Follow me or follow culture
M. Scott Coffman
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. 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. (Mark 1:16-18 ESV)
This is one of a plethora of examples in the Bible where context is everything. Just reading that passage by itself might make you say, “WHAT? How gullible are these guys? Was Jesus some kind of Pied Piper or something?”
Because it sounds like He was just going for a walk, saw these two guys, called them, and they came. Obviously, there’s more to it than that, but you must know where to look. So, here’s some background.
Simon and Andrew are brothers from Bethsaida, meaning House of Fish. They are working in a commercial fishing business in Capernaum, on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, where Andrew lives with Simon and his wife.
Andrew is also a disciple, or follower, of a radical new preacher known as John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah, the Anointed One of God who would redeem Israel.
One day Jesus shows up where John is baptizing. John recognizes Him at once and points Him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the world's sins. Naturally, word gets out about this event.
So, the next day, Andrew is there along with another disciple by the name of John, who recorded the events of that day in the Gospel that bears his name:
The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”
He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. (John 1:35-39a CEB)
After spending the day with Jesus, Andrew immediately gets Simon, convinced that he and John had found the Messiah. So how were they convinced in a single day? I’m sure it had much to do with what Jesus said to them, which the Bible didn’t record, but there is another reason.
Andrew and John recognized Jesus as the Messiah because they were EXPECTING the Messiah.
Indeed, all Jews in that day were, but most didn’t know what they were looking for. Many were hoping for a military leader to throw off the Roman occupation of Judea. These folks missed it completely when Jesus was in their midst. Indeed, many of them were among those who eventually had Jesus executed.
But John the Baptist knew that the Kingdom of God was another matter entirely. And he had done his job in preparing the way for those who had ears to hear his message, Andrew and John among them.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They don’t have any wine.”
Jesus replied, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My time hasn’t come yet.”
His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby were six stone water jars used for the Jewish cleansing ritual, each able to hold about twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water,” and they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some from them and take it to the headwaiter,” and they did. The headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine. He didn’t know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
The headwaiter called the groom and said, “Everyone serves the good wine first. They bring out the second-rate wine only when the guests are drinking freely. You kept the good wine until now.” This was the first miraculous sign that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. (John 2:1-11 CEB)
Jesus hasn’t even had a chance to start teaching or building into these guys who are following Him. His disciples have only just met Him and have literally not had time to do anything but get to this wedding, perhaps chatting a bit on the way. They really didn’t have any way of knowing for sure at this point what they were getting into.
But then, Jesus reveals His glory to His new disciples by changing the water into wine. From that point on, the fishermen were themselves hooked. Now go back to the passage at the beginning of Part 1, where Simon (now called Peter) and Andrew drop their nets to follow Jesus full-time. This event takes place A YEAR after the wedding in Cana.
So, Jesus wasn’t just walking along the beach casting hypnotic spells on ignorant and gullible people. First, they knew their scriptures well enough to know that a Messiah was coming. Second, John the Baptist had pointed them directly to Him. Third, they had seen Him perform a miracle firsthand.
By this time, Jesus had an established track record with these guys.
Luke 5 goes into much more detail than Mark 1 about what Jesus was doing at the lake that day. He wasn’t just walking along but teaching people at the water’s edge. Then He gets into Simon’s boat and has him take it out into the lake a bit, so He is better situated to teach the crowd.
Afterward, He has Simon go out deeper into the lake and let down his nets. This doesn’t make sense to Simon because they hadn’t caught anything all night. Nevertheless, Jesus already has enough of a track record with Simon that he does it anyway. This is what happens:
They did it and caught so many fish that their nets began ripping apart. Then they signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. The men came, and together they filled the two boats so full that they both began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this happen, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t come near me! I am a sinner.” Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised at all the fish they had caught. His partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised too.
Jesus told Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you will bring in people instead of fish.” The men pulled their boats up on the shore. Then they left everything and went with Jesus. (Luke 5:6-11 CEV)
They left everything. Think about that for a minute. Think of your job, your family, your house, your friends, your community—everything that makes your life what it is. Is there anything, or anyone, that could make you leave all of that behind you?
If you said no, then consider these words of Jesus:
Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Whoever is not willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life. (Matthew 10:37-39 NCV)
These fishermen were ready to become man-fishers. They were expectant, they were vigilant, and they were patient. And because of this, we are still talking about them 2,000 years later.
So, what about us? Are we ready? Are we willing to drop it all and go fishing? Does Jesus have enough of a track record with us that we would follow Him wherever He would have us go?
If your answer is yes, then it’s time to go fishing.
