Sons of Zebedee

Mark 1:16-20

June 21, 2009

First Baptist Church of Avinger, Texas

Mark 1:16-20 16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. 19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Subject: If Men Were to Rewrite the Rules

Rule # 1 - Anything we said six or eight months ago is inadmissible in an argument. All comments become null and void after seven days.

Rule # 2 - If we say something that can be interpreted in two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other way.

Rule # 3 - It is in neither your best interest or ours to make us take those stupid Cosmo quizzes together.

Rule # 4 - You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done - not both.

Rule # 5 - Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials or time-outs.

Rule # 6 - Christopher Columbus didn't need directions and neither do we.

Rule # 7 - When we're turning the wheel and the car is nosing onto the off ramp, you saying "Is this is our exit?" is not necessary.

WHY MEN LOVE BEING MEN

1. We know stuff about tanks.

2. Only one suitcase required for a 5-day trip.

3. We can open our own jars.

4. We can go to the bathroom without a support group.

5. The same hair-style lasts for years -- maybe even decades.

6. We can leave a motel bed unmade.

7. We can kill our own food.

8. We get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

9. Wedding plans take care of themselves.

10. If someone forgets to invite us to something, they can still be our friend.

11. Underwear is $10 a three-pack.

12. If you are 34 and single, nobody notices.

13. Everything on our faces stays the original color.

14. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

15. We don't have to clean the house if the meter-reader is coming.

16. Car mechanics tell us the truth.

17. We can sit quietly and watch a game with a friend for hours without thinking "He must be mad at me."

18. Same work -- more pay.

19. Gray hair and wrinkles add character.

20. We can drop by and see a friend without bringing a gift.

21. If another guy shows up at a party in the same outfit you just might become lifelong friends.

22. Your pals will never trap you with: "So, notice anything different?"

23. We are not expected to know the names of more than five colors.

24. We almost never have a "strap problem" in public.

25. We are totally unable to see wrinkles in our clothes.

26. We don't have to learn to spell a new last name.

27. We don't have to show below the neck.

28. Belches are expected and tolerated.

29. Our belly usually hides our big hips.

30. One wallet, one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.

31. We can do our nails with pocketknife.

32. We have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

33. Christmas shopping can be accomplished for 25 people on the day before Christmas and in 45 minutes.

34. We know nothing about "dust" and we don't care.

· James and his brother John were called by Jesus to become fishers of men

· They were close to Jesus. They were part of the inner circle of disciples

· They were called the “Son’s of Thunder”; they were tempestuous, like when they tried to summon fire from heaven as punishment for a village that rejected Jesus. (Mark 3:17)

· Sometimes they were selfish, like when their mother sought a special position for them in Jesus’ kingdom (Matthew 20:21)

· They were faithful disciples, present along with Peter at the transfiguration (Mark 9:2)

· John called himself the beloved disciple, he was the writer of the fourth gospel. Jesus gave John the position of being the “son of Mary his mother.” (John 19:26)

· James was the first of the twelve martyred for the faith, executed by Herod Agrippa about 44 AD.

There is a lot more we could say about James and John. But today I want to simply point out that they were the sons of Zebedee.

"19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him."

James and John we know a great deal about, but who was this Zebedee, and why does Mark bother to say anything at all about him?

· Is he important?

· Is he significant in any way?

· Was he famous?

· Maybe some of those who heard the gospel story told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John might have known Zebedee

· Maybe they bought their fish from him

· Maybe he was a member of their synagogue

· Maybe they were related by marriage. Or, Maybe not.

On August 10th, 1984 a man died in Springfield, Missouri. No one in Avinger, Texas had met him. He was born in Eden, NC, served his country in the US Army. He was discharged out of the Army with a physical retirement. He was born with the first name of Aubrey but later changed his name to William Aubrey Crowder, and he was my father. You knew him only through his eldest son. Actually you might know him better than you think because Dad is alive in me today.

My dad became pretty good sermon illustrations over the years. He wasn’t famous, though he had many friends. He worked hard all his life, and in his own way he made the world a better place. And I am proud to be his son. You see, here in Avinger, Bill Crowder is only known as the father of Bob Crower.

Zebedee. In Hebrew tradition, one was known as the son of one’s father. James and John were the sons of Zebedee. James bar Zebedee. John bar Zebedee. One’s last name was the name of one’s father. I would be Robert bar William.

Centuries later in our European tradition, I would still bear my father’s name and I would be Robert Crowderson.

Today, I almost wish we still followed those naming customs, for those I believe reminded people of where they’d come. Many times names are nothing more than an identification of who the person is, rather than where they had come from. I often wish I would have been named, William Aubrey Crowder the second; or Jr.

