Well, as we continue our series in Mark tonight, we will be looking at Mark chapter 1 verses 16 to 20. And as we do, we're going to consider the encounter of Christ with two sets of brothers on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And we will see Christ exercising His sovereign prerogative in issuing a divine summons to four fishermen to leave their livelihood, to leave their careers, and to follow Him with the promise that they would not be leaving their vocation of fishermen, but would become fishers of men. Mark introduces us to two sets of brothers, Simon and Andrew and James and John. James and John are often referred to in the scriptures as the sons of Zebedee. And all four of them were in the fishing business. They made a living harvesting fish from the Sea of Galilee. Now all four of the Gospels speak to this occasion where Jesus called these men.
We're going to be looking at these various accounts and bringing in some of the details that help us to fully understand what Mark has dutifully recorded for us through the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Luke adds the note that they were partners together in fishing business. Each pair of brothers had their own boat. And I think we can surmise that they were commercial fishing boats, not small boats, because when they followed the call of Christ, two of the men left their father Zebedee and hired servants who were still in the boat. So these were sizable boats. They weren't your recreational bass fishing boats, as we might think about.
But they were commercial fishing boats. Now we also learn from John's Gospel that this was not the first encounter of Jesus with these men. Because if you're reading this and you don't bring the other Gospels into your understanding, you can be left with some questions. Notice, again, Mark writes with a rapid pace. He uses the word immediately.
He moves from one event to another very quickly. Thus it's the shortest of the four Gospels, and we're considering verses 16 to 20. It says, verse 16, And as he, that is Jesus, walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
They immediately left their nets and followed him. And you think, what kind of an encounter was that? Is that the first time Jesus saw these men? Is that the first time Jesus spoke to these men?
And if you didn't have anything but Mark, you might come to that conclusion. But we have the other Gospel accounts. And John, turn with me there, John chapter 1. We learned some very insightful things here in John chapter 1. John tells us that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist, and that he, and another unnamed follower, in hearing John declare publicly that Jesus was the Lamb of God, they left following John and began to follow Jesus.
That's what this encounter, or this section, is about. So, with that little summary, follow me as I read verse 35 through verse 42 of John chapter 1. And again, this is a parallel passage to the one we're looking at in Mark 1. Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? They said to him, Rabbi, which is to say, when translated, teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day.
Now it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew. The same Andrew from Mark chapter 1. He had been a follower of John the Baptist, he and this other unnamed disciple. One of the two, verse 40, who heard Jesus speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah.
You shall be called Cephas, which is translated a stone. That's helpful, because the conclusion that we draw from reading the four Gospels is that these men had intermittently been with Jesus. They had followed him for a season, returned to their fishing business, had not completely left the fishing business and followed Jesus, but there had been this process going on. They had been around Jesus, they had been with him for some time, a day here, a day there, back to fishing. That's the sense you get as you read the four Gospel accounts. There is yet more detail added by Luke in his account, and we will look at that a little later in the message. And again, those four passages, Mark 1, 16 to 20 that we're looking at, Matthew 1, 18 to 22, Luke 5, 1 to 11, and John 1, 35 to 42 that we just read.
So with that background and summary, I'd like for you to consider with me three points tonight. Number one, I want you to see the divine summons of Christ to four men to discipleship. The divine summons of Christ to four men to discipleship. Back to Mark chapter 1, we see in verse 17 of Mark 1, Mark telling us that Jesus said to them, that is to Andrew and Simon, follow me, follow me. And to James and John in verse 20, Mark records, and immediately he, that is Jesus, called them.
He said to Andrew and Simon, follow me. He said to James and John, it says he called them. Calling that is referred to there is a divine summons.
It is a call that's issued with compelling power. It wasn't an invitation. It wasn't a suggestion.
It wasn't an option for them to consider. And as you read the gospel accounts, when Jesus came and called his men, that group of 12, there is no resistance, there's no one says, well get back to me in a couple of days as I pray about this, think about this, I'll let you know what I think. No, everybody without exception followed Jesus. This is a divine summons. It is a divine summons similar to the summons issued to Lazarus to come forth from the tomb.
