I Will Make You Become Fishers Of Men

January 22, 2006

Epiphany 3B

Mark 1:14-20

[Mk 1:14] Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

[16] As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. [17] And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” [18] Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. [19] Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. [20] Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

Mark 1:14-15

The Time is Fulfilled

At long last, the hope of ages had stepped forth. The Living Word, carried in the womb of Judaism had sprung forth his wings into the encrusted crucible of Israel. In heaven, a mighty proclamation was sounded. On earth, a craftsman left his tools on a table and invited four fishermen to do likewise with their nets.

“The time is fulfilled [GSN4134 pleroo].” You might also use this term if you were going to say; “the long engagement is ended the groom has come for the bride.” It could also be used for a woman who, at the end of a long pregnancy, is finally having her baby. In addition, one might use it to say a debt has been paid or an indenture fulfilled (an agreement where a person or a family member would be sold into servitude until a debt or crime was repaid).

Who would have imagined that the “fulfillment” could only be attained upon the arrest of the great prophet, John? Instead, far more would have thought; “Is this how the mission of John ends? A refreshing word finally spilled into our lives after all these years of barren wind and he winds up arrested at the whim of Herod’s lust. What chance do we have if even our greatest voices are silenced by the most contemptible of kings? God has forgotten us.”

Yet, salvation could not come a day before it’s time. That would be like giving the bride her wedding ring during the engagement; it would never mean as much as when it was placed upon her finger during the wedding ceremony. Timing is critical in almost every aspect of life and joy is rarely diminished by waiting. We must trust to God’s timing in order to receive God’s fullness.

Are we aware of and willing to wait upon God’s timing? Would we be able to see the arrest of John as a sign that we were just “one step nearer” to the great fulfillment? Can I take the pain of my life and see it in such terms?

“Fulfilled”; it is one of the richest words of the New Testament and one of the greatest words to all mankind.

Mark 1:16-20

“For They Were Fishermen…”

Some people don’t have time for “common sinners”. Our culture (though predominantly claiming to be Christian) seems almost preoccupied on washing our hands of “sinners”; but also anyone who is too weak or feeble to care for themselves. We have institutionalized the economically unproductive and made a religious mantra of; “God helps those who help themselves,” (even though the statement is antithetical to the teachings of scripture). The joy of the Gospel is that God helped us because we were helpless. How much more then should we be called to the weakest among us?

In direct opposition to our culture, Jesus seeks out the “least likely” and makes them the most blessed. In this reading, we are given insight into the “choices” Jesus made in identifying his apostles. It is like a primer for being ready for the Master to find our neighborhood. We can use this to ask: Am I in the “right neighborhood?” Do I have the right frame of mind? Am I with the people that Jesus consistently sought out during his ministry?

1. He sought the least likely;

Were we advising God, we might simply tell Jesus that he should have simply appeared in Rome backed by legions of angels. He could have forced the paltry potentates of earth to pledge their allegiance to him (an invitation backed up by an unbeatable army of heavenly angels). Those who did not succumb would then be annihilated.

If men were advising God that is what we would have advised; “Speak softly and let your angels be your exclamation point.”

Instead, God sends Jesus to a weak and feisty people, too argumentative to rule themselves and too stubborn to accept the rule of anyone else. Israel’s belligerence undermined her ability to be a force for illumination to a weary world. How often has this happened throughout the ages; where self-pronouncing “religious nations” chose not a path of service but of dominance.

It was to the weary of the world that Christ was sent; to the most disenfranchised and disillusioned in the land.

We would be wise to seek Christ’s power in the same place for his character has not changed over the last few millennia. Just as it was in his day; the name of the Messiah may be pronounced and claimed by the most elite and resplendent but his power is evidenced in the freedom of the least of these.

2. He focused on a small inner group;

Jesus was not intent on gathering sheep for his pen (denomination); he was intent on making shepherds for the lost. He blessed the “shepherds” who were out healing in his name even though they weren’t among his own apostles. Similarly, he admonished his own apostles when they were unable to do the works of evangelism during his short absences.

Luke 9:49-50

49 And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder {him;} for he who is not against you is for you.”

Mark 9:14-19

14 And when they came {back} to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and {some} scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed, and {began} running up to greet Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?”

17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him {to the ground} and he foams {at the mouth,} and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out. And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not {do it.”}

19 And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” (NAS)

The Gospel is ultimately about “sending and going” not “watching and waiting”.

Acts 1:6-11

6 And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; 11 and they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (NAS)

Jesus knew he had a short time before the religious politicians of Jerusalem would cast their eye on him. So, he intensely devoted his teaching to preparing his own followers for lives of service. He made sure that those who left everything to follow him would be able to leave him behind to serve others. He had to raise disciples that knew that keeping Jesus was nothing compared to giving him and that, indeed, he is most received when given.

3. He honored his first commitments;

I believe there is a case for stating that Jesus followed God’s leads in accepting his disciples instead strategically picking potential leaders.

First of all, we find that—following his desert experience—Jesus heads north for Nazareth whereupon he is approached by two of John’s disciples. At least one was probably just a teen (John, son of Zebedee) and the other (Andrew) couldn’t have been much older than John. This seemingly “chance” meeting with two kids in the middle of nowhere becomes the foundation of Christ’s most intimate band of followers. At least seven out of all twelve disciples came from within miles of the home of those two boys.

