Mark, in his gospel, wants us to see how the gospel touches every kind of person in every type of situation, different people in different places. The text says, ”He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ”Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
You can feel the urgency, the immediacy, and the conviction, of these men. When Jesus called these fishermen the story could have ended very differently. They could have scratched their heads and discussed the pros and cons with each other, their families and neighbors. They could have told Jesus, to let them think about it for awhile, thinking something better might come along. But when Jesus called these fishermen there was none of the above, they didn’t question his call, they didn’t think about it, they didn’t consult their families, they didn’t see if anything better would come along, they simply followed him.
When Jesus calls he does so with a sense of urgency, with a sense of immediacy, with a sense of conviction, and with a sense of commitment. He desires that we will turn our entire lives over to him. Thats his plan! He wants to be the Lord of our lives! As we continue with the “Story to be told” we will consider how Matthew frames Christs’ teaching about what it means to “follow me”.
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