Follow Me
Notes
Transcript
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
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.
We find Jesus is ready to start His earthly ministry. He had recently been baptized and had overcome Satan’s intense temptations in the wilderness. We also find that John the Baptist had just been imprisoned.
The word used here is also used of Jesus (cf. Mark 9:31; 10:33) and of all Christian believers (cf. Mark 13:9-12).
It “combines not only the adversities to which the faithful are subjected but also the superintending will of God that is operative through them” (Edwards 44).
But before we go further, we need to understand what Jesus means when he says in verse 15:
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
What is this Kingdom of God that Jesus is proclaiming? That is one of the questions that many scholars have pondered upon for many a year and still not really come up with a perfect definition. The term kingdom was always on Jesus’ tongue, and therefore you would think that we ought to be able to understand it, - and yet many people don’t.
We often think about this term in the ways we see earthly kingdoms - for example the monarchy of the United Kingdom.
In the bible dictionary we find this definition:
’The idea of the Kingdom of God springs from the conviction that God the Creator is King of His Universe’.
Throughout their history, the Jews longed for a King who would be anointed by God, to lead their nation. Consequently Saul, followed by David and Solomon were appointed to lead them in Kingship.
However after a long time without a King, the first century Jews were looking for another king like David, an anointed Messiah to lead them to political power through military might.
But when Jesus spoke of the kingdom, he wasn’t talking about an earthly, nationalistic kingdom, nor was he speaking solely of a futuristic, heavenly kingdom, He was announcing the establishment of His rule on this earth.
We only have to look to King Constantine of Greece, to see an example of a King without a Kingdom, a King in name only. He may theoretically have a land which he is the ruler of, but in reality the majority of the people do not support his claim to Kingship.
So, to be an effective King, you need to have a loyal following of people who will acknowledge such a Kingship.
All the great Kings throughout history have been those who lead their people from the front and are willing to put their own lives on the line for the good of the people.
Surely there can be no greater King than Jesus who came to earth, not to be served, but to give his life to be a ransom for you and me.
When Jesus came to earth, His kingdom was, and still is, centered on the hearts of His people. When we give ourselves over to Jesus we let him into our heart, and as a result, all the hurtful things that we do and say become replaced by a kind of Peace and Joy which fills the void and changes our lives.
Sometimes this transformation appears almost instantly, whereas more deeper hurts and sinful ways may take a time to be cleansed.
This cleansing process does not depend upon what Jesus Christ is prepared to do for us, because there, [POINT TO CROSS] on the Cross, he has already paid the price for our sin, but often our healing is limited because we do not let Jesus into all areas of our lives.
Too often we fear opening ourselves up because we can become vulnerable and out of control, and yet if we are to move closer to Jesus we must let Him take over our lives completely, and let Him take control.
So, why is this kingdom of God that Jesus is speaking of near?
As we have seen throughout history, whenever a Kingdom is established there is always someone or some organization that opposes the authority of that Kingship.
In the Bible, we read in Genesis chapter 3, that there is a fallen creature whose sole purpose is to prevent God from establishing His Kingdom order in the earth.
In the great conflict in the garden of eden, man failed to take dominion over the creeping serpent, and instead of having dominion, man became dominated - by sin, by himself and by Satan.
Instead of remaining representatives of God’s Kingdom, mankind became subjects of the kingdom of darkness.
When God gave us His only Son Jesus, He made a declaration of intent - no longer would Satan have complete dominion over the earth and its inhabitants -Jesus had come with one main purpose in mind: to destroy the activity of Satan in the world. Spiritual war has been declared. Jesus has come to invade Satan’s kingdom and to defeat it.
Two of the ways Jesus did this during his time here on earth were to heal the sick and cast out demons. Here were instances of conflict between Jesus and Satan.
The battle was fought over the ownership and rule of human beings, and if you look at the Bible you will see that it is a battle manual, and one of its basic premises is that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but rather against the spiritual enemy that has dominion over our lives.
Jesus made this statement around 2,000 years ago, so how can the Kingdom of God be near, when it has taken so long to happen?
Our interpretation of time is limited by our life span! But time in God’s eyes is not so limited.
