Mark 1:17-18

Mark 1:17-18

[17] And  Jesus  said  unto them,  Come ye  after  and  I will make  to become  fishers  of men.  [18] And  straightway  they forsook  their  nets,  and followed  him. 

What does Mark 1:17-18 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Simon (Peter) and Andrew had met Jesus previously ( John 1:35-42). Mark stressed the urgency of Jesus" call and the immediacy of the disciples" response. Normally young men who wanted to learn from a rabbi sought one out, but Jesus called Simon and Andrew to participate in an urgent task with Him.
"Follow me" meant "come behind me as a disciple." It was an invitation, but in view of who Jesus was it had the force of a command. These men would have understood it as a call to become a permanent disciple of Jesus. [1] The figure of fishing people out of divine judgment comes from the Old Testament ( Jeremiah 16:16; Ezekiel 29:4-5; Ezekiel 38:4; Amos 4:2; Habakkuk 1:14-17). God was the fisher of men. Likewise the sea had a metaphorical meaning of sin and death ( Isaiah 57:20-21). This illustration would have appealed to fishermen. Jesus was calling these men to assist Him in delivering people from divine judgment by taking the gospel to them. As fishing, this calling would also involve hard work, self-sacrifice, and skill.
"First, the call came after the open breach with, and initial persecution of, the Jewish authorities. It was, therefore, a call to fellowship in His peculiar relationship to the Synagogue. Secondly, it necessitated the abandonment of all their former occupations, and, indeed, of all earthly ties. ( Matthew 4:20; Matthew 4:22) Thirdly, it was from the first, and clearly, marked as totally different from a call to such discipleship, as that of any other Master in Israel. It was not to learn more of doctrine, nor more fully to follow out a life-direction already taken, but to begin and to become, something quite new, of which their former occupation offered an emblem." [2]
"Jesus did not invent the term "fishers of men." In that day, it was a common description of philosophers and other teachers who "captured men"s minds" through teaching and persuasion." [3]
The brothers" response was admirably immediate (Gr. euthys). They began to follow Jesus by quitting their jobs as fishermen. Their commitment to Jesus increased as time passed. There is a strong emphasis on discipleship in the second Gospel. Evidently Simon and Andrew believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they had much to learn about His full identity (cf. John 3:22-30).
"Precisely because Jesus has come fishing becomes necessary." [3]7