Are we to believe that Galilee was a region so rich in leadership potential that seven of the world’s best leaders just happened to live there at the same time? Or, is it possible that Jesus just took whoever was willing to give their life to him and transformed them into the humblest of the meek? Eventually, their response of humble service was so blessed that they became light bearers “to all nations” (which truly means “to all races”).

The lesson here is that we don’t have to go far to change the world; what we need is an alluring vision that will focus people on changing their own neighborhood. We have no need of elaborate strategies or rituals to love those who (like John and Andrew with Jesus) stumble into our lives. We just need to be faithful to those brought before us each day and committed to those who are placed in our care. Jesus didn’t “stumble” upon extraordinary people who became leaders; he took ordinary people and made them into extraordinary leaders. He stopped and listened to the hungry cry of two lost teens who became leaders of an entire generation and generations to come.

“Immediately They Left Their Nets…”

The call of Christ to his followers was both immediate and complete. They did not say to Jesus, “I will give you a little attention when I have more time. To them, it was; “Here are all my things and here is all my time.” Jesus was deeply saddened for the rich, young ruler who could not make that commitment. But his sorrow doesn’t seem to be about “the punishment they would receive” if he didn’t gave his whole life to service; instead it was about the joy that he would miss by giving anything but a total commitment.

Mark 10:21-22

21 And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property.

Yet, we mustn’t misconstrue the call to follow Christ as a call to false asceticism. Sometimes Jesus feasted and sometimes his apostles and he picked remnants from the grain (as was the right of all the Hebrew poor after harvest [Mt 12:8]). His was a call to be free of all worldly encumbrances and to be available to God in every moment. Free of all encumbrances, available in all instances; that is call of the disciple.

“They Left Their Father Zebedee In the Boat…”

This is apparently not the only time Jesus called Peter (Simon), James, and John to follow him (see Lk 5:1-11 and Jn 1:35-42). Jesus even had to call them yet again after his resurrection. The sad thing is that—like the apostles—we too seem to keep going back to our old habits. The glorious thing is Jesus knows all our smelly hang-outs and he comes after us.

Jesus doesn’t condemn the disciples for casting their nets; he just shows them that only God can bring fullness to life. It is important for us to ask what pattern we pursue when we feel empty and afraid? Do I become prideful, belligerent; a know-it-all? Do I become depressed, or abuse substances, or seek sensual pleasure? Maybe I become a workaholic, alcoholic, or the town gossip queen. It doesn’t matter what my “fix” is because Jesus is willing to meet us there and softly tell us to; “Lower your nets on the other side.”

John 21:3-6

3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

5 Jesus therefore said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find {a catch}.” They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

7 That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped {for work}, and threw himself into the sea. (NAS)

Can you also see how Jesus, our King of Kings, never said to Peter; “Oh, it’s too bad you’re a fisher man, I have no place for you.” Instead he says; “I will make you fishers of men!”

He did not dismiss what they were, he blessed who they were and called them to a greater life; a deeper commitment. He took them out of darkness (the term for meaninglessness and obscurity) and gave them purpose and identity. Jesus doesn’t need to take a sinner out of a cell to make him a disciple but he does need to take “the sin” out of the prisoner. He can walk with us in persecution, but not in sin. The disciples knew better than to offer Jesus a partnership in fishing. In fact, when the fish are caught; Peter dives out of the boat and swims headlong for shore. The fish—and Peter’s sin—are left decomposing on the sea.

John 21:8

8 That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped {for work}), and threw himself into the sea. (NAS)

Am I still trying to offer Jesus a partnership in my reality instead of abandoning myself to his? “Sit in my boat Jesus, just think about how many smelly fish that we could haul into together!”

Our response to Jesus cannot be to invite him from the shore into our boat—but to dive from our boat onto his shore.

“And Went Away to Follow Him…”

Notice what James and John were doing when Jesus called them; they were mending broken nets—it was “down time.” In other circumstances, you see Jesus calling his disciples when the catch is poor and the day was long. Some might think; “Isn’t this a bad time to talk about God?”

The truth is; it seems that it is during the down times and the bad times which are the exact times when people are most likely to hear what God has to say; that is the perfect net-mending time.

Having worked in street ministry for a number of years, I always found that I could be friends with street kids and gang youth while they were on the streets—but I really could not impact their lives until they were either in jail, in detention or in the hospital. When things are going great; we seem take all the credit and forget about God. When things are going bad—that’s when we start looking for help.

Isn’t it grace to realize how, in this story, God responds to our hubris (our stubborn sin)? Nowhere in Christ’s life can we detect an attitude of; “Oh sure, now you need me; now that your life is going bad. Well, forget you; work out your own problems and then come see me.”

Instead our God says; “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” [Mt 11:28]

When things are at their worst, when times are slack and we are faced with a period of barrenness and doubt. That’s when we should look for the Lord. At that moment, he is standing right at our shoulders and asking; “Is this really want you want? Come, follow me instead and I will make you fishers of men. Follow me into the fullness of life.”

Copyright Notice

“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988. Used by permission.”

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