Real Disciples

Mark 1:16-19 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 make you fishers of men.”  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.
 
HAVE you ever wondered what caused these fishermen and Jesus’ other eight close disciples to leave what they were doing to follow Jesus? After all, they left their jobs, their way of life, their parents and their friends. Peter left his wife at home while he traveled with Jesus.
   But with Jesus’ direct command, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  these average men became unique in all the world’s history. God’s Word decreed God’s will for Andrew, Peter, James and John. The moment they stepped out of the boat and into Jesus’ footsteps, they came under the LORD God’s sovereign authority.
   A rabbi choosing his disciples was not usual in Israel. Young men who wanted to be a rabbi’s disciple would go to a rabbi and say, “Would you consider me as your disciple?” Often the rabbi rejected them because they had not passed certain exams given to Jewish boys as they matured. Or the rabbi had some prejudice against them. Perhaps the four had failed their exams and were resigned to the working life. Certainly their lives in the fishing business would keep them from any rabbi’s consideration for training.
   But Jesus had come to do the Father’s will. And he will make them fishers of men. The gospels reveal Jesus’ process to transform their hearts and minds to the Savior’s message. Peter seems the most difficult to change because we hear more of his mistakes. But the others certainly had much to learn as well. Peter had a strong will to even speak against Jesus’ warnings of his death and resurrection. Other times he is the disciples’ voice to boldly confess Jesus’ deity and commitment to their Master. James and John pridefully asked Jesus to elevate them to special seats in the Kingdom of God. Still, Jesus chose Peter, James and John to be his inner circle. They experienced Jesus in ways the others did not.
   These are real people God called to be real disciples to bear the kingdom message to the world.. The more closely they followed in Jesus’ spiritual footsteps, the more effective they became to make fishers of men.
   The gospels reveal the disciples learned that following Jesus requires an ongoing, deepening devotion to God’s commands. Many years later John would write: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. (1 John 2:3) God gives us his commands because he loves us. We follow God’s commands because we love him. Changed in Christ, we can help others know his commands and be changed, too.