Mark 1
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.
He sees two fishermen, probably not an unusual sight. They are busy at their work. Like many people, they are defined by their job. They have names of course but nothing more than that and their occupation. A little like the waiter at the table or the cashier at Wal-mart, the only thing we know about them is their job. Did they define themselves and their worth by their work as many modern people do? Perhaps they did, because when Jesus tells them to follow, he tells them that they will still be doing the same thing, but with a twist. They will no longer be taking fish out of water, but people from the dominant culture. They leave their nets, which seems surprising, given that these were the tools of their trade. Simon and Andrew, merely at the call of Jesus to follow, give up their security and future.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus almost always is a moving target. We find him today walking beside the Sea of Galilee. Having been baptized and tested, Jesus is ready to begin his ministry.
He sees two fishermen, probably not an unusual sight. They are busy at their work. Like many people, they are defined by their job. They have names of course but nothing more than that and their occupation. A little like the waiter at the table or the cashier at Wal-mart, the only thing we know about them is their job. Did they define themselves and their worth by their work as many modern people do? Perhaps they did, because when Jesus tells them to follow, he tells them that they will still be doing the same thing, but with a twist. They will no longer be taking fish out of water, but people from the dominant culture. They leave their nets, which seems surprising, given that these were the tools of their trade. Simon and Andrew, merely at the call of Jesus to follow, give up their security and future.
This raises an ancillary question that is rarely considered. Why did Jesus have disciples at all? If Jesus is the son of God, why would he need any help? And if he did not need disciples, why did he gather these to go with him? Why not get the "right" people who already had influence and power rather than the vagabond blue collar bunch he ends us with?
With Simon and Andrew in tow, Jesus comes upon James and John. I don't know the fishing practices of ancient Galilee, but Simon and Andrew seem to be fishing from the shore while James and John are fishing from a boat. Does this mean that James and John are more successful owning better equipment and having a bigger operation? It certainly appears that they are a part of a family business as they leave their father and a group of hired hands to follow.
Why did Jesus call these two rather than Zebedee or the other workers? Did he call them all, but only James and John had the courage to leave? We can't be sure. But one thing we can be sure of, almost as soon as he starts, Jesus breaks up families. This is of course entirely contrary to the modern church's proclamation of family values. In that culture, Zebedee's sons would have been his retirement policy, he could not have afforded to lose them without losing what he thought would be his social security. Did he bless their going because he could no longer go himself or did he look angrily at Jesus as he saw the new commitment of his sons was destroying his future? Jesus is more concerned with gathering followers than keeping families together.
Do you notice that Jesus does not ask the four about their beliefs or lives? Perhaps as son of God he already knew or more likely, he didn't care. Jesus calls people not because they are good or can help him, but because as they follow, they will become the people God want them to be.
What does Jesus want? Follow me.
I've always liked the calling of the disciples. He didn't go for the scholars, the leaders. He called normal, hard working people. Maybe because serving God is hard work.
ReplyDeleteYour comment as to why he had to have disciples reminded me of an exercise a former pastor at Red House, Dan Parker did. He got two people up, one being the youth minister, Wayne Spivey. He told Wayne he had to go out and get people to join his side, but he was working alone. The other person went out and got a person, then those two went out and got a person each, etc. The result was everyone going to get one had a mucbh easier time growing than the person working alone.