THE
CALL OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES
14 After
John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of
God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
16 As
Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow
me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once
they left their nets and followed him.
19 When
he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John
in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they
left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.(Mark
1:14-20 NIV)
Mark 1:14 Now after John had been taken into custody,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
The beginning of the Lord’s Galilean ministry is preceded by the arrest of John the Baptist upon order of Herod. John the Baptist “had been
taken in custody” is expressed in the passive voice. This means that God's
purpose was being fulfilled in John's arrest and that the time for Jesus'
ministry in Galilee had now come." (John D. Grassmick - BKC)
Taken into
custody conveys the basic meaning of to give over from one's hand to
someone or something, especially to give over to the power of another. The time
of Christ’s departure from Judea to Galilee (see John 4:1–3, 43+) had something
to do with the imprisonment of John the Baptist.
Jesus begins His
ministry where John the Baptist left off. John’s arrest terminated his ministry and marked the beginning of
Jesus’ ministry. In God's sovereignty, John’s
ministry came to an end. And apparently John was in Herod's prison for almost a
year before he was martyred. Bible Commentator Lowell Johnson observes that
Jesus did not immediately begin his public ministry until John passes from the scene. John
4:1-3 tells us why Jesus left Judea and went to Galilee. Why not fully
begin his public ministry earlier? Jesus could not and would not give the
appearance of competing with John. If Jesus had begun His ministry in full
force before John's ministry had been completed, the loyalty of the people
would have been divided. John was sent to prepare the way and the way was not
fully prepared until John was removed from the scene. Believers are not rivals.
They are joint servants of the Lord who work together in their respective
ministries. They are not to compete against each other. And when the time
comes, when a servant's ministry is completed, he is to willingly step aside
for the new ministry.
Mark
1:15 and saying, "The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
God's sovereign clock had
struck the note that it was the time for the Messiah to present His good news
of the kingdom, a present kingdom (followed by a future earthly kingdom and
then an eternal kingdom). “The time is fulfilled”. The word time has
the idea of “a favorable season of action; a golden opportunity. The time which
God had appointed for the Messiah’s arrival
had now fully come. This is similar to the Biblical phrase “ the fullness of
time”. Bible Commentator Hendriksen phrases it "The appropriate season or
golden opportunity for the fulfillment of God’s redemptive promises and along
with it for the promulgation of the gospel had arrived.
Jesus was preaching a message
calling for immediate life change among His hearers. He was calling them to
come to Him right now and not miss this opportunity. As the old saying goes, it
may be true of the Gospel, that opportunity will only knock once at the door of
your heart! Don't procrastinate or it could lead to your perpetual ruin! (cf 2
Cor 6:2) MacArthur feels that time is fulfilled "indicated that His coming
marked the turning point of salvation history." (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary)
And the kingdom of God is at
hand - "As close as your hand." While the Kingdom of God
has several meanings depending on the context, the simplest meaning is the
Kingdom is at hand because the King Himself is present in their midst. And He
comes with a message of good news describing victory over spiritual enemies and
not over national enemies like Rome.
Repent and believe in the
Gospel - The question is how do we gain entrance to the Kingdom of God? Jesus
gives us the answer in this passage! Repent of your sin. Believe in the
Savior! (This is only time in NT we find the phrase "believe in the
Gospel!) Both verbs are commands in the present imperative calling
for these two attributes to be our lifestyle. Yes we need repentance the first
time we believe and are saved (that's the once for all justification, perfect
positional righteousness of Christ imputed or placed on our spiritual ledger so
to speak). But the present tense signifies that we need to keep on repenting,
that repenting needs to be our habitual practice! Luther said it this way
"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent’ he called for the
entire life of believers to be one of repentance. "Why? Because we keep on
sinning because we fall prey to the wiles and seductions and lures of our
fallen flesh,
Mark
1:16 As He was going along by the Sea of
Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the
sea; for they were fishermen.
J C Ryle - We read that
our Lord called Simon and Andrew, when they were "casting a net into the
sea," and James and John while they were "mending their nets."
It is clear, from these words, that the first followers of our Lord were not
the great of this world. They were men who had neither riches, nor rank, nor
power. But the kingdom of Christ is not dependent on such things as these. His
cause advances in the world, "not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zech. 4:6.) The words of Paul will
always be found true--"Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world
to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty." (1 Cor. 1:26, 27.) The church which
began with a few fishermen, and yet overspread half the world, must have been
founded by God.
