Call of Jesus

On this Lenten journey with Mark, I am skipping the prologue for now,  and  proceed to verse 16 of chapter 1:

[16] And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
[17] And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men."
[18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
[19] And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
[20] And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zeb'edee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him. 

Mark 1: 16-20 (RSV).   The passage is modeled on the Elijah- Elisha story in 1 Kings 19:19-21 which you can study in this  online article by Michael Turton.   (Turton takes critical views with which I disagree, but I have learned  helpful historical and literary  information  from him.)  Turton cites Thomas L. Brodie and identifies these parallels with Elijah's calling of Elisha:

         Note the parallels, listed in Brodie (2000, p91):
         *the action begins with a caller...and with motion toward those to be called;

         *those called are working (plowing/fishing);
         *the call, whether by gesture (Elijah) or word (Jesus) is brief;
         *later, the means of livelihood are variously destroyed or mended, the plow is destroyed, 
           but the nets are mended -- a typical inversion of images...;
         *after further movement, there is a leave-taking of home;
         *there is also a leave-taking of other workers;
         *finally, those who are called follow the caller.

Turton, online Commentary of Mark 1: 14-20.    Writers like Turton and Brodie claim that these NT literary allusions to the OT show that the NT writer is making something up here, and drawing on the OT for his material.  I disagree, and in fact I see the reverse of what these literary critics see.   That is, as someone who believes that that Gospel of Mark is the word of God, written by a human author, I see the spirit of God  involved in these echoes from the OT, although the precise nature of God's role  must remain a mystery.  I find these intertextual allusions fascinating and spiritually inspiring, and they make sense here in Mark 1.  After all, Jesus like Elijah has a prophetic office.  

Also,  Mark 1:14-20  is not a simple rehash of Elijah-Elisha.  While the Gospel alludes to that tradition with the parallels just listed,  a major difference here in Mark as compared to I Kings 19 is that the disciples come immediately.    See Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.,  and John R. Donahue, S.J.,  Sacra Pagina - The Gospel of Mark (2002), at 77.   Elisha did not go immediately.   He took time to check in with his father before going with Elijah.     The follower of Jesus needs to respond quickly.   Here is more than a prophet making the call.  This is the Messiah himself.   That's the message of Mark.