Message preached Sunday, September 14, 2014 from Mark 1:16-20
Theme: Jesus’ call of the fishermen teaches us some principles of His call to service in our lives.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Our study of the Gospel of Mark has taken us to the beginning of the Lord Jesus’ earthly ministry. In our last time together, we were told of how Jesus came to Galilee preaching. And now, in the course of that preaching ministry—in Mark 1:16-20—we’re told;
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him (Mark 1:16-20).
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I love this morning’s passage, don’t you? I love the picture it paints for us. But most of all, I love the fishermen that Jesus called to follow Him in His earthly ministry. They aren’t the men that the world would necessarily consider worthy of being called, or who would naturally hold out very much promise of great things. But history has confirmed the divine wisdom of Jesus’ choice.
Consider that Jesus called Simon—also known to us as the apostle Peter. Peter became the most prominent of the twelve apostles. He served as their leading voice. In Acts 2—after the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost—Peter preached the first great sermon of church history; and it was a sermon that shook the world! Peter was the one who gave the church its great foundational profession—that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. It was the profession upon which Jesus said He would build His church.
And consider that Jesus called Peter’s brother Andrew. Andrew was the great “evangelist” of the apostles. It was Andrew who first brought Peter to Jesus. He was the one who brought the little boy to Jesus that had the five loaves and two fish—from which Jesus fed a multitude. It was Andrew—along with Philip—that first brought the Greeks to Jesus who were seeking to speak to Him. Every time we read of Andrew, he’s bringing someone to Jesus.
And consider that Jesus called James. James is sometimes overshadowed in our memory by his brother John; but James had a very distinct honor granted to him. He was the first of the twelve disciples to have been martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. In Acts 12, we’re told of how, in his mad passion to persecute the church, King Herod Agrippa killed James with the sword. Of all the twelve apostles, the story of James’ martyrdom is the only one recorded for us in the pages of Scripture.
And finally, consider that Jesus called John. We call John ‘the beloved apostle’ because he never named himself in the Gospel account that he wrote. He only called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. Jesus chose him to write a Gospel account for us that truly shows us the heartbeat of Jesus Himself. In fact, John wrote more of the New Testament than any of the other twelve—giving us the Gospel of John, his three epistles, and the Book of Revelation. John was the great theologian of the twelve.
This, then, is a passage that tells us of Jesus’ call of the four greatest fishermen that ever lived. How grateful we ought to be that He called them! They have served us in Jesus’ name; and they are dear to us.
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But I also believe that this is a passage that helps us to understand Jesus’ call of you and me.
You see; I believe that there are three great “calls” that God offers to people. There is a call that He offers to all people everywhere—no matter who they are or where they live—to come to Jesus by faith and be saved. It’s what theologians sometimes refer to as our Lord’s ‘general call’. “If anyone thirsts,” He said, “let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). That’s a call that He offers freely to everyone.
And there’s a second call—one that theologians sometimes refer to as our Lord’s ‘effectual call’. It’s a call that applies only to those that God the Father has chosen for salvation. It is called “effectual” because it results in people hearing the word of the gospel, believing on it, and actually coming to Jesus to be saved. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
But I believe there is a third kind of call—a call that our Lord offers only to those who He has chosen for Himself and who have responded by coming to Him in faith. It’s a call to surrender to Him in a unique place of service in His kingdom. Paul spoke of it when he wrote, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry . . .” (1 Timothy 1:12).
I believe that Jesus is calling everyone in this room today in some way—whoever you may be. If you do not know Him, He is calling you with the wonderful invitation to come to Him and be saved. For some, that will mean that you will actually do come by His enabling grace—or that you already have come and have placed a conscious faith in Jesus. And for those who have come, I believe that Jesus may be calling you to take things a bit further—and to take the step into a place of service for Him in some way.
This morning’s passage is for everyone. But I hope to speak this morning particularly to those who have definitely placed their faith in Jesus Christ; and to whom He may be issuing a call into a place of service in His kingdom. I’d like to ask that we examine this morning’s passage in the light of that call; and learn what principles it has to teach us about Jesus’ call to service.
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In studying this passage this week, seven specific principles have seemed to pop out to me. And the first one is that . . .
1. HE CALLS COMMON, EVERYDAY PEOPLE.
I see this in what Mark tells us about these men in verse 16; “for they were fishermen” (v. 16).
The job of a professional fisherman, in those days, was very hard work. A man needed to have patience, and also have an eye for where the fish will be. He had to know the right time to go out into the water; and how far out to go. And it was a physically demanding job too. You had to be strong enough to cast a net out and drag it back in repeatedly. And once a good catch was made, you had to be strong enough to pull a full net back in. And it wasn’t just a matter of catching the fish; but also of sorting the good from the bad, and of preparing the good fish for market, and of repairing and maintaining the equipment along the way. It took hard work to make a living at it.
