COME, FOLLOW ME Isaac Lee, April 11, 2026. Come, Follow Me -Isaac Lee – Spring Retreat2026
Mark 1:16-20
Key verse (Mark 1:17) – “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
From the very beginning of his gospel, Mark proclaims a powerful truth: that J+esus is the messiah, the Son of God, who came to this world to save sinners. Jesus formally introduced his ministry by declaring the good news, saying, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” His desire was for sinners like us to turn away from our old lives, put our faith in Him, and enter his kingdom.
But Jesus didn’t just announce the arrival of his kingdom; he actively invited people to join him in building it. We see this right away as he approaches four ordinary fishermen and says, “Come, follow me!” This calling is an act of amazing grace which takes ordinary people, and gives them extraordinary direction, completely changing their lives. No longer would they just fish for perishable food that ends up on a dining plate; they would now fish for people, bringing them into God’s everlasting kingdom.
This brings up a crucial question for all of us today: What happens when Jesus calls you? Maybe some of us are still figuring out what it means to follow Jesus. Maybe you are wondering — does God really have a purpose for my life? Does his calling actually apply to someone like me?
The truth is, God’s calling is not just for missionaries and pastors. It is for everyone, because God created everyone for a purpose. As our Dream Team has learned from the book The Purpose-Driven Life, God’s major purpose for us is that we were created to become like Christ. Discipleship, which is the process of becoming like Jesus, always begins with a single decision; so when Jesus says, “Come, follow me” he is inviting us to make that decision and enter a lifelong process of transformation.
My prayer is that through this passage today, we may clearly hear his calling for us and respond to it with a firm decision of faith: “I will follow the Lord!”
The Call: Come, follow me.
Look at verses 16-17. “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
The passage begins with Jesus walking beside the Sea of Galilee—also known as the Lake of Gennesaret—and is where He calls his first disciples. Jesus saw Simon (later named Peter) and his brother Andrew casting their fishing nets into the lake, simply doing their daily work as fishermen. Going a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. (V19)
Let us look more carefully at exactly who Jesus called. They were ordinary fishermen. Have you ever wondered why Jesus called fishermen as his first disciples? Jesus could have chosen well educated men. He could have picked men who had a high standing and influence in the world, like priests or Pharisees or teachers of the law. Such men would be well equipped and eloquent enough to spread his teaching and stir the masses. They wouldn’t need the three-and-a-half years of intensive training to be considered “fully trained.”
But, Jesus called ordinary, often uneducated people to be his disciples. Here we learn a profound truth about Jesus’ invitation: His calling is his grace. They definitely were not chosen because they were the most qualified candidates. Regardless of all their weaknesses or shortcomings, Jesus simply chose them and called them. That is the definition of grace.
Furthermore, His calling is His grace because Jesus saw their potential. He had God’s hope and vision for their lives, envisioning them to be shepherds for the lost. Though they were ordinary, weak, and powerless in the eyes of the world, he called them into God’s vision to become great men of God for his redemptive work. Jesus took ordinary, imperfect, and uncertain individuals and gave them whole new meaning and purpose that only He can provide.
Just as fish are caught in a net, there are people out there who desperately need to be rescued from the sea of sin and death. Jesus wants to reach out to them and rescue them through His disciples. With this vision in mind, Jesus called them, saying “Come, follow me. I will send you out to fish for people.” So, His calling for them is driven by grace, and this grace provides a divine vision and purpose from God.
Think about Abraham, an old and childless man; Moses, an arrogant man with difficulty in speech; David, a young shepherd boy; and even Paul a proud, selfish man and persecutor of God. Out of His grace, God called them with the hope and vision that they would become great men of God for His purposes.
What does Jesus’ calling mean to us today? It is an invitation to New life for everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus’ commands reveal the nature of this new life. This new life requires us to come to Jesus, follow him, and strive to be like him. “Come” means to step out of your past way of life and step into a new life with Jesus. It is a direct invitation to a new life and personal relationship with him.
