Title: Living as a Disciple of Jesus
The Beginning of Jesus' Activities
The four Gospels in the New Testament each have their own characteristics, and one of them is the difference in the introduction. If the Gospels of Matthew and Luke deal with the story of the birth of Jesus, and the Gospel of John deals with the logos theory, the Gospel of Mark, the first recorded among the Gospels, begins with the sermon of John the Baptist without saying anything. The Gospel of Mark progresses quickly. After briefly dealing with John the Baptist, we immediately present the work of Jesus.
Mark describes Jesus' activity this way: “After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee and preached the gospel of God” (verse 14). The reason Mark links Jesus' initiation with John's arrest lies in the fact that John is the one who prepares the way for Jesus. John the Baptist, a savage preaching in the wilderness, described himself this way: “Someone better than me is coming after me. I am not even worthy to bend over and untie his shoelaces” (v. 7). The appearance of Jesus naturally leads to the decline of John the Baptist.
What Jesus did was to preach the “gospel of God.” Why did Mark say that he was preaching the gospel of God instead of simply preaching the ‘gospel’ or the ‘gospel of Christ’? It was because they saw that Jesus' message did not suddenly and transcendentally fall from heaven, but was made in close continuity with Israel's history. To be more specific, the gospel of God preached by Jesus is in line with the proclamation of the second Isaiah. “Welcome, you footsteps running down the ridge with good news. They cry out that peace has come, and bring good news. They cry out that salvation has come, and say to Zion, ‘Your God has taken the throne’” (Isaiah 52:7). The good news here is the gospel. Mark explains that Jesus is proclaiming the gospel that has already been handed down through the history of Israel long ago.
If the gospel preached by Isaiah and the gospel preached by Jesus are the same in content, you might think that Jesus is just a prophet like Isaiah. It's not like that. As you can experience in your daily life, even if the same word is said, the meaning is completely different depending on who said it. The early Christian community recognized Jesus as a whole new being after his resurrection. He was convinced that what happened to him was that of the Messiah. Through this conviction and faith, all the teachings and actions of Jesus during his public life, that is, his gospel became one with the gospel of God. In this respect, the fact that Jesus is preaching the gospel of God now has two meanings. One is that his gospel is connected with the history of Israel, and the other is that the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ are one.
Belief in this very gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, is the reality of faith on which the early Christian community was founded. According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God with the following content: “The time has come, and the kingdom of God has come. Repent and believe in this gospel” (verse 15). The time has come for the gospel of God that was proclaimed by the prophets including Isaiah in the Old Testament. This ‘time’ is God’s time. The time of salvation that God prepared has now become a reality on this earth through Jesus. Mark is writing this Gospel to convey the fact that everyone on the earth must believe in this Jesus right now.
follow me
So, what exactly does believing in Jesus mean? This question is exactly what Jesus' command to "repent and believe in the gospel" refers to as recorded in today's text. We can find the answer in the scene where Jesus called his disciples. Mark describes the scene in verses 16-20 as follows:
It is said that while Jesus was passing by the Sea of Galilee, he saw the fishermen Simon and Andrew, who were fishing there, and said, “Follow me. I will make you fishers of men” (verse 17). Jesus' public ministry began near the Sea of Galilee. No one knows why Jesus did not attack Jerusalem in the first place and started in the outskirts of Galilee. Galilee has historically been the site of frequent Jewish uprisings. This means that the people of Galilee, the northern part of Israel, have a strong national consciousness, and it also means that their mentality is that harsh. If God's great work was intended, it might have been better to establish a ground in Jerusalem as soon as possible. But in my opinion, Jesus didn't intend to do such a big thing from the beginning, so it can be said that he started teaching people from the Sea of Galilee near his hometown of Nazareth.
