Follow Me

Mark 1:14-20 (January 25, 2009)

1) The Text

14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

2) The Context

Fishing was a popular trade on the Sea of Galilee. Fishing was the most common occupation for people residing in the small villages of Capernaum and Bethsaida which were located on the lakeshore. The message of this particular Biblical text is that the disciples were called to become "fishers of men" or fishers for people." Jesus used the metaphor of fishing because people in a fishing village with numerous fishermen would "get it." These people intuitively understood fishing because it was a way of life for them. Jesus told his first disciples that they were to "fish for people" and were to "catch people" for Jesus Christ. Jesus could not have chosen a better metaphor to help his first disciples understand what their job was. Jesus always used metaphors that his disciples could understand.

3) Interpretation

In Mark’s Gospel, we read the story of how the first four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John, are called by Jesus to be disciples. These fishermen leave their nets, their security, and their families to follow Jesus. The author tells us nothing of their inner deliberations, whether the fishing was good or bad, if they were religious people or not, if they got along with their father or had a sense of wanderlust. Mark merely says, “And immediately, they followed him.” This connecting phrase, “and immediately,” is the most common phrase in Mark’s Gospel, occurring 33 times in only 16 chapters.

The calling of James, John, Simon and Andrew and such other callings to leave all was a protest not against life at home, but more generally against societal structures which simply perpetuate the past and trap people into the service of the status quo. But Jesus’ socially disruptive call upset the system not only for those called but also for those left behind. It called for a new way of looking at life. There is a new set of priorities. This means changed values, but it is more than that. It means a new god, or better, a return to the God of compassion and justice.

How many times have commitments you made changed your daily routine? What commitments have changed your life? "I promise . . . "Those words lie at the base of our moral character. Not only do they require that our deeds match our words. They demand that we change to match our words. The vows of marriage mean abandoning the single life. A job change or school choice means old friends and habits are lost. Even a brief moment that shows moral strength can resonate throughout our lives. Consider how many lives have been changed because of a simple moral lapse in a fleeting moment. In truth, we have all made false promises and wrong moral choices. Faced with these facts, can we change for the better? In Mark's gospel, Jesus proclaimed a renewal of moral character based upon a simple invitation: "Follow me."

In this passage, Mark presents the call of the disciples, like that described in John. John saw evangelization as a process of personal witness, personal invitation, and discipleship from friend to friend. Mark, however, placed the call to discipleship in the public arena; it was made directly by Jesus. John emphasized the role of the disciple recruiting others. Mark emphasized the relationship of Jesus to the disciple. Mark began with the arrest of John the Baptist to introduce Jesus to public ministry. Jesus picked up on John the Baptist's theme. The Kingdom of God is immanent. Repent. Unlike John the Baptist, Jesus did not proclaim the advent of the Messiah. He preached belief in the Good News. Soon, the preaching of the gospel would eclipse the expectation for God's chosen One. [1:14-15]

The Good News demanded a response. It was more than a moral turnabout. It meant a new life situation, a new relationship with God. For Mark, Jesus was the embodiment of the Good News. His preaching, his call, established this new relationship with God. Much has been written about the social context for Jesus' ministry. Unlike John the Baptist whose ministry had a geographic location, Jesus took his ministry on the road. People came to see John the Baptist, while Jesus came to the people. While John drew his congregation from Jerusalem and outlying areas, Jesus' ministry lay in the backwater countryside of Galilee. John the Baptist got the attention of the leadership in Judaism, but Jesus did not encounter official criticism immediately.

These differences made the ministry of Jesus easier to ignore, but, ultimately, more dangerous to the leadership. Jesus was the leader of a group movement. In a culture with few social supports, people at the time of Jesus had to be self-sufficient. Hence, they would form a group for a common goal. Indeed, group identity and power became all important. Extended families would intermarry and form alliances for the common good. Governments (i.e., royal families) would contract with groups (i.e., local families and village cooperatives) to gather produce and bring it to market; in turn, the government would receive a large percentage of the profits. Like the rest of society, Jesus formed a group whose members moved from place to place (like an army). Peter, Andrew, James, and John were among the first to partake in the mobile ministry of Jesus.

However, the message of Jesus proved to be as threatening as his means. In a static culture that did not change from generation to generation, Jesus preached something new. God would come and change everything. For their own reasons, the first four disciples left the safety of their group (family and friends) for the challenge of a new life based on this new message. They responded to the call of Jesus, for they wanted to live with Jesus. The call of Jesus was more important than any security, any relationship, any possession they had.

"Follow me." The invitation Jesus gave his early followers is the same he makes to us now. He invites us to change and believe. We need to realize he not only gives us the challenge, he gives us the means to abandon our former life of sin and to trust in God. He gifts us with the Spirit. So, the call of Jesus is not only a direction; it is a helping hand. Human frailty may trip us from time to time, but the Lord will not disappoint. When we follow the Lord, he leads us and sustains us.

4) Thought Exercise

How is your life changing as you follow Christ?

How do you continuously renew your commitment to follow Christ?