Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 6 Study # 1
January 8, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(038)
1901 ASV
16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they left the nets, and followed him.
19 And going on a little further, he saw
James the [
son] of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
- I. The Larger Picture.
- A. Mark 1:1 is "title".
- B. Mark 1:2-20 is "introduction".
- 1. Mark 1:2-8 is the presentation of Jesus' link to the prophecies of the Old Testament by means of the introduction of John as the "forerunner" according to critical prophecies of the Old Testament that specify a "preparer" who was to come before "The Coming One".
- 2. Mark 1:9-15 is the presentation of "the Coming One Who is The Mightier One" Who would be The Son Whose "pleasing" of the Father consisted of standing steadfast against "Satan".
- a. 1:9-11 presents Jesus as "The Mightier One": the Beloved Son of the Father identified by the Father's voice from heaven.
- b. 1:12-13 presents Jesus as "The Worthier One": the Successful Opponent of Satan.
- c. 1:14-15 presents Jesus as "The More Effective One": the One Who baptizes with The Holy Spirit through the effectual message of "repent and believe".
- 3. Mark 1:16-20 is the presentation of the "messengers" of "The Mightier One".
- C. Mark 1:2-20 is the presentation of the "Historical/Theological Center" of the Gospel.
- 1. John is "forerunner" according to "past" history.
- 2. Jesus is the "Mightier, Worthier, More Effective" "Coming One" according to "present" history.
- 3. The disciples are the "messengers" who are to be trained to present Jesus to succeeding generations according to "future history".
- II. The Initial Issues of Jesus calling "disciples" to "come after Me".
- A. That there are "four" disciples "fits" the concept of "archetypical" representatives.
- 1. "Four" Gospel records to complete the "Picture of Jesus".
- 2. "Four" living creatures to complete the presentation of the "essential glory" of God.
- 3. "Four" walls around the New Jerusalem with "three" gates per wall.
- 4. "Four" disciples, divided into "two" units ("two" being the minimum requirement, given the task).
- a. Two required to "multiply and fill the earth".
- b. Two required to "establish the truth of any legal accusation".
- c. Two required to "go forth as messengers of Jesus" (two by two).
- d. Etc.
- B. That there are "two" doing each of "two" tasks strongly implies what Jesus declares to the first set of two.
- 1. Jesus declared He would turn their immediate "activities" into a metaphor of their future as disciples.
- 2. In the outworking of the tasks of the disciples, there is a basic "split" in "task" as there are two distinct groups for which the disciples exercise their given functions.
- a. There is "evangelism" aimed at "the lost".
- b. There is "edification" aimed at "the saved".
- III. The Significance of "the Sea of Galilee".
- A. Mark, having only sixteen chapters of information, refers to the "sea" more times (15) than all of the other books of the New Testament except Matthew (28 chapters, 16 references to "sea") and Revelation (22 chapters, 22 references to "sea").
- B. Notably, the New Earth of Revelation 21 is characterized by only one thing: there is no more sea.
- C. More notably, in Mark's record, the disciples, though fishermen, are terrified when faced with their imminent immersion into "the sea".
- 1. Ironically, the "sea" is deadly as an "environment for men", but is a source of "life" as an "environment for fish".
- 2. These disciples walked a narrow path by choosing to draw their "life" from something that can kill them within minutes.
- 3. Given Mark's penchant for geographical metaphor as a means of illumination for relational reality, we can "see" the "sea" as a metaphor for "the people" being confronted with "their" attitude about "how to live" and Jesus' alternative attitude (bringing "repent and believe" to the fore once again").