Introduction
When I was studying I had a variety
of different jobs. Each year when school was out I would start a job. My first
job right out of high school was in a mattress factory. The next year my dad
talked to one of his friends and got me a job which I had for the next four
summers. It was working for Art Rempel installing glass. The very first day I
went with Harry Reimer and we had to caulk the expansion joints at Surgeon
Heights Collegiate. It was a cool and cloudy May 1 and most of the day I stood
around while he did the work and I moved his ladder.
One year I worked for Henry
Paetkau, a friend of mine, shoveling gravel in basements in houses that were
being constructed(this was before skid steers and you had to do it by shovel).
I remember that I worked at that job for about a month and then we went on a
mission trip. Just before I left he told me that I was just starting to be
worth something.
What kind of new jobs have you had?
What do you do on the first day of your new job? Whenever I have started work
at a new church, I have spent my first days getting to know what I have to do
and trying to get to know the people I will be working with.
Several weeks ago we began a series
of messages on Mark. In it we talked about the gospel which Jesus had come to
bring. In Mark 1:14 , 15 we noted that after John the
Baptist had been put in prison, Jesus began his new job by preaching the good
news of the kingdom. In Mark
1:16-45 we have some details of the early days of his ministry.
What was the first thing Jesus did? Tim Geddert says, “…the first order of
business in establishing God’s reign is the creation of a kingdom people.”
Jesus did that by calling to himself a group of people who would follow him and
learn from Him. They were called to be His disciples and as such they were to
learn from Him. As he began to minister, in their presence, they got to know
Him and they learned what it would mean to follow Him. In this chapter, we have
the call of the first disciples and we have an account of the early days of
Jesus’ ministry in which it began to become clear what it meant to follow Him.
As we examine these things, we also hear the call to be a disciple and learn
for ourselves what it means to be disciples of Jesus.
I. Discipleship
Jesus began his ministry in Galilee which was the area in which he had grown up. As
he walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee ,
he came upon two men who were fishing. He called to Andrew and Peter and
invited them to “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” The text says
they left their nets and followed him. A little further along the shore he came
upon James and John who were also fishermen. He similarly called them and the
text says that they left their father and the hired men and followed Jesus.
The call Jesus extended to them has
three parts. He invited them to follow Him; He promised that he would teach
them and make them into something new and the goal of the training was that
they would be involved in mission, or as He puts it, they would "fish for
people.” This call is similar to the call which He extended to all the
disciples in Mark 3:14 ,
which says, “And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with
him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message…” This is the call to be
disciples and it also extends to us.
A. A Call to Follow
The first call of discipleship is a
call to follow Jesus. In the case of both Peter and Andrew and James and John,
they understood it as a call to leave something. In the case of Peter and Andrew,
they left their nets and in the case of James and John, they left their father
and the hired men.
The call to follow Jesus still
involves these two aspects – leaving something behind and following Jesus.
Sometimes we are called to leave the world, sometimes we are called to leave
family and always we are called to leave sin. Following Jesus is a full time
occupation and that is why it involves leaving. We cannot give ourselves fully
to following our own personal pursuits and to following Jesus.
In the case of Peter and Andrew,
this leaving did not mean that they would never see their family again, or ever
get into a boat again. In fact, in this very chapter, we find that they are
back home again where Jesus ministered to Peter’s mother-in-law. But there is
an important decision that every disciple of Jesus must make and not just once,
but many times in life and that is, “Since I am following Jesus, everything
else must take second place in my life.” Geddert says, “Leaving everything to
follow Jesus is thus about priorities more than about actually abandoning
people and things. It is about putting kingdom matters first.” What do you need
to leave in order to follow Jesus? Are you willing to leave it?
The positive side is the invitation
to follow Jesus. As these four disciples left their fishing, they did so in
order to follow Jesus. Their immediate response to Jesus was truly amazing. Whether
or not they had some previous knowledge of the preaching of John the Baptist or
of Jesus or had been under conviction from God's Spirit isn't stated. What is
stated is that they left immediately to follow Jesus.
As they did so, they were
responding to Jesus. It seems obvious that they were not responding to sound
arguments or to an amazing miracle or to a persuasive sales tactic. They were
responding to Jesus because they wanted to follow Jesus. Somehow their hearts
were in the right place to recognize the divine authority in the voice of Jesus
and when he called they were ready to respond immediately.
Is our
heart in that place? Is it our desire to leave everything behind in order to
follow Jesus?
B. A Call to Be Changed
The call was also a call to be
changed. Jesus gave them the promise, “I will make you…” As they would follow
Him a profound thing would happen. They would observe Him to see what His
character was like, how He dealt with situations and how He lived. As they
observed this, they would learn what God was like and their lives would be
changed. As they walked with Jesus, He would teach them and they would learn
from what He taught them and their lives would be changed.
The promise to the disciples and to
all of us who are disciples is that as we follow Jesus, He takes the
responsibility to make us into something new. Jesus wants to change us. Being a
Christian is not only about knowing that we will make it to heaven. It is about
a life in which we begin to be changed so that we will be the kind of people
who fit in heaven.