It was a life altering call and an irrevocable call. And we see that in their response. Immediately they left their nets and followed him, that is Andrew and Simon in verse 18.
And in verse 20 it says, that is the sons of Zebedee, they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants and went after him, that is followed after Jesus. No small thing. Life altering.
Their lives were impacted in a way that their lives would never be the same again. So we read these encounters and we hear no objections that for Jesus to exercise divine prerogative and to choose these four men and not others is unfair. We don't hear that.
I don't hear people arguing about that or considering that. I've been on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is surrounded by fishing villages. There were many boats, many men had given themselves to the livelihood of fishing. Not just these four men, there were scores of them. Why these four men? Why not other men? Jesus is exercising divine prerogative in issuing a summons to these four men and no other men at this time. There's often so much objection to sovereign election.
And I just want to try and help you tonight to go to other places and just reason with people. Well, what about this? Jesus chose four men. He didn't choose every man that was a fisherman. Nobody has a problem with that.
I hope you don't have a problem with that. No one objects to Jehovah choosing Abraham and promising to bless the whole world through him and his posterity. That's God's prerogative to have chosen Abraham and his redemptive purposes. Nobody questions God in that matter. But to suggest the sovereign prerogative of God to issue a divine summons to some sinners and not to all sinners is met with obstinance and resistance and cries of unfairness.
How unjust this is. Listen to this stanza from a great hymn that we sing. In fact, I'll give a heads up to the musicians. We're not going to sing the hymn that you think we're going to sing at the end of the service. We're going to sing this hymn, Great God of Wonders. But the second stanza of this hymn, Such deep transgressions to forgive, Such guilty sinners thus to spare. This is thy grand prerogative, And in this honor none shall share. What grand honor to forgive deep transgressions to spare guilty sinners.
It's God's divine prerogative to do that. And we rejoice in that here. We don't fuss about that. We don't cry unfair. How wrong that is. Why not all people? Well, I've come across this quote many times by C. H. Spurgeon.
I think it's appropriate to share it with you tonight. He says, quote, Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars.
They will allow him to be in his almonry to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will allow him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof or light the lamps of heaven or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean. But when God ascends his throne, his creatures then gnash their teeth. And when we proclaim an enthroned God and his rights to do as he wills with his own, to dispose of his creatures as he thinks well without consulting them in the matter, there is widespread objection. They love him anywhere better than they do when he sits with his scepter in his hand and his crown upon his head. But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach.
It is God upon his throne whom we trust. And then Spurgeon ends this quotation with this, I believe he has a right, that is, God has a right to do as he wills with his own and that he exercises that right. And we see Jesus doing that very thing here in Mark chapter 1. So the first point this evening is we've seen the divine summons of Christ to discipleship.
I want you to see number two, that the divine summons is accompanied with a promise of divine enablement. Again, back to Mark chapter 1 verse 17. Then Jesus said to them, that is to Andrew and to Simon, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.
I will make you. Jesus assumes the responsibility to prepare and train and equip them to the task that he's calling them to. And that's a good reminder because when people hear the claims of lordship, salvation, that we are to follow Jesus unreservedly, people say, well, how can anybody do that?
What does this call? Listen, if he summons you and calls you, he will equip you, prepare you and enable you to do the very thing he's calling you to. He's working in us, both the willing to do according to his good pleasure for which we rejoice. It's not God saves us and leaves us on our own.
We'd never find our way to heaven on our own. Think about these men. They know an awful lot about fishing and fishing for fish and were no doubt quite skilled at it for they had made their living by it. But even with all of their skill and with all of their experience, there were times they came up empty, caught nothing. Ever been fishing like that?
I don't care how skilled you are. On a hunting trip out west a couple of years ago, we planned to spend a day at the Miracle Mile. The Miracle Mile has a reputation of being the most populated single mile of stream in the entire world of native trout.
