Thoughts from Mark – the Man of Supreme Worth (1:16-20)

I’m spending the summer translating and journaling through the Gospel according to Mark. I figured I’d occasionally post my thoughts here:

from Mark 1:16-20

How would we handle this story if we were “de-programmed”? By this, I mean that this was the first time we heard the story or we were able to remove ourselves from the typical teaching from this text that presents the central truth as being “Simon, Andrew, James and John left everything to follow Jesus, therefore you should leave everything to follow Jesus”?

I believe they give us a wonderful example to follow. But if the text is taught by only pointing to the disciples as examples, and not Who they are following, then we’ve not really shown Jesus.

A fresh reading of this text would leave us asking much larger questions: who is this man that is worth more than the world itself? Who is this man that warrants the sacrifice of my profession, family, and material possessions? Who is this man who, at his simple call to follow, is worth obeying? This is a question that will be repeatedly answered as the story unfolds, but it reveals something about the supreme worth of Jesus Christ. These first disciples are not simply examples to emulate, but more importantly are men who serve as sign posts to the most important man in the world—the man who is worth giving up everything to follow.