A Call to Revolution and Radical Trust

Jesus, the Fishermen, and MLK (A Sermon)

Due to a southern snow storm (which shuts down everything!), our congregation met on Zoom last night. I posted the manuscript and recorded sermon on our church Substack account (which you should subscribe to:

All Souls Knoxville

) and figured I’d post it here as well. This sermon is from the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany. Grace and Peace, friends.

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I. WHAT TIME IS IT?

What time is it? This is a question that we must return to again and again as we read scripture. In a sense, this is a foundational part of what it is to be the Church – to understand what time it is so that we can live rightly in the world. Jesus, in our gospel, begins his public ministry by announcing that a new time has dawned. But what time is it?

The first words in our text are these:

“Now after John was arrested…”
-Mark 1:14

It is a time of conflict. The conflict, however, is not simply between two people, but between two times. There is a way, of course, in which John was arrested because Herodias was annoyed with him. John told Herod that it wasn’t right that he had married his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, and this greatly angered her and so Herod had John arrested. John, hugely popular, was the one going around and pointing to Jesus and saying the promised one had come (which itself marks a new time) and that John had come to prepare the way for him. John recognized that a new time was dawning in the person of Jesus and would therefore do whatever was necessary, including calling out those who were in power who were not living in sync with the time. A new clock was ticking and John recognized this while others did not.

Now, Jesus didn’t act while John was still ministering, but,

[14] after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming 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.”
-John 1:14-15

This announcement was the pressing of the start button on Jesus’ ministry. Once thing to note here is that this announcement makes it important for us to pay attention not simply to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ whole life reset the world’s clock, or better, superimposed it. And because a new time was dawning, Jesus said, “repent and believe in the gospel.”

It’s important for us to pause here and talk about the word repent for a minute. Oftentimes when we hear the word repent we think of the confessing of our sins and asking for forgiveness. This is certainly an aspect of what repentance means, but Jesus means something more than that here. N. T. Wright is helpful in his explanation.

Of course, Jesus wanted people to stop sinning, but ‘repentance’ for him meant two rather different things as well. First, it meant turning away from the social and political agendas which were driving Israel into a crazy, ruinous war... Second, it meant calling Israel to turn back to a true loyalty to YHWH, their God...The call to repent is part of the announcement that this is the time for the great moment of freedom, of God’s rescue.¹

There’s a seriousness, then, to the word repentance. Jesus is calling people into serious loyalty with God. In a sense, then, we need to understand this in a political way. Jesus, the King of the Israel and the King of the world, has announced that time is being fulfilled and it is therefore imperative to leave the old political allegiances and following him into his politic, which is to say the way that Jesus is ordering the world in and around himself. He is King and Herod, or any other political leader, including any political leader in our day, is not. Jesus calls his politics “the Kingdom of God,” or “the Reign of God.” 

Now one more word about repentance before we move on and talk about the Sea of Galilee. Our repentance is not what we do in order to make things happen. As I insisted last week, God always acts first. Our repentance, then, is a response to what has happened. Ted Smith writes these wonderful words about all that is transpiring in our text:

We do not repent in order to usher in the time of redemption, but because that time is already at hand. We do not become fishers in order to meet the quota that will summon up the reign of God, but because that reign has already come near. And we do not follow Jesus with the hopes that one day we might find him, but because he has already come to us and called us. As Mark tells the time, God takes the initiative. The reign of God is not the product of discipleship, but the precondition.²

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but it’s important to say that our call today, as with the call of Jesus to his disciples then, is to respond to what God has already done – to recognize what time it is and to live faithfully in response.

Okay, we need to talk about the Sea of Galilee.

