14 Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

16 Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men.”

18 Immediately they left their nets, and followed him. 19 Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

Mark 1:14-20 - World English Bible

Marks' gospel presented the beginning of Jesus' public ministry with message and calling. He continued the core insight of the Baptist's preaching: repent for the coming Kingdom. Then he went to call followers, starting with two sets of brother: Simon and Andrew, James and John. Since the disciples were fishermen, he used an analogy of their livelihood to describe their new roles; they would follow the Master and case a net for new members of the Kingdom.

The text implied they left their parochial interests at the moment of their call for the greater challenge. Why? Some scholars speculate they knew Jesus either personally or by reputation. Since Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee was only twenty miles distant from Nazareth, some believe the carpenter Jesus could have sought employment there. If that were the case, certainly he could have made friends and business connections in the village and along the western shoreline of the lake. Such a personal network might have helped him spread the message and recruit hand picked followers.

How can you use your personal network of friends and family to share the Good News?