Mark 3:14 says “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.”
Jesus first called his disciples so that they could have a personal, intimate, and deep relationship with him, the Son of God. Anyone can accept Jesus’ calling; whether you are young or old, rich or poor. You do not need to reach a certain level of bible knowledge, perfection, or purity before coming to Jesus. Why? Because of his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus humbled himself, became a man, and came to be with us in our world.
While people of the old testament could have a relationship with God, it was generally mediated through strict covenants, sacrifices, and specific leaders such as Moses. They did not have the universal, personal access that we enjoy today. Then, what changed? Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Upon Jesus’ death on the cross, the curtain of the temple, the literal barrier between God and humanity, was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mk15:38) This is exactly why being called to be Jesus’ disciples is so gracious to us and a massive privilege and gift. Jesus is reaching out His hand and initiating a relationship with us so that we might be spiritually and physically close to him. We were not chosen because we were worthy, but because of Jesus’ unmerited grace upon our lives.
This calling is also an invitation into a new life of following Jesus. It means actively learning from him. It means to grow to be a compassionate shepherd like Jesus, a teacher like Jesus, a servant like Jesus, a missionary like Jesus, a preacher like Jesus, and a witness of God like Jesus. This calling is an invitation to adopt Jesus’ hope and vision to be fishers for men. Because of this, the apostles and disciples followed Jesus everywhere. They walked with Jesus and went wherever he went.
Ultimately, this calling is an invitation to God’s purpose. To be called by God is to be chosen for a specific purpose. When a person becomes aware of this calling and surrenders to it, they begin living out God’s purpose and are completely transformed into a new person.
Look at the life of Peter; Without Jesus Simon Peter was just a fisherman in Capernaum, running a small family business with his brother Andrew. He likely would have spent the rest of his life struggling day to day to catch fish and make a living, focusing entirely on economic survival and his family matters, just like all the other fishermen of his time. He would have remained an unknown anonymous Jewish fisherman, eventually forgotten by history.
However, Jesus’ calling transformed him. In fact, Jesus made him a new creation with a new purpose in God. When he decided to follow Jesus, his identity shifted to a “fisher of men” tasked with a global mission. He was transformed from a manual laborer named Simon into Peter or Cephas, which means “the Rock”, becoming a great leader and a founder of the early christian church. Jesus’ call continues to transform and give meaning to people today, just as it did with Peter.
For us today: “Come, follow me!” is an amazing grace that all young people should accept by faith. Many young people today feel trapped in a modern epidemic characterized by a profound lack of purpose, especially in millennials and GenZ. According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, 73% of surveyed individuals attribute this lack of purpose to overuse of technology, which often leads to increased isolation, loneliness, and the weakening of meaningful communal relationships. Jesus’ calling to his first disciples still applies to all of us today. This is not just their story. It is also our story. The question is: how will we respond?
2. The Response: Them and Us
Jesus called them, saying “Come, follow me!” Now let us look at how they responded to that call.
Look at verse 18 and 20 “At once they left their nets and followed him.” and “they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” Their response surprises us. They were so decisive. They responded to his calling with immediate action and unconditional obedience, leaving everything they had behind.
At first I focused on why the disciples were so keen to immediately drop everything they had and follow Jesus but that is not the most important point. The point is that this is the most important decision you will ever make. Jesus’ calling demands faith in him as the son of God, faith in His promises, and the faith to drop everything you have, even your own family.
Consider what Jesus says in (Luke 14:26) “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” The Greek word translated as “hate” in this verse is miséō, and the parabolic meaning of this word is to “love less”. Jesus is admonishing us that if we do not love our father, mother, wife, husband, children, and even ourselves less than we love him, we cannot be his disciple.
