How does Mark 1:17 connect with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20? Setting the Scene • Mark opens with Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, calling ordinary fishermen. • Matthew closes with the resurrected Christ on a Galilean mountain, sending those same disciples to the world. • The two moments form bookends: invitation to follow, then instruction to go. Key Passages • Mark 1:17: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” • Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Shared Themes: Call and Commission • Same Speaker—the incarnate, risen Lord. • Same Goal—people brought into saving relationship. • Same Method—personal involvement, not mere spectatorship. From Nets to Nations 1. Follow → Formation • “Follow Me” demands immediate obedience (Mark 1:18). • Discipleship is relational before it is missional. 2. Formation → Fishing • “I will make you” shows Christ’s active shaping (Ephesians 2:10). • Fishing image anticipates gospel outreach (Luke 5:10). 3. Fishing → Global Commission • What began beside a lake expands to “all nations.” • Acts 1:8 traces that widening circle: Jerusalem → Judea/Samaria → ends of the earth. Authority and Presence • In Mark, Jesus’ authority calls men from boats (Mark 1:22). • In Matthew, His universal authority undergirds the command (Matthew 28:18). • Both passages promise His presence: walking the shore then, “with you always” now. Process of Discipleship: Being Made, Then Making • Jesus makes disciples (“I will make you”) so that they can make disciples (“make disciples of all nations”). • 2 Timothy 2:2 mirrors the pattern—receive truth, pass it on. Continuity of Mission • The verb tenses connect: present imperative “Follow” grows into present participle “going.” • The mission is not a new idea but fulfillment of the original call. Practical Takeaways for Today’s Disciple • Start with personal surrender; obedience precedes ministry. • Trust Christ to equip; He takes responsibility for “making” us. • Engage people intentionally; evangelism is relational fishing, not accidental drift. • Embrace a global vision; prayer, giving, and going extend the shoreline. • Rely on His presence; the same Jesus who called fishermen walks with His church to the end of the age. Other Scriptures to reinforce: John 20:21; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Colossians 1:28-29. |
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