Let us remember that the dominion that Satan achieved over man occurred many centuries before the coming of Jesus, so when taken in that context the Kingdom of God may be some time coming, however one thing is certain - we are far nearer to that day than the early Christians.
D-Day
’Oscar Cullman in Christ and Time talks about World War II’s D-Day and VE-Day. D-day was June 6th 1944. For all intents and purposes, the result of the war in Europe was decided on this long day of battle. The allies were victors. The war in Europe was not over, however, until VE-Day, May 7th, 1945.
There were more lives lost during this period than at any other time during the war. Even so, the outcome had been determined; the war was to be over soon.
So it is with Jesus. God planted his flag in the form of the cross of Jesus. The earth is the turf. God has overthrown the enemy in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The war is not over, but the aftermath is assured, the Church being called as God’s army - will continually assault the citadels of Satan, and through them God will bring about His rule.’
Jesus told us we must ’Repent’ and Believe. Repent means to turn and go the other way - to leave our sinful life behind and follow after the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - Jesus the Christ, the Messiah. But why should we repent?
First, no matter how good we are, we can never be as good as Jesus, because He was without sin. And yet he is our role model. It is His lifestyle that we should follow.
Second, we all need to acknowledge that we are human, and being descended from Adam we are all born sinful.
You only have to look at very young children who love to spite their parents in order to test them, and see just how far they can go, to realize that. Our sinful nature is what we are given from birth, however Jesus came to show that there is an alternative, and this is to believe in Him and be saved.
There is a story of a painter who was not particularly noted for his honesty. This painter decided to water down the paint but charge his customer for the full amount he should have used.
Unfortunately for him, he carried the process rather too far with the result that the finished work looked so bad that even the most short-sighted client would notice it.
’What can I do now?’ he wailed.
From the heavens a great voice boomed:
’Repaint! And thin no more!’
Likewise, the closer we are to God the more we recognise our own sinful ways and begin to cringe at the thought of living a life that indulges them.
However for many, that first step towards God, and therefore recognition of their own sinfulness, depends upon an acceptance, that they are going the wrong way, and that only God can help them.
John Wesley considered that being aware of ones’ own helplessness is the beginning of repentance, and repentance is the way that leads to the Kingdom of God.
In addition to repenting, Jesus told us to believe.
When you believe the ’good news’ you can’t simply hold onto it like a treasured possession. For God’s Kingdom to come, Jesus must rule in the hearts of His people, and we must be the ones who go out and spread the good news.
When you leave this place will you be telling others about what Jesus means in your life? Or are you going to be like the servant who went and hid his talent away?
Let’s take a moment, though, and consider what is involved in following Jesus. We see this in the following verses of our passage, in the example of Jesus calling his first disciples.
Jewish Rabbi’s would have had disciples who would be trained further than any other Jewish male children. This is how they continued to pass down traditions and ensure the line of Rabbis would continue on. However, there is a huge difference that we see with Jesus.
Prophets called on people to follow God, but only Jesus called on people to follow Himself.
It is likely that these fishermen and Jesus had met before, but Mark wants to underscore the importance of Jesus’ call on these men. Jesus wants to make them “fishers of men,” which was “a common description of philosophers and other teachers who ‘captured men’s minds’ through teaching and persuasion” (Wiersbe 112).
Just like these fishermen, we have been called today by the gospel to follow Jesus, who will make us “fishers of men.”
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God will transform us into the people whom He desires for us to be:
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
And as we follow Him, He continues to be at work within us:
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
However, following Jesus also means we need to count the cost.
These four fishermen immediately left their nets behind to follow Jesus. They didn’t question, they didn’t hold on to anything, they immediately left to follow Jesus.
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
They sacrificed the known for the unknown, the certainty for the uncertainty. This is scary, this is uncomfortable. We like to be in more control than this.
But the question remains, what must we give up in order to follow Jesus?
1. We must lay aside every hindrance:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2. At times, we may have to lay aside:
Our family
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Our friends
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Our job
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
3. Basically, we must be willing to deny self and take up our cross daily to follow Jesus:
The word “deny” comes from a Greek word that means “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interest.” (Thayer’s 54).
We must be crucified with Christ
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Conclusion:
Christ came with a radical message and then a radical call, and these four responded in radical obedience.
Will you follow Jesus?
