Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Mark 1:16 - The Moment Before the Disciples




Image result for peter andrew fishermen


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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