What does it mean to be a disciple? We frequently hears the words, “disciple” or “discipleship,” but what do they really mean? Do we, as a body of Christ, really know what it means to be a disciple? When we hear the word, “disciple,” what do we think? Many will agree that discipleship is an important aspect of the Christian life, but cannot really give a reason as to why this is so. What can we learn about discipleship from the call of the first disciples?
Mark begins by introducing John the Baptist. Remember, John’s ministry was one of preparation. He is the voice crying in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” And because Mark is constantly pushing the story forward, immediately after John is introduced, Jesus comes into the picture. He is baptized by John, and then sent into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And almost as quickly as Jesus comes into the picture, John is out of it. Jesus’ ministry begins in Mark 1:14 following John’s arrest. Jesus goes into Galilee and begins to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. It is when Jesus is in Galilee that he calls these four people to follow him.
There are a couple of things that are important to point out when it comes to Jesus’ call of the first disciples. First, it happens at the beginning of his ministry, not near the end. In other words, these disciples will be following Jesus throughout the course of his ministry, which lasted about three years. Can you imagine that? Three years of living just about every single day with Jesus. This is a pretty significant time investment, but a necessary one when it comes to developing disciples. Discipleship is a significant time investment. One cannot be a serious disciple without putting in serious time – time alone, time with God, time with other disciples.
Secondly, Jesus did not just come out of the blue and call these men to follow him. We don’t see this as easily in Mark’s gospel, but it is pretty clear from John 1:35-42 and from Matthew 4:18 that Jesus had a prior relationship with these guys. In John 1, John the Baptist directs his disciples to Jesus and they begin to follow him, even bringing others to Jesus. Matthew 4:18 looks a lot like Mark 1:16, but Matthew uses a different word for “to walk.” The word Matthew uses is peripateo, which means “to walk around” or “to walk about.” It is often translated as “to live” throughout the New Testament. In other words, Jesus is living in the community before he calls these guys to discipleship. He has already built some sort of relationship with them, and out of this relationship comes the call to discipleship. This is true for us as well. We cannot become disciples outside of this relationship. Do you remember the quote that I read last week from Os Guinness? “Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him and for him. First and foremost, we are called to Someone, not to something or to somewhere. Our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere and in everything should think, speak, live and act entirely for him” (p.31). We cannot be disciples apart from this relationship, and we cannot disciple others outside of relationship. Who are you more likely to lead to Christ and disciple – someone you see on a regular basis or someone who you rarely come into contact with? The answer is obvious; some sort of relationship is foundational when it comes to discipleship.
Jesus first comes to Peter and Andrew, who are said to be casting a net into the lake. The fishing industry was a common occupation for those living around the Sea of Galilee in the first century, and it was hard work. The repetition of casting and retrieving the nets would be very draining over the course of the day, especially if there was a large catch. It is in the midst of this that Jesus calls Peter and Andrew – right in the middle of the workday. Okay, remember the story of Samuel? It’s very early in the morning, the sun hasn’t even come up yet, and the Lord calls out his name. And do you remember what he did? He gets up and runs to Eli. He doesn’t just stumble into the place where Eli is laying down. He runs to him. The timing is quite inconvenient, and yet, Samuel is eager and ready to go.
We see the same thing when Jesus calls these disciples. Jesus does not call them at a particularly convenient time, nor does he call us at a convenient time. However, it is not like discipleship happens in the flow of life. It is an intentional decision that has to be made on a daily basis, and the call to discipleship does not come passively. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again, you don’t become a mechanic by sitting in the garage. You become a mechanic by intentionally working hard at your craft, learning from those who have done it before; following the direction of someone who is further down the road than you are. Becoming a disciple happens in the same sort of way. You have to make an effort to become a disciple. Discipleship doesn’t happen on accident; it is a choice.
Notice, Jesus doesn’t come to them and ask if they would like to follow him. Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey guys, guys. Um, would you come with me after you’re done with the work day. I’d like to talk to you. Oh, and check your calendar to see if you can get away for a while.” Actually, if you’ll notice, Jesus does not ask them anything. He simply says, “Follow me.” Sure, they could have said, “No.” They could have asked if they could finish the job that they were in the middle of doing, but Jesus is the priority.
The call to follow Jesus takes precedence over everything else, and even though Peter and Andrew are in the middle of the workday, even though Jesus’ call comes at a very inconvenient time for them, their response is immediate. “At once they left their nets and followed him” (Mk 1:18). That is the kind of response that we need to have when Jesus calls us. We can’t waste time checking our calendars to see if we are clear for the rest of our lives. We can’t try to pencil Jesus into our busy schedules. Our response needs to be immediate and decisive. “At once, at once, they left their nets and followed him.” And what was it that Jesus said he would do if they followed him? Make them fishers of men. Now, what in the world does that mean?
A while back, I decided that I was going to read through the book of Jeremiah. It’s a very interesting book. I never quite made it through the whole thing because I’m a little ADD when it comes to reading. At any given time, I’m probably working on reading through three books. But as I was reading Jeremiah, I came across this passage. It’s Jeremiah 16:14-16. “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them.”
Immediately, verse 16 caught my attention. Do you remember that at the beginning of the gospel, Mark is pointing to John the Baptist as the long-awaited Elijah who was to come and turn the hearts of the people? The spiritually exiled state that the people lived in was coming to a close. Through Jesus, the people are called into a relationship with God, and no longer live in a state of separation. Well, this section in Jeremiah talks about the time when the people would go into exile, but they would be gathered back by the Lord. The Lord was going to send fishers to gather the people and bring them back into relationship with Him. Jesus call to the disciples to be “fishers of men,” I believe, is pointing to this text. These fishermen were called to lay down their nets and start bringing people back into the fold. And at once, they left their nets and followed him.
Afterwards, Jesus goes a little further down the lake and sees James and John, another set of brothers, who are mending their nets in the boats. He calls them as well. They are also in the middle of the workday, but Jesus doesn’t hesitate to call them either. Their response was similar to that of Peter and Andrew. They also left their job, but they left more than just their nets behind.
The text says that they left their father Zebedee with the hired servants in order to follow Jesus. They left behind their father and a prospering business in order to follow Jesus. The text doesn’t say that it is a prospering business, and I don’t know a whole lot about business, but I do know that if a business is struggling, it does not hire help – because there is not enough income to do so. So it’s pretty clear to me that this family operation was doing pretty good. James and John had other options. And to be honest with you, it is a whole lot easier to stay in a thriving business than to answer the call to discipleship. But sometimes the call to discipleship is a call that leads us out of our comfort zone and out of everything we have ever known.
Discipleship is more than a program. It is a way of life. Jesus doesn’t call us to make discipleship a part of our lives. Jesus calls us to be disciples, and being a disciple is a way of life, not a part of our lives. Being a disciple involves following the living Christ. The call to discipleship does not come at a convenient time, and responding to it is a lifelong commitment. From this point on, these four fishermen are following Jesus throughout his ministry, and all four of them eventually die proclaiming the gospel – something they probably never anticipated as they walked away from their nets at the Sea of Galilee that day. The call to discipleship did not end that day on the Sea of Galilee. There are two other places in Mark that Jesus calls disciples. In fact, Jesus’ final command in Matthew is to make disciples, and to this very day, the call to discipleship rings out. How will you respond when Jesus says, “Follow me”? What is it that is getting in your way right now? What are the nets that you have to lay down in order to follow Jesus? Think about this some this week, and next week we’ll talk more about the call that we have to make disciples.
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