Mark 1:14-20 – A Community of Multiplication

The series

Over the last two weeks, we have seen that the fruit of a true disciple of Christ is a life that follows Jesus by loving God, loving others, and making disciples. Today we will look at the church as a community of multiplication. 

Introduction

I want to ask you a question? What is the purpose of a fruit tree?

When we read the account of creation in Genesis 1, we see that plants have seeds that make more plants. Fruit trees bear fruit that have seeds that make more fruit trees. Creatures are created to not simply live but to multiply themselves after their kind. And people are also designed to not simply live but to multiply as well. Multiplication seems to be built into the very DNA of our world. 

The purpose of a fruit tree then is not simply to make fruit, but to produce fruit AND make other fruit trees. The purpose of animals is to make more animals by multiplication, not simply addition. And the same holds true for people. God designed us to multiply. God designed the world to multiply…everything after its kind. So, what is our purpose as a disciple of Jesus? To multiply, to make more disciples.

Let’s think about this for a moment. What if 20 of us made 1 reproducing disciple every 3 years for 30 years? That would be 19,840 people! Too intense? Well, what about 1 disciple every 5 years? That would be 2,480 people. Not too shabby for a church in 30 years.

Today we will see that a disciple is part of a community of multiplication that invites others to follow Jesus so they can love God, their neighbor, and multiply themselves as they make disciples.

Background

In verses 1-13, Mark has just shown how John the Baptist prepared God’s people for the person and work of Jesus. He proclaimed a message of the coming kingdom. This message was simple. Repent of your sin and turn to God to find forgiveness. In other words, the King is coming…you better make sure you are on his side.

Jesus was declared by God to be perfect and pleasing in every way, and John declared him to be the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In other words, John claimed that Jesus was the way that everybody could make sure they were on God’s side. Jesus made it possible to align with the King’s kingdom.

Exposition

John couldn’t keep his mouth shut about the injustice and immorality of Herod, so he was arrested. So he could no longer publicly preach the message of God’s coming kingdom. Now Jesus enters the scene and begins preaching.

The Message (Good News): the kingdom is here

What does Jesus preach? “…the gospel of God,” God’s Good News. What is it? Mark 1:15 essentially says, “The time of waiting is over. God’s kingdom is here. Finally! Repent and believe in the good news.”

What is this Good News? The kingdom of God is at hand, it is near. But why is this Good News? Because the world was invaded by an evil enemy. Satan has brought evil, sin, and death to the world. They aren’t supposed to be here. People get hurt, sick, and ultimately die. In a sense, Evil has been ruling, but that’s not the way it is supposed to be.

Jesus’ Good News is that a new kingdom has come. God’s rescue plan is now ready to be enacted. God is invading his creation…in the person of Jesus. God is reclaiming this broken world from sin, evil, and death. Jesus has come to heal, restore, and make everything new. Jesus has come to liberate this world from its slavery to this dark and evil kingdom. A new king is here, he will heal, bring justice, and establish peace in our world. He will make everything new.

Repent

What is the proper response to this? First, that we repent of our sin. we turn away from it; we despise it. We despise the person we are who could dare rebel against God. We humbly return to God and admit our rebellion. We have been on the wrong side of the battle, and don’t deserve his mercy, but we want to be a part of his kingdom. We want his mercy. We want to be a part of his new and amazing world.

The Good News then is that Christ died so sinners (rebels against God), like us, could be forgiven and welcomed into God’s kingdom and his restored world. We were rebels and we don’t want to be anymore.

Believe

The second part is that we believe this Good News, that God is making everything new. At the very core of the Gospel is that through Jesus Christ, we have a bright future and hope. The heart of the Good News is that Jesus is making a people who will one day live in a renewed world.

At the heart of the Good News is Jesus Christ as our Lord and King. We want to see Jesus’ reign be perfectly fulfilled on earth. We want him to rid this world and us of sickness, sorrow, and death. God has made all things new through Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. 

God’s kingdom has come. Jesus has defeated those enemies that stood in the way of his glorious rule. Jesus’ kingdom is continuing to invade the world and he is reclaiming his kingdom one person at a time.

Jesus didn’t just speak about the kingdom of God; he demonstrated it through his power and authority. He demonstrates this authority right away in this story of his calling the disciples. Jesus has Authority over the hearts of humanity (vv. 16-20), he is redeeming one heart at a time.

The call (Multiplication): follow me

He is building his kingdom. But how? By multiplication. One person who, in the power of Jesus, with his message, in turn, is used to call another person.

Come, After me (Be Jesus’ disciples)

Notice that the very first people called to be disciples do not volunteer because they think it is a good idea…they are called to be disciples of Jesus. They are called from their occupation as fishers, actively catching fish, to be fishers, actively catching men.

In Jewish tradition pupils were not called by Rabbis. Rather, pupils chose their Rabbis. Why? Discipleship often would require someone to temporarily lay aside their livelihood and their family. Becoming a disciple was not something that someone just decided to do on a moment’s notice. Usually, there was much thought and deliberation.

Unlike normal Rabbis, Jesus simply gives them a command, “Come! After me!” This is emphasizing Jesus’ authority as King. He is the King who picks his disciples, not a rabbi who pupils adopt. He has the authority and power to call and his subjects obey.

Imagine with me for a moment. What if you had never touched a musical instrument in your life, couldn’t read music, and were tone-deaf? What would you do if Bach came up to you and said, “Hey, I want you to know that you are going to be a great musician. Come and study under me. Actually, I want you to live with me. Go everywhere I go and do everything I do so you can become who I see you to be.” What would you do if one of the greatest musicians of all time told you that he saw humongous potential in you? You would go with them, right?