Mark
1:17 And Jesus said to them,
"Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Mark records the call of
these two brothers as a necessary link in the chain of his historical
deduction. Come after me, or more exactly, follow me, not only in the literal
and local sense, but in the moral or figurative sense of adherence and
dependence." Notice when Jesus called
the men responded. There was no coaxing or coercion, just His holy call!
This is a personal invitation
by Jesus Christ to these men to follow Him and travel with Him. This is not the
same as “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.” This is not a Gospel
message. In fact, this is a strange message. This is not our message. We may
make application, but this is not our message. There were times when people
believed in Him and wanted to travel with Him and He said, “No” (Mark 5:18-19).
This is an unusual invitation.
"Follow Me, and I will
make you fishers of men." The meaning of this expression is clear and
unmistakable. The disciples were to become fishers for souls. They were to
labor to draw men out of darkness into light, and from the power of Satan to
God. They were to strive to bring men into the net of Christ's church, so that
they might be saved alive, and not perish everlastingly. We ought to mark this
expression well. It is full of instruction. It is the oldest name by which the
ministerial office is described in the New Testament. It lies deeper down than
the name of bishop, elder, or deacon. It is the first idea which should be
before a minister's mind. He is not to be a mere reader of forms, or
administrator of ordinances. He is to be a "fisher" of souls. The
minister who does not strive to live up to this name has mistaken his calling.
Does the fisherman strive to catch fish? Does he use all means, and grieve if
unsuccessful? The minister ought to do the same. Does the fisherman have patience?
Does he toil on day after day, and wait, and work on in hope? Let the minister
do the same. Happy is that man, in whom the fisherman's skill, and diligence,
and patience, are all combined! Let us resolve to pray much for ministers.
Their office is no light one if they do their duty. They need the help of many
intercessions from all praying people. They have not only their own souls to
care for, but the souls of others. No wonder that Paul cries, "Who is
sufficient for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:16.) If we never prayed for
ministers before, let us begin to do it this day. (Commentary)
Mark
1:18 Immediately they left their nets
and followed Him.
Immediately they left their
nets and followed Him - At once! No hesitation. No procrastination.
Immediately! At once! The verb for "left" suggests a vivid picture of these men
"dropping" their nets and immediately falling in step behind Jesus! Bible
Commentator Joseph Alexander agrees commenting that Mark's "words seem to
suggest, as their immediate and strict sense, that the fishermen thus summoned
left their nets lying where they were, without waiting to deposit or secure
them. This unhesitating response to the divine call, without regard to minor
consequences, is presented elsewhere as a severe but equitable test of true
devotion to the Master’s service (Luke 9:57–62+)." The effect of this
abrupt call is described as instantaneous, not only because they were expecting
and prepared for such a summons, but because they were divinely moved to answer
and obey it. It was the sovereign move of the Spirit Who gave these
fisherman the impulse/desire/will to leave everything and follow Jesus. No
man in his natural state seeks after God (Ro 3:11b+). This supernatural
"persuasion" is inherent in the term "effectual
call" (What is the effectual calling/call?) which all believers have heard
and heeded enabled by the same Spirit.
Mark
1:19 Going on a little farther, He saw
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat
mending the nets.
Mark 1:20 Immediately He called them; and they left
their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to
follow Him.
“Follow me” was the call of
Jesus to those who would be His disciples. It still is. Jesus is still calling
men and women, boys and girls to be disciples. And the call is the same,
“Follow me.”
How quickly did they respond?
Matthew 4:22 says "Immediately they left the boat and their father, and
followed Him." Clearly Zebedee and his two sons evidently had a
very successful fishing business in co-operation with Andrew and Simon (Lk 5:7,
10+). Mark alone has this detail of the hired servants who remained with their
father Zebedee. This added fact indicates Zebedee’s fishing business
was prosperous and that he was a man of importance (cf. description of John in
Jn 18:15). The point is that James and John "counted the cost" to
follow Jesus! To follow (3694)(opiso from opis = a looking
back) meant they went behind Jesus, in close proximity and relationship
Bible Commentator David
Thompson observes that not all who believe in the Lord today and purpose to
obey the Word will become a great soul winner or fisher of men. There are
different gifts that God gives to different people. Some people are
evangelists. Some people are Pastor/Teachers. Some have a gift of mercy or
helps or giving. What we do know is that if any will purpose to obey the
Word, God will use that person to accomplish His purposes, just like he did
with these four fishermen.
According to CH Spurgeon – the
disciples never had cause to regret that they did so. Whatever they left, they
were abundantly rewarded. They had a rich reward here on earth; and they have a
far richer reward in heaven. Whatever a man gives up for Christ is a blessed
investment, which will, sooner or later, bring him good interest.
