Following Jesus: What Jesus Does with His Disciples, Part 2

Last week, we looked at the lifestyle we must embrace if we want the gospel to spread. First, it’s a lifestyle of learning Christ. Second, it’s a lifestyle of helping others follow Jesus. Third, it’s a lifestyle of inward transformation -- remember, Jesus said he would “make us” fishers of men, which means he transforms us.

Now in our text, Jesus calls four men. And I want to draw out some observations about these men and learn about them. I think that in learning who these guys were and what happened to them, we will be encouraged to begin a life of following Jesus as well.

Read text. Mark 1:16-20

First, these are ordinary men.

The Sea of Galilee is in the north of Israel, about 70 miles from Jerusalem, the religious center. Jesus has just begun his public ministry and he’s walking along the sea. There are four men fishing. First, it’s Simon and Andrew, two brothers. They were on the shore casting their net into the sea. They leave their nets -- that’s a financial loss -- and follow Jesus. Then he encounters more brothers -- James and John -- son of a fishermen named Zebedee.

Zebedee was probably a person of some success in the fishing business. You see in verse 19-20 that Zebedee has boats. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t call Zebedee, but calls his sons, and they left him in the boat and followed him. I wonder how Zebedee felt about that.

All through Mark we’re going to see that God surprises us by working in ways we’d never expect. Jesus doesn’t come from Jerusalem, but from Nazareth. He doesn’t baptize John, John baptizes him. He doesn’t start his ministry, he goes to the wilderness to be tempted. He starts preaching the kingdom, and then here, he grabs 4 fishermen. What are 4 fishermen going to do in bringing a kingdom?

Take all the people in Israel. Line them all up, most prominent to least. Who will Jesus choose to be the men who ignite a movement? Who will Jesus select as the pillars of his church?

Fishermen. This is an extraordinary passage because these men are so ordinary. They’re really nobodies. This is a general principle of God’s work in the world -- he uses ordinary people. Jesus is choosing men who will become leaders in the church, who will grab the baton of the gospel and begin an advance upon the nations -- and he chooses fishermen. Not kings, not CEOs, not gurus, not the elites, not other rabbis. Earthy guys with calloused hands from throwing and pulling nets. They’re ordinary.

Are you ordinary? If you are, then you’re just the kind of person God uses. Are you like Moses, who said he was a bad speaker? Are you like Jeremiah, who feared he was too young? Jesus calls you to himself and wants to use you -- will you resist him?

Last week we had Ted and Viv Ruiz here. I don’t know if you noticed, but Ted was born with a stutter. I’ve never known someone who stutters like Ted. Most people might think that kind of stutter disqualifies him from any kind of verbal ministry. For anyone who complains that they’re not eloquent, why don’t you go talk to Ted? But Ted laid his life down before Jesus and said, “Lord, use me. I’ll go anywhere, do anything -- even if I’m laughed out of the building.” And did you hear about how God used him? The Lord used him to establish 5 churches in the Philippines, and some of those have multiplied and now there are 8. The Lord loves to use ordinary people, because they prove that the power is from God, not man.

Second, they’re different men.

As we read about them, their personalities reveal how different they are. Let’s start with Simon.

Jesus will rename him Peter. Simon is a talker. He’s a natural leader. He’s always the first in the list of the apostles, he was the first to answer correctly who Christ is. He talked so much he sometimes put his foot in his mouth, like when he tried to convince Jesus not to die on the cross. Peter’s the guy who jumps out of the boat when he sees Jesus walking on water, he’s the guy who faces an army of Roman troops and attacks them -- and ends up chopping off poor Malchus’s ear. What was he going to do? I mean if he were going for the kill, he totally missed -- and even if he did succeed, there was an entire host of soldiers.

He was at times a loose cannon. Peter was the king of man who, when Jesus showed his glory to the disciples, James and John fell silent and Peter just started blabbing away about it.

Some of you are like Peter. Everything you do, you do big. You’re a talker, you’re curious, you’re all in, and you have lots of energy -- and that energy is now to be used in service to Christ.