Well, I'm thinking I'd be able to catch something there. More trout in that mile than anywhere in the world. We had a man with us who's a fish biologist from Pennsylvania. He instructed us and educated us.
He said, men, this place has a reputation. These fish have seen every lure, every bait. And just because there's lots of fish in this mile of stream, you're going to have a hard time catching them. So he had a couple of lures that he had thought about and he probably thought no one else. And sure enough, it was comical. I wasn't even fishing. I'm smart enough to know what isn't worth spending money on, so I just watched. Walked around with my phone, taking video of different ones.
And here's a place. Gabe is in the water, fishing. And there's probably 10 or 12 other men around him.
Some up to their waist, waders on, expensive equipment. Nobody's catching the thing. Gabe throws that lure out that David told him about, and boom! He hooked about a, I don't know, a brown trout about that long. And about 15 minutes later, he caught another one. And he's hooting and hollering, carrying on like a banshee.
And everybody's looking around. Nobody else was catching anything. Well, I just tell that story because these men were as skilled at fishing as you possibly could be, but that did not guarantee success. There were nights, and they're recorded in the scriptures, that they fished all night long and didn't catch a fish.
And if the fish aren't biting, I don't care how skilled you are, how good you are, how much time you have been behind a pole or net or whatever, you're not going to catch anything. And that was the case for these men. But fishing for men is another matter altogether.
They could claim no ability and no competence. And Jesus meets their incompetence with his promise. You follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Dr. Luke tells us of the night that these four men had fished all night and struck out and caught nothing. And Jesus had borrowed Simon's boat as a pulpit and had taught the multitude who had pressed around him to hear the word of God, according to Luke chapter 5 and verse 1. In fact, let's turn there to Luke 5. Luke 5 verse 1. And when Jesus was done speaking to the multitudes, there he is in Simon's boat and Simon is with him. And Jesus says to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets.
For what purpose? What did Jesus tell him? Let down your nets for a catch.
For a catch? What did Peter say? Verse 5, But Simon answered and said to him, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing.
Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.
Who were they? James and John partners to come and help them. And as they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. We'll stop there for a minute.
Think about what's happened here. They had been engaged in a night of futility, of fishing for fish all night with zero success. But with Jesus, one casting of the nets yielded a catch so great, a number of fish that their nets were in danger of breaking and their boats were in danger of sinking. How did Peter respond when he saw that? Notice what it says in verse 8, When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.
And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men. He didn't say you will go fishing for men.
You will catch men. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him. They were being called to an enterprise, an occupation that came with a guarantee of success. Who guaranteed their success?
The Lord Jesus guaranteed their success. The one who called them to follow him, who made the promise, I will make you fishers of men. From now on you will catch men. They had no such success with all their experience in catching fish, but with catching men, another matter altogether. When called, when commissioned, when trained, when equipped by Jesus, they wouldn't just be fishing for men.
They would be catching men. I love that. So we've seen, number one, the divine summons of Christ to discipleship. And we've seen, number two, the promise of divine enablement. Notice with me, number three, in these four men, the response of obedience to the divine call. Again, back to Mark chapter one, we could look at it there in Luke or John or Matthew, any one of the four, record the response of these men.
What does it tell us? Then Jesus said to them, verse 17, that is Simon and Andrew, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little further from there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
And immediately he called them and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants and went after him. These four men, Simon in particular, they caught more fish in one fishing trip than ever before with Jesus in the boat. And they were excited, but it pales in comparison to what Jesus had in store for their impact on the world for the rest of their lives. They wouldn't be just about fishing for fish.
They were going to impact the world for Christ. They would be catching men. Now we need to be careful with the language of scripture and not overanalyze because when you think about what are you trying to do when you're trying to catch a fish? You're trying to trick that fish, right? You put bait on a hook, you hide the hook. It's as if you're trying to sneak up on the fish and try and trick him in order to catch him. Well, that's not what gospel enterprise is about.
