They immediately followed Him

Mark 1 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, ² just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“Behold, I am sending My messenger before You, Who will prepare Your way; ³ The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’”

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came from the heavens: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

¹² And immediately the Spirit brought Him out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving Him.

¹⁴ Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

¹⁶ As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away to follow Him.

²¹ They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. ²² And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

In today’s text it says: As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away to follow Him.  I am amazed that when Jesus called the disciples, they immediately followed Him. How often do most of us need to be called before we follow Jesus?

The text says: Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!” And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.  James 2:19 says: You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  The demons not only believe in Jesus, they are fully aware of who He is, that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They shudder knowing His authority. They are fully subject to Him and immediately follow what he says.

In Matthew 8:23-27 it says: When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, a violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” All of creation and all of its elements are fully subject to Jesus, the Lord of Lords. Everything in creation does what it is created to do and everything follows His commandments immediately.

Of all of natural creation, only we, only people can choose how they will respond to the will and commandments of God. Only we have the ability to choose if we will follow Him. That does not mean though that we can choose whether or not He is Lord and King. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings whether we choose to follow Him or not. Philippians 2:10-11 says: At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Everyone will eventually bow to and follow what Jesus commands. Why then not choose to do it immediately? In Revelation 3:20 the Lord says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

May this song be our prayer and declaration:

I Will Choose Christ - YouTube

Amen