But it wasn’t exactly a highly esteemed profession either. A fisherman wasn’t given the respect in society that a scholar in the law would be given, or a doctor, or a Pharisee. The work of a fisherman was the work of a common man. And I believe that that’s why it’s so important to notice that Jesus didn’t go out to call workers into His service who where the kind of people that might have thought that they should have been called—the scholars, or the religious leaders, or the respected members of society. Instead, He called a group of humble fishermen—who He formed into the apostles of His church.
And I believe that’s a principle that should encourage you and me. The apostle Paul once wrote;
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Dear brother or sister in Christ; if you don’t feel that you are much in this world’s eyes—if you feel as if there isn’t much of anything about you that would make you significantly useful in the service of Jesus’ kingdom, then just know this: You are exactly the kind of person Jesus loves to call. If He would call common, ordinary fishermen into His service, then He can certainly call you!
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Second, I notice that . . .
2. HE CALLS US IN THE MIDST OF FAITHFUL LABORS.
Now; I see this from the fact that Jesus didn’t call these men at a time when they were idle, or at a time when they had somehow become disenchanted with fishing and had given up their careers. He didn’t gather together a group of discontented ‘former’ fishermen who had stopped working, and put on white robes, and sat on a hilltop—patiently awaiting a call. Instead, we read, “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea . . .” (v. 16). Or we read, “When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets” (v. 19). In other words, they were hard at their work at the time when Jesus called them. Jesus did not call lazy fishermen to be fishers of men.
I can’t tell you enough how important I believe this principle is. I’ve seen some people who are frustrated with their daily work or their station in life, who long so much to be in a place of service to the Lord that they cease to do their daily work faithfully or neglect the place in life that God has put them. And I have come to believe that that’s not how the Lord usually calls people to His service. Typically, He calls them to a new place of service from out of faithful labors in another.
Have you ever thought of these words from the Lord Jesus Himself? He said,
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).
In His Parable of the Coins, it was the man who had been faithful with the five coins that was given five cities to manage, and the man who had been faithful with ten coins that was given ten cities to manage. But the man who hid his coin and did nothing with it was the one who lost his coin and was given nothing.
Do you long to be in the Lord’s service? If so, let me make a suggestion. If you have a job to do or a task to fulfill—no matter what it is, consider that it is from the Lord. In that respect, you are already in His service. Do your work faithfully as unto the Lord—with all your might. And in the midst of your faithful labors, just know that the Lord will come along—when He knows that you have proven faithful and are ready—and will call you to higher levels of His service.
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A third principle I see is that . . .
3. HIS CALL OFTEN COME TO US IN STAGES.
Now; to appreciate this principle, you need to know that there’s a little history that Mark does not tell us in his Gospel. Long before Jesus came to them along the seashore and called them to be His disciples, they had already come to know Him and—to some degree—to follow Him.
Andrew, for example, had already been a disciple of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking by on the day after he had baptized Him, John declared to Andrew and another disciple of John’s, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36); and we’re told that, from that day forward, they followed Jesus. They even went to where He was staying and had dinner with Him. Later, Andrew found his brother Peter, told him, “We have found the Messiah”, and brought him to Jesus too. And it may surprise you to know this; but the mother of James and John was a woman named Salome; and she was a relative to Jesus’ mother Mary. That means that James and John were Jesus’ relatives according to the flesh.
Mark tells us, “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea” (v. 16); and “When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets” (v. 19). And I don’t believe that Jesus just walked up to these four men—as if He had met them for the first time—and made, if you will, a ‘cold call’ on them. I believe that, to some degree, they had already come to know Him, were already drawn to believe on Him, and had even began to follow Him to some degree.
Do you remember those two disciples that left John the Baptist to follow Jesus? Jesus saw that they were following after Him; and He turned to them and said, “What do you seek?” They said, “Rabbi . . . where are You staying?” And He told them, “Come and see.” (John 1:37-39). I learn from this that, in our service to Jesus, the “Come and see” phase comes before the “Follow Me” call is given. I suggest that we grow to know the Lord Jesus better each day—praying to Him, reading from the Scriptures, trusting Him in all our troubles; and when we have “come to see” Him as He wishes us to, the “Follow Me” call will come at the right time.
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Walking with Jesus in an ongoing way like this is important; because as this passage shows us . . .
4. HIS CALL MAKES USE OF OUR EXPERIENCES.
We see this when we read that, “He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me . . .’ (v. 17); or when we read that “He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them . . .” (v. 19). We can safely assume that the invitation given to James and John was the same one given to Peter and Andrew—to be made into “fishers of men”.
But do you notice that Jesus didn’t tell them, “Leave your fishing nets, and become cowboys of my cattle.” “Leave your boats, boys; and come be farmers in My fields.” That wouldn’t have worked with these men. They were fishermen. They knew how to catch fish. And Jesus was not really calling them to do something different from what they knew. It was just that, instead of fish, they would catch people.
