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The Verse
Mark 1:20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
My Paraphrase
Right away He called them, and they left everything--their nets, their father, and the hired men--and followed Him.
My Thoughts
This is a strange verse because it mentions Zebedee, their father. A fast reading would cause you to gloss over this fact. But when you slow down an think about it, a very significant question arises: Is this disobedience? The fact that they left their father--in a seeming time of need--seems to be disobedience of the commandment, "Honor your father and mother," doesn't it? Wouldn't it have been more in accordance with the law to finish the day's work and then follow Jesus? Apparently not, though, as Jesus would not have called them to sin. Apparently, either Zebedee was cool with it (he had other hired men with him after all), or Jesus--knowing hearts--knew that Zebedee was fine with it. We can probably assume that this moment was not a big deal because the verse doesn't record any anger on Zebedee's part. I wonder if it was another situation where James and John were perhaps discussing Jesus earlier--maybe even in front of their father--so when Jesus shows up, they drop everything and follow, and Zebedee is no worse for the wear.
Still, it's a point I hadn't thought of before, so I felt like sharing it.
My last thought on this verse is that, in this situation, James and John had more at stake seemingly, than Peter and Andrew had. First of all, they had familial attachment that they had to choose to leave. Peter and Andrew were brothers, but neither of them had to leave family in order to follow Jesus in this particular case--as far as we know, anyway. This temporary spurning of family perfectly illustrates Jesus' command in Matthew 19:29 "Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left. And they will have eternal life." Secondly, unlike Andrew and Peter whose nets were working at the time of their call (verse 16), James and John were here having to fix theirs (verse 19). This denotes an extra struggle. Not only did they have the regular stress of fixing torn fishing nets, but also the fact that any repair time is actual fishing time lost. They were set back twice before Jesus ever came a'calling. This could mean that they hadn't even been able to catch any fish that day, and after following Jesus, they definitely wouldn't have. That's a big deal for a fisherman not to have caught any fish for an entire day, you know? These probable setbacks show James and John giving perhaps even greater personal sacrifice than the original two. . .but again, they saw following Jesus as worth it.
And apparently, Zebedee had enough men to cover it. So. . .the lesson here is. . .don't drop the ball in Jesus' name, unless there are enough people to cover you! But on the other hand, you can't be like the man in Luke 9:59-60 who uses burying his father as an excuse not to follow Jesus. You need to love and honor your family, and leaving them in the lurch is not responsible, but transversely you can't make them an idol to hold you back from doing what God wants you to do. Apparently in this verse, James and John were being completely obedient both to their earthly and Heavenly fathers, or their action would not have Jesus' endorsement!
The Verse
Mark 1:19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.
My Paraphrase
Going just a little further, Jesus saw James and John working on their nets.
My Thoughts
Again, we see Jesus quietly observing men before calling them. Again, this is a moment before the moment. In this verse, we catch James and John--two of the most influential and beloved disciples--in this "pre-" state. In this verse, they were just James and John, sons of Zebedee. In the next verse, they would become "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). I never bothered to think about these "moments before moments" before I started studying this book verse by verse. It's amazing what jumps out when you slow your study down! What a precious moment in time to have the Creator of all things physically observing His creation, and yet. . .being in mortal form, having the willing suspense of "What will happen next?" and "These two men will become my best friends, and they don't even know it yet." Have you ever had that moment when you see a person across the room for the first time and think, "I am pretty sure he/she and I would get along. . ."? It's a strange human anomaly. Some people call it serendipity. I call it Providence. Anyways. . .that's what is happening here.
But what REALLY stands out to me in this verse is this point: The men are working. How many people (Christians notwithstanding) do you know that are just sitting around waiting for jobs and purposes to drop into their laps? In fact, with the advent of social media apps like "Go Fund Me" a trend has formed not just to ask for supplemental mission support or temporary help in a moment of destitution, but rather to ask for entire support in lieu of working at all! What is it that tells us that we don't need to be proactive about our own futures, but yet entitles us to foist that responsibility onto other people? I think a lot of times we say, "My future is in God's hands," so much so that we act like we are completely powerless. This isn't true. The Bible plainly tells us that we have been given His power (II Timothy 1:7) and that a man who doesn't want to work, shouldn't eat (II Thessalonians 3:10).
God calls people who are diligent. Think about it. If you are just waiting around for an opportunity to drop into your life and not actively working, why would God bother to call you? An earthly boss doesn't give a promotion unless a worker has done good work. Why would God be any different? God doesn't promote lazinss. Ever. Think of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The only ones who are rewarded in that story are the ones who worked hard to make good investments. It's not God's job to fix all our problems. That would actually be spiritual rape, if you think about it. God doesn't force Himself onto people--even during times of pain and hardship. It is up to us to hear God's voice above the cacophony of life. It's God's job to make us stronger, and that can only happen if we are willingly and actively seeking His plan in those hard times.
True, in this particular story, James and John aren't exactly suffering. They are just doing their daily routine jobs, that is, only if the word "preparing" means "getting ready." However, most translations translate the word as "mending" or "repairing." If that is the case, then we do in fact, see a problem here. Maybe they were suffering a little, after all. Apparently, these once-working nets had ripped. If that is the case, then we do see them struggling in life. If that is the case, this adds to the point that they were extremely hard workers. Not everything was perfect in a fisherman's life. Sometimes, one even had to forgo time spent fishing with preparation and mending. If they hadn't spent this time working on the nets and getting them to their optimal state, the entire time spent fishing would have been wasted. These were not men who went to work unprepared.
Jesus observes them as they work to make their own lives better, and knows that the life He was about to call them toward would only make their lives seemingly harder: More responsibility, more time, more heartache, etc.. However, He could see by their prudence and industry that God would receive glory through these diligent men. These men who would take the time to work on damaged nets, would eventually take the time to work on people with damaged souls. It would be a hard life, but it would be a life of legacy and ultimately a life of fulfilling God's plan.
But it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't already been working.
I think this means that we--instead of sitting around waiting for God to call us--need to be diligent and hard-working, performing tasks already set before us--as lackluster and mundane as they may appear. Throughout the gospels, the disciples continue to fish, so we can't automatically think that God will call us to be lazy or tell us to quit our regular jobs for some "higher calling." The jobs we are already in are either preparing us for our "higher callings" or are already our "higher callings"! Actually, this point is observable throughout the entire Bible. Ruth was gathering food when she was noticed. Samuel was living and working in the temple when he was called. David was tending sheep. Even Paul, who was a persecutor and murderer of Christians, was working when he was called! I think there is an important lesson to learn here! Diligence is important to God!
Whatever job you are currently working, you are in the exact right place. And. . .if you aren't working. . .GET A JOB!
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