Mark 1:16-20: Now for some disciples
16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:16-20–ESV)
Commentary
No sudden transitions
At a very early stage of Jesus’ ministry he began to gather around him a group of men. We must not consider this gathering as an instant event. It was not as if Jesus said, “Come, follow me,” and Bam! they were part of the 12. That is not how transitions usually occur, nor is it necessary for us to assume that is the manner in which Jesus proceeded.
Before Jesus even made the call of verse 17 he had come into Galilee like the others of his day. Among the people and about John the Baptist he walked and talked. Jesus was involved with that crowd, and he was even baptized. Jesus’ baptism meant something different for he had not sinned, but it was an early identification of his life with God.
Conversations and introductions happened, and John the Baptist had even told some of his own disciples that Jesus was the Christ. Acquaintances developed into early friendships and it was some of these which would become so much the deeper.
When hope fails men may just go fishing
The problem for John’s disciples was that John ended up getting arrested and that scattered his flock and what had been happening around him. Simon and Andrew, James and John scattered back to what they knew: the family fishing business. These same men would later on follow these same trends after the crucifixion shattered the presumptions and hopes that they would end up placing in Jesus.
Lest we chastise these men for their actions realize this is rather normal. We can probably recall to mind failed personal experiences or ventures. When those fail we fall back on what we know.
Jesus seeks out those first disciples
With John in prison Jesus took up the mantle of God’s business. God’s purposes were not nullified by John ‘s jailing. Jesus was still on mission and he already had an eye to those whom he would invest his 3 years in. The characters and characteristics had not been missed by Jesus as he sat among them. In all likelihood Jesus had already been praying about those whom he should seek out. With God’s vision of the future he went out to the lake to find some of the lost sheep of Israel.
As he came along the lake he saw Simon and Andrew in their boats casting for fish. One can only wonder what Andrew and Simon spent their moments speaking about as they cast out their nets. Was this Messiah stuff just another fleeting wish? Was it all over? What about the imprisonment? What would happen to John? Did they need to lie low? Now, as these inklings rose and fell again a man began to walk along the shore nearby their boat.
That man was Jesus and to these wondering fishermen he gave his first formal invitation. It would seem that they were all too eager. They knew Jesus by this stage having come to believe in him as the Christ. When that call came they dropped their nets and by their actions gave a clear yes to his call.
That group of three clustered up and walked on. Not too much further up Galilee Beach they came across another busy fisher family. Likely there was a breeze and clouds. The water was probably lapping at the shore and the birds cavorting about for a morsel they could eat. They, too, were asked along and the family business turned again away from the boys and back to just the business of dad and the hired help.
Later on Peter would declare that they had left all to follow Christ. This was the day it happened.
The call of Christ to follow was not an idle one
John had introduced these men to Jesus. Jesus when he called these men used words of their trade connecting them to something of great importance.
To be a fisher of men was an original and memorable way of putting things. They would cast the divine truths of God into the world. Those truths would be a net of grace that many would be caught by and having been caught would be reconnected to God’s good way.
What needs to be seen here is that Jesus was not aimless in his mode of operation. He had a goal and sought men who would share what he would offer and teach. These men would develop convictions while with Christ that would be rock solid. They were to be witnesses to his character. They would be the ones who would see what he did and hear what he said. The would ultimately develop bits and pieces of his character and then share these with the world. Their solid convictions would run deep and for most the group would prove a thing worth dying for.
These four and the other close band would not be the only ones to follow. Others would come and others may have even been following when Christ walked this shore, but later from the great mass of followers Jesus would call a select band. The masses would be easily swayed. Easy come, easy go it is said. The shifting sands of these larger groups was where the net would be cast, but abiding convictions were to be assembled in the minds of men like Simon and Andrew.
Key points from these verses:
- Jesus’ early days were among the people of Israel.
- Jesus’ ministry picked up after John’s ministry had concluded.
- Men return to the familiar when their aspirations fall.
- Jesus will find us when we are back in our old ways.
- Jesus will set us on a new and glorious path.
- Time with Christ will forge convictions worth dying over.
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