Called to Follow
Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Series Introduction
What were the important events in your life that shaped who you are today?
Who are the people without whom you would not be who you are today (mom, dad, grandparent, spouse)?
How would you tell the story of those events?
Mark’s Gospel:
Written by John Mark? writing down the stories of Peter
Earliest Gospel as early as 20yrs after Jesus left the Earth
Ch 1-8 - in Galilee - Who is Jesus?
Ch 8-10 - on the way - How is Jesus the Messiah?
Ch 11-16 - Jerusalem - Jesus becomes King
Mark 1:1 (ESV)
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
beginning = arche = genesis
of the gospel = “good news” = euangelion
(not the end of the good news - just the start)
Jesus Christ - the Messiah
Son of God - Bold claim
We are going to follow Peter’s journey with Jesus through the Gospel of Mark to discover the making of a disciple. In the process, we will also discover things about Jesus that shape us as we also follow him.
Structure of this scene in Peter’s life:
v16 - Life as usual
v17 - Jesus calls Peter and Andrew
v18 - Peter and Andrew follow
v19 - Life as usual
v20a - Jesus calls James and John
v20b - James and John follow
Mark 1:16–22 (ESV)
16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
John the Baptist
Jesus baptized
Jesus’ temptation in wilderness for 40 days
1:14 - John arrested - Jesus comes to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Follow me - This is what rabbis would say to their students
18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Bold response - bold but not blind - we’ll talk about that in a bit.
19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Probably a family business
had servants so business was good
21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Capernaum is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee
What we learn about Jesus and what it means to follow him:
Jesus calls you to follow him. He doesn’t ask if he can follow you.
Jesus calls you to follow him. He doesn’t ask if he can follow you.
Jesus enters into the daily life of these men, and he doesn’t ask if he could have some of their time - if they’re not too busy.
Jesus doesn’t tell the men, “Keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll be here as you can fit me in.”
He calls them to follow him. He’ll set the direction. He’ll determine the pace.
Follow me. Notice to become a follower of Jesus is to have real faith.
Jesus did not say listen to me and respond with a hand raised or listen to me and say or repeat the prayer after me.
He doesn’t ask you to walk down an aisle, put your name in the front of a Bible, he doesn’t ask you to follow a set of rules first or to acknowledge a set of theological truths.
His call is to follow him.
Have you responded to Jesus’s call for you to follow him? To be sure when you follow him, when you respond to the call, there may be a cry out to God in prayer, an external statement that you do believe in Jesus, a moment in time that you can identify that your life changed, and your actions will be markedly different but they flow from the call. They don’t create the call.
The first step of discipleship for Peter was to answer the call to follow Jesus - no matter the cost and whatever the change.
Another group that are often a part of the events that we see in Mark’s Gospel but less talked about - the religious crowd.
(**Crowd is mentioned more than 80 times in the Gospels)
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
The religious crowd are those who see Jesus and are interested (but certainly not fully devoted)
They enjoy being in proximity to Jesus and his disciples (they are not sure they would be considered one of Jesus followers)
There is a difference between being in proximity to Jesus and being in relationship with Jesus!!
There is a difference between attending church and being a part of the church - the faith family.
They often receive the benefits of being near Jesus - being splashed by the blessings given to his followers - the miraculous bread, but are unwilling to accept all that the bread of life requires. John 6:64-66
John 6:64–66 (ESV)
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples [crowd] turned back and no longer walked with him.
Jesus doesn’t call us to follow the crowd, he calls us to follow HIM.
Answering the call to follow Jesus is the foundation of your faith - it’s the foundation of discipleship.
Stop trying to deconstruct your faith and make sure that your faith is constructed on the answering of the call to follow Jesus if you follow Jesus and walk with those who follow Jesus, it will be very clear who the religious crazies are and you won’t need to deconstruct your faith because you’ll have a solid discipleship built on the foundation of Jesus and his Word.
Jesus calls you as you are. Following him changes you.
Jesus calls you as you are. Following him changes you.
I will make you become fishers of men
Jesus did not require Peter or the others to change before he called them. Jesus called them knowing following him would inevitably change them.
