen by the Sea of Galilee mean for you and for me today?

Well, it does not mean that everyday laborers, like fishing is less important than vocational ministry working in a church. It does not mean that we all have to become full-time missionaries if we're going to move with the grain of God's kingdom. But it does mean this. It does mean that Jesus has a full-orbed mission for our lives. It does mean that Jesus is inviting you and inviting me into that pattern of leaving behind what is familiar and comfortable and controllable to follow him. Some of us feel like we're at the beginning of the adventure with Jesus. We might even feel like we're hearing his voice, calling out,

follow me for the first time. If that's you, how are things like comfort or control or familiarity keeping you from following Jesus? What do you need to leave behind as he leads you into the adventure of the gospel. But remember, this calling from Jesus is not just a one-time call into faith. This is an adventure we're brought further into

as the days, months, and years of life progress. So if you've considered yourself a follower of Jesus for some time now, the question is this. Do you still hear and still respond to Jesus as he says, follow me? What do you need to leave behind in this season of life to allow the adventure of God's story to continue seeping into your life? How do you need to let Jesus continually transform you so that you can become a fissure of men

more and more so that you're living as an active participant in his mission to make all things new? even if that means doing and saying things that you would have never expected. For these four fishermen, our passage today is the advent of an adventure. They're being swept into the movement of the true, ancient story of God's purposes and promises. In this journey, they will go places they didn't expect. They will become people they couldn't have imagined, all because they're going with Jesus. In his gospel account, Matthew has so much more to tell us about how these unsuspecting fishermen had an adventure. And the best part is, the adventure is still at play as you and I are ushered into it.

We, like Baggins, will do and say things altogether unexpected, because the kingdom of God is still drawing near. The advent of the adventure is still actively pursuing us. Jesus is calling out to you and me today, follow me. Do you hear him? Will you leave behind the predictable, the comfortable, the controllable, and the known to go with him? Will you let him remake you in his mission as you become the person he's made you to be, all along. This is a story of how you and I have an adventure and find ourselves doing and saying

things altogether unexpected, yet altogether wonderful with our king, Jesus. Let the adventure begin and let it continue forever for his glory. Father, thank you for the movement of your kingdom, into our world, and into our lives. Jesus, help us hear your invitation and leave behind the known so we can follow you into the unknown. Spirit, draw us further into the adventure of faith with one another as we and all creation are renewed in the gospel. We pray all of this because of your grace for your glory and in the adventure of your story. In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, before we wrap up, can I tell you about something we've been working on here at 10 Minute Bible Talks? We believe that everyone should know how to read the Bible. But the truth is,

a lot of us have never been shown how. That's why we created the 10-minute Bible guide. It's a simple framework for helping you understand God's Word and build a sustainable Bible-reading habit. Not so that you can simply check the Bible reading box off your to-do list, but so that you can spend meaningful, life-giving time with God in His Word. Inside our guide, you'll find practical tips for getting started, strategies for how to stay consistent, ideas for how to apply the Bible to your life, and how to pray through the Bible, and even journal through it once you're done.

So, if you've ever thought, I want to read my Bible, but I don't know how to start or how to stick with it, then this is for you. You can download our free 10-minute Bible, Bible guide today at 10-minutebibyltalks.com or just hit the link in our show notes.