II. SEA OF GALILEE

The Sea of Galilee is not simply a geographical location in which Jesus’ ministry just happens to launch. Rather, as Ched Myers and Elaine Enns (who we’ll be drawing a lot from today) put it, it is

“the matrix, not merely the background, of the Jesus story.”³

What do they mean here by “matrix?” Last Monday was MLK Day. One scholar says that

“Southern racism was the matrix…not just [the] background for the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.”⁴

You can’t understand Dr. King without knowing about southern racism. Similarly, you can’t fully appreciate our story today without understanding the matrix in which it took place.

The harbor town of Capernum, where the Sea of Galilee was located, was an important place economically. It was a large body of fresh water, “about seven miles wide and thirteen miles long,” which was abundant with fish, thus making the area the wealthiest “segment of Galilee’s economy.”⁵ There was a problem, however, rooted in Roman occupation. Here is where we begin to understand the matrix of our text. Herod built “a new capital city called Tiberius on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.” Why did he build this city? To “regulate the fishing industry” in order to give the control of the industry to the Romans rather than the locals.⁶ As Myers and Enns note,

“All fishing was regulated by the state for the benefit of the urban elite—either Greeks or Romans who had settled in Palestine following the military conquest of Jews connected with the Herodian family.”⁷

Myers and Enns note a number of ways that the Romans would have capitalized off of their exercise of power in the area. First, they sold and controlled fishing leases. This of course meant that even if you were a local, you couldn’t fish without having a purchased lease from the Empire. And these leases were typically not given to individuals but to families. The fishermen we meet in our text today, then, would have been one of the families who were allowed to purchase these leases and continue to fish. “Second, they taxed the fish product, its processing, and levied tolls on product transport.” Third, most of the fish was no longer used for local consumption, but was rather preserved or made into fish sauce and exported.⁸ So, what was once a source of major income for the local inhabitants was now controlled by outside forces who made their own lives rich, and the lives of the locals, on whose work they relied, miserable.

Perhaps an example in our own recent history would have to do with the sale of cotton which transformed the American economy and made many wealthy. The industry, of course, was controlled by whites while the work itself was done by Black slaves. One group controlling another in order to become wealthy while making the lives of the other group miserable. And fishers, by the way, became despised people. As is so often the case, those who make others rich are looked down upon by the very people who depend on them for their wealth.

So, Jesus announces the beginning of his ministry, says that time has been fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. And what is his first move? He heads to the shore and looks at some local fisherman and says, “follow me.” And what do they do? They drop their nets and follow him! Myers and Enns again on the significance of this:

Tiberius was ground zero in Herod’s project of Romanizing the regional economy, then Capernaum up the coast, a village profoundly impacted by such policies, was the logical place to commence building a movement of resistance. Restless peasant fishermen had little to lose and everything to gain by overturning the status quo. This is not unlike Gandhi’s attempts to mobilize the ‘untouchable’ classes in India in campaigns such as his famous Salt March…or M. L. King’s outreach to young, disaffected Blacks after the urban uprisings of the mid-1960s…⁹

One thing to notice is that none of these fishermen actually say anything in the narrative. They simply follow. And I’m reminded again of how at Jesus’ Baptism, which we spoke of a few weeks ago, that Jesus said nothing – it was the voice that was spoken over him that was the epiphany. Here, Jesus is the voice that speaks to these men and says, “follow me.” He is calling them and they say nothing, they simply drop everything and follow him.

Now notice what Jesus says will be their new vocation:

“And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
-Mark 1:17

Now most of the sermons I’ve heard about this verse are Billy Graham type evangelism sermons. But I think something else is going on here. It strikes me that what we find here is what is called an “echo” in scripture. It’s something that echoes other portions of scripture and is meant to trigger our memories in order to make connections. There are a few passages that are of interest here. In Jeremiah 16, for example, God is speaking of the people who have been scattered to other lands and are living under foreign rule because they polluted the land with idols.¹⁰ Jeremiah speaks a kind of double-message: a) God will rescue, but b) God will also judge because of their idolatry. Well look at what God says he will do for those exiled:

For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. [16] “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them….”
-Jeremiah 16:15b-16a

They are fishing not for fish, but for the wayward Israelites because God is about to act. Or how the message through the prophet Amos to Israel’s elites who are oppressing other people. Now don’t forget, Herod was raised as a Jew, but is now an elite who is oppressing other Jewish people by playing Rome’s game.¹¹ Amos says this against the elites:

[1] “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
who are on the mountain of Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
[2] The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness
that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
when they shall take you away with hooks,
even the last of you with fishhooks.
-Amos 4:1-2

The fishing in Amos is not evangelistic, but an act of justice against those “who oppress the poor, [and] who crush the needy.” The oppressors will be taken away with fishhooks.

Okay, here’s one more example from Ezekiel that is particularly relevant. Ezekiel is speaking against Pharaoh. Why? Because Pharaoh claims that he owns the Nile river. Here are God’s words through Ezekiel:

[1] In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; [3] speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:

“Behold, I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon that lies
in the midst of his streams,
that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.’
[4] I will put hooks in your jaws,
and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
with all the fish of your streams
that stick to your scales.
[5] And I will cast you out into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall on the open field,
and not be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
I give you as food.
-Ezekiel 29:1–5¹²

Mark seems to be giving us a revolutionary Jesus who is saying, ‘Look, the time has come so repent!’ Now remember, repent in this context means to renounce any other way than the way of God and to step into the reign of God who is bringing, in and through Jesus, a new politic which does not oppress the poor and needy, but rescues them from the powers that are oppressing them. So Myers and Enns one last time say:

“the revered image of ‘fishing for people’ should be understood more in the sense of Dr. King’s struggle ‘for the soul of America’ than Billy Graham’s alter calls.”¹³

Now don’t mishear me. My point is not that I don’t care about evangelism or that I don’t think the Bible speaks about evangelism. My point is that I’m not certain that this text is speaking primarily about that, but is rather the launch of Jesus’ ministry where he is saying that the powers that oppress the poor are being confronted by him and that time, in him, is being fulfilled and therefore the reign of God is overtaking the reign of Rome or any other system that oppresses the poor and needy.

III. RADICAL TRUST

Yet while it’s true that this would be a compelling call to these fisherman, it is also a dangerous call and one that demands radical trust. First, it’s probably important to remember that the time is “after Herod was arrested.” The mission of Jesus is a good mission, but it is not a safe mission. Second, Jesus is just beginning his ministry and it is an amazing thing that these fishermen would drop their nets and follow him without a word. They are leaving their families here to have to deal with the business run by oppressors. And hey, if Jesus is right and the elites are soon going to have fishhooks in their mouths, well great. But if not, they’ve just significantly put their families in jeopardy. So, the whole thing boils down to faith in the sense of the trustworthiness of Jesus. What Jesus is calling them to is exciting, but it all hinges on whether or not Jesus can be trusted. And what they show here is a radical trust in the person of Jesus. They are willing, without asking a single question or even speaking a single word, to follow him.

As I dwelt upon this story this past week, I couldn’t help but think about the Father’s of these men which led me to think of the Father of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Father of his wife, Coretta. Martin and Coretta were involved in good work, but good work often comes with a significant cost, like it did for John the Baptist. On the day that the King’s home was bombed, Coretta’s father drove all through the night to get his daughter and grandchild until things cooled down.¹⁴ What beautiful move, to drive all through the night for you kid and grandkid. But when he showed up at the door, Coretta looked at her father and said,

“I’m sorry, Dad…but I belong here with Martin.”¹⁵

Dr. King said this about his own parents:

My father, so unafraid for himself, had fallen into a constant state of terror for me and my family. Since the protest began he had beaten a path between Atlanta and Montgomery to be at our side. Many times he had sat in on our board meetings and never shown any doubt about the justice of our actions. Yet this stern and courageous man had reached the point where he could scarcely mention the protest without tears. My mother too had suffered. After the bombing she had had to take to bed under doctor’s orders, and she was often ill later. Their expressions—even the way they walked, I realized as they came toward me at the airport—had begun to show the strain.¹⁶