· I wonder if James and John looked like Zebedee. Or did they more closely resemble their mother?

· I wonder if they sounded like Zebedee?

· I wonder if they walked like him, shook hands like him, laughed like him?

While Zebedee was teaching his sons to mend the fishing nets, what else did he teach them?

· Did he tell them about how a man should love and honor a woman?

· Did he instruct them in the wise use of money?

· Did he encourage them to believe in themselves and live for a high purpose?

· Did he ever talk with them about God?

· Did Zebedee have any daughters?

· What lessons did he teach them?

· What kind of gifts did he give them?

What does a father give to his children?

What lessons do we learn from our fathers? In the Proverbs of Solomon, it is written…

"Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth." (Proverbs 4:1-5)

1 My children,* listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment,

2 for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.

3 For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

4 My father taught me, “Take my words to heart.

Follow my commands, and you will live.

5 Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. (NLT)

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, grew up, and Christ called them away from their father and his life’s work. When Jesus called, Mark says they immediately dropped their nets and followed him. But I guarantee you that the lives of James and John were shaped by the life of Zebedee, just as my life has been shaped by my father, and your life has been shaped by your father.

Not everyone has a loving father. Was Zebedee a loving father? I don’t know. No father is perfect. Zebedee was a just a man, with all of limitations that go along with being human. So too was my father.

Bill Crowder had his share of problems in life. He “rodethe rails” when he was young. He had a 6th grade education. Joined the Army when he was 17. His mother died when he was very small. His driving purpose in life was to create the kind of family he dreamed of, to provide for his children the kind of father he only dreamed of.

His plans did not include having tuberculoses. This changed most of his plans. When I was born the doctors at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, CO said that he would not live to see me reach one year old. My dad looked at the doctor and told him, “No, God has told me that I will see my so raised into a man.” My father died on his 74th birthday. Let’s see, that meant that he died when I was 35 years old. My dad’s life was a miracle from me being one year old till he died.

Illustration

When I was a child, I would constantly throw off my covers and at times would even get off the bed and lay in the floor. My dad was the one that checked on me every night and put the covers back on me, or got me off the floor and back into the bed. He had a hard time sleeping, but that paid big dividends for me. He was always there when I needed him, whether awake or asleep, he was taking care of me.

As you sit here today, I want you to think of your own father.

· I hope you knew him

· I hope you loved him

· I hope he was a good father, as mine was.

But even if you didn’t know your father, even if you didn’t love your father, your father has still helped make you, negatively or positively, who you are today.

But good or bad, it is true. James and John and Zebedee, Peter and Thomas, even Jesus and Joseph. You and your father. There is a bond between father and child that nothing can break, not even death. And I think I’ve learned that the process of grief somehow makes that bond even stronger.

In the book, “Letters to My Son” (Kent Nerburn, new World Library, 1993) the author writes;

None of us can escape this shadow of the father, even if that shadow fills us with fear, even if it has no name or face. To be worthy of that man, to prove something to that man, to exorcise the memory of that man from every corner of our life - however it affects us, the shadow of that man cannot be denied…we all labor under the shadow. It makes us who we are and shapes the [person] we hope to be.

To become a father is to understand that power of that shadow from the other side. You realize that the touches you make upon your child will shape him, for better or for worse, for his entire life.

And who can know which touches have meaning? A word here, a glance there, a time together, a time apart - which will be the moments that will rise up in memory and shape the child that, looks without judgment on all you do and say?

Friends, I wonder if we realize the strength of the bond that exists between father and son, between mother and daughter? Do we understand that the thing that have happened in our families, and are happening in our families, indelibly imprint the next generation with a story, with an understanding of life, and shapes the future for better or for worse?

The death of my own father has helped me better understand the role each of us plays within our families. I rejoice that years ago, I was able to see my father go to night school and get his GED. I saw a man who loved and needed love. I rejoice that I found the courage to speak words of love to him, and to discover that he loved me. I am indeed fortunate. As he lay on that hospital bed, I said “I love you, dad.” In his state he did not respond, but it didn’t matter because he had told me many times, “I love you, son.”

Brothers and sisters, it is never too late to say “I love you” to another, or to hear another say “I love you” to us. Whether you are a father, or a son, a mother or a daughter, it is never too late to touch and be touched by those with whom our lives in are forever inextricably bound.

CONCLUSION

James and John were disciples of Christ, but they were forever the sons of their father and their mother. The lives they chose when the dropped the nets and followed the Christ took them far from their places and people of origin. But deep down inside, they were still the Sons of Zebedee.

That’s the way God made us, and God would have us nourish the relationships that bind us one to another.

In the days ahead, find ways to speak words of love to your children and your parents.

Peter K. Perry; <[e-mail]>