Mar 1:19-20 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord wants followers and fellow workers in His service. He wants to take them with Him, that they may see how He works, and learn from Him. He wants to shape them so that they will proclaim the good news as His followers in the world. The four disciples who are called are diligent in their daily work. The Lord calls people in His service who also roll up their sleeves in society. Peter and Andrew are fishing. Their profession is a striking picture of the work for which they are destined: catching fish from the sea of nations. On the day of Pentecost, Peter catches three thousand fish ( ). The Lord calls them to His service. Earlier He called them as sinners to give them eternal life ( ). Now He wants them to become fellow workers in His service. First repentance, then calling them to follow Him and learn from Him, and thirdly, serving independently. It begins with “follow Me”. That means, not being in front of Him, but being close to Him in a way that they can see and hear how He is doing His service. In this way they, and we, can learn to serve. The great Servant of God calls them and they obey immediately as servants who are subservient to Him. When He calls, everything must be left behind. This does not happen out of indifference to what they possess, but in the confidence that He will take care of what is left behind. He calls two more brothers: James and John. They are busy mending the nets. This is a picture of restoring relationships among believers. This is beautifully rendered in 1 Corinthians 1 where the same Greek word that is translated here with “mending” is translated with “complete” ( ). This will later become their task, as the letters they wrote make clear. For this purpose they are now in training with the Lord. We see that servants have different tasks. No one can imitate or replace another. Each is needed in his place. Also with these two brothers the call of the Lord is powerful. They leave their family relationships and their activities to follow Him. His calling is beyond earthly bonds, but without disregarding them to the slightest degree.

‏ Mark 1:19-20

The First Disciples

The Lord wants followers and fellow workers in His service. He wants to take them with Him, that they may see how He works, and learn from Him. He wants to shape them so that they will proclaim the good news as His followers in the world. The four disciples who are called are diligent in their daily work. The Lord calls people in His service who also roll up their sleeves in society.

Peter and Andrew are fishing. Their profession is a striking picture of the work for which they are destined: catching fish from the sea of nations. On the day of Pentecost, Peter catches three thousand fish (Acts 2:41).

The Lord calls them to His service. Earlier He called them as sinners to give them eternal life (Jn 1:41-43). Now He wants them to become fellow workers in His service. First repentance, then calling them to follow Him and learn from Him, and thirdly, serving independently. It begins with “follow Me”. That means, not being in front of Him, but being close to Him in a way that they can see and hear how He is doing His service. In this way they, and we, can learn to serve.

The great Servant of God calls them and they obey immediately as servants who are subservient to Him. When He calls, everything must be left behind. This does not happen out of indifference to what they possess, but in the confidence that He will take care of what is left behind.

He calls two more brothers: James and John. They are busy mending the nets. This is a picture of restoring relationships among believers. This is beautifully rendered in 1 Corinthians 1 where the same Greek word that is translated here with “mending” is translated with “complete” (1Cor 1:10). This will later become their task, as the letters they wrote make clear. For this purpose they are now in training with the Lord. We see that servants have different tasks. No one can imitate or replace another. Each is needed in his place.

Also with these two brothers the call of the Lord is powerful. They leave their family relationships and their activities to follow Him. His calling is beyond earthly bonds, but without disregarding them to the slightest degree.