Mark 1:14-20, “Follow me, I will make you fish for people!
Today’s text is very well-known. Let us hear what God says to us on the last Sunday of January of this new year.
Since we all know the texts, let’s review the points we already know and examine ourselves aligning with what we need to do in obedience.
We first notice that what Jesus started proclaiming about the kingdom of God was almost the same message that John the Baptist proclaimed, except for one thing. That is, Jesus added in proclaiming the kingdom of God, “the time is fulfilled” in verse 15. Jesus was saying that God’s promise that the Messiah would come and save God’s people is fulfilled, which was prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament. With this phrase, “the time is fulfilled,” Jesus identifies himself as the anointed one, the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited promise of the Messiah.
In other words, the good news that is mentioned in vs. 14 is Jesus’ coming, through whom realizing God’s kingdom on earth is possible with His crucifixion. It is important to note that ushering in God’s kingdom with Jesus’ coming issues an urgent call for repentance. Let us hear it again, verse 15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” Do we notice here that repenting and believing go hand in hand? The use of its original language in calling to ‘repent’ and ‘believe’ conveys the idea of a continuous action rather than a single event. It means we are to ‘keep on repenting’ and ‘keep on believing’ until we align our values and ways of life with God’s.
If we believe in Jesus, we are to follow Jesus, not the world or what the world teaches, which leads us to the second point. In verses 16 and 17, Jesus calls for four fishermen at the Sea of Galilee — Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Before they were called, they lived in their chosen path, having worldly values and purposes. But when Jesus called them, they followed Jesus, leaving their worldly ways of life. That is what repentance is all about. Repentance means turning around from the worldly ways of life and following Jesus. If we have been living on our own, for ourselves only, chasing after worldly values and things, we are to turn around. Then, we can live in the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is not for everyone in the world. Only those who repent forsaking their worldly and sinful ways of life. Isn’t that what it says? “The kingdom of God is near; repent and believe?” Repentance means turning 180 degrees around and going in the opposite direction from where we were going. Where in the Bible says, ‘Everyone is in, and no one is out?’ Only those who repent and believe are in, not those who willfully refuse to turn around from their sinful ways of living. That is what the Bible teaches.
The message of hope should be based on the Bible, not on false teachings. Today’s message of hope is that our God, God the Son, Christ, came for sinners such as you and me. We can be saved if we repent and follow Jesus. Jesus welcomes and forgives us from all walks of life, no matter how sinful we have been. That is the good news, and that is a message of hope.
Another important point we are to note here is that ‘following’ comes before ‘doing.’ “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” We are to follow and be companions of Jesus first. A Christian is a person who has a personal relationship with Jesus. The invitation to Peter, Andrew, James, and John is an invitation into such a relationship. “Follow me”: be with me, get to know me, enjoy my friendship. Then, you will learn what I want from you and understand my mission. My dream will become your dream: saving all those dying in sin. If you truly know me by being with me, then “I will make you fish for people”: you will teach, preach, heal, and serve as I do.
Suppose we do not have this personal relationship with Jesus but try to work. In that case, we cannot help but cause discord and division because we do not know Christ, who gave up Himself to build God’s kingdom, humbled Himself dying on the cross, denying Himself, and not insisting on His will, His way, but obeyed God unto death. Knowing and believing, knowing and embracing are not the same.
The third point is that Jesus called ordinary people from all walks of life, like you and me. Among Jesus’ disciples were at least four fishermen, a tax collector, and seven other disciples whose vocations we do not know. They were “northerners” who were considered “outsiders” from Galilee. The capital of Israel was Jerusalem in the former southern kingdom, the religious center with the temple. But those “outsiders,” those who were despised, were the ones who transformed the world, fishing for people for God’s kingdom. Likewise, we are called. Those of us who might be nothing or no one in the eyes of people, if not despised, because of our past, lowly social standing, or lack of education. But no matter who we are, how we are, God calls us to be agents to transform this sinful world around us. All we need is our willingness to obey God’s calling. There were many people Jesus called. Verse 14 says that Jesus proclaimed the good news not just to his first disciples but to many people. But not everyone who heard the good news to repent and follow obeyed. Only his twelve disciples willingly obeyed and became fishermen of people, building God’s kingdom.
Do we hear God’s calling to follow Jesus? Do we have the willingness to follow him? Do we want to build God’s kingdom, transforming the sinful world around us? All we need is a willingness to follow and do it quickly.
Lastly, God calls some to fish for people and some to mend the net with which they catch people. Jesus called Simon Peter and Andrew while fishing, casting their net into the sea, and said, “I will make you fish for people.” In the same way, Jesus called John and James while they were mending their nets. Although Jesus did not spell out saying, ‘I will make you mend the net to catch people,’ we know that to catch fish, one needs a net that is not broken. In other words, we need some to fish and some to mend the net.
What good is it when we catch many fish, but the net is broken, so we end up having few fish in the net? In this context, mending the net is as important as fishing. What is the net for us? Isn’t it the church? The people who are in the bond of Christ’s love are the net. If the bond of love that holds God’s people together is broken, we cannot keep the people in. We end up having few people in our church if our net is broken. We try so hard to catch fish but lose them if our net of love is broken. We need to mend our net. We need to have the love of Christ in our midst, which is a glue to put us together. The love of God goes deeper than our lips into our hearts.
That was what God told me the other day. Not reacting or not retaliating in kind is not enough; not being angry with those who openly oppose you is not enough. You have to invite back the person who says to people that if she is the pastor of that church, I will not go, instead of just ignoring that person. You must embrace with love those who criticize and say negative things about you; not confronting them is not enough, but finding a way to communicate with them in God’s love is what you need. That is how you mend the broken net.
It is not easy. Fishing and mending require self-denial, being dead to self and the world. If our will, what we want, goes against what Jesus taught us to do, we must deny ourselves and follow Jesus. This is the word of God for the people of God! Amen!