I suggest to you that this means that the sovereign God gives us the experiences we have in life in order to train us and to teach us what He wants us to be in a higher calling—and that He wastes nothing of what we have learned for His purposes. Think of Moses. For forty years, he was trained to be Pharaoh—the commander of His people. He grew up going to the Egyptian version of West Point! But then, after he fled from Pharaoh, he spent the next forty years as a shepherd—tending humble sheep. And finally—after eighty years of training—God called him from the burning bush. And were any of those experiences wasted? Not at all! God made Moses into a mighty shepherd who—for the remaining forty years of his life—led his people out of Egypt, through the desert, and to the Land of Promise. Or think of the apostle Paul. When he was Saul of Tarsus—before he came to Christ—he was a brilliant Pharisee and a scholar of the Scriptures. He was also an energetic persecutor of the church. But when Jesus came to him, were any of those experiences wasted? Not at all! Paul spent the rest of his life as an equally energetic missionary who brilliantly defended the message of the Gospel.
Jesus calls us from the experience of what we were, and uses those experiences to make us into what He wants us to be. I believe that, to some degree, He wants all of us to be “fishers of men”. But I believe that He particularized that call to these fishermen. He may, in the same sort of way, call carpenters to be “builders of disciples”, or nurses to be “healers of hearts”, or lawyers to be “defenders of the faith”.
Think of what He has given you to do in the past. And just know that Jesus wastes nothing; but calls us according to our experiences.
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That doesn’t mean, however, that He calls us to become something and then leaves the transforming work to us. I see next that . . .
5. HE MAKES US INTO WHAT HE CALLS US TO BE.
Look at those wonderful words of verse 17: “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (v. 17). Have you ever noticed what the command in those words is? It’s not to become fishers of men. That’s His work to bring about. Rather the call is to “Follow Me”. Literally, the meaning is, “Come behind Me.” It’s a call to get behind Him, keep Him in the front and in plain view, put our feet where He puts His, and go where He goes. And as we do our part, He does His. He Himself makes us to become fishers of men as we follow behind Him.
If I may say so, this is exciting to me! I tremble at the thought of making myself into a fisher of men! I don’t believe I could ever do it right. But you should know that I tremble at the thought of you making yourself into one too! But we don’t have to know how to do that. We’re not called to make ourselves into anything. All we have to do is follow Him; and He Himself will make you and me what He calls us to be for the service of His kingdom. It’s just as the apostle Peter wrote;
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear . . . (1 Peter 3:15).
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Now; it seems that all four fishermen had a successful and thriving business. But I suspect that James and John were involved with a particularly successful enterprise. And it wasn’t just they themselves who were impacted by the call of Jesus. It appears that they worked for their father; and that the ‘Zebedee & Sons Fishing Company’ was doing so well that they had to hire some employees.
That’s important to note; because Mark tells us that Jesus called called James and John, “and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him” (v. 20). We’re not told what arrangements Peter and Andrew had to make. We’re simply told that they left their nets in the middle of the work. Perhaps it was all theirs to do with as they wished; and they had no further obligations. But when it comes to James and John, it seems as if the fishing day was done; and that they left their father ‘holding the nets’. But notice that Zebedee wasn’t alone. We’re told that when Jesus called them, “they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him” (v. 20).
And I suggest that this at least implies another important principle about Jesus’ call . . .
6. HIS CALL UPON US TAKES OTHERS INTO CONSIDERATION.
He does not call us to the hurt of those who genuinely depend on us. I fear that some people abuse their sense of a call from the Lord and neglect their other responsibilities. But as the Bible tells us, our God is a God of order. I am grateful for the wisdom and the compassion of the Lord in the circumstances and timing of His call. His is a merciful call—not only to us, but to others we love.
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And finally, note that . . .
7. HIS CALL COMES WITH WILLING CONVICTION.
There’s a sense of eagerness in the response to the Lord’s call.
These disciples did not hesitate; as the Bible tells us that some did when Jesus said, “Follow Me.” Some wanted to be assured first that they will have a comfortable situation in following Jesus; but He said, “The Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nets, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). One man else felt too attached to his father; and Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God” (v. 60). Still another was still too attached to his household; and Jesus told him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). But when it came to Peter and Andrew, we’re told, “They immediately left their nets and followed Him”; and with James and John, we’re told, “they left their father Zebedee in the boat . . .” There was no hesitancy at all, it seems—just willing conviction! Jesus called; and they cannot but follow.
I believe the same thing will happen to us when we truly encounter the call of our Lord. There will be no question about it. We will rise up and follow where He leads. We will want to!
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If you are here today with the realization that you do not have a relationship with Jesus, then I hope you will hear the call that He has for you. That call is simply this: Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
But if you have already trusted Him and believed on Him, I pray that you will consider that He may be calling you today to step into a higher place of service in His kingdom’s work. I encourage you to take the story of these four fishermen to heart, learn the lessons that their experience teaches us about our Lord’s call, and heed Him faithfully when He says, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”