Follow Me

Jesus saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in the boat mending their nets.
Immediately he called them and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Mark 1:19, 20

At a superficial reading, this is a strange and slightly unconvincing story. Jesus, fresh from his baptism and fired with his new calling, bursts into Galilee. Coming upon four fishermen working on the shore the lake, he says to them, ‘Follow me’. Without further ado or even a second thought, they abandon what they’re doing (and in the case of two of them leave their poor old father in the boat with the hired crew), and set off with Jesus, they know not where. All our understanding of human behaviour tells us that this is not how people normally respond to an invitation: no questions, no explanation, no promises behind the rather baffling statement that if they threw in their lot with Jesus he would take them out of the fishing business and into the people one.

As I say, that’s on a superficial reading. In fact, because we have four Gospels rather than just three, we know that this pair of brothers had been disciples of John the Baptist, had been pointed by him to Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’, had sought him out and spent some time with him in the Jordan area (John 1:35-51). This was not quite the instant ‘conversion’ described by Matthew and Mark, though undoubtedly it was an instant response to a call to join the embryonic band of disciples.

For many people on the journey of faith this mirrors their own experience. First we know about Jesus, perhaps as children or later as adults. Then we begin to ask questions and ‘seek’ for him. Finally there comes a time when we hear his voice, as it were, calling us to accompany him on the life of love, service and commitment.

For James (whose feast day falls later this month) and the other three it was to turn their whole lives upside down.

Nothing would ever be quite the same again. But then all those who set out to follow Jesus wherever he leads them are usually in for a few surprises.

Canon David Winter is a former Diocesan Director of Evangelism,a broadcaster and author of many books including Hope in the Wilderness (BRF).