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 ...