You see, Jesus wasn’t asking scholars, or people who had dreamed all their lives of being great teachers. Jesus was asking fishermen. Later he even called a tax collector. Fishermen weren’t known for their intelligence and book smarts, and tax collectors weren’t known for their moral uprightness. He was going to lead average people.

Fishers of men (Make other disciples)

But why does he ask them to follow him? So that they would become fishers of men. He called them so that he could pour into them for three years and then send them out to do the same to others.

But why did Jesus choose the people he chose? It seems to me that he wanted us to know that he is the one who qualifies us to be his disciples. Being a disciple who makes disciples, or fishers for men, is not the job of professionals. Jesus was showing what it means to be a Christian…not simply a book-smart, intellectual person. A disciple is qualified, called, and empowered by Jesus to make other disciples.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t simply call one person. Jesus calls a band of people who are to be engaged in gathering others. They follow his call to be with him, obey his voice, and collect others to do the same. He says that he will make them to become. Jesus works on them, in them, and with them to make them a community of multiplication.

The Result (What happened): immediate obedience

We see in verse 18 that Andrew and Simon leave their vocation and follow Jesus simply at his word. Then in verses 19-20 James and John leave their father and his business. Remember, however, that they did go back to fishing again, and they did see their family again. Yet, when Jesus called them, they were interrupted from their career and future. They followed Jesus simply at his command.

Notice that in verses 18 and 20 both Peter and Andrew immediately leave their vocation behind and follow Jesus, and James and John immediately leave their family behind and follow Jesus. There is no hint of thinking, no bit of remorse, they simply up and leave and follow Jesus on his mission of making disciples.

Much of our lives as Christians is spent “softening” the hard sayings of Jesus to make them more palatable. Yet we see that when Jesus calls us, he calls us to a life of radical service. In this passage, we see two brothers leaving their vocation, and two brothers leaving their family to obey the call of their Master. In Luke 14:26-27 we see this as we hear Jesus speaking to the crowds: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

What is Jesus saying? Is he saying that we must literally hate our family to follow him? No, as one man said, “Jesus wants us to follow him so fully, so intensely, so enduringly, that all other attachments in our lives look like hate comparatively.” We can’t say, “I’ll obey you if…”. Whatever is on the other side of the “if” is our real master. Jesus cannot be a means to an end. Jesus is the Maker, the King, and he will not be used by us. Jesus must be our true Master. Jesus must be the goal of our life.

This is radical discipleship. Our culture today probably wouldn’t have a problem with leaving family, but career… Jesus says that we are to radically follow him. We are to know him, love him, look like him, and serve him with such passion that everything else in life will come second. We are to be people that the world might call “fanatics”.

Application

So, if we want to take Jesus’ commission seriously, where do we start? If we want to replicate ourselves and make a disciple every 3-5 years that commits to replicate themselves, what should we do?

First, we must ask ourselves a question. Am I following Jesus more and more every day? Would you expect anyone to follow you if you aren’t following Jesus?

But we aren’t going to grow as a follower of Jesus simply listening to a 35-45 minute sermon each week. We need a group of people, a missional community, around us. This group can take God’s word and help us apply it directly to our life. We need people who can call us out when we need it, encourage us, help us to go farther, and help us learn what we can do. They will teach us how to love the one we can’t stand. Does this sound scary? It is, but remember we have Christ’s authority and presence. But how do we do this practically?

If we look at the book of Acts, it seems as if the church did much of its work through existing friendships and relationships. In Acts, we see people who live in community with each other and have deep friendships where they spur each other on. Paul disciples Timothy. Then, Paul leaves Timothy behind in Crete to disciple others just like Paul discipled him. This is why Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “…what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” We are meant to pass what we know from person to person.

Second, there is no formula for radical and exponential growth. There is simply devotion. Acts 2 shows that God’s people devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, the breaking of bread, and the prayers, all while they were living in a community on mission.

Third, we know that these four men already knew Jesus or knew about him. God leveraged existing relationships. But, at some point, prompted by the Holy Spirit, Jesus looked at them and said, “Follow me.” We must call others to follow Jesus.

Fourth, pray for the people that are in your life that may one day be disciples. Or, maybe people who need to become more committed followers. It might be the time to invite them to come and follow Jesus with you, or you may just need to be more intentional at engaging them. They may be watching you to see whether you love them and care for them for who they are, not what you want them to become. So, you may need to ask them, “Would you like to learn about Jesus with me, discover what he taught, and how we can know him better?”

Fifth, notice how Jesus tailors the invitation to who he is talking to. Jesus invites the fishermen to catch fish. He invites himself into the tax collector’s (probably starving to find acceptance) house to have dinner with him. If Jesus did this, why would it be any different for us? We must know people well enough, and we have to be praying for the Holy Spirit to show us how to specifically invite them.

Everyone is different. Someone may struggle with guilt, and needs to see their identity in Christ as a child of God. Another struggles with abandonment and needs to be reminded that they are adopted children of God whose love for them can never be taken away. Another can’t see the unique way God shines through them. Listen to them. Try to hear and see their servant’s heart. Help them identify what their gifts are and help them put them into practice. This is about what God wants them to do, not what you want them to do. Prayer is required.

Sixth, help people establish their roots in their identity in Christ. Look for ways to help them live out the servant’s heart of Christ as the trunk. Look closely and help them determine what Christ wants to do through them as the branches and leaves of the tree. Spur each other on to loving God and neighbor more to see the fruit. And make sure they know how to do the same thing you did for others as multiplication.

Finally, we need a way to integrate all the stuff we are into our lives so that we are not just a hearer of the word, deceiving ourselves, but a doer of the word. We need our life structured around practices that enable us to be a community of multiplication.

The kingdom of God grows through multiplication…we love others the way God loves us, make disciples, and multiply ourselves as we are making disciples.