February 25, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“ They went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.‘”

(Mark 1. 21)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As I reread the reflection from yesterday, I was reminded that “the fullness of time” and “immediately, at once, without delay and other such urgency phrases” were related and interconnected. To some, there may be a sense of distance and disconnect. I have said it myself, and you may have as well, it feels like a “hurry up and wait” kind of experience. For Mark, for Peter, for Jesus, the “time of waiting” had come and the time for action had arrived. While there is great comfort in sitting around as if rest is something we have earned and deserved, there is also that John Wayne in the movie “The Cowboys” sense of “We’re burning daylight!” Watch what happens as Mark transitions the “four men” from the seaside as fishermen to being “disciples fishing for me.” Did you see it? “Four men” “for men.” Let’s connect the disconnect and hear it as it was “Four men for men.” I know, you can do that math as well as I. There weren’t just four men. There were five men because Jesus was with them. He was, is and will always be Immanuel- “God with us, God with them, God with you.” Think of it in terms of the story Daniel tells of his three friends- Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego (say it correctly, not Abendego, because he did not bend nor did he break.) The power of the story comes in the fact that the three young friends were not alone. Even though Daniel was not there (for whatever reason), he was with them. They were connected by faith and their faith was not only their strength and comfort- it was their reward. How was Daniel with them? He was with them as were all other Jews held in captivity because they shared the same faith in God. Their faith said to the King, “It doesn’t matter whether we survive the fire or not. What matters is we will worship only God and Him alone!” (Daniel 3.17-18) And when we read the story Daniel told, we hear (v. 22) the sense of urgency on the part of the king. There was no delay in executing his justice because he had been confronted and fronted with the faith of the people of God. The fire was stoked seven times hotter. Those who offered the three to the furnace were themselves consumed by the sheer heat of it. The three young men? Not only did they survive but they were accompanied by one which the fire could never consume. He had the appearance of a “son of the gods.” We know it was not a “son of the gods” but was, in fact, the Son of God. From a safe distance so that he would not be consumed by the fire, Nebuchadnezzar saw the unmistakable truth: there were four in the fire. The summation of their faith was a consummation of the truth- Immanuel, God with them. So, it was with the “four men for men” as Jesus was with them. They left the seaside and their home in Bethsaida and went to Capernaum with Jesus. They accepted the urgent call to follow Jesus in the fullness of time.

Then something happened. When they got to Capernaum, they did not immediately start “fishing for me.” Instead, Mark relates that “when it came to be the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue to teach.” I want to bring this to your attention because Mark says “they” went to Capernaum. I can only assume “they” meant Simon, Andrew, James, John and Jesus. This was the “four plus one.” Significant to me is that Jesus called them to be “fishers of men.” He did not include Himself in that designation. He was the master teacher. He knew best how to catch men. The men knew best how to catch fish, at least better than Jesus (in a way). Do you know how they generally caught fish in the Sea of Galilee? They cast nets into the water which were weighted on the perimeter. The nets fell over a school of fish, a presumed school of fish, and then was drawn up to the surface. There was a cord on the perimeter as well which drew the net together as it was lifted up through the water. The fish were caught in the net. You might also want to know that much of the fishing happened at night. Lanterns were lit on the boat. They were not for navigation purposes. The stars, on a cloudless or less cloudy night, were the guides for that purpose or landmarks on the distant coastline. Sometimes, the fishermen were of such experience, they knew where they were on the lake. No, the lights were used to draw fish up toward the surface. They were attracted from the depths of the darkness into the light. At the moment when there seemed to be a significant school of fish, the net was cast over them. The haul of fish was brought aboard (see John 21.11 for such an example). I bring this to our attention because I think we can easily see that the “four men for men” were like the net cast into the water. They did not cast into clear water. They used the light of the gospel of Jesus to draw all fish unto themselves. They were the ones who then captured the fish and brought them on board. It is an interesting vision that definitely fits the work they were called to do. We are called to do it as well and in the same fashion. The exception to “fishing for men” is that they were not to be consumed but preserved. They were to be taken out of troubled waters and put into safety where they would live at peace and prosper. Conservation and stewardship are the essence of God’s mercy and grace. It is the very calling of Adam and Eve as co-laborers in and out of the Garden of Eden.

So, what of the “urgency” and the “fullness of time” elements in Capernaum. The “urgency” was to move away from Bethsaida and their fishing history. Jesus moved them to Capernaum and their fishing legacy. The “fullness of time” was to wait a few days until it was the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, “the four men for men” began their training, their discipleship, as “fishers of men.” The beginning of Mark’s gospel was “preparing the people for the coming of Jesus.” He called them out of the darkness of the wilderness with a great light (Isaiah 9). The transition from John to Jesus begins with Jesus preparing the disciples for the people. He was calling them out of the darkness of life with a great light. The rest, as we could say, was His Story. It is Our Story, too, and that is the history of Immanuel- God with us.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.