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Matt Henry

Mark 1:14-20

24 Jan 2021

“A Perfect Cast”

God’s grace and peace to you, dear friends in Christ,

Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Mark 1 is a part of Scripture where I’m equally amazed by what Jesus says as by what He doesn’t say. There’s no timeline, no explanation, no details really. He doesn’t say, “Follow me and I’ll give you eternal life.” Instead He promises that if these men will follow Jesus, He’ll change them and cause them to change others. It wasn’t their first encounter, but still, the drama of this moment, is that the two sets of brothers Andrew and Peter, James and John immediately left their nets and followed him. Doesn’t that captivate you? It’s the beginning of a true movement. This is the adventure of discipleship. I suppose the first thing we have to figure out is this adventure just for the fishermen back then or does Jesus promise this for all who follow Him today? The beginning of Jesus’ ministry gives us a chance to look at his message and his methods. The Lord Jesus is a man on a mission. So we’re going to really look at those words closely today and what it means for us as followers of Jesus who are caught up in the movement that Jesus began long ago.

In order to have a movement, there has to be a cause and an objective. The goal of discipleship is to become like Jesus and help others do the same through the power of the gospel. That’s the goal of our movement. But a movement also has to have resistance, something to struggle against. A movement has to be willing to take on that resistance. As I was tracing out how Jesus began his ministry, I noticed that little detail about John that Mark doesn’t explain until later. Verse 14, “Now after John was arrested…”. There was resistance from the beginning. Herod Antipas had John arrested. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee.” And it just occurred to me, wait a second, Herod was in charge of Galilee. He’s taking on the resistance, by going on offense by “proclaiming the gospel of God”. Jesus is gospel-driven. “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” His opening message is clear, it’s specific, it’s also timeless. His message does not wear out. God’s kingdom had arrived in the person of Jesus Christ and still, the only way to get in on it is to repent and believe the gospel.

So we’ve got a leader, we’ve got a message, we’ve got resistance, now, if we’re going to start a movement, we need people. So Jesus starts calling fishermen who were cleaning their nets and mending their nets. These are circular throw nets they would have used. Nets aren’t the kind of the thing you just dropped if you’re a fisherman. That’s against protocol. The same feeling you have about extension cords or garden hoses, being wrapped the right way, take care of your gear, right? Nets had to be picked cleaned and dried in the sun daily; otherwise, nets wouldn’t last. Now they drop their nets because they have no need for them. And this is where their net loss becomes a net gain. Mark 1 is one of those texts where you can see Jesus as the one who is really casting his net—by inviting these fishermen to become fishers of men. In other words, he’s going to take the concept that they knew and loved and elevate to a level of higher significance for the kingdom of God.

“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.” It’s the perfect cast of people. Fishermen know failure but they also keep trying. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” So let’s look at these words because the invitation is the definition of what it means to be a disciple. There are three parts: head, heart and hands. And this is why we have those questions after each sermon—because through the Word, Jesus changes what we think, what we believe and what we do.

“Follow me”…this involves the head. That is to say, what we think, who we listen to, who we obey. We submit to His authority over us. We take our cue from Him, not just as example, but to think like He thinks, to conform our minds to His as much as possible. “Follow me” is an invitation to know the Lord and learn from Him. He knows what He’s doing and where He is going. And isn’t this important? We’re not invited to follow doctrine. We’re not invited to follow an agenda. We’re not invited to follow a personality. We’re invited to follow the person of Jesus Christ. “Follow me”…

“I will make you”…this involves the heart. This is the promise of changing us. We can’t follow Jesus and stay the same. He is always bringing about transformation. What’s so great about this promise is that He’s the one that does it. Jesus doesn’t say, “Change your ways now, and then we’ll talk about it.” No, Jesus promises to accomplish something new and marvelous. These brothers don’t know what it means, they’re not there yet, but this is where the journey begins. “I will make you”…

“Fishers of men”…this involves the hands. We’re invited to participate in something meaningful, the mission of Christ which is to draw more people into the kingdom, into relationship with Him, through the Gospel. It’s about sharing our lives with people, bring in relationship with others, serving and connecting. We see our everyday life and vocation as an opportunity for God to use us to accomplish His will. Our hands are for His service. This is our purpose in the kingdom. And I want you to have some honest reflection on this because it’s important. Is one following if he isn’t fishing? We want to make sure we’re fishing often. Of course, there’s some technique we learn the more we do it. Maybe there’s a secret to discipleship.

Two men went ice fishing. They were fishing out of the same hole in the ice. One guy wasn’t getting any bites at all. But the other, he was pulling fish out just as fast he could, catching one right after the other. The first guy was just amazed and he asked, “I can’t believe how many fish you are catching. What are you doing that I’m not doing?” And the second guy said, “Mfrhmfhrhr.” “What did you say?” And he said, “Mfhfhfhmfr.” He said, “Man, I can’t understand you.” Finally the second guy went, “Blah! You’ve got to keep your worms warm.”

Hey, what’s the secret when it comes to catching people? What’s the trick? The secret is the Lord Jesus does the work! It just takes someone willing to come alongside another person where there’s a solid relationship of trust and respect. Actual friendship. That’s what the Lord uses. And that person that prays first, just as Jesus did before He chose His disciples. And he says to a friend, “Hey, I have realized that I can’t follow Jesus without bringing other people in on that. So do you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus? It would mean we spend some time in the Word together, talking about real life stuff, and then eventually, I want you to do the same with others.” Notice that has the same components there of head, heart, hands.

We don’t have circle nets, but we do have what’s called circles of influence. We have relationships. That’s how we catch people. Relationships are the nets. The good news is you are perfectly positioned to reach these people in your life right now. All that is required is a relationship because you can only disciple people you spend time with. You don’t have to go anywhere. God has you right where He wants you because these people are all around you. This is the perfect cast of characters in your life and God loves each and every one of them. He wants them to know Him, love Him and serve Him. And you have the opportunity over time, and as the Spirit leads, to show what that looks like.

So in the circle of influence, there’s the home—not that we’ve been spending any time there lately! But discipleship is really a family function because that’s where we spend most of our time. However, in theory, we actually do get out every now and then. We have friends, we have neighbors, there are schools, places of work, places of business, hobbies, recreation, coffee shops where you actually sit down and talk. In all these places, we look for where God is already at work in people’s lives. Our privilege is to invite people to something greater, just like Jesus did.

Are disciples caught or taught? The truth is, it takes both. We have to have good teaching, but we have also to have the relationships in place where we model it and show it. There are all kinds of causes in this world. We are part of the movement—it’s the only movement in the world that actually matters for eternity. We face resistance, sure, but we have the mission. And we have a Fearless Leader. Don’t just get taught up in it! Get caught up in it! You are part of His perfect cast!

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Head (what?)

What does it mean to “follow Jesus”?

How does one become a “fisher of men”?

What is the purpose of calling disciples in the first place?

What do you think it was about Jesus that made the disciples immediately follow Him?

Heart (so what?)

When did Jesus call you to follow Him? How did you respond?

What person did God use to lead you to Jesus? How did they do it? Can you use the same technique to lead others?

Why is change an important part of following Jesus?

Hands (now what?)

Who is in your circle of influence?

How can you be an example to your neighbor in following Jesus?

What is God calling you to do to deepen your relationship with Him?

What role does discipleship play in following Jesus together?