Fishers of Men

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He called four fishermen to be the first of twelve apostles. In Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 5 the accounts of the calling of these fishermen can be found.

In Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17, Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Luke wrote the words of Christ this way in Luke 5:10, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will catch men."

An examination of the Biblical narrative gives the true disciple of Christ some important reminders:

1. Jesus can use anybody. When the gospel was first preached, people from all nations heard the wonderful works of God from uneducated men from Galilee. Christ can literally come right into your workplace and give you a better and more important task. Your past, your training, your origin - these things do not matter to the one who can do anything (Matt. 19:26).

2. Circumstances change priorities. The preaching of Jesus which accompanied the calling of the apostles was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17). Fishing in a boat suddenly became somewhat of a minor thing to be doing when these men found out the kingdom of God was about to come to men. People today are involved in many things that really should be less important than they are making them. Jesus may come again at anytime.

3. True discipleship is complete allegiance. The most staggering verse of the account of this calling is Mark 1:18 (KJV) - "And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him." The word forsook in this passage literally means," send away, leave behind, divorce, or desert." These men dropped the fishing business immediately, and spent over 3 years with Jesus before His death. The reason why many people have never grown in Christ, is because they have never completely joined with Him. You cannot hold the world with one hand and hold the hand of Jesus with the other.

4. God wants people who will fish for men. People ask all of the time, "What does God really expect from me?" They say, "I love God and I know He has a plan for me, but I am not sure what that is!" The Bible teaches that God wants people to catch other people. This is what He expects, and this is His plan for you! Embrace the fact that God is waiting for you to get into the fishing business. You cannot be a follower of Jesus until you begin fishing for men.

"When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'" ~ Luke 5:4