The Uncounseled Call: On Dropping Your Nets Text: Mark 1:16-20
Introduction: The King's Prerogative
We live in an age that worships at the altar of the self. Our therapeutic culture insists that every major life decision be subjected to a battery of personal inventories, career counseling, and extensive self-reflection. We are told to "find ourselves," to "chart our own course," and to ensure that any commitment we make aligns with our pre-established five-year plan. The modern man is a committee of one, and all proposals must be tabled, discussed, and ratified by his own internal board of directors. He is, in short, autonomous. He is his own god, and he runs his life accordingly.
Into this carefully curated, self-referential world, the call of Jesus Christ lands like a cannonball. It does not ask for an interview. It does not submit an application. It does not inquire about your schedule or your feelings or your long-term career prospects. The call of Christ is not a suggestion; it is a summons. It is not an invitation to a negotiation; it is a royal command. And as we see in our text today, the only appropriate response to the command of the King is immediate, unhesitating, and absolute obedience.
Mark's gospel is a book of action. It moves at a blistering pace, and the word "immediately" is one of his favorites. And nowhere is this immediacy more startling than here, at the calling of the first disciples. These men are not idle layabouts. They are small business owners, engaged in their trade, providing for their families. They have responsibilities, routines, and relationships. But when the King walks by and speaks, all of that is instantly re-contextualized. Their nets, their boats, their partners, and even their father are all immediately subordinated to the one who has absolute claim on their lives. This is not a story about finding a new career path. This is a story about being found by the King.
This passage confronts us with the sheer, unmediated authority of Jesus Christ. If He is who He says He is, then He has the right to interrupt our lives at any moment and redirect them entirely. And if we have truly understood the gospel, we will see this interruption not as a burden, but as a glorious deliverance. He is not calling us from something to nothing. He is calling us from a small story into a great one, from catching fish to catching men, from the tyranny of our own small plans to the glorious liberty of His cosmic purpose.
The Text
As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
(Mark 1:16-20 LSB)
The Sovereign Gaze and the Simple Command (v. 16-17)
We begin with the first pair of brothers, busy at their work.
"As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen." (Mark 1:16)
Jesus is walking. His ministry is itinerant, active, and on the move. He is not waiting in a palace to be approached; He is walking along the shoreline, the place of common labor. This is where the gospel meets us, not in the ivory tower, but in the sweat and grime of our daily vocations. He sees Simon and Andrew. This is not a casual glance. This is the sovereign gaze of the Creator, who knows His sheep and calls them by name. He sees them not just as they are, fishermen, but as what He will make them to be. He sees the raw material, and He knows the finished product He intends to create.
They were fishermen. This was their identity, their livelihood, their heritage. It was hard, smelly, manual labor. These were not scholars from a rabbinical school. They were ordinary men. This is a profound encouragement. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. He does not look for ability, but for availability. He is not looking for the impressive, but for the obedient. The kingdom of God advances not through the polished and the elite, but through common men who have been uncommonly gripped by the authority of Christ.
"And Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.'" (Mark 1:17)
Here is the call in its glorious simplicity. It consists of two parts: a command and a promise. The command is "Follow Me." This is not merely "walk behind Me." It means to become His disciple, to submit to His teaching, to adopt His way of life, to align your entire existence with His. It is a call to total allegiance. Jesus is not offering a new philosophy to add to their collection; He is demanding to be their new center of gravity.
The promise is, "and I will make you become fishers of men." Notice who the active agent is. "I will make you." Discipleship is not a self-improvement program. It is a supernatural transformation. Jesus does not say, "If you try really hard, you might learn to evangelize." He says, "I will make you." The power for the new vocation comes from the one who calls. He takes their existing skills, catching fish, and re-purposes them for a far grander enterprise: the salvation of souls. They knew how to cast nets, how to be patient, how to work together, how to read the weather. All of these skills are now to be sanctified and aimed at a new target. The gospel does not destroy our personalities or our histories; it redeems them and elevates them.
The Radical Response (v. 18)
The response to this command and promise is as startling as the call itself.
"And immediately they left their nets and followed Him." (Mark 1:18 LSB)
Immediately. There is no hesitation. There is no, "Let me finish this cast." There is no, "Can I think about it and get back to you?" There is no risk-reward analysis. The authority in the voice of Jesus was self-authenticating. To hear the call from the King is to be given the grace to obey it. This is the nature of an effectual call. When God calls, He creates the response He demands.
They left their nets. The nets were the instrument of their trade. It was their source of income, their security, their identity as fishermen. To leave the nets was to leave everything that defined them in the world's eyes. It was an act of radical trust and economic suicide, from a worldly perspective. But from a kingdom perspective, it was the wisest investment they could ever make. They were trading a pile of fish for a share in the kingdom of God. They were abandoning a puddle to gain the ocean. True discipleship always involves leaving something behind. You cannot follow Christ and drag all your old nets with you.
The Second Set and the Higher Loyalty (v. 19-20)
The scene repeats itself, but with an added layer of intensity.
"And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. And immediately He called them..." (Mark 1:19-20a LSB)
Again, Jesus sees them. He is the one seeking, the one initiating. James and John are not casting, but mending. They are engaged in the necessary maintenance of their business. It is a picture of responsible stewardship. But the call of Christ overrides even our most legitimate responsibilities. The good can be the enemy of the best. Mending nets is a good thing to do, but when the King calls, you drop the net you are mending.
"...and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him." (Mark 1:20b LSB)
This is even more radical than the first call. Simon and Andrew left their tools. James and John left their father. The fifth commandment is to honor your father and mother. This is the bedrock of social order. But Jesus Himself would later say, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). This is not a command to be cruel, but a statement of supreme loyalty. Our love for Christ must be so absolute that all other loves, even the most noble and sacred, look like hatred by comparison.
They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants. This little detail is important. They did not leave their father destitute. The family business was substantial enough to have hired help. But they did leave him. Their primary allegiance was transferred. The claims of the kingdom of God are higher than the claims of family. When there is a conflict between the two, Christ must win. This is a hard word for our family-obsessed culture, but it is the plain teaching of Scripture. Our first family is the family of God, and our ultimate Father is the one in Heaven.
Conclusion: Your Nets, Your Father, Your King
This is not just a historical account of how the first apostles were recruited. This is a paradigm for all discipleship. The call of Christ comes to every one of us, and it demands the same kind of response. It is a call to follow, a promise of transformation, and a demand for immediate and ultimate allegiance.
What are your nets? What is the thing that defines you, that gives you security, that you are busy casting or mending? Is it your career? Your reputation? Your financial portfolio? Your hobbies? When Christ walks by and says, "Follow Me," you must be willing to leave those nets on the beach. He is not calling you to be unemployed; He is calling you to a new employer. He is not calling you to be useless; He is promising to make you into something far more useful than you could ever make yourself.
What is your boat? What is the family structure, the network of relationships, the set of loyalties that you are sitting in? Christ's call demands that He become the supreme loyalty in your life. He must be more important to you than father, mother, husband, wife, or child. This does not mean you abandon your family, but rather that you love them now under His authority and for His glory. You love them best when you love Him most.
The call is not complicated. "Follow Me." The response should not be complicated either. "Immediately." The authority of Jesus is not one option among many. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He bought you with a price. He owns you. Therefore, when He speaks, there is only one sane, rational, and joyful thing to do. Drop your nets. Get out of the boat. And follow Him.