In the Life of Christ
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” —Mark 1:17–18
There is a difference between receiving advice and hearing a command from someone who possesses rightful authority. Advice allows us to consider our options. A command requires a decision. When Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee and called Simon, Andrew, James, and John, He did not merely suggest a new spiritual interest. He summoned them to reorganize their lives around Him. Mark emphasizes that they responded “immediately.” Simon and Andrew left their nets; James and John left their father, their boat, and their hired servants. Their response makes us ask the question at the center of this passage: Who is this Man whose voice carries enough authority to make ordinary people leave familiar lives behind?
Mark has already answered. Jesus is introduced as the Christ and the Son of God. He is the Lord whose way John the Baptist prepares, the mightier One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, the beloved Son upon whom the Spirit rests, and the King who announces that God’s kingdom has drawn near. Before Mark tells us what the disciples abandoned, he tells us who called them. Their obedience was not based merely on the attractiveness of a new occupation. It rested upon the identity of the One standing before them.
This remains essential to Christian discipleship. We will always calculate the cost of obedience incorrectly when we look only at what Christ asks us to surrender. Following Jesus will appear unreasonable when the nets are clear but the King is blurry. Yet when we see Jesus as He truly is—the holy Son of God, the authoritative Teacher, the conqueror of evil, the healer of the broken, and the Savior of sinners—obedience begins to look less like loss and more like liberation.
The command “Follow Me” translates the Greek deute opisō mou, meaning, in effect, “Come behind Me.” A disciple did not simply agree with a teacher’s ideas. He placed himself behind the teacher, traveled the same road, observed the teacher’s conduct, and learned to live according to the teacher’s instruction. The amplified rendering of Mark 1 describes following Jesus as accepting Him as Master and Teacher and walking the path of life He walks. Jesus was not inviting these fishermen to add Him to their existing priorities. He was calling them to place every other loyalty behind Him.
That challenges me because I can call Jesus “Lord” while still attempting to retain control over the direction of my life. I may follow Him when His path agrees with my plans, but hesitate when His Word confronts an ambition, habit, relationship, resentment, or fear. Yet selective obedience quietly reverses the roles. It makes me the master and Jesus the adviser. Biblical discipleship begins when I stop asking Christ to follow my agenda and choose to follow His.
Jesus also said, “I will make you become fishers of men.” That wording matters. The disciples were not yet what Christ intended them to become. Jesus did not say, “Transform yourselves, and then you may follow Me.” He called them first and promised to shape them along the way. The verb translated “make” reminds us that discipleship is Christ’s formative work. We bring Him our willingness, but He supplies the transformation. He takes the abilities, experiences, failures, and ordinary labor of our lives and redirects them toward His kingdom.
Their fishing background was not discarded as meaningless. It was redeemed. They already understood patience, perseverance, cooperation, changing conditions, empty nets, and the necessity of going where the fish were. Jesus would take what they knew and give it eternal purpose. In the same way, following Christ does not always require leaving one’s occupation. The early church taught believers to live faithfully within family and work while adopting the humility, service, generosity, and self-denial of their Master. Whatever our vocation may be, Jesus claims the right to determine how it will serve His mission.
Still, nets are not always made of rope. A net can be anything that gives us identity, security, or worth apart from Christ. It may be professional success, financial stability, family approval, public recognition, personal control, or even religious reputation. These things are not necessarily sinful, but they become idols when we cannot imagine obeying Jesus without preserving them.
This is why we must preach the gospel to ourselves. The gospel first exposes us. It shows us that sin is not limited to visible misconduct; beneath our actions are misplaced loves and “functional messiahs”—things we expect to provide what only Jesus can give. Our idols demand more when we succeed and condemn us when we fail. Jesus is different. He exposes our sin truthfully, bears its judgment completely, clothes us in His righteousness, and gives us His Spirit so that we do not have to change ourselves alone.
Christian preaching and discipleship therefore keep returning to the identity of Jesus as Lord, His judgment of sin, His salvation for sinners, and His call to repentance and faith. Preaching the gospel to ourselves means admitting, “My sin is greater than I wanted to believe, but Christ is a greater Savior than I had imagined.” Repentance then becomes more than trying harder. It becomes turning from false masters toward the one true Master.
The beautiful paradox of discipleship is that losing our self-directed life to Jesus does not destroy who we are meant to be. It restores us. Sam Allberry observes that as we deny ourselves and follow Jesus, we become the person God intended us to be. Christ does not call us away from life; He calls us away from the substitutes that have prevented us from truly living.
The King still walks beside ordinary workplaces, homes, boats, desks, classrooms, hospital rooms, and church buildings. His invitation is still personal: “Follow Me.” We may not be asked to abandon our occupation today, but we will be asked to surrender our claim to mastery. The decisive question is not whether following Jesus will cost us something. It is whether we recognize that the One calling us is worth more than everything we could leave behind.
For Further Study: The Gospel Coalition provides additional resources examining Christian discipleship as lifelong growth in knowing Christ, becoming like Him, and increasing in affection for Him.
FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE OR POST SO OTHERS MAY KNOW