King’s Father sat him down and told him that it would be unwise for me to go to Montgomery when things were so heated. King weighed his father’s words but wrote:

I listened to him attentively, and yet I knew that I could not follow his suggestion and stay in Atlanta. I was profoundly concerned about my parents. I was worried about their worry. I knew that if I continued the struggle I would be plagued by the pain that I was inflicting on them. But if I eased out now I would be plagued by my own conscience, reminding me that I lacked the moral courage to stand by a cause to the end. No one can understand my conflict who has not looked into the eyes of those he loves, knowing that he has no alternative but to take a dangerous stand that leaves them tormented.¹⁷

Doing the right thing, and even the revolutionary thing, is an extremely demanding task and this is no less true for those who followed Jesus in our text as it is for those who follow Jesus today. And I wonder what it was like for these men to leave their families. Even if they were excited, were they, like Dr. King, “worried about their [parents] worry…plagued by the pain that…[they were] inflicting on them?”

And it’s here that I want to mention our Psalm. Psalm 62 grounds us in reality. We take comfort, of course, in the verse,

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
For my hope is from him.”
-Psalm 62:5

We are right to draw strength from the metaphors of God as rock and fortress. But the Psalmist then gives us these words:

[9] Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
[10] Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
-Psalm 62:9–10

The power and wealth of the elites are a delusion, says the Psalmist. But the Psalmist also says that “those of low estate are but a breath…,” and in the end, both are lighter than a breath. Following Jesus is exciting, but make no mistake, it is difficult too. Ask John the Baptist, the one who pointed to Jesus, but was now imprisoned and soon to be beheaded. But the Psalmist concludes,

[11] Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
[12] and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.
-Psalm 62:11–12

It is here for the first time in the Psalm that the Psalmist addresses God as “you.”¹⁸ In the end, according the Psalmist, power belongs to God and therefore to God belongs steadfast love. In the end, God will not forget us.

Revolution always sounds fun at first. But don’t be mistaken, the call to follow Jesus is the call to take up our cross and follow him wherever he might lead. This is the glory to which we are increasingly headed in our texts as we move towards Lent. And this, sisters and brothers, is not for the faint of heart. But if in the end we can speak the word “you” to God — in other words, if we can come into an intimacy with the one who calls us — it is all worth it, and steadfast love indeed belongs to the God who calls us because he loved us first. We love him steadfastly, because he first loved us with a steadfast love.

So let us follow the Lord wherever he may lead us. Let us repent and give radical trust and obedience to the one who loves us and is calling us like he called Simon, and Andrew, and James and John. Even if we are misunderstood by others, let us follow Jesus. And regardless of what happens, in the end, power belongs to God and all shall be well. We can trust Jesus with our very lives and follow him. To do so is to really live. And He’s calling us, even today, to follow him. How will we respond?

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

1. Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 9.

2. Ted Smith, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 1, Advent Through Transfiguration, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 287.

3. Ched Myers and Elaine Enns, Ambassadors of Reconciliation Volume 1: New Testament Reflections on Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009), 22.

4. John Dominic Crossan, God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now (San Francisoco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2007), 99. Quoted in Myers and Enns, Ambassadors, 22.

5. Myers and Enns, Ambassadors, 22.

6. ibid., 26.

7. ibid.

8. ibid.

9. ibid., 29.

10. ibid.

11. ibid.

12. These three scriptural examples are given by Myers and Enns, Ambassadors , 29. 

13. ibid., 30.

14. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Radical King, ed. and introduced by Cornel West (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2015), 23.

15. ibid., 24.

16. ibid., 27.

17. ibid., 27-28.

18. Allen C. McSween Jr., Feasting on the Word, 272.