Jesus Calls The Disciples
John 1:35-41, Luke 5:1-11, Mark 2:13-17
The time comes for Jesus’s ministry to begin, preaching the Kingdom of God’s arrival and repentance (Mark 1:15). In all accounts of the Gospels, as Jesus is making His way along the countryside, there are the stories of how He finds and calls His first few followers. In the calling of the disciples, we have a picture of the heart posture of those receptive to Jesus’s call and, furthermore, who He is looking for to follow Him. In recognizing these types of people Jesus is calling, we perhaps find the quest and daily pursuit of our lives as His disciples.
In both John 1:35-41 and Luke 5:1-11, there is a time of observance in which the disciples considered Christ's miracles and teachings. Andrew and Phillip both instinctually tell their brothers about Jesus, but first, after they consider Jesus themselves. Andrew had heard John’s proclamation of Jesus enough to follow Jesus to go listen to His teachings for himself (John 1:40). Likewise, Phillip likely had enough time to observe Jesus in consideration of Moses’s teachings and come to the same conclusion (John 1:43-45). When they come to understand Christ as the Messiah, they immediately go find their brothers to tell them about Him, all to find this as a continuation of Jesus’s pursuit of them as well. Jesus climbs in a boat with Peter Simon (later called Peter) proving His omnipotence at sea with the other fishermen, while Nathanael is struck by Jesus’s omniscience from his time under the tree. Jesus pursues each of these men uniquely, providing precisely what each of them needs to believe in Him. But then there are the cases of Matthew and Levi, the tax collectors.
For the sake of brevity, let's focus on Levi’s story in Mark. There is not much written about Levi’s decision to leave everything behind to follow Christ; no observation of Jesus’s miracles or consideration of Jesus’s teachings. Rather, Jesus walks up to Levi and asks him to follow. But why Levi? Or for the teachers of the law and Pharisees, why this tax collector? Jesus’s response is a clear statement of purpose: He came for those who knew their need for salvation (Mark 2:17). Levi likely felt the weight of his need for Jesus like Peter did. Peter knew his sin so well he boldly told Jesus to get away from him, testifying to his own brokenness, but furthermore, to Jesus’s holiness. This is the type of person Jesus is calling.
The question then turns to us; do we know our need for the savior? Do we see the deathly path every other option to live leads to and follow Jesus, knowing He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6a, emphasis added)? This is why I submit to you, as His followers, we are people who are not a proud bunch but humbled by our God’s holiness and our brokenness, daily clinging to His life, death, and resurrection as our hope of salvation. Praise God for this way of life we have available in Christ! In spite of our sins, Jesus has moved towards us, pursuing us to come back to the Father where we now belong.
