Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-15 – 14After John had been put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of god is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Jesus begins his ministry, “proclaiming the good news of God.” I think it’s awesome that he was “proclaiming the good news of God” while at the same time being the good news of God. That should be our ministry as well, proclaiming the good news of God, which is Christ.
The timing here is interesting. Jesus began after John was put in prison. John came to prepare the way for Christ, and after he was put in prison, Christ began his ministry. Jesus said, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.” The time had come because HE was there. The kingdom of God was near because HE was there! HE was near! He said, “Repent and believe the good news!” He called people to repent (turn or change, be made new) and to believe the good news. He was calling people to himself. He is the good news! He was calling people to believe him, come to him, and be changed (repent). That is the same thing we need to be doing. We should be calling people to come to Christ, believing him (the good news), and repenting (allowing him to change them). The ministry of Christ was a great example of what our ministry should look like.

Mark 1:16-18 – 16As 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 make you fishers of men.” 18At once, they left their nets and followed him.”

I love this account of the calling of the first disciples. There is so much for us to learn in these two verses. Jesus is walking along the lake, not in the temple. You would think if he were looking for some people to get into his ministry, he would have found some good churchgoers. Instead, he is out walking along the lake. He sees Simon and Andrew, and he tells them to follow him. It is an invitation and a command, all at the same time. He sees that these guys are fishermen, and he puts things in a context where they can understand it. He says, “…and I will make you fishers of men.” He invites them to something better. He sees them fishing for fish, and invites them to come fish for men. He tells them that HE will make them fishers of me. He is going to change them for the better. He is going to give them a greater purpose. These guys are a great example for us. They don’t hesitate or give an excuse. They leave their nets and follow him. These guys were fishermen, businessmen. They had nets, and probably boats, and were most likely doing pretty well. Being a fisherman was a pretty good job in their day. They left it all to respond to the call of Christ, and they did it immediately. If we would only follow Jesus like these guys…No wonder he went to the lake, not the temple.

Mark 1:19-20 – 19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Here is another great example of the first disciples immediately leaving all they had to follow Christ. I wonder if they didn’t jump out of the boat and swim to shore, leaving their dad and co-workers calling out to them, wondering what on earth had gotten into these guys. They were looking for more, and when Jesus came and offered it to them, they followed “without delay.” These guys may not have been very important by the world’s standards, but they did one important thing…they followed Jesus. We need to realize that is the only thing that matters. Will we follow him? Will we do it without delay? Are we willing to leave our father and co-workers in the boat? Are we willing to leave our nets at the water’s edge? That is what it takes to follow Christ. In both verses 18 and 20, it says, “they left” something to follow Jesus. Following Christ is a sacrifice. It always demands that we leave something behind. Are we willing to leave everything? For these first disciples, following Jesus demanded their very lives. They left it all. What is it that is keeping us from following Christ? What are we unwilling to leave behind? Why is it that we hesitate? What can we learn from these first disciples?