Jesus is not expecting you to change or act a certain way before you can submit your life to him and follow him as your Lord.
Jesus calls you as you are.
Peter and the other disciples had no idea what was in store for them when Jesus called them.
If they had asked for a summary of what would happen over the next three years, they probably would have gone back to fishing.
If Jesus would have told Peter that in a few short years he would see miracles, walk on water, multiply meals, see the dead raised to life, an meet Moses, Peter would probably have laughed.
If Jesus told Peter he would one day continue the movement of the Kingdom of God that Jesus initiated through his death and resurrection, that Peter would lead this fledgling church to grow by thousands, and that his story would affect people thousands of years later, I doubt Peter would have believed him.
What if Peter had said, “NO?”
But it was not about Peter’s understanding of the future or belief in his own skills and abilities. What made it possible was that HE FOLLOWED JESUS!
Where does Jesus want to take you?
Following Jesus will change you! (or at least it should)
Probably the hardest place to follow Jesus is into personal change - into sanctification - becoming more like him.
Forgiveness
Dealing with past hurts
Dealing with anger
If Jesus hasn’t changed you, does Jesus really have you?
“we’ll head to Capernaum in a bit, the weather’s nice, we’ll just throw out a line and see if the fish bite.”
The gospel is - I WAS . . ., THEN JESUS . . . , NOW I AM . . .
If you cannot point to changes Jesus has made in your life then perhaps you need to first ask if Jesus is IN your life - have you actually responded to the call of Jesus to drop your own expectations for your life and follow him with everything.
My aim in this is not to create a fear or uncertainty concerning the security of your salvation, it is to create a self introspection - to ask the questions of yourself rather than assume they are always for someone else.
ILLUST - the moment you had assumed you had your wallet / keys as you leave the house, but then you have a flash of fear that perhaps you had forgotten them. You check, and they are still there. Wasn’t that check a good thing even if you had them? You don’t need to keep checking, but a check is good - especially if you HAD forgotten them. Better to check before you leave.
People will not find themselves in hell because they had a fear of hell, they will find themselves in hell because they were complacent about it - because they assume proximity to Jesus is the same as a relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Jesus calls you regardless of the cost. Drop your net.
Jesus calls you regardless of the cost. Drop your net.
They responded despite the cost.
The call of Christ is not a call of convenience (it WILL be inconvenient). It’s not a call toward comfort.
Following Jesus cost Peter and Andrew their identity - They were not fishermen first, they were disciples first.
Are you willing to give up your identity to accomplish the mission God has for you?
EX, me working at the garage but not a pastor - was I willing to follow Jesus even if it meant not having the identity of a pastor
Following Jesus cost James and John relationships
Doesn’t mean they will lose their father but the relationship will change.
There will be change, there may be difficulty, but there will absolutely be purpose and meaning.
Following Jesus is worth the cost.
If you’re decision of whether to fully submit and follow Christ is based on what you might lose, then you do not yet understand what he is really worth!
ILLUST - Not sure I want to give up my bicycle for a Corvette.
Luke 5:1–11 (ESV)
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Peter recognized he could follow the fish or follow the Maker of the Fish.
You can follow money or the Provider of all things
You can follow people or the Creator of all people
DROP THE NET
How ridiculous it would have been for Peter to follow Jesus while dragging a fishing net behind him, like a sea-faring Linus!
Jesus doesn’t need a safety net!! Neither do you when you truly follow him.
You can’t follow Jesus while dragging the net!
What are you still holding onto from your life before Jesus?
What’s your net?
It’s comfortable
It’s safe
It’s convenient
What would it take for you to drop your net to follow Jesus?
Conclusion:
WHEN should you respond?
Immediately - used three times in our passage.
what does God need to do before you’ll move?
What questions does he need to answer before you finally submit to him your whole life?
What goodness does he have to show you before you trust him with your children?
How many times does he need to nudge you before you step into baptism come to the altar or dedicate your child?
Jesus is worth immediately.
Jesus works through immediately.
Jesus provides through immediately.
Jesus wants your immediately.
Jesus deserves your immediately.
Respond immediately.