As He was going along by 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 make you become fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, 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 servants, and went away to follow Him.
In the pattern of the prophets, Jesus called others to follow him (I Kings 19:19-21). What he was actually doing is inviting them to join his “school”, where he would teach them his way of life and teaching, which the “students” or disciples would imitate and then live in the same way. It is shown here what someone must sacrifice in order to be a disciple of Jesus—one’s occupation, one’s family, and one’s home. Some passages in the gospels teach this literally—Mark 10:29-30; Luke 14:26-27,33.
Being like Jesus is a part of being His disciple. Sacrificing for Jesus is a pre-requisite to being like Him. Every life change requires a lifestyle sacrifice and a new way of looking at things. Old jobs, old connections to family, all of this must be seen in a new way. This will be seen as a rejection of that which we would leave behind-- be seen as 'hating' one's family or friends. But this is not necessarily true. But to live a new life means complete change and while this doesn't mean that one has to speak rejection, it does mean that we need to no longer participate in that old form of life.
But different people this means different things. For fishermen, it certainly means that they can't be tied to a dock. For my life, it meant living in poverty much of the time. For others it means separating from family, giving up on one's politics or surrendering habits that keeps one from following Jesus.
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