The theme of Mark 1:14-20 is summarizing the preaching of Jesus and the calling of the first disciples to join Jesus in delivering his message.
The theme of Mark 1:14-15 is that of providing a summary of the preaching of Jesus. The source is Mark. The good news is about God. Jesus calls for a response to the coming rule of God. We will note the temporal and spatial dimensions of the kingdom.
In context, Mark 1:12-13 has rehearsed the exodus experience of Israel in the desert in which the experience tests their faith in Yahweh, as in Deuteronomy 8:2. The difference is that Jesus relived the wilderness experience without yielding to the testing, while Israel failed its test. Mark has dismissed Satan. He has John arrested and in prison before the preaching of Jesus begins. He has set the stage for Jesus to begin preaching the gospel of God.
This text begins with a crucial "hinge" statement that moves the reader from Mark's prologue that includes and introduces the central people and events that together prepare Jesus for his public ministry. Mark 1:14-15 forms the threshold of the entrance of Jesus into the Galilean ministry, which is by far the most extensive portion of Mark's gospel.
In Mark, the rule of God is a reality of the near or immediate future. Indeed, appearance Jesus and the appearance of the rule of God are the same. Mark rarely defines the content of the preaching of Jesus. Where Mark specifies the message of Jesus precisely, it is the announcement of the rule of God. The tangible power of the rule of God is also apparent from the way others react to Jesus and his message.
Mark 1:14 firmly close the door on any active role for John the Baptist: 14 Now after John was arrestedJohn the Baptist's active role by revealing that the authorities arrested (παραδοθῆναι later translated as betrayed, delivered up, and handed over in 9:31, 10:33, 14:21, 41). The time of John is past. The time has come to focus one he prophesied would come. The end of the ministry of John reminds the reader of the fate awaiting Jesus. Jesus begins his public proclamation only after the imprisonment of John the Baptist.[1] Thus,Jesus came to Galilee, Mark letting us know that Jesus did not stay with John in the wilderness very long. The ministry of Jesus will be among the cities and towns of Galilee rather than in the wilderness. He will make Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum the center of his public activity. Mark describes the message of Jesus as proclaiming (κηρύσσων) the gospel or good news (εὐαγγέλιον) of God, which may explain why the early church used the term “gospel” for the comprehensive presentations of the Jesus tradition.[2]
The content of Jesus' proclamation is fourfold in Mark 1: 15. For some context, this summary of the content of the preaching of Jesus is like Isaiah 52:7. The prophet writes of the beauty of those who bring good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, and who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
The first part of the summary is that in the arrival of Jesus, we find Jesus proclaiming 15 and saying, “The time (καιρὸς) is fulfilled (Πεπλήρωται). God is the one fulfilling time in this way. Mark is not referring to chronos (extended time), but kairos (the right time for something to happen). According to Mark, the right time is after the arrest of John and the right place is the moment of the arrival of Jesus in Galilee. At this time, God steps into human history in a unique and decisive way. The time of John the prophet is over; the time of Jesus and fulfillment has begun. John predicted the coming of the One who would baptize with the Spirit. If the arrival of Jesus fulfills the time, it indicates that the ministry of Jesus will bring about the age of salvation anticipated by the prophecy of John. “Fulfilled” refers to a completion of the past, and thus a keen sense of continuity. Scripture, Law, and the purpose of the old covenant find their fulfillment in Christ. “The time you have been waiting for, the time announced by the prophets, is finally here! The glorious new day of the rule of God has just dawned!" We can see here a partial basis for saying that Jesus is Lord of time. In Matthew 13:16-17, this generation receives so much blessing from God because it has seen and heard Jesus. In Galatians 4:4, Paul refers to the fullness of time as being the moment when the Father sent the Son into the world. Ephesians 1:10 says that in the fullness of time, God is summing up all things in Christ. The promises and prophecies of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the arrival of Jesus. If the time finds its fulfillment, the fulfillment comes in a moment, an event, in the arrival of Jesus. This real event occurs as a particular event and a particular time, a center around which all other times will revolve. The time before has moved toward Christ. The time after Jesus moves away from this event. Humanity has time because Jesus had his time. We have the fullness of our time because we orient ourselves to and live in light of the time Jesus has. The purpose of our time after this decisive event is to allow space before the rule of God to repent and believe. Those who do believe have as their primary purpose to make known this event. They too must wait expectantly, even as the universe waits, for this last event.[3]