As explained above, Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, who were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, “Follow me.” Picture the scene in your mind. It must have been dawn when Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The fish are usually caught at night and harvested before dawn. If you look at the parallel passage Luke 5:1 and below, the situation is described in a little more detail. Jesus told Simon to go out into the deep and cast his net. Upon hearing this, Simon replies: “Sir, we have been working all night and haven’t caught a single one. But, as you said, I will cast my nets” (Luke 5:5). Judging from this, it seems that the time when Jesus came to the Sea of Galilee was early morning or early morning. Just when Brother Simon had to return home from his usual fishing, Jesus said to them, “Follow me.”
How should we understand this situation? Since the text provides us with only very brief information, it is not easy to follow the exact circumstances in which these words of Jesus came from. If you say, “Follow me,” to a person you meet for the first time, you will hear the words, ‘Has that person gone?’ Even more so, considering that Jesus and Simon were about the same age at that time. It is likely that Jesus already knew Simon. He must have thought he was a good person to work with. Jesus must have given Simon several times the story of sharing the gospel together because the kingdom of God has come. Its compression is contained in the sentence “Follow me.”
disciples of jesus
Brother Simon was called by Jesus. As I pointed out earlier, early one morning after they finished fishing, they didn't suddenly hear the words, "Follow me," from a stranger. They must have met Jesus on several occasions. Jesus was a great challenge for them. You must have pondered for a long time whether you should continue fishing in the Sea of Galilee or follow Jesus. Eventually, they followed Jesus. The Gospel of Mark does not say anything about the changes in their inner world, but only describes the results. “At once they left their nets and followed Jesus” (verse 18). Brothers James and John the sons of Zebedee followed Jesus in the same way as Simon and Andrew.
What the hell were these, the first four disciples of Jesus thinking when they followed Jesus? They did not follow Jesus' words simply because they "make them fishers of men" or because they were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. It must be said that these disciples had a spiritual thirst. It must be said that there was a spiritual spark between Jesus and these disciples. Such sparks happen even between lovers. The Bible doesn't say anything about the spiritual experiences of ordinary fishermen who followed Jesus, so let's put aside what Mark's Gospel reports and focus on their actions.
According to today's text, they “left their nets” and followed Jesus. In the scene of the disciples' calling, these two words always overlap. They are ‘discard’ and ‘follow’. They left their nets and followed Jesus. The net is the tool that protects their daily life. They made a living by catching fish, catching nets, and fixing nets every day. They abandoned the net that was so important to them. Becoming a disciple of Jesus starts with letting go of what is important to you. They could not carry their nets and follow Jesus.
In this respect, I think God is very fair. You have to choose one, whether you have a net or follow Jesus. This is probably the meaning of Jesus' aphorism that we cannot serve money and God at the same time. He who clings to himself will never experience true freedom. Those who are captivated by their own righteousness cannot experience the grace of God. To live as disciples means to “throw away” some part of our lives. I'm not sure which part you should throw away. But obviously there will be. In particular, a person who has decided to become a disciple of Jesus must contemplate what to leave behind. What is my net?
But there is something to be careful about here. It is true that throwing away does not always refer to bad habits and attitudes. There are times when we have to let go of even the good things. No, that's the more important factor. There are many times when the things that others acknowledge us decisively hinder the kingdom movement, the gospel movement, and the life movement. It may be my family, it may be my education, it may be my hobby, and it will appear differently to each person. What it is is for each of you to decide for yourself.
I don't know if you're going to ask this question at this point. These fishermen in the Bible were able to abandon their nets and boats because they met Jesus in person, but we are now in that situation. That's not a very good idea. Seriously consider the following questions: Did these fishermen know that Jesus was the Messiah? no. As mentioned briefly earlier, their decision to follow Jesus did not come from grasping all the truth. The meeting with Jesus itself was a blessing to them. They did not deny the opportunity of grace, but accepted it. Perhaps it was not only these fishermen who received the invitation of Jesus to “follow me,” but many others. But they turned away from that grace.
Even for those of us who have followed Jesus now, there are still many uncertainties. But we are the ones who stake our destiny on Jesus who called us. Once you have made that decision, follow him step by step. Letting go of what we have to selectively let go of, and concretely entering into his life. You will be overflowing with the wonderful grace that came to the disciples.