This does not mean we should break the fifth commandment to “honor your father and mother.” Rather, it means that in following Jesus, our love for him must take precedence over all our earthly relationships. That is what it truly means to follow Jesus and to be disciple: we must love the Lord Jesus first and foremost.”
Following Jesus is a serious endeavor, and it comes with a cost. By saying yes to Jesus, the disciples gave up their fishing business and walked away from their families. However, by giving up their livelihood, they gained a mission to change the world. By giving up their nets, they gained a purpose to live for God’s glory. By trusting Jesus’ promise and expecting the great work of God, they made the firm decision to follow him.
So, how are you responding to Jesus’ calling? Are there nets in your life that you are still holding onto? Maybe it is a habit, a comfort zone, or something distracting you. Maybe it is our pride, our lust, or our many sins. The disciples teach us that the right response to Jesus is immediate and wholehearted, along with a willingness to sacrifice whatever must be left behind.
Look at the lives of the first gens sitting among us, and those all around the world. Who by leaving behind their previous life, families, and careers to pioneer and evangelize the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond, accepted Jesus’ calling to be disciples and witnesses to the ends of the earth. In taking this leap of faith, they fulfilled God’s purpose for them, to be missionaries, through their acts of faith.
For the students and those present here today who weren’t born into the faith, you are, in your own right, a first generation. Just as Jesus called all our missionaries, he is calling out to you today, saying, “Come, follow me”, in the hope that you take up your cross and follow him. To those of us who are second gen and beyond, we need to learn to have faith like the disciples and the first generation. We need a Faith that prioritizes God above all other things, even our own lives. Because the amazing faith of our parents isn’t our own; it is something we need to personally cultivate.
The topic of God’s calling in my life has been something I have been pondering for a long time. There has always been a sense of guilt surrounding this topic because I felt that I was never doing enough for God; or that my decision to follow God was never solid enough; or that it was bearing no fruit. As a second gen when I heard the stories of first gen missionaries and shephards lives being radically changed upon accepting Jesus calling, some quick examples being Shepherd David Gates or Msn Peter Kim and like we heard in yesterday’s testimony Msn Mathew Jesus Kim who went from village boy to powerful kingdom worker, rather than being uplifted by these powerful stories and transformations, I felt discouraged that I had not seen this change in my own life. I often thought that since I was born into the faith that this transformation was not possible for me. Despite these thoughts there was in fact a moment of radical change in my life, and it was when my faith moved from inherited to personal belief. Back in early 2024 as I was beginning to see all the things God was doing for my life and as I gained an express desire to have a relationship with him the decision of faith I made at that time was that I would no longer be a Christian or believe in God because it was the right thing to do or because it was how I was raised. I would follow God; I would believe in God, in Jesus, not because I was raised in the faith, not because of my parents, but because I saw proof of God’s grace upon me and his intervention in my life.
Today I believe that God’s calling for me as a current student is to bring and introduce the word of God to students at my school. This calling has been hard for me to accept because there were always excuses in the way, excuses of being too young, inexperienced, or lacking in knowledge and faith. I remember expressing this in my last message and praying that I may find a person to study the bible with at Lehigh University. Despite this prayer, I did not act upon the calling. However this week, as I was preparing this message and meditating on the word of God, specifically James 2 which says faith without works is dead, and the great commission in Matthew 28 God compelled me to ask students to study the Bible. On Monday by the grace of God a student agreed to it! So God willing I start studying the bible with him next week.
I am sharing this not because I have everything figured out, quite the opposite, but because Jesus’ call to ‘Come, follow me’ isn’t just a historical event that happened by the Sea of Galilee 2000 years ago. It is an active, daily invitation to participate in his kingdom from where you are right now.
Whether you have already made the decision of faith to believe in Jesus or are still trying to figure out if God’s calling applies to you, Jesus’ message to all of us remains the same: He has a purpose for us, and he wants us to follow him. As we close, I would like us to declare our response to Jesus’ calling together by singing a song titled ” I have decided to follow Jesus.”