How have we responded to the call
to discipleship? Are we resistant to the changes which Jesus wants to make in
us? Are we fighting against what Jesus wants to do in us? Are we making time to
observe Jesus and see what He is like so that we can also be like Him? We have
great opportunities to follow Jesus and be changed by Him. His Word is easily
accessible to us. We have lots of opportunities for Bible studies and learning
and growth and observing and following Jesus. In our church, we encourage
people to be a part of a small group because in them we have great opportunities
to encourage each other to follow Jesus. Are we taking the opportunities we
have or are we distracted by all the other stuff?
In your heart, do you desire to be
changed or are you comfortable where you are? Jesus has given us this great
promise, let us allow Him to change us!
C. A Call to Engage In Ministry
The call to follow Jesus also leads
to a call to be involved in ministry. Sometimes we look at this as if it
involves levels of achievement. At an initial level, we commit to believing
Jesus, but not necessarily to following Him. Then one day, we commit to
following Him, but we may not want to be changed too much. Later, when we have
opened our heart more we begin to allow Him to change us and when we have
really achieved a high level, we serve Him. But discipleship cannot be
separated like that. When we become Christians, we become followers of Jesus
and as followers of Jesus, we are being changed and as followers of Jesus we
are involved in ministry. There are no levels of involvement. That is why Jesus
councils people to count the cost. Being a Christian is an all or nothing
thing. Have we given ourselves to Him to follow, to be changed and to serve
Him?
As we have already noted, Andrew,
Peter, James and John immediately said “yes!” There was a lot left to learn.
They still would need to learn all that it would cost to follow Jesus. They
would learn how to minister effectively. They would learn to trust Jesus – and
as we will see in a future message, that was not something that came
immediately. But as they began, they set out in a direction. They left all to
follow Jesus. This is the response of a disciple. It was so for them and it
must be so for us.
II. Following Jesus
As these disciples began to follow
Jesus, what did they see? As we continue to look at the passage, we observe
Jesus at work. We see how He lived, how He reacted and what His priorities
were. We begin to see Jesus and as we see Jesus, we learn to follow Him in all
of these ways. As we read these stories, it is not just to satisfy our
curiosity about Jesus, but also to begin to see what He is like in order that
we may know what we should be like.
A. Godly Authority
Jesus and his four disciples went
to the city of Capernaum
What the disciples and the crowd
learned about Jesus that day was that He was one who had authority. Mark 1:27 summarizes this well
when it says, “They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What
is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits,
and they obey him.” The authority of Jesus was demonstrated both in how he
taught and in His power over the demon. The crowd immediately recognized that
when Jesus said things, it was not like when the religious leaders said things.
They recognized the authority of one who had been sent by God. They felt the
power of one who had the Holy Spirit indwelling Him. His authority was not
“smoke and mirrors.” It was not authority without power like that of a good
orator. It was authority that also had power as demonstrated when Jesus cast
out the evil spirit.
Jesus still rules with authority.
In fact, now He not only has the authority of being sent by God and the
authority of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, He also has the authority of the
only one who has conquered death. He has the authority of the one who has been
raised from the dead. He has the authority of the one who has ascended into
heaven and sits enthroned for all eternity.
What do we do with the authority of
Jesus? Does it not invite us to be amazed, as they were amazed? Does this
authority not call for us to follow Him? Does His authority not require that we
obey Him?
B. Prayer
Following the synagogue service,
they thought they might go to Olive Garden for lunch, but since it did not
exist, they went to Peter and Andrew’s home. But lunch was not ready because
Peter’s mother-in-law was sick and so not able to help with serving the Sabbath
meal. Jesus healed her and she began to serve them. We seem to have a picture
of a quiet restful afternoon at home, but it was not to stay quiet. In the
evening, after the Sabbath was over, many people brought those to him who were
sick so that they could be healed. They had been in the synagogue and had seen
what Jesus could do and people from all over the region came in order to have
those among them who were sick and demon possessed healed. By the time they all
left, it had been a full and exhausting day. Jesus had put out a lot of energy
in ministering to people, serving them and healing them.
Yet in spite of such an exhausting
day, Jesus got up early the next morning and left the house and went to a
solitary place, a wilderness place. He went there in order to pray. In his
gospel, Mark mentions three times that Jesus prayed. This is the first time.
The second time was in Mark 6:46 ,
just after the feeding of the 5000 and the third time was in the Garden of Gethsemane
Dowd says, “If even Jesus found it
necessary to pray, how much more should they (his disciples) do so.” Yet the
disciples never really caught on. In this story, Peter and his companions found
Jesus and their first comment was, “Everyone is looking for you.” They did not
see the necessity of prayer or the importance of solitude in the presence of
God. Even after three years of observing Jesus, they still had not caught on.
