The Opportunity
Tuesday March 7
Gospel of Mark 1:14-19
It’s a wonderful thing to be given an opportunity. Peter and Andrew and James and John were given their opportunity by Jesus. He said to them, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men”. Jesus still makes that invitation today. What kind of people are on the invitation list? Every person who hears. Not a single person is ever eliminated, disqualified, or rejected. Every one who comes, for whatever reason, is passionately welcomed and incorporated into the company of God’s people. Even the angels sing about it.
The four men that Jesus spoke to were fishermen, making a living by selling fish to the townsfolk and to the Roman soldiers who came to buy for their garrison. They didn’t hesitate; they put down their nets, left their boats and went with Jesus. It wasn’t unusual, large crowds followed after Jesus everywhere he went. They never got tired of watching Jesus heal and never tired of hearing the authority with which he taught about God.
It’s likely these four men, living in a nation occupied by the Romans had been waiting for a strong leader. Maybe they hoped to join a rebellion. Their quick response shows that they believed Jesus to be a leader they could both respect and trust. That kind of leader was and is hard to find. Even the best fail at some point, but Jesus never did.
What did they understand by the strange expression “I will make you fishers of men"? Did they understand it at the beginning, or only years later? Did they think they would be rescuing people from the power of unbelief or from the power of the Romans? Perhaps at that early stage they thought they were going to enroll people in a revolt against Rome.
You and I have been invited. We are being invited. Most of us respond because we recognize we can trust Jesus. Usually we don’t know much more than that at the beginning of our partnership with him. We have no idea what our future will be, but we trust that Jesus will deliver us from temptation and not lead us into evil. The record shows that it is so. In every church most of the people will tell anyone who asks that since they became followers of Jesus their lives have developed beyond all expectations. They will hesitantly tell you that they have discovered within themselves an amount of self-control, gentle kindness and goodness that they did not begin with. They will tell you, striving not to appear conceited, that because they follow Jesus they have become a greater benefit to their families and neighborhood than they ever expected to be. They will happily tell you that the small amount of faith they had at the beginning has, because of their experience of God’s goodness, become their strongest conviction, and the motivating power in their lives.
Gospel of Mark 1:14-19
It’s a wonderful thing to be given an opportunity. Peter and Andrew and James and John were given their opportunity by Jesus. He said to them, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men”. Jesus still makes that invitation today. What kind of people are on the invitation list? Every person who hears. Not a single person is ever eliminated, disqualified, or rejected. Every one who comes, for whatever reason, is passionately welcomed and incorporated into the company of God’s people. Even the angels sing about it.
The four men that Jesus spoke to were fishermen, making a living by selling fish to the townsfolk and to the Roman soldiers who came to buy for their garrison. They didn’t hesitate; they put down their nets, left their boats and went with Jesus. It wasn’t unusual, large crowds followed after Jesus everywhere he went. They never got tired of watching Jesus heal and never tired of hearing the authority with which he taught about God.
It’s likely these four men, living in a nation occupied by the Romans had been waiting for a strong leader. Maybe they hoped to join a rebellion. Their quick response shows that they believed Jesus to be a leader they could both respect and trust. That kind of leader was and is hard to find. Even the best fail at some point, but Jesus never did.
What did they understand by the strange expression “I will make you fishers of men"? Did they understand it at the beginning, or only years later? Did they think they would be rescuing people from the power of unbelief or from the power of the Romans? Perhaps at that early stage they thought they were going to enroll people in a revolt against Rome.
You and I have been invited. We are being invited. Most of us respond because we recognize we can trust Jesus. Usually we don’t know much more than that at the beginning of our partnership with him. We have no idea what our future will be, but we trust that Jesus will deliver us from temptation and not lead us into evil. The record shows that it is so. In every church most of the people will tell anyone who asks that since they became followers of Jesus their lives have developed beyond all expectations. They will hesitantly tell you that they have discovered within themselves an amount of self-control, gentle kindness and goodness that they did not begin with. They will tell you, striving not to appear conceited, that because they follow Jesus they have become a greater benefit to their families and neighborhood than they ever expected to be. They will happily tell you that the small amount of faith they had at the beginning has, because of their experience of God’s goodness, become their strongest conviction, and the motivating power in their lives.
posted by Jessie Coates at 3:20 AM
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