Gospel of Mark wk 4
Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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A Call to Follow
A Call to Follow
We are in week 4 of this series on the Gospel of Mark.
This morning we will still be in chapter 1, as we look at verses 14-20.
In our text this morning we will see three things.
First we will see the message that Jesus preached.
Second we will see a calling that Jesus gives.
Third we will see how the first disciples responded to that calling.
These three things are still true and relevant for us today.
We must listen to the message and calling that Jesus gives and then we must respond.
Now there are two ways a person can respond to the message and calling of Jesus Christ.
One a person can negatively respond by rejecting the message and calling, and walking away from Jesus.
Second a persons can positively respond to the message and calling by accepting and following Jesus.
Look with me at our text found in Mark 1:14-20
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
Pray
Pray
I. The Message
I. The Message
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
We know that John the Baptist gave witness of Jesus as the Son of God.
John the Baptist also preached a similar message that Jesus preached, which we will see.
Jesus was baptized, then went into the wilderness.
Now we are told that after John the Baptist was taken into custody, that is he was arrested.
John the Baptist was arrested because he rebuked Herod Antipas because he married his niece Herodias.
Jesus coming out of the wilderness from being tempted, comes into Galilee.
Galilee was the northern most region of Israel and the most heavily populated.
As Jesus comes into Galilee, He preaches the gospel of God, that is the good news, the gospel of salvation.
Mark gives us, possibly a summary or shortened version of Jesus’ message.
Weather it is a summary or shortened version, it is the climax of the message, it is the important part that we are to hear.
Jesus says, The time is fulfilled, now this is not a time in chronological sense, but the time for decisive action.
Paul writes to the Galatian church stating, Galatians 4:4
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
The time, it was the set time that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit had planned for it.
Next Jesus says, that the kingdom of God is at hand.
The kingdom of God is referring to God’s sovereign rule over the sphere of salvation; at present in the hearts of His people.
Jesus then says, repent and believe in the gospel.
This is similar to what Matthew records John the Baptist message as in Matthew 3:2
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Now we must understand that as Matthew is writing to a different audience he uses the phrase or term - kingdom of heaven instead of kingdom of God, but they are the same thing.
Matthew records Jesus message in Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
What we need to see here in both John the Baptist and Jesus’ message is that a person must repent.
Repentance involves a turning from sin to God which results in righteous living.
A genuine repentance is the work of God in the human heart.
Repentance and faith are man’s required response to God’s gracious offer of salvation.
21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The message that we need to hear today is that we must turn away from sin, our old way of life, the nature of sin in life and have faith in Jesus Christ.
Because as Jesus stated the Kingdom of God is at hand, salvation has been made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We do not know when Jesus will return or when we might take our last breath.
II. The Calling
II. The Calling
16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
As Jesus is in Galilee He begins to walk along the Sea of Galilee which is also called in other places, Sea of Chinnereth, the Lake of Gennesaret, and the Sea of Tiberias.
As the Sea of Galilee was home to a thriving fishing industry, Jesus comes to Simon, who we better know as Peter and his brother Andrew.
Something that we can learn from Jesus here, is that as He approached and taught people He always did so to connect to the people.
Just as here, Jesus approaches men that are in the fishing industry, they are fishermen.
Jesus says to Simon/ Peter and Andrew - follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
In other places as Jesus taught people of different areas He would use other language to reach them, if He was speaking to farmers He spoke about planting seed.
But what we need to see here is that Jesus calls these two men, who become His first disciples, He calls them to follow Him.
As Jesus calls people to salvation, He is not calling them to sit in a pew on Sunday mornings, He is calling them to follow Him.
Jesus does not call people to just accept or receive salvation and that is the end of it (you come to salvation and their is nothing else to it.
No, He is calling people to the beginning of their walk with Him and their new life.
Jesus calls people to follow Him, this denotes a life of discipleship.
In the Jewish culture, a disciple is one who attaches themselves or follows a teacher.
The Rabbi/teacher had disciples or followers that followed them around to learn from them as they taught.
As believers, disciples of Jesus Christ we are to follow Him, and all that He has taught and commanded we are to learn from.
Salvation is not about rules and traditions it is about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
To have a relationship with Jesus, a person must follow after Him, they must spend time with Him.
Let me say that as Christianity is not about rules and traditions, but about a personal relationship with Christ, as we follow Him we are to be obedient to His teachings, His commands, and the example He gave.
Therefore, to learn from Jesus and be obedient to Him, we must spend time with Him.
This time is not just Sunday mornings, yes, attendance is important as we are told in Hebrews 10:25
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
To truly follow Jesus, we need to study His Word, as the first disciples followed Jesus everywhere He went to learn from Him, we must study the Word of God to learn from Jesus.
We must spend time in prayer.
But first we must respond to the calling Jesus has given.
III. The Response
III. The Response
18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
Jesus calls Simon/Peter and Andrew to follow Him.
They respond by immediately leaving their nets, that is everything they know, their lively hood, and their way of life to follow Jesus.
They did not wait to see if they could sell their boats, or the fish they had caught, or their nets, but immediately left to follow Jesus.
They did not sit down and discuss what Jesus had said or what He was asking but immediately left their jobs to follow Jesus.
As Jesus and now Peter and Andrew continue down the shore of the Sea of Galilee they come to James and John who are with their father Zebedee in their family business of fishing.
Now we know from other text that Peter, Andrew, James and John would work together in the fishing business.
But what we see here with James and John is that as they are working with their father, Jesus comes and offers the same calling, and they also immediately leave behind the family business to follow Jesus.
Matthew gives a pretty similar record of this calling in Matthew 4:18-22
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Here we see that Matthew also states that these four men immediately leave their life, business behind to follow Jesus.
Now don’t hear me wrong here this morning, I am not telling you to quite your job and give everything up, but that when Jesus calls we must follow Him.
Most of the times Jesus will use, a person right where they are, that is in the job, neighborhood, and life they are living.
But we must repent of our sins and follow Jesus.
If we do not repent, then there is no salvation, if we do not follow there is no relationship.
We repent and follow Jesus because of faith.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We can receive salvation because of the grace that God has offered it to us.
And we receive that grace of salvation through faith.
We are told in Romans 10:8-10
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
I ask you today, have you repented of your sins, and began following Jesus Christ.
Today is the day of salvation