The second piece of the proclamation of Jesus: and the kingdom or rule of God has come near (ἤγγικεν). Jesus spoke of the rule of God as close or already present but hidden, and thus in a way that frustrates ordinary expectations. The central content of the message is the dawning of the reign of God, indeed in the sense that God has already entered upon that reign. Note the similarity of this message to the central theme of Jesus as identified by this verse, although in relation to its future Jesus saw the divine reign as still in the process of dawning.[4] It implies the irruption of the reign of God into history is imminent. Even if we translate that the rule of God “has come,” it would refer to God revealing it in moments like the resurrection. Until the full revelation to all persons comes, we can only pray for the coming rule of God. Yet, we can see the subtle notion of the presence of God when Jesus says that he casts out devils by the Spirit of God, then the rule of God has come upon them (Matthew 12:28). The salvation promised for the end is a present reality in the healings and exorcisms of Jesus. The rule of God is in their midst (Luke 17:21). Jesus even sees Satan falling (Matthew 11:12).[5] Scholars debate what this summary says. Does it mean the reign of God is about to arrive or that it is already here? These passages suggest the answer could be both. For Mark, the rule of God has both present and future dimensions. We have already seen this in John the Baptist's message. John announces Jesus' imminent arrival, and Jesus appears. As Jesus begins his public ministry, the rule of God lay in the immediate future. As the story of Mark's gospel unfolds, those who encounter the power of God through the words and works of Jesus experience the rule of God as present yet hidden; the fullness of the rule of God remains the object of prayer and expectant waiting, but is mysteriously present in the ministry of Jesus.
The third piece of Jesus' proclamation is the same message John preached - the call for people to repent (μετανοεῖτε). The prophetic theme of conversion is not prominent in the message of Jesus, even though this passage brings it to the fore as a theme of the preaching of Jesus. Yet, one could say that the summons to subordinate all concerns to seeking the reign of God in human life naturally implies very strongly a conversion to God. Conversion, for Jesus is not a precondition of participation in the reign of God. At the center of his message is the imminence and presence of the rule of God for believers.[6] To repent does not mean merely to turn away from a specific sin but turning toward God in faith and obedience. Repentance meant a complete about-face, a turning around of the mind, a changing of life and lifestyle, the taking of a radical new direction. The primary theme of the preaching of Jesus is that the rule of God has come near. This theme naturally leads into the call to hearers to turn around, to shift the direction of their lives, to look, listen and give their full attention to the arrival of the rule of God. Such repentance means complete re-orientation, both inward and outward, of the whole person to the God who truly has turned to humanity in time.[7] Such repentance implies genuine knowledge of oneself that includes our participation in sin.[8]
The final piece of the summary of the proclamation of Jesus is the call to believe (πιστεύετε) in the good news (εὐαγγελίῳ). In Mark, belief is trusting in the coming rule of God. It involves a letting go of the things to which we cling to for security and identity. Believe the good news that the rule of God is arriving. Where Jesus is, there the rule of God is actively at work. However, this truth is not self-evident. For one to see it, one must believe it. It involves a letting go of the things to which we cling to for security and identity. The call to believe is not an intellectual exercise, but a call to trust. To believe in the good news means to wager one's future on the reality of God's involvement in the world through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ, despite the skepticism of the modern worldview. In the work of Jesus, the call for conversion rests on the message of the inbreaking of the future of God in the coming of Jesus and for those who accept the summons in faith. The proclaiming of the presence of the rule of God and its salvation in those who in faith rely on its all-determinative future is now a motive for conversion to God on the part of the hearers.[9] Faith means the unquestioning trust in this God that is the positive side of this re-orientation; the new life that is the only possible life after this event in the time that follows it.[10]
While these two "hinge" verses may appear at first to form a straightforward gate into the next phase of Jesus' ministry, in many ways they reflect the paradox that Jesus' own human/divine identity embodied. The fact that the "time" is both "fulfilled," and yet not proclaimed as "here and now" but as "come near," highlights the tension that accompanies the arrival of the rule of God. It is both "now" and "not yet." The content and the consequences of the message of Jesus also seem to be at odds. On the one hand, Mark describes the proclamation of Jesus as "good news," yet, at the same time, this "good news" is such that it demands all hearing it to "repent." Indeed, the call to repentance precedes the call to faith, to "believe." The content of this "good news," therefore, would appear to be not all that "good" to most of us. John the Baptist's call to repentance was in anticipation of the arrival of God's messenger. The call of Jesus to repentance is more urgent. His declaration that the "time is fulfilled" makes repentance an immediate requirement, not some distant goal. The "Good News" of the reign of God thus demands that the hearers accept the "bad news" about their current condition and "repent" accordingly.
