After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. 19 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. 20 Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
Mark opens Jesus’ public ministry with a simple but somber setting: “After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee” (v. 14). The good news begins in a world where God’s messengers can be opposed, rejected, and even killed. Mark does not treat that as a surprise. He treats it as the realistic backdrop against which God acts.
Jesus’ first words are a summary of what God is doing through Him. He announces “the gospel of God” (v. 14) and then speaks with clarity: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (v. 15). In the Old Testament, ‘good news’ often meant that God had not abandoned his people and would save them, especially when they had been brought low through sin, by turning away from God. Isaiah gives that hope strong voice: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger… who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Is. 52:7). Mark presents Jesus as declaring that this long-promised moment has arrived. God’s reign is no longer only awaited. It is now “at hand,” close enough to confront people, gather them, and change their lives.
That is why Jesus joins two commands together. “Repent” means turning back from sin and turning toward God with a changed direction of life. “Believe in the gospel” means trusting that God is acting now through Jesus and staking one’s life on that good news. Mark will show what this looks like immediately. The announcement is not only spoken. It demands a new way of life, and Mark shows it immediately in the call of the first disciples.
The first example is the call of the disciples. Jesus passes by the Sea of Galilee and sees working men in the middle of ordinary labor. Salvation history has a familiar pattern here: God often calls people in the midst of ordinary work and asks for a decisive break. Elijah finds Elisha plowing in the field and summons him into a new mission (1 Kgs 19:19-21), and Abram is called to leave what is familiar and go where God leads (Gen 12:1-4). Simon and Andrew are casting nets (v. 16). James and John are mending nets in a boat (v. 19). Jesus does not wait for them to come looking for Him. He speaks first. “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (v. 17). Jesus is not offering a casual invitation. He speaks as one who has authority, and his words function as a summons. The men remain free—they could have refused—but Mark emphasizes that they respond at once, abandoning their nets and following him (v. 18). They will still be who they are, but their work will be redirected. Instead of gathering fish, they will gather people into God’s reign by carrying Jesus’ message and mission.
Mark highlights one feature above all: their response is immediate. “Then they abandoned their nets and followed him” (v. 18). James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him” (v. 20). The mention of “hired men” quietly suggests that this was not a hobby. It was a real enterprise with responsibilities. Leaving it behind shows the cost of discipleship. Mark does not romanticize that cost. He shows that Jesus’ call carries an authority that can immediately reorder priorities.
This does not mean that family becomes meaningless. Mark will later show that following Jesus reshapes a person’s loyalties and relationships, but it does not erase the reality of family life (Mk. 3:31-35; 7:9-13). Here, Mark underlines that the call reaches into the most stable parts of life: work, security, and kinship. The kingdom “at hand” is not an idea held at a distance. It is a claim that comes close and demands a response.
Mark also introduces a pattern that will carry through the whole Gospel. Jesus proclaims, then He gathers, then He sends. These first disciples are not chosen because they are already impressive. They are chosen because Jesus is building a community that will learn from Him, follow Him, and later proclaim what they have received. At the beginning of the Gospel, they follow. By the end, they will be entrusted with continuing the proclamation. The good news creates disciples, and disciples become witnesses.
Lord Jesus, you announce God’s reign and you call ordinary people into your work. Give me a heart that turns away from sin, trusts your gospel, and follows where you lead.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark, p. 66.
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), pp. 599-600 (para. 6).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Mark, pp. 164-165.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), p. 980.
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century (3rd fully revised ed., 2020), pp. 1245-1246.
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