We're not in the business of tricking men. We're in the business of casting a wide net and trusting God for a harvest. And that's what these men did, that's what these men believed, and that's what these men saw in their lives. So tonight, I thought about preaching tonight and thought about some of our college students getting ready to go off to school, some for the first time, some somewhere in between.
And it's not hard to reflect back on those times. And we can become consumed with our plans, with our dreams, with our agenda for our lives. And it's not wrong to have a plan, it's not wrong to be pursuing an agenda, particularly if it's one that's been bathed in prayer and counsel's been sought for. I talked to a young man this morning about his plans. I knew before we went away on vacation that he was wrestling with a couple of decisions and we talked for a moment. And he told me about the decision he made and I thought it was a good one.
Sounded like a well-reasoned plan. But let's not get lost in our plans, let's not get lost in our agenda. We've been called to follow Christ. The divine summons is a call of discipleship, to follow Jesus, whatever that looks like and wherever that leads you. That call came to me in northwestern Pennsylvania over 35 years ago. I didn't know what it meant, I didn't know where God would take me and he took us on quite a route in order to end up here.
I could have never planned that for myself. We can become so consumed with our plans and our dreams and our agenda for our lives, so much so that we are hesitant, we are resistant to abandon our plans for God's plan. His way is right and perfect and good. So my question tonight, is he calling you? Is he calling you tonight? And I know I'm preaching to the choir, I know who's here. The vast majority of you have heard the divine summons and have obeyed that call and are following in discipleship.
But I'm also aware that not everybody, most likely not everybody, is of that category. So my question is, is he calling you tonight? Is he calling you to a life of discipleship and following Jesus, whatever that may look like and wherever that may take you? You see, there is a general call that goes out to all and that general call has gone out to everybody in this room this evening. But there is an effectual call, a divine summons. And that call has been seen in our passage tonight with these four fishermen. And that divine summons is an intentional, laser focused, and a personal call.
It's an effectual call. And four men, and only four men, heard that call. Andrew, Simon, James, and John.
And all four found that call irresistible. And they followed Jesus, left their fishing business, left their livelihood knowing not what lay ahead of them, and they were not disappointed, one bit. Now they had questions along the way. They had misunderstandings about what following Jesus was going to mean.
But when it was all said and done, even after Peter's denial of Christ, he was the better for it. So tonight, how about you? Because here's the way that works. You can be in a room of a hundred people. And when God is issuing an effectual call, it's as if you're the only one in the room. And you're looking around and you're thinking, is anyone else hearing what I'm hearing?
Is anyone else under the persuasion that I'm under? We all know, those of you that have been called by God, you know what I'm talking about, right? It's mysterious, it's supernatural, it's divine, it's of the Spirit of God.
But it's wonderful. It's wonderful when God calls you by name. You know, I thought so many times about that time when Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus and said, remove the stone, and they said, Lord, he's been dead for four days, remove the stone. And if he hadn't called out Lazarus, but he named him, didn't he? Lazarus, come forth. And there may be someone here tonight that the Spirit of God is calling you by name. And you know what I'm talking about, if you're here tonight and that is happening in your life, there's no point fighting, no point resisting because that call is an irresistible call. God always gets his man, God always gets his woman, God always gets his teenager, his boy, his girl.
He always does. Because those he calls are those for whom Jesus died and Jesus did not shed his blood in vain. He died for his sheep and all that he died for, the Spirit of God will call and there will be no empty seats around the table at that great wedding feast that we are longing for and anticipating. Let us pray. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his mission, for him coming to this earth and seeking out men, these four men that we've considered tonight. And we thank you that his overall mission was to come and to seek and to save those who are lost.
And everyone in this room were in that category or are in that category. Thank you for such a seeking Savior. Thank you for the effectual call that goes out issued by the Spirit of God that calls dead men to life. Father, this message has been heard here tonight and perhaps will be heard in various mediums in the days and weeks and months to come. Would you bless this Word? Would you bless this gospel message to the salvation of the elect of God? I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
