What is a Disciple| Mark 1:16–20

Mark 1:16–20 ESV

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

As we come to Mark chapter 1, we’re taken to the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. There’s nothing flashy happening here. No crowd. No stage. No religious event. Just men at work, doing what they had done day after day. Fishing. Casting nets. Mending nets. Providing for their families.

And it’s right there, in the middle of ordinary life, that Jesus shows up.

He doesn’t wait for them to come to Him. He walks up to them. And with just a few words, He changes the direction of their lives forever. He doesn’t ask them to think about it. He doesn’t give them time to weigh the pros and cons. He doesn’t say, “Follow me when you’re ready.” He says, “Follow me.” And Mark tells us they immediately left their nets and followed Him.

That word immediately matters. It tells us something about the nature of Jesus’ call. This isn’t a suggestion. It isn’t advice. It isn’t an invitation to add Jesus onto an already busy life. It’s a summons. A call to leave what defines you and to belong fully to Him.

In these few verses, Jesus shows us what discipleship really is. Not church attendance. Not religious activity. Not knowing the right answers. Discipleship is following Jesus. And from the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus makes it clear that following Him will change who you are and what your life is about.

So before we go any further this morning, we need to slow down and ask an honest question. Not “Do I believe in Jesus?” Not “Do I go to church?” But “Am I actually following Him?” Because from start to finish, Christianity is not about information. It’s about transformation. And it begins with hearing the call of Christ and responding in obedience.

If you want, I can also tighten this by about 15–20 percent for time, or make it slightly more conversational or slightly more weighty.

The Call to Follow: Follow Me

We see in the text that Jesus meets the first two of his disciples and his call to them is simple:

Follow me.

Jesus doesn’t invite them to consider a lifestyle change. He commands allegiance. “Follow me” is not a suggestion. It is a summons.

Disciple is a word we use often in the church, but it’s also a word we often misunderstand. One of the greatest failures of the church in America today is not that we lack activity, but that we lack true discipleship. From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus calls people to follow Him, and at the very end of His ministry, He commands those followers to make disciples of others.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In both places, the truth is clear: disciples follow Jesus.

So what is a disciple? Is it some kind of special forces Christian, a super believer with extra faith and ability? No. A disciple is a Christian. A disciple is someone who is learning from Jesus. There are no special qualifications and no elite level of faith. To follow Jesus is what it means to belong to Him.

We tend in modern Christianity to equate being a Christian with saying a prayer, joining a church, or being baptized. All of these can be steps of obedience, but following Christ is not rooted in what we do. It is rooted in who we know.

If we are going to be disciples or followers of Christ, we must first be known by Him. Christianity is not merely knowing facts about Jesus, but being in a real relationship with Him.

The word know carries deep theological meaning in Scripture. It speaks of personal, covenantal relationship, not simple acquaintance. When Scripture speaks of a husband knowing his wife, it describes the joining of two lives in a covenant union. It is intimate, personal, and lifelong.

In the same way, to be known by Christ means we belong to Him. We are not strangers to Him. We are united to Him. And it is from that relationship that obedience and discipleship flow.

This is at the heart of Jesus’ command to follow Him. It’s not a passive belief, but rather an invitation into a life-changing relationship.

So how do we begin that relationship, well, Jesus commands people to repent and believe.

To repent literally means to change your mind about. To repent means more than feeling bad. It means a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. It is turning away from sin and turning toward Christ.

Poison Cake Illustration

To believe means to put our complete trust in someone. Not just agreeing with facts, but entrusting ourselves fully.

Story of Noah climbing the Porch and jumping.

This is what it means to follow Christ: leaving your nets and trusting him fully.

A Disciple is someone who knows Jesus - someone who is KNOWN by Him and BELONGS to HIM.

The COST of Transformation: And I will Make You

Next, Jesus’ imperative command comes with a sure promise: “I will make you.”

How often have we seen people walk down the aisle of a church, say a prayer, and walk out the back door with no life change and no real connection to the life of Christ. The problem is not that they failed to say the right words. The problem is that this idea of following Jesus without transformation is simply unbiblical.

Throughout Scripture, those who truly follow Jesus are changed by Jesus. Following Him requires leaving old identities and old securities and instead belonging to Him and His family. Jesus’ promise is that for those who truly repent and truly believe, transformation will occur.

As believers, we Belong to Christ so that we can Become like Christ.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Notice Paul’s language. He says, “if anyone.” The Greek word is tis, and it simply means anyone at all. No exceptions. Anyone who is in Christ is made new. Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you,” and Paul says, “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.”

There is no place in the gospel for a permanently unchanged follower of Jesus. Salvation is not earned by transformation, but transformation always follows salvation.

And so a disciple is a follower of Jesus who is being changed by Jesus. When someone truly follows Christ, life change occurs. Why? Because the Creator of the universe is at work in their life.

If Jesus is the One through whom light burst into the darkness when God said, “Let there be light,” then that same Jesus has the power to bring real change into the lives of His children.

Now, we do have a part. This is not passive. Following is an action. And in that following, Jesus promises to change us. This tension is beautifully explained in Philippians 2:12–13.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We are commanded to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we are also reminded that it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

This is the beauty of discipleship. It is God, by His grace, making us more like Christ, and us actively responding in obedience. Even the desire for holiness is itself a gift from God.

And so if there is no desire for holiness, no struggle against sin, no longing to become more like Christ, it may be that your conscience is hardened. But it may also be that you are not truly following Christ.

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart today.

A disciple of Christ is a Follower of Jesus, who is being change by Jesus. Finally we see:

The Commission to Fish – Fishers of Men

Finally, Jesus ends His call to these first disciples with a commission. A commission is when a mission is shared. Literally, a co-mission. In calling these men, Jesus is inviting them, as His followers, to join Him in His mission.

So what is Jesus’ mission?

You might say, “Jesus’ mission is to build the church.” And in one sense, you would be right. But in a deeper and more important sense, you would also be wrong. The church is not the mission. The church is the result of the mission.

Jesus Himself tells us His mission in Gospel of Luke 19:10:

Luke 19:10 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus came with a purpose. That purpose was to redeem sinners and restore a broken relationship between God and man. And now, remarkably, that mission has been entrusted to us.

We saw earlier that those who are in Christ are transformed. But Paul goes further in Second Epistle to the Corinthians 5:18–20. God not only reconciles us to Himself through Christ, but He gives us the ministry of reconciliation. He entrusts to us the message of reconciliation. And He calls us ambassadors for Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 ESV

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Do you see that?

God reconciled you to Himself through His Son, and now He sends you to tell others to be reconciled to God.

That changes everything.

Too often, we see evangelism as a chore, something we have to do. But I want you to flip that on its head. You have been invited into the greatest mission in the universe. You have been entrusted with the message that the God of the universe loves sinners, sent His Son to die for them, and offers reconciliation through Christ.

You get to tell your friends and family, your neighbors and coworkers, the stranger at the gas pump and the cashier at the grocery store that there is hope, forgiveness, and new life in Jesus.

I’m not a big fisherman, but I have friends who are. And I’ve never heard one of them say, “Well, I have to go fishing today.” No, they’re excited. They’re up early. They load the boat. They can’t wait to get on the water.

And that’s the picture Jesus gives us. Not forced duty, but joyful mission.

Conclusion

So today, I want to challenge you, encourage you, and call you. Not to church as usual, but to the incredible, inspiring, terrifying, difficult, and life-changing call of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. To follow Him, to be changed by Him, and to join Him in fishing for people.

A Disciple is a follower of Christ Jesus, who is being changed by Christ Jesus, and is committed to being on mission with Chirst Jesus.