Tag Archives: fishermen

MARK’S GOSPEL…THE SERVANT’S FOLLOWERS -5

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The Servant was a rabbi. A rabbi must have disciples.

Mark 1:16-20 NIV
[16] “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” [18] At once they left their nets and followed him. [19] When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. [20] Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”

Mark 2:13-14 NIV
[13] “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. [14] As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”

Of the many who trailed after this unusual, authoritative, and charismatic rabbi, Jesus selected His final group of twelve after a night of prayer…and they were certainly not the “who’s who” of the religious world!

Mark 3:13-19 NIV
[13] “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. [14] He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons. [16] These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), [17] James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), [18] Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Why, Jesus? Why such a motley bunch?

Why not those who were already schooled in the things of God? Why not those who were familiar with the opinions of the rabbis with authority? Why not those who were schooled in debate and had formed their own ideas about God, themselves, and the world? Why not men who had the whole Tanach at their fingertips, committed to memory from childhood and ready to draw from at any time?

Exactly! Jesus had no interest in those who were already cemented in their religious opinions. He needed raw, fresh, unmolded clay… guys who would be open to truth, ready to receive the kingdom without the clutter of religious notions gathered from people without the Spirit.

Jesus wanted disciples who would, first, love Him, then believe in Him, and be loyal to Him even if it meant suffering. This was not about doctrine. This was, about a person… Jesus, God’s Son and Servant, who would become to them everything He was, did, and taught.

How different from the rabbis of His day whose model was, “Do as I say,” more than “Do as I do.”

So, Jesus’ method of training was simple.

Mark 3:14 NIV
14] “He appointed twelve that they might be WITH HIM and that he might SEND THEM OUT to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons.”

Jesus had a mission to fulfil so important, so far-reaching, and with such eternal consequences that He needed followers who would faithfully imitate Him in life and practice, and teach others down the generations to do the same.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV
[1] “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [2] And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Jesus’ choice of followers, who would live and walk intimately with Him for years, learn who He was, what He thought, taught, and did, as closely as they could, was unusual. He chose fishermen, not scholars… young guys, not well seasoned students of Tanach…rough, unrefined peasants, not sophisticated boffins.

He also chose political rebels, a hated tax collector, hot-heads like James and John, riff raff from the outskirts of society, smelly fishermen.. and slowly but surely, He molded and welded them into a unit of men just like Himself…after Pentecost.

His mission was decisive and specific…

John 17:6-9, 11 NIV
[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. [9] I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
[11] I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so THAT THEY MAY BE ONE as we are one.”

What a tall order! Was this ever possible with such an unruly bunch?

Jesus was patient, persistent, often frustrated, sometimes even angry at their unbelief, but He never gave up on His purpose, knowing that they would become what He desired them to be when the Holy Spirit came. He wanted men who would believe in Him, love Him, and be sold out for Him.

So… He taught, demonstrated, and gave them opportunity to practise what He taught them so that, empowered and unified by the Holy Spirit, they would be fully equipped to continue where He left off.

Jesus was no ordinary rabbi. He was God’s Servant and Son, sent by the Father to restore God’s rule in the hearts of those who would believe in Him. How imperative, then, that His followers understand His yoke, commit fully to passing on His teaching intact and uncorrupted, and model what He taught through the power of God’s Spirit in them as He was in Jesus.

On the eve of His departure to the Father, He commissioned them to go, empowered by His Spirit, into a hostile world to be to the world what He was to them.

Acts 1:8 NIV
[8] “… You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus differed from us in one thing…He saw the finished product and kept in mind what His disciples would become rather than what they were. He fully trusted the Holy Spirit who would be in them, to complete the work He had begun. We see the “now”. He saw the “then” and worked steadily towards the pre-determined end.

As with them, so also with us. Whatever we are now is part of the process. What we shall be in God’s perspective, when Jesus returns is already complete.

1 John 3:2 NIV
[2] “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Armed with this assurance, Jesus was committed, with patience and determination, to mold unworked clay into vessels of honour, who wouid faithfully imitate their rabbi and pass in His legacy to the next generation.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK- “COME, FOLLOW ME”

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“COME, FOLLOW ME”

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-20

This is so awesome. Jesus was a rabbi with authority, but unlike any other rabbi with authority in Israel, past or present, His authority was not conferred by men but affirmed by the Father and the Spirit. As a rabbi, He would recruit disciples, learners who would become imitators so that His yoke would be passed on to as many people as possible.