On the other side of the spectrum you have Andrew. He’s been called the apostle of the small things. Peter, James, and John were all part of Jesus' closest disciples, his inner 3. Andrew was not. Andrew lived most of his life in the shadow of his brother Peter. We don’t have any speeches of his, any sermons, any major accomplishments. But he seems to be content being in the background.

James and John were the other brothers, and they were not like Peter and Andrew. They seemed like fiery, passionate guys, ambitious for success. This may be in part because of their upbringing -- the text before us indicates they were probably a wealthy family. Zebedee has boats, he has hired servants, and according to John 18:15, they had connections with the high priest, meaning they were probably affluent.

James and John are the ones who, in Matthew 20, got their mother to go to Jesus and try to persuade him to give her sons the most prominent thrones in the kingdom. It makes you wonder if they were rich kids used to having their mother get them what they wanted.

In Luke 9, as the disciples are passing through Samaria and it becomes clear the Samaritans are not receiving Jesus, James and John ask, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” In a previous section, John sees another person casting out demons and tries to stop him -- and Jesus has to correct him.

These men are different. Loud Peter, quiet Andrew, passionate James, ambitious John. The Lord wants different tools in his toolbox. He doesn’t want all Peters -- the church would be a mess if everyone was a Peter. But if everyone was an Andrew, who would stand up and lead? And not everyone has the zeal of James and John -- but that’s good -- because what happens when in their zeal they foolishly want to obliterate an entire city?

Look around the room -- no one is like you. The church is filled with all manner of different kinds of people. But here’s what they all have in common: they have heard Jesus’ call to his disciples: “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” And so they, with the personality God has given them, will use their unique personality for the advance of the gospel.

Don’t believe that making disciples is for the Peters! Don’t believe it’s the Jameses and the Johns! It’s for the Andrews, and for every follower of Jesus.

Most of these men failed extravagantly

We don’t have much of Andrew’s story, probably due to his quieter nature. But Peter and James and John -- ironically, the inner three closest to Jesus -- have all kinds of blunders and failures recorded in the gospels.

Peter, of course, did everything big -- and when he failed, he failed big.

Failure to Understand. So often Jesus was misunderstood. When Jesus taught about soils, Peter asked, “What does this mean?” When Jesus talked about the “yeast of the Pharisees,” they thought he was talking about bread. So often they misunderstood Jesus’ teaching. Peter failed to understand in a big way when Jesus talked about his coming death and resurrection, and Peter pulled him aside and rebuked him: “Jesus, I’m not sure you understand…”

Failure to Love. James and John wanting to burn entire cities down is a failure to love. Jesus actually called James and John, “Boanerges” which means “Sons of Thunder.” They weren’t exactly the most gentle people. They’re like that 22 year-old seminary grad that shows up to fix the church. He doesn’t love, he isn’t patient, and he’s pretty excited about this thing called “church discipline.” He’s got a big theological head and he’s ready to smack-down with people who don’t agree with him. It’s a failure to love.

We see the disciples arguing about who gets the most in the kingdom is a failure to consider others ahead of themselves; that’s a failure to love.

Failure to be Faithful. How often is Jesus rebuking the disciples for their faithlessness? Mark 4:40, “Have you still no faith?”

Failure to be Bold. Of course, Peter is known for his boldness, but when it mattered most he was a coward. He wouldn’t stand up for Jesus, and when people asked if he knew him, he denied him three times. What a failure!

I want to point out something about these failures. Jesus rebuked at times. Jesus instructed at times. But Jesus did not reject them. In fact, we see Jesus restore them.

For disciples of Jesus, failure is not final. The enemy wants to convince you that failure brings with it a big red permanent stamp: “USELESS.” I wonder if some of you feel that way. A failure in the past has tempted you to feel useless for the future. But I’ll have you know this: these four men Jesus called to himself were failures -- all of them in one way or another. Their failures were serious. But Jesus did not reject them. Jesus never stamps, “USELESS” on his followers.

