Being Called (Mark 1:14-20)

(You can read Mark 1:14-20 here)

For my New Testament Exposition class, I'm writing a 10-page exegetical paper on Luke 5:1-11 (exegesis is a critical examination and understanding of a particular text), in which Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. One of the interesting things I've uncovered in my research is that the other two gospel accounts of Jesus calling these men to follow him -- one in Matthew and this one in Mark -- are probably not the same account. Many scholars deduce that the Matthew/Mark accounts happened before the Luke 5 one... so what's going on here?

The answer is pretty simple, once you put it to a timeline. In Mark 1, Jesus calls these four fishermen with the well-known phrase, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The disciples "at once" and "without delay" followed Jesus. Yet, since Jesus ends up calling them again in Luke 5, we can deduce that these four hadn't made a full commitment to Christ. They didn't fully understand what he was asking. They were dipping their toes into the water of discipleship, but still remaining in their home town with their families.

But God is nothing if not persistent. Jesus doesn't sense their half-heartedness and move on; he pursues them and calls them again. In Luke 5, Jesus performs an incredible miracle -- the huge catch of fish -- that demonstrates on many levels his power and authority over nature and our daily needs. It is in this miracle that who Jesus is and what he was asking of these fishermen finally got through to them. Peter falls down at his feet, and in verse 11, they finally "leave everything" to follow Christ.

Anne Lamott, in her book Traveling Mercies, describes her conversion to Christ. She was going through a terrifically horrible period in her life following drug use and an abortion, and had ducked out of several church services before hearing the sermons. But one day, on her way home, she felt as if something was following her, like a cat. She knew it at once to be God, pacing after her, going with her all the way home. It was finally there, in her bedroom, that she knew God would be chasing after her her entire life, and she gave in and accepted Him into her life.

If these are indeed two separate accounts of Jesus calling these four disciples into the ministry, then we have a wonderful picture of how persistent Jesus is in going after those he knows will eventually be receptive to him. I love how God doesn't give up on us, even though we're sinful and frustrating and often downright mean back at him. A quote (I forget the author) I've always liked went like this: "Our God is the only God the world has ever heard of who loves sinners."

Jesus pursues us relentlessly, out of love and an eager desire to save us from our own destruction. He's the Lord of second chances, the Prince of patience, and he's either right behind us if we haven't accepted him or right in front of us, leading, if we have.