Mark 1:16-20 is a story about Jesus involving the call of the first disciples. The source is Mark. Many scholars consider this story “ideal,” in that it shows true discipleship as hearing the invitation of Jesus and leaving behind a former way of life to follow Jesus. The image of fishing for people is one that “fits” only some of the disciples, for the disciples came from a variety of professions. Some scholars think Jesus had no institutional goals, for his life was primarily that of an itinerant sage or teacher of wisdom. In what way does the episode have typical significance? Following on the part of the disciples does not distinguish them from the people who are sympathetic to Jesus, but the people, by following, belong together with the disciples. These features try to bring out the authority of the command and the completeness of obedience. The story is "ideal" in that it embodies a truth in a metaphorical situation. It condenses into one symbolic moment. Though it may not be "historical," it presents the impact of the call upon their lives by Jesus.
We might note that the image of fishing for people occurring in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 16:14-16
14 Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," 15 but "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them." For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors. 16 I am now sending for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
The image refers specifically to God's restoring the scattered Israelites to their land (albeit with punishing recompense for their misdeeds). The image is far less benign than the more common image of shepherding (even though the outcome for both types of animals, hunted or husbanded, is ominous for the animal), and one should not press the imagery too hard. Mark intended the focus of his statement to be on the dramatic difference between the old lives of the disciples as those consumed with worldly pursuits, and their new life as his followers engaged in the supremely important business of joining Jesus in proclaiming the good news of God. In other words, the important word in the verse is the noun "people," not the verb "fish."
I Kings 19:19-21 is the basis of the whole account.
I Kings 19:19-21
19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
The gospels continually emphasize the theme of renunciation. Jesus issues an authoritative call. Then, the person responds to the call Jesus issues without hesitation. Some people read this text as a contrast between the worldly occupation of catching fish and the spiritual occupation of fishing for people. Nothing suggests this contrast. Nothing suggests faith or understanding of the mission of Jesus. Responding to Jesus provides the disciples with no answers for their life struggles. If anything, their response will introduce new questions. Their response provides them with no security, but with rejection and even danger. The text demonstrates how even the simplest, most ordinary people could perceive the presence of the divine rule in the being of Jesus and change their lives through the encounter. As common as these anglers are, and in contrast to those in political and religious authority, they readily perceive the invitation from Jesus as one full of power and promise. Based exclusively on the power of Jesus’ personality and message, these first four disciples literally turn their lives around.
This story will remind us that Jesus is looking for one primary qualification for discipleship: a willingness to follow. A good disciple leaves the familiar and comfortable and embraces the uncertainty of following. A good disciple is one who leaves the familiar and seeks connections with people who do not share their race, religion, political party or ideology. Disciples are going to have to make sacrifices and face hardships. So how can you figure out which way to go? According to Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus, the process of discernment always aims at enhancing your participation in the work of God, and one performs it for the glory of God and for the healing of the world. I am sure you have heard the story of a man standing before God, heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. His prayer was simple: “Dear God, look at all the suffering and distress in the world. Why do you not send some help?” God responded: “I did send help. I sent you.”[11] Frederick Buechner famously said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's hunger meet." I urge you. Listen to your deep gladness. Feel the hunger of the world. Hear the call of God in your life.
Jesus was looking for people willing to let him disrupt their lives. Imagine Jesus walking into an office building, a factory or a grocery store and tapping a secretary, a welder or a checkout clerk on the shoulder saying, “Follow me.” Imagine the looks on the faces of the coworkers when the employee walks out, leaving the Plasterer file open, the doors of a new car un-welded and the groceries un-bagged. We have a tough time fathoming that kind of response. We like the idea of religious devotion to a cause, but only as far as it does not get in the way of our “normal” lives. Jesus will disrupt our lives.
