The meaning of the Call

Mark 1:14-20

What happens when God shows up and calls you to be His follower, as we read verses 16-20, you are going to observe what some fishermen did?  Many today are still hearing this call and doing likewise.  As we explore the Scripture, we see Jesus calling some to stay in the workplace and others to be homemakers, and all to be a fisherman of people.

Now it might be wise to cover verses 14-15, and one must be aware that from the time of Jesus being tempted by Satan and John’s arrest is possibly a year or longer.  But you do recall that Mark likes the word immediately, and his writing holds true to the word.  Mark does not give any space about Jesus’ time of ministry in Galilee and wants to move on the calling of His first disciples.

Looking at verses 16-20, “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. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 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. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”

You may read past this looking for something more profound, I have many times, but slow down and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of what this call means, and has it happen to you?  Questions that came to my mind were; is this the first time Jesus saw these men, and was it the first time they saw Jesus?  He has been preaching in Galilee for some time, and because Galilee is on the sea, it makes sense that fishing is big business.  One who had grown-up in the marketplace as the son of a carpenter as Jesus had, it seems he would have been drawn to such people.

But the call to follow Jesus will change their lives if these men would have stayed in the fishing industry.  They may have employed a few people for sure and would have fed families with their fish, but would they have changed the hearts of men and women, boys and girls to seek God?  You know the answer, without the Spirit of Christ living in us we are all about taking care of number one.  Now I'm not saying that a follower of Christ does not struggle in those areas, but as we stay in the word and seek the will of the Father over ours, we will be a fisherman of people and see lives eternally changed.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice