“And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Mark 1:18

“Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” Mark 2:13-14

“No one knows what was going on in Matthew’s mind when Jesus came up to him, but I have fantasized Jesus leaning over and whispering in his ear, “Hey, Matthew…..” I believe Matthew’s heart almost leaped out of his skin, and he ended up following Jesus the rest of his life . . . wherever He went . . . even to the cross.” (Mike Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder; The Adventure of Childlike Faith, p78-79)

The word “follow” indicates there is ongoing action — not just passive indication, but action. It is not enough to just say you will follow someone – you have to get up and be led – not just once but for an extended period of time. So, yes the disciples were leaving behind their livelihoods – their jobs and businesses. But that did not mean they were heading to a life of meditation and solitude.

And the first action was to “get behind Jesus”. Think about it this way: the disciples dropped everything, their “old” lives, their “old” priorities, and they made following Jesus the most important thing in their lives. That is what they not only heard but did when Jesus said “follow me”. And the most important “work” they did was to, like Jesus, ask others to follow.

The Augsburg Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew says this:

“In the ancient world fishing was a metaphor for two distinct activities: judgment and teaching. Fishing for people meant bringing them to justice by dragging them out of their hiding places and setting them before the judge at the end of the world. And fishing was also used for teaching people, of the process of leading them from ignorance to wisdom. Both…involve a radical change…a break with a former way of life and entrance upon a new.”

To be a follower of Jesus means two things for us today. It means that we first decide to make a break with our old lives and start down a new path – with Jesus in the lead. And in the process of being a follower, we learn a new way to live – and that is putting Jesus first, and everything else second.

Remember, to follow Jesus means he will lead us to the cross. And through the cross, he takes on the responsibility for our sinful lives. Isn’t that reason enough to allow him to lead us: lead us in all aspects of living, lead us down all paths, and lead us into “new priorities”?

Pastor Dave