Mark 1:16-20 addresses the matter of what hearing the call of Jesus and believing in this "gospel" really means to people of faith. Immediately after making this opening declaration, Jesus extends his first invitation to discipleship, to acceptance of and participation in the rule of God. "Invitation" may be too delicate a word to describe the call Jesus issues toward his future disciples. The abrupt introduction of this scene by Mark, presented with the simplest of grammatical connections, keeps the interaction in this "calling" scene to a bare minimum. In fact, the exchange is so stark that Jesus' "invitation" to discipleship is far more like a command than a request. The intended disciples in verses 16‑20 show no prior interest in Jesus or in his gospel message about the kingdom of God. Simon and Andrew, James and John are completely absorbed in attending to their normal workday lives when Jesus makes his unannounced appearance. Thus, 16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. It is wholly on his own initiative that Jesus extends the call or command 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and thus into a new life of in the discipleship of Jesus. The phrase repeats the ordinary form of an invitation that many learned rabbis offered to would‑be disciples or students. Thus, those he called recognized the kind of teacher-student experience Jesus offered them. The call Jesus extends first to Simon and Andrew is that he will make, which we might think of shape or train, them into those who fish for people. Clearly, this invitation to discipleship entails more than merely sitting at the feet of the rabbi/master and passively absorbing his wisdom. "Fishing" is demanding work. It can be both tedious and exhausting. Even today, commercial fishing ranks high on the list of "most hazardous" jobs. Boats, weather, water, equipment‑‑all can either aid the fisher or be instruments of harm, even death. Because the message he must spread is so important and the time for action has grown so short, Jesus calls these first disciples to a new, fully engaged, and consuming form of discipleship. This invitation to discipleship, to "fishing," is no less than a call to participate in the mission of Jesus. Instead of offering his disciples a place at his feet, Jesus offers them a place at his side, joining with him to proclaim the good news of the kingdom that is both present and yet‑to‑come. Even so, the response is immediate and radical: 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Peter and Andrew leave not only their daily work, but completely abandon their established livelihoods.
We are to imagine that Jesus continues walking along the sea. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. On analogy with the previous invitation, I like to imagine Jesus saying something like, “Follow me, and I will make you one who mends souls.” 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. James and John not only leave the security of their vocation, but they walk away from the safety of their family ties and support structures. We see the disruptive nature of the call of Jesus. The patriarchal structure of that culture would make such a decision an unusual and counter-cultural one. Making this decision without securing the permission of the father was a violation of the cultural code, not to mention an act that could put the welfare of the whole family at risk. For Jesus, however, the urgency of the rule of God means people must put aside normal expectations. For Mark, faithful readers will have their lives disrupted as they become faithful disciples and answer the call of Jesus While the call or command to "follow" proceeds entirely from Jesus, the action it inspires is impressively dramatic. The call of Jesus is so imperative that it demands no delays.
Considering the matter of Jesus calling people, we read of Jesus calling another disciple, Levi or Matthew. We can assume that Jesus called all the other disciples as well. I wonder if he tailored his call to the situation of each of them. To Simon the zealot, he might have said, “Follow me, and I will make you zealous for the rule of God, instead of a political and religious party.” In Mark, their calling has a direct connection with the beginning of the public proclamation by Jesus in Galilee. Jesus will need witnesses to see and hear. He will need some who have responded positively to his announcement of the nearness of divine rule. He will need some who repent and believe. They will accompany Jesus on his way through Galilee and later to Jerusalem. We discover they will lack understanding many times. Yet, they still accompany him. His calling suggests their commission to future speech and action in the name of Jesus. They attach themselves to him. Jesus noticed them from among the many and selected them. With no disrespect to what they had had been doing, they must surrender it all in order to follow him. Jesus calls them to follow him, but their calling to him includes a calling to bring the message of Jesus to other people. Their basic calling is to win people for Christ, although this calling will not have full clarity until after the risen Lord commissions them.[12]
Cecil Frances Alexander (1852) wrote a wonderful hymn that builds on this text. “Jesus calls us” over the tumult of the wild sea of our lives with a sweet voice, saying, “Christian, follow me.” She refers to our worship of this world, from which Jesus calls us, “Christian, love me more.” She invites Christians to hear the call and serve and love Him best of all. Fanny J. Crosby (1875) wrote, “All the way my Savior leads me.” Through my life, he has been my guide. From the perspective of eternity, we will look back and see that Jesus led us all the way. Mary Louise Bringle (2004) wrote that from the nets of our labors, the noise and confusion of city or seashore, Jesus summons us all. Its refrain is the encouragement that we will rise and follow, Christ before and beside us, loving pattern to guide us as we answer the call. We may be weary. We see the stranger and the neighbor. We hear words of hatred that cry out for challenge. We have moments of courage and see the need for justice. Like disciples before us, risking selfless compassion, Jesus summons us. Cesareo Gabarain (1936-1991) wrote that Lord has come to the lakeshore, looking for neither wealthy nor wise, but only that I humbly follow. Chris Tomlin wrote the praise song, “I will follow,” suggesting that if Jesus goes or stays, I will follow. Finally, the chorus “I have decided to follow Jesus,” says that there is no turning back. If none goes with me, I will follow. The world is behind me, the cross is before me, no turning back.
