Mark 1:14-20 is divided into two parts. Verses 14-15 is an introduction to the section of Jesus' ministry: the time of the Baptist has ended and now Jesus proclaims the gospel "of God". Verse 15 is the theme of Jesus' preaching and contains two announcements and two imperatives.
Verses 16-20 is about the call of the first disciples. The narrative is prefaced by the phrase "As he passed by the Sea of Galilee" so as to fix the place where Jesus begins his ministry and to show that the two pairs of brothers who walk behind Jesus are the first fruits of his preaching. Many will be following Jesus later on, but these first four are people he called and change to become "fishers of men" (v. 17).
The Gospel of God
The "gospel of Jesus Christ" mentioned in v. 1 is also the "gospel of God". "Gospel" is evangelion, an announcement of good tidings. Here, the announcement is about the "time of fulfillment", a moment where something is being realized. That "something" is the basileia of God. The Greek word "basileia" can mean two things: spatial and dynamic. Its spatial meaning refers to the boundaries where the action of reigning is exercised; thus it is rendered "kingdom". It also has a dynamic meaning: the action of reigning itself; thus it can also be rendered "reign". Jesus announces the in-breaking of God' reign in history. It is "at hand", he says, it is impending, inevitable and very near in time. Since God's reign is about to break out and create changes, there are two responses required: repentance and belief in the news that Jesus brings.
"Repent" renders the Greek imperative for "metanoiein", "change one's way of looking at things". The Greek verb is the NT equivalent for the Old Testament word for conversion, "shub" which means a change in the direction of one's life to turn it to the way that God indicates. Belief in the gospel is the direction one's changed life must take: it is opening up one's whole existence to the kingdom of God, the content of Jesus' good news.
The Call of Jesus
The call of the first disciples occurs "as he passed by the Sea of Galilee". Those who first heard the gospel of Mark already knew the end of the story. For them, the main character of the narrative is no longer simply the carpenter from Nazareth but the Risen Lord. This being the case, they could not miss the theological allussion here: the Lord passed by, just as Yahweh used to pass by and perform a saving act for His people. The "Sea" is Yahweh's mythological enemy; it is the TohuwaBohu, the formless, shapeless mass of Nothingness at the beginning of creation. The Lord calls out four men from the Sea, saving them, promising to make them fishers of men so that they too can save others from being engulfed by the Sea. On the eve of the world's recreation at His death and resurrection, Jesus picks the men who will later on apply the fruits of His work to future generations.
Ezekiel once prophesied that there will be a time when living waters will flow out of Yahweh's New Temple and fill the surrounding areas with life such that even in those places where once no fishing was done, fishermen will begin to catch fish (see Ezekiel 34). Jesus calling fishermen to be his disciples is a signal that the time Ezekiel prophesied is near. Two pairs of brothers are chosen because Jesus calls people into a family. It will not be a family where members are linked by blood however but by submission to the Word of God (cf. Mark 3:35).
Jesus called and the fishermen responded by leaving behind their way of life, family and possessions. The call of Jesus imposes a new way of life on those called and it does not allow for compromises (see the episode about the Rich Man in Mark 10:17-22). The fishermen will be changed into "fishers of men" and their walking behind Jesus is the physical manifestation of a life-journey that is turned towards the path that Jesus takes. They will be following not as dogs do, but as "disciples", students who walk close to the Master so as not to miss the day's lesson. From the Master, they will learn how to become "fishers of men." Later, these first disciples will be among those whom Jesus sends out to extend his work of exorcising, healing and preaching (Mark 3:13-19). Then, they will be called "apostles", those who are sent (from the verb apo stello). By the time we reach the end of Mark's gospel, the apostles will be sent out by the Risen Lord to preach and bring men to salvation (Mark 16:15-20). For the moment, they will follow him, first to Caphernaum (Mark 1:21-28), then to the surrounding regions, and finally to Jerusalem.
The call follows a structure that goes from the act of seeing to the act of promising. First, Jesus "sees". In the Hebrew bible there is one instance where the verb "to see" also means "to choose". This instance is found in the election of David (1 Sam. 16:1)
In Mark 1:16, the act of seeing is at the same time an act of choosing (in Tagalog, "paghirang"), and is expressed in a call ("Come after me") with a promise ("I will make you fishers of men"). The disciple is chosen, picked out from the many, because "seen". He is called to a specific direction but at the same time is assured of a change that will make this new direction possible to follow. The promise — "I will make you" — is also personal guarantee from the Lord that He will not leave those He calls without his support. Jesus enables those He calls.Go, I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem for I have seen my king among his sons.
Conclusion
The proclamation of the kingdom of God bears fruit in the response of the fishermen to follow the Jesus. These four 1 will in their turn become the means through which others will be called into the sequela Christi (see John 1:35-51). But that will happen later when they are given the mandate to "make disciples of all nations" (see Matthew 28:19). For the moment, they are to accompany Jesus wherever he goes and be witnesses to the things He says and does as He inaugurates the reign of God among men.
- 1. signifying the poles of the earth and therefore the universality of the call to discipleship