In the Garden of Gethsemane
Yet, the lesson is not lost
entirely. Mark recorded it and it stands as an opportunity for us to see Jesus.
What was He like? He took the time for solitude, for intimacy with God and for
prayer. If we are to follow Jesus, then surely it is critical that we also
learn this lesson from Him. Discipleship means being willing to follow the
example of Jesus by making prayer a priority in our life.
C.
Mission
Focus
When Simon and the others found
Jesus, they seemed rather demanding as they told him, “Everyone is looking for
you.” What were they after? I wonder if they didn’t think that they had come
onto the ground floor of an incredible and extremely successful venture. Within
a short period of time, perhaps just a few days, they had seen Jesus teach with
authority, cast out demons, heal the sick and become so popular that the whole
region of Galilee crowded into their house.
What a thrilling ride that must have been! By telling him that everyone was
looking for him, they were affirming his popularity and probably quite tickled
about it.
But Jesus puzzled them and perhaps
us when he responded, “Let us go somewhere else…” What was He thinking? We
would say, “Don’t mess with success!” We might suggest, “You have a good thing
going, why not do all you can to keep it going.” But Jesus had not come to be a
success. His focus was not popularity or even meeting every need in Capernaum
As the disciples followed Jesus,
they began to learn that Jesus was focused on His mission. He knew why He had
come and He was not about to be distracted from that purpose.
Following
Jesus means being focused on the mission He has given us. First of all, that
means living a life of service. Why are we on this earth? Our lives would
sometimes suggest that we are here to enjoy life as much as possible or to be
comfortable and have a good job and a nice house. But if we are following Jesus,
the example of Jesus would suggest that we are on earth for His mission.
Following Jesus as we examine this
story also invites us to think about our involvement in service. Why do we
serve? What is our motivation – because it is cool to do so? - Because people
admire us? - To carve out a kingdom for ourselves? Or is it because we are
servants of Jesus who know the job He has given to us and are committed to
doing it faithfully?
As the disciples followed Jesus,
they learned that Jesus was on mission. Are we?
D. Compassion Motivation
As they travelled about in these
other areas, Jesus was met by a man who had leprosy. In that day, leprosy was
not as clearly defined as it is today. Many different skin diseases were
identified as leprosy, so it is possible that even something like eczema was
identified as leprosy as well as the more serious forms of the disease. As a
result, it wasn’t even always the disease that was so terrible. What was
terrible was that if you were identified as a person with leprosy, you were
immediately stigmatized. You were condemned as unclean. You could not live with
other people, you could not go to the temple and everyone would try to avoid
you. It could be a debilitating disease, but even worse, it was socially
devastating.
This man came to Jesus seeking to
be cleansed from his leprosy. He asked Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make
me clean.” As he came, we can imagine the scene. A whole crowd was around
Jesus. The disciples were watching His every move. As this unclean man came upon
the scene likely the crowd and probably the disciples made a wide circle around
him to avoid coming anywhere near into contact with him. But Jesus was
different. Mark reveals the heart of Jesus when he says, “Filled with
compassion…” Jesus did not avoid the man. He did not walk quickly away. He was
moved from the very depth of His being with compassion for the man and a desire
to care for him. Jesus did not do what everyone else in the crowd was doing.
Everyone else was desperately trying to avoid touching him. Perhaps they were
even rude. Perhaps they were tripping over each other in order to get away. But
Jesus did the very opposite of everyone else. The text says that Jesus did the
unthinkable! He “reached out his hand and touched the man.” Jesus was not
afraid to be defiled. He reached out, with compassion and touched the man and
healed him.
What a profound impact this must
have had on the disciples. In this instance, as they watched Jesus, they saw
something very important about Jesus and something very important about being a
disciple. Compassion moves us not to fear those who are unclean, but to reach
out and help them. That is why it is Christians who have opened leprosy
hospitals. That is why Christ followers have become involved in things like AIDS
ministries. Following Jesus means following His example of serving all with
compassion. Are there some we are avoiding or are we learning to follow Jesus
as we serve with compassion. Who are the outcasts who need our love? Who are
those whom everyone else avoids, but who need our compassion? Who are the
newcomers who need a friend? How do we treat those from other races or other
backgrounds? Are we open to the other among us? If we are disciples of Jesus,
we will learn what compassion means in all of these areas.
Conclusion
Geddert points out that “Chapter 1
opens with the Judean crowds flocking to John in the desert. It closes with the
Galilean crowds flocking to Jesus in the desert.”
Are we flocking to Jesus? What can
be better than following Jesus?
We have been invited to be
disciples – to follow Jesus, to be changed by Him and to serve in His name. As
we follow Jesus, we see that He has authority over our lives. Do we submit to
that authority? We see that He gained strength by seeking His Father in solitude
and prayer. Do we see the importance of prayer? We see that He was focused on
mission. Do we exist to serve Him? We see the compassion with which He served.
May we also serve with that kind of compassion!
May we continue to grow as
disciples, that is to look to Jesus, to learn from Him and to follow Him!
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