Mark 3:13-29 articulates the "mission" aspect of discipleship more fully. There the gospel writer notes that Jesus commands those whom Jesus calls to discipleship to be with Jesus continually and to preach the gospel. Jesus also gives them authority to cast out demons.[13] Underlying these marks of discipleship is the message that identifies true discipleship as true service (diaknoia). Although this text only articulates the basic "call" to discipleship, it does extend the command that Simon, Andrew, James and John "follow Jesus." Jesus himself, of course, became the epitome of servanthood, for the purpose of the incarnation itself is servanthood (Mark 10:45). All those, then, who would genuinely "follow" Jesus, follow his footsteps into a life of service to others.
After Jesus announces the rule of God, he calls people to enter it and to invite others to enter it, too. Mark offers us some details in this story - personal names, the Sea of Galilee, the nets, the boats, the hired servants, the casting, the mending, and the following. While these give us a sense of participation in the story, we know little about the men Jesus called. Did they enjoy their work? Were they prosperous or poor? Did the brothers have a good relationship with each other? What was the relationship with the father? While we may find this information interesting, it is not the point of the story. We find the point of the story in Jesus' authoritative command "follow me" and then in how the men responded.
In two successive encounters, Jesus appears to four ordinary men engaged in routine activities. He calls, and they follow. In the call and response, the rule of God arrives in the present. Where Jesus is, there is the rule of God. The presence of the rule of God is present in his word, and his reign appears in their action.
The literal meaning of "follow me" is "come (plural) after me." This nuance is important because it points to Jesus and not to the disciples. Jesus does not call these four anglers to save the world by their heroic performance, but to show subordination to Jesus and to bear witness to him. Likewise, Jesus does not call them into this service as individuals, but as a group. When we think of fishing, we think hook and line, but here Jesus is talking about net fishing. Although some small nets were thrown and retrieved by individuals, fishing was a team effort, not a solo venture. Jesus is calling followers to work together to capture people for the kingdom. Effective evangelism is a shared enterprise.
While we may not read this story with shock, there is much here that is countercultural. To the ancient reader, the summons to follow Jesus was an extraordinary disruption in a person's life. It might even seem offensive. Simon is a married man (1:30), responsible for support of his wife and children (unless he is widowed but see I Corinthians 9:5) and his mother-in-law as well. His family, friends, and community would have regarded his response to Jesus as irresponsible.
The call of God or our vocation is an invitation to come, and then to follow. We arrive and then we follow. We find, and then go on seeking. The call of God is a never-ending call into the unknown, toward an adventure of discovery, into the night, and into solitude. The call bids us to go further and further with Jesus. The calling is not to a static place, but a dynamic movement. Reaching Jesus means going on and on. The call of God is like the call to become an explorer. The invitation becomes an adventure.[14]
The fruit of conversion, which in this context involves repenting, believing, and following, is that God can use the one who responds for the healing of the world. We who follow Jesus today have the privilege of inviting others to follow as well. I came across this list of tips for reeling in disciples.[15]
*Be with people on their turf.
*Be real, be vulnerable, be honest.
*Be creative: Do old things in news ways.
*Be spiritual, not churchy.
*Be patient.
*Be ready for surprises.
*Be willing to step out of your comfort zone.
*Be on the lookout for where God is at work.
*Be praying.
[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 326.
[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 455.
[3] Barth (Church Dogmatics III.2 [47], p. 459-461)
[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 456.
[5] Barth (Church Dogmatics III.2 [47], p. 459-461)
[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 311.
[7] Barth (Church Dogmatics, III.2, [47], 461)
[8] John Wesley gives a long description of this self-knowledge in sermons 14 and 15.
[9] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 245.
[10] Barth (Church Dogmatics, III.2 [47], 461)
[11] --David J. Wolpe, in Teaching Your Children About God, (Harperperennial, 1995).
[12] Barth (Church Dogmatics, IV.3 [71], 588-9)
[13] (See Demetrios Trakatellis, "Akolouthei/Follow Me [Mark 2:14] Discipleship and Priesthood," Greek Orthodox Theological Review 30, [1985], 274‑275.)
[14] --Ernesto Cardenal, Love (Crossroad, 1981), 68.
[15] --On Mission, September-October 1999, 15.
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