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The Verse
Mark 1:28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)
My Paraphrase
Immediately, Jesus got super famous in all of Galilee.
My Thoughts
This should show us the impact we can have simply by standing firm and wielding God's authority with wisdom. Authority sets us apart. Authority gets people dialoguing about God. Even though we are about to see Jesus trying to keep Himself a secret in the next few verses (Mark 1:34, 44), at this point, the news needed to spread and God's Authority was what compelled that to happen.
I think it's funny that in our day and age, there is such a desire among all of us to be "liked" and "favorited" on social media. Any of us would kill for half the followers Jesus was accumulating--but why? For our own egos? So we feel self-worth? So we can be successful? Jesus had no desire for popularity (because His self-worth came from God alone), but popularity was a side effect of his obedience to God and His filling of the soul-deficit in the people.
Yes, we would all kill for that kind of impact, but we need to realize that there is a responsibility attached to popularity. We all like the fame, but we don't like the repercussion. As Loretta Lynn famously wrote, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." This is so true. People may follow you in scads at the beginning, but it takes only one little issue, one little complaint, and they drop you like a rock. Note: when the masses dropped Him, Jesus' popularity directly resulted in His crucifixion!
Now, I'm not saying that if you become popular, that you will also be crucified, but it should at least make you aware of the fickleness of humanity and what responsibility attached to fame should actually look like. (Also, Jesus was perfect, so. . .if people drop you a little faster than they did with Him, it's probably because you're not.) That should tell you something about people. And guess what, all those followers that you want more than anything are, you guessed it, people.
However, God is God, so. . .He's really efficient and uses everything at His disposal, even the negative. It's really important to realize that God used both Christ's popularity and the ensuing crucifixion for our good and His Glory. Consider this: If Jesus had been a nobody with no impact, He would never have been able to pay for sin. God caused Him to become popular in order to save billions of people. That includes all the fickle people who like you and then drop you. And that includes you.
And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about.
So remember, if you are obedient to God and you happen to get really popular, keep God first and He will guide you. But also know that while you aren't necessarily guaranteed to be crucified when and if people drop you, God-given fame doesn't often guarantee a super comfortable life.
It's like Spiderman's Uncle Ben once said, "With great power comes great responsibility."
The Verse
Mark 1:17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."
My Paraphrase
"Come as you are and follow me. I will send you to fish for people," Jesus said.
My Thoughts
Notice here that Jesus doesn't beat around the bush. He doesn't ask or suggest. He commands. He doesn't even word it like, "If you follow Me, then you will receive such and such. . ." No. Instead He gives nothing but a totally authoritative command. As a result, Simon and Andrew have only one of two choices to make: To follow or not to follow. He knows His audience--that they are men of action--and He commands them accordingly.
However, at the same time, he makes a joke. I wonder what Simon and Andrew thought about the joke. "Fish for people?" Think about how weird that statement would be if you'd never heard it before. What is this Man even talking about?
I wonder how good and stable a job fishing was back then. It was probably pretty steady and probably competitive as we learn that so many of Jesus' followers had this job as well. We even see in the next verses that it was a time-honored job passed down through generations. It was probably a completely normal and expected working-class job of the area and time--much like industrial work today. It wasn't a high-end job, but it was a respectable and secure job. People always need to eat, so fishermen would always be necessary.
Yet, here comes a Guy--who we've already established cares very little for luxury or job security--yelling for people to repent, telling everyone that He is the fulfillment of prophecy, healing, and doing all kinds of crazy things. Yet we see Him here stopping for a moment to watch these humble , run-of-the-mill fishermen. Men just going about their daily work routine. Nothing very special. Minding their own business. Just working. Then He bends down and says, "Come follow Me. . .Take on the life of the unknown. Leave your comfort and job stability behind."
Yet, He doesn't leave it there. Besides commanding them to follow, He also makes the connection between their skill sets and His requirements. He doesn't come to them and say, "You are humble fishermen. Leave it all and become wise, bookish theologians." No. Instead He says, "Okay, so you can catch fish. Let's use those same skills, but let's use them for a higher purpose." I think sometimes, we as Christians, think we have to change who we are when we get saved. It's true that repentance has to do with change. But the word "repentance" only has to do with the mind. "Think differently" is the literal translation. The disciples didn't have to stop being fishermen, but they did have to think differently about what fishing meant. Just because you had certain skills pre-salvation, doesn't mean that all those skills are bad. It's not necessary to quit being who you are just because you are now in Christ. God made you who you are. You simply need to think differently about who you are. When you do this, you continue being yourself, while God redeems the parts of you that are self-destructive. This means that if you were a psychedelic drug-addicted rocker, leave the drugs behind and rock out to God's glory like Brian Welch! If you were an atheist scholar, accept the God who is right in front of you, and become a Christian academic like C.S. Lewis! If you were a high-class prostitute, stop selling your body and become a "Hooker for Jesus" like Annie Lobert!
Perhaps you, pre-salvation, weren't as "dirty" as these examples I've just mentioned. After all, these fishermen weren't horrible, rotten sinners just because they were fishermen. There is nothing morally wrong with fishing. . .or plumbing or being a lawyer or an office worker. But even the best fisherman, who fishes unredeemed, is headed for the same end as the "worst of sinners," you know?
So if they weren't dirty, rotten sinners, what was the real problem? Where was the need to change? The answer is in the next verse. . .(Hint: It has to do with nets.)
The Verse
Mark 1:16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
My Paraphrase
Walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus watched as fisherman brothers, Simon and Andrew, threw a net out to catch fish.
My Thoughts
In this verse, it's almost like we see Jesus taking a break. In taking a leisurely stroll, He comes upon two fishermen brothers, Simon and Andrew. I wonder what thoughts ran through Jesus' mind as He watched them. As God, did He flash their childhoods through His memory? As a man, did He watch, notice, and appreciate the fisherman skills a poor carpenter would not have known? As God, did He think about the future Peter denying Him three times before His crucifixion? Did He see Peter as the amazing leader of the church that he then becomes? As a man, did He see their huge muscles--a fisherman's necessity for pulling large nets--and have any sort of hesitation about what He would command them next?
It also makes me wonder how long He watched them before speaking. Was it instantaneous? Or did He watch for several minutes before speaking? Was He in full view of them before approaching them? Or did He hold back and silently gaze before stepping forward and stating His purpose? The whole scene seems so lackluster and normal compared to the amazing miracles that are to follow, but yet these men's lives and destinies were about to change forever, so it is worth it to slow down and consider this moment.
So much can happen in just a moment. This verse catches that last vestige of Peter's and Andrew's lives as mere fisherman, just working class cogs in a worldly Mediterranean machine. In the next two verses they will suddenly start becoming spiritual forces with which the devil himself could not reckon.
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