Jesus did not recruit His disciples from the school of theorists but from the school of life – from people who lived in the world of everyday events, experiences, emotions and environments. Into this scene He plunged, with His message, “God is here!” Did that scare people? Only until He began to show them the disposition of the God whose presence He had come to announce.

Unlike the yoke of the other rabbis who had authority, Jesus announced that the God He represented forgave sin and, to show it, He healed sickness and disease, straightened deformed bodies and even overturned premature death. In the presence of God, devils fled in terror and fear was replaced with shalom.

The other rabbis placed burdens on people. Jesus lifted burdens, removed guilt, filled people’s hearts with joy and hope. He showed them that He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law which was given to them to show them God’s best way to live.  The law taught them how impossible self-effort really was, and mirrored in sacrifices and rituals what He had already accomplished before time began.

Those who heard His invitation gladly dropped what they were doing and grabbed their second chance to be the rabbi’s disciples. To them it was the highest honour anyone could bestow on them. It was an unexpected opportunity they could not miss. They were to follow so closely that they would be covered with the dust of their rabbi, symbolising His favour showered on them, one by one, as they walked behind Him and learned to imitate Him, living, like Him, in God’s “here and now.”

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – THE MAGIC STORYTELLER

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CHAPTER FIVE

THE MAGIC STORYTELLER

“Once when He was standing on the shore of Lake Genessaret, the crowd was pushing in on Him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, He taught the crowd.

“When He finished teaching, He said to Simon, ‘Push out into the deep water and let your nets out for a catch.’ Simon said, ‘Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.’ It was no sooner said than done – a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners to come and help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.” Luke 5:1-7.

Jesus was still alone. According to Luke, He had not yet chosen any disciples to train as a rabbi would do. He was an itinerant teacher, a very popular one, judging by the crowds He drew, so much so that He had to use a boat as a pulpit to save Himself from being pushed right into the lake!

This was one of those occasions. He was apparently still in the vicinity of Capernaum, a town near the Sea of Galilee, or another one of the lakeside towns. The people were enthralled by His message – not anything like the teachings of other rabbis who came and went.

What was He saying? What was so fascinating to them? Was it just what He said or was it the miracles He did that drew them? Probably both, but on this occasion His words were magic to them. Jesus was a master story-teller. He needed to be because His audience was a group of simple village folk. What He was communicating to them wasn’t common-or-garden everyday stuff. He was talking about mysteries too deep for them to understand.

Jesus was always about the kingdom of God. He was introducing them to a way of life that was totally foreign to them, like “turning the other cheek” and “going the second mile” and farmers sowing seed, and shepherds hunting for lost sheep. He told a story for every situation and they were trying to piece it all together. They didn’t want to miss a single story in case their puzzle was incomplete.

The kingdom of God is like a diamond. How does one describe a diamond to someone who has never seen one? Like two blind men trying to describe an elephant! It’s like this. No, it’s like that. So many facets! The only way He could get the truth across was by telling many stories. It all makes sense to us now – or does it? But for those people then it was a mystery and they wanted to hear more.

What do you make of the incident of the big catch? Why did Jesus do that? Was He concerned because the fishermen were going home empty after a whole night of fishing? Was He showing them something; telling them something? If you read on, it doesn’t seem to be about lost income because they abandoned their catch to follow Him.

How do we interpret the miracle of the huge catch? Did Jesus see them there and simply redirect the fishermen? Is that possible when He sent them to the deep water away from the shore? I think there is a much simpler explanation than that. Like all nature, the fish obeyed Jesus’ word. Remember the wind and the waves? When He spoke, they all gathered at the right spot to be swept up into the fishermen’s nets.

Why did He do that? Was He just “showing off”? I don’t think so. That was not His way. If His followers were to continue His ministry after He left, they had to be absolutely sure of who He was. That was the crucial question He asked them after they had followed him for a while. “Who do you say that I am?” If nature obeyed Him, so should they.