Friends, remember the gospel. God created you for him. He loves you. You have failed him in the past, and your failure to live up to his perfect standard is called sin. But out of his love for you, Jesus came to pay for your sins on the cross. He rose from the dead. Christian, that’s how Jesus dealt with your failure -- by coming to you with grace. And that’s how Jesus deals with your failure today -- he comes with healing in his wings, with forgiveness and mercy for you. He promises to be with you, to restore you, and to commission you.

He uses our failures to shape us. Walt Disney was on to something when he said, “I think it’s important to have a good hard failure when you're young.” And again in another place: “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

But Jesus is wiser than Disney -- Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Failure helps us die -- die to self, die to the world, die to selfish-ambition.

These men failed. We all, to varying degrees, have failed. And each failure is like a swing of the hammer and chisel on our lives, removing rough edges and shaping us to be more like Christ.

If you’re in the middle of a failure, you need to hear that failure is not final, failure is not fatal. In following Jesus we will blunder. Failure is part of the life of following Jesus, he instructs, he rebukes, he corrects, but he never rejects his children.

Okay -- so Jesus starts with four men. They are ordinary. They are different. And they all go on to have various struggles and failures -- they misunderstand, they are selfish, they are faithless, and sometimes even cowardly.

But remember what Jesus promised them: “I will make you become fishers of men.”

God used these men in extraordinary ways

Let’s start with Peter. The loud-mouthed, overly talkative, big-blundering, sincere but often misguided Peter. Jesus promised to make him into a fisher for men. What became of him?

Turn to Acts 1:13. “And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew…”

Jesus is gone. The words of Christ’s Great Commission are ringing in the disciples’ ears. But who’s going to lead? Who’s going to step in and provide direction? Based on what we know, who do you think?

Verse 15: “In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled” and he goes on to explain what happened to Judas and their need of a replacement. He’s providing leadership.

A little bit later, they’re filled with the Spirit on Pentecost. Lots of people there hearing in their own language. What’s happening? 2:14 “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them--” and he quotes from Joel, and he explains biblically what’s happening. Remember -- at the end of the gospels he was afraid to admit to a little girl that he knew Jesus -- here, he’s testifying publicly about Jesus. He’s a changed man. He’s a fisher of men.

There’s not enough time to see all that Peter does -- bold preaching, zealous ministry, and even, later in his life, as an old man, he’s writing letters to churches to establish them in the faith -- 1-2 Peter, wonderfully pastoral letters to help Christians face suffering and opposition.

What about John? Jesus said he would make him a fisher of men. He was one of the “Sons of Thunder,” ambitious about truth -- in the gospels he’s ready to bring down fire and brimstone.

It’s fascinating to me that as Jesus was dying on the cross, one of the last things he said was to John. Essentially, he told John to take care of his mother, Mary. What a lesson! One of the most important aspects of training a fiery young man for the ministry is asking him to care for an elderly woman. That’s not a joke -- it has a way of softening a man, making him gentle.

John’s there in Acts 1 as well, but he’s not the one standing up to preach. He’s at the prayer meeting, and he’s at Peter’s side. John is right there by Peter, defending the gospel and suffering for it. He was most certainly bold. But he’s also tender. His own failures, his time caring for Jesus’ mother, and his following of Christ made him meek, gentle, and tenderhearted.

He wrote the beautiful, powerful gospel called John. He wrote 3 letters, where he affectionately cares for the precious church, calling them his “little children.” He wrote Revelation, which comforts the church with a promise of their future hope.

John was the only one to grow into old age. There are extra-biblical stories of his courage, his love, his zeal, his gentleness. This fisherman became a wise, respected, zealous pastor.

What happened to Peter? He became a leader and a preacher. What happened to John? He became a gentle pastor and shepherd.

And James? He was also a leader in the church, although we don’t get exactly what his role was. But here’s what we do know: in Acts 12:1 this fisherman is so prominent he’s on Herod’s radar, and the text says, “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belong to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well.”

Peter eventually gets released; James got killed by the sword. The first apostolic martyr. We don’t know what role specifically he played, but he do know the level of his commitment -- “I will die for this. I’m all in.”

God used these men in extraordinary ways.

