Do you follow anyone? That term has come to have a new meaning in the last 20 or so years. If you ask that question to someone today, they will most likely think that you are referring to Social Media, where you can decide to follow someone’s Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or other Social Media site. Most of us follow one or more people, keeping up-to-date with everything they have to say. Perhaps after a while, for whatever reason, we might choose to “unfollow” them, and we no longer receive their information in our inboxes. Before the days of the Internet, the term “follow” meant to go or come after or behind someone or something. It still has that meaning today, but when most people hear the word “follow” today, they think of the Internet meaning. In our Scripture for today from Mark’s Gospel, we see where several fishermen were called away from their jobs to follow another. What did that mean to them? Let’s see.
As our Scripture begins, we read that John the Baptist had been put in prison, and Jesus had returned to Galilee to begin His ministry there. There He began to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (vs. 14). The word “gospel” basically means “good news”. Jesus has good news for us. Don’t we all want and need to hear that, especially in this day and age? It’s important, though, that the news we hear is trustworthy, that it is something we can believe. Over the last few years we have heard the term “fake news” thrown around a lot, often with one politician or political party accusing the other of putting out “fake news”. Who can you believe? Jesus gives us good news, words, and a message that we can trust. The message from God’s Word, the Bible, is not “fake news”!
The first message that Jesus gave upon returning to Galilee was one of repentance and faith (vs. 15). Repentance and faith are the required response to God’s offer of salvation. We might not think that repentance is very good news, however, having a genuine remorse and contrition for our sins against God will bring us to a point where we will believe in salvation through the shed Blood and death of Jesus for us. Everyone needs to repent, to turn from their sins, and turn instead to righteousness, not just outwardly, but with the heart. Along with repentance must come believing, putting your trust in Jesus and His message.
It was at this point that the Lord Jesus saw four men, all fishermen along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter, and James and his brother John (vs. 16-20). Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist before, but had returned to Galilee to resume his job as a fisherman. Jesus called each of these men to follow Him. This calling to follow wasn’t to just tune in and listen to a few of His messages and teachings now and then, like when we check in online with someone we “follow” on Twitter or YouTube to see what they are saying. Plenty of people throughout Galilee and Judea would catch a teaching or parable of Jesus now and then. If there would have been such a thing back in those days, they would have hit the “like” button, but they weren’t real followers. A number of these folks may very well have made a further commitment later and gotten saved.
The “follow Me” request that Jesus called out to these four men was a lot more than that. Jesus was calling for these men to leave their former way of life and to become His disciples, those who would learn from Him, learn His message and teachings, and then go out and teach others. This was following with a major commitment. Following someone online has no real commitment. We can check on them and what they say today or not, depending on if we feel like it, or have the time. The only effort given is a few clicks on our computer, and that’s it. Jesus wants more than a few clicks from us.
Evangelism was the primary purpose for which Jesus called the apostles, and it remains the central mission for believers today. We are all called to be fishers of men. Jesus calls you and I to follow Him. Following someone online doesn’t cost us anything. There is a price, though, to follow Jesus. It can cost us our friends, our family, sometimes a job, or even our life. Are we willing to pay the cost of discipleship? Are we willing to follow Jesus?
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