In the gospel, however, nothing more is talked about John’s mission and the impact that was having on the contemporary society. The text almost moves on too quickly. The reading for today opens with the words, “Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested ...”.
As I said previously, I think that a careful glance at John gives another lens to interpret Jesus through. So, John is arrested and Jesus picks up the mantle. Jesus is not starting a new ministry or cause but continuing what John started. The text makes that clear— “from that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent’ …”. The same call John had been making: a call to turn, to re-orient life, to live differently.
The message of John was not going to fade into insignificance with his arrest, Jesus was taking it up. This radical, revolutionary message was not going to weaken but to strengthen. It is no wonder that the authorities ultimately felt threatened by Jesus too. This was not a comfortable domestic message but one that demanded change from all who heard it.
The text continues with Jesus’ encounter with Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. This gathering of the men to be disciples always saddens me a little. Obviously, other parts of the story of Jesus show that there were women followers, but none so explicitly named or called as the men. However, I have talked about that in past blogs so today I want to muse a little on these four men.
It does not make sense to me that these men saw a stranger and dropped everything. These were not unattached men with nothing to lose. They had wives, they were embedded in families, responsibilities and fragile economies. Yet they dropped everything to follow a stranger. Why would anyone do that?
Nobody turns their back on everything without a good reason. Therefore, I think they must have had an inkling about what they were joining. It must have been a cause close to their hearts. They wanted to be part of it. They were no longer going to seek fish, but they were going to seek people. They were going to change the world. They were going to make a difference. They had been invited to join a cause that they felt was worth sacrificing everything for.
As the lectionary invites me to muse of these four men this week, I am reminded that it wasn’t a light or easy thing they did. What impresses me most is that none of this happened in a vacuum. John had already been arrested. The cost of speaking this message aloud was no longer theoretical. The danger was visible. But still, Jesus took up the mantle. Still these men chose. join.
This is not naïve enthusiasm or blind obedience. It is a decision made in the shadow of risk.
The call to “follow” was not a call to safety or certainty. It was a call to place their lives alongside a movement that insisted the world could be changed, that people could live differently. Perhaps this is why I find the story unsettling. It asks uncomfortable questions about risk, sacrifice and choices.
John’s voice was silenced. Yet it survived. It was carried forward, not without cost, not without loss but with immense courage. These men, these first disciples, were just ordinary people who choose to step into that dangerous yet life-giving mission, calling people to live differently.