But what about Andrew? Remember? The quiet one. Not one of the inner 3. Never the spokesman. Never the bold one. Always behind the scenes. I want to encourage you, because I think Andrew has one of the most encouraging stories. I want you to see how God used Andrew -- most of us are more like an Andrew than a Peter.

Turn to John 1. John the Baptist is preaching. Jesus walks by. John says, “That’s the one.” And the text mentions 2 disciples that start following Jesus. Verse 40: “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.”

Listen -- no Andrew, no Peter. Andrew, in his behind the scenes way, meets Jesus, and says, “I need to tell Peter.” Verse 42: “He brought him to Jesus.” Peter would minister to the masses, Andrew, to individuals. Andrews the one who found the little boy with the loaves and fish to feed to multitudes.

John 12:20. Greeks come to Philipp. Philip takes them to Andrew. What does Andrew do? Hey, let’s bring these people to Jesus.

He’s simple. He’s a common sense guy. He sees Jesus is the Messiah, and says, “I need to tell my brother.” A has fish and loaves, Andrew says, “Hey, let’s tell Jesus, maybe he can do something.” Greeks come to him, “Hey, let’s bring them to Jesus.”

No Andrew, no Peter preaching to thousands, no food multiplied for thousands, and perhaps even these Greek folks never encounter the saving message of Christ. One commentator said of Andrew “Andrew was not one of the greatest of the apostles, yet he is typical of those men of broad sympathies and sound common sense without whom the success of any great movement cannot be assured.” Do we need Peters? Yes. Do we need Andrews? Absolutely.

As a matter of observation, I think the vast majority of Christians weren’t converted through the preaching of a sermon, but because of the influence of an individual.

I do membership interviews where I get to hear how the Lord saves people. Most of the time, it’s faithful parents sharing discipling their children, it’s faithful Sunday school teachers, it’s committed friendships and genuine care. Oh yes, occasionally, it’s a sermon that pierces the heart and saves the sinner -- but why were they listening to a sermon? Often, it’s the influence of a friend or family member who brought them to church or sent them the sermon.

I don’t know if the statistic is accurate, but I read recently about a poll that said 96% of unbelievers said they’d be willing to go to church if a friend invited them.

Do you know who Edward Kimball is? He volunteered to teach Sunday school in a Boston church in the 1800s. He was timid and soft-spoken. And he was the man who led D.L. Moody -- one of America’s greatest evangelists -- to Christ.

It happened like this. Moody attended his Sunday school class, and he was crude and illiterate. Moody worked in a shoe store, and Kimball decided to walk to his store and talk to him about Jesus. He was so nervous as he approached the store, caught up in his thoughts that he accidentally passed by the store. He nearly gave up. He wrote later “I began to wonder whether I ought to go just then during business hours. And I thought maybe my mission might embarrass the boy, that when I went away the other clerks might ask who I was, and when they learned might taunt Moody and ask if I was trying to make a good boy out of him…”

When he finally went in, he described his presentation of the gospel as “limping.” He wrote, “I never could remember just what I did say: something about Christ and his love; that was all.” He called it a “weak appeal.” But it was what God used to bring Moody to Christ. And Moody went on to be used of God to bring tens of thousands to Christ.

You and I are like Peter and Andrew, James and John. We’re ordinary. We’re different. Our lives are riddled with all manner of failure. And yet, we have been chosen to follow Jesus and participate in his work of making disciples.

They weren’t born giants of the faith. They were brought along, often stumbling, by the loving hands of Jesus. But as they submitted their lives to him, Jesus transformed them into redwoods of the faith, towering heroes upon which the church was founded. Peter, history tells us, was crucified upside for his faith. Andrew, tradition says, went north with the gospel and was crucified on an X-shaped cross, and accounts say he remained alive on that cross for 2 days before he died, pleading with every passerby to turn to Christ. James, we know, took a sword for Christ. And as John lived unto old age, his life was Christ, his life was the church.

But where did they begin? Here, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, as fishermen. As you embrace the lifestyle of learning Christ, of helping others follow him, what might become of you?