Day 2: Jesus turns fishermen into fishers of men
How do you feel when people at school are picking teams? If you’re athletic, you might feel excited. If you’re not very good at sports, you might start feeling worried you’ll get left till last. Or maybe you worry that you’ll let your team down. In the passage you’ll read today, Jesus is starting His mission and picking the first members of His team. We’ll see later in Mark’s gospel how everyone in this team lets Jesus down.
We learned in our first study that John the Baptist was pointing people to Jesus. In verse 14, what does Mark tell us has happened to John the Baptist?
We’ll find out later (in Mark 6:14–29) what happened to John the Baptist after that. Spoiler alert: it’s not a happy ending! How does John’s imprisonment help us think about the cost of following Jesus?
The word “repent” means to turn away from sin and back to God, like doing a U-turn on the road.
What is Jesus’ message in verse 15?
Jesus was announcing God’s kingdom because He is God’s promised King. The “good news” was His proclamation of victory and invitation to everyone to repent or switch sides before it was too late.
Who does Jesus see as He’s walking by the Sea of Galilee (v. 16)?
What does Jesus tell Simon and Andrew to do (v. 17)?
What does Jesus tell Simon and Andrew He’s going to send them to do (v. 18)?
What do you think Jesus meant when He told these brothers that He’d send them out “to fish for people”?
How could we “catch” people for Jesus’ kingdom today?
Simon’s other name is Peter. So, this is the guy whose memories Mark is mostly drawing from for his gospel!
What did Simon and Andrew do when Jesus called them (v. 18)?
Which other fishermen brothers does Jesus call (v. 19)?
How do James and John react when Jesus calls them (v. 20)?
Why do you think both these pairs of brothers left their fishing boats and families “immediately” when Jesus called?
How does this passage help us to see that Jesus cares about individual people, not just people in general?
Thank God that He sent Jesus as the greatest King the world has ever known and that He includes His followers in His mission even today! Pray that God would help you to fish for people for His kingdom by sharing the good news about Jesus with your friends and family.