Reflections on Mark's Gospel - Mark 1:19

Jesus Calls James and John

Mark follows the report of the calling of Simon and Andrew with a very similar report of the calling of James and John. The effect of this repetition, with such slight variation, is to emphasise the key points by saying them twice. What are the key similarities?

The similarities are:
+ Jesus walking by the sea
+ Jesus seeing the men working (as fishermen)
+ Jesus calling them
+ They respond
+ They leave behind something to do with their employment

Therefore the main point of Mark's account of these two closely spaced calls can be summarised as, "With a sense of immediacy, Jesus called these men out of their regular profession, and they responded".

What is Jesus doing? Hasn't he just called two guys to follow him? Isn't that enough? Shouldn't he just go home now, rejoice in a good day's work?

Jesus was acting with a purpose. He has come to the lake. He has called Simon and Andrew, but his work is not finished yet. His call of James and John shows that he is gathering a band of disciples, not just a couple. There are enough stories in the gospels of Jesus calling people to follow him, and of people responding favourable or unfavourably to that call, to realise that Jesus was not looking to invest himself in just one or two. He was looking to build a band of brothers.
So, after calling Simon and Andrew, Jesus keeps walking until he sees James and John, who were also working on the lakes edge.