Fishers of Men

Matthew 4:18-22

March 3, 2002

 

 When Jesus Christ called four fishermen from Galilee to follow him, they had no idea of the magnitude of where that calling would lead them. They did not know that they would face persecution, prison, and even death for the sake of the gospel of Christ. They did not realize that they would be the leaders of the infant church that would eventually span the globe. They did not realize that they would have a part in the revelation of Holy Scripture. They just knew that Jesus called, so they obeyed.

 

The same is true of us today. When Jesus calls, and we follow, we do not know what he might be pleased to do in our lives. We do not know where we will serve, or how we will serve, or the cost that following Christ will demand. But when he calls with his irresistible power, we obey.

 

The calling of Peter and Andrew, and James and John follow the same pattern. All are working at their trade. Peter and Andrew are throwing the large cast net that opens in a circular pattern upon the water and rapidly sinks to the bottom, catching its prey. James and John sat in their father's boat mending the larger nets that had been torn from their work. All four were going about the normal process of their lives when Jesus Christ called them to himself.

 

Scholars seem to be in agreement that these four men had already come to know something of Jesus Christ. They had profited by the ministry of John the Baptist and believed his declaration that the Messiah had come. They likely had already encountered Christ along the way, perhaps had listened to him, and then had returned to their work in Galilee when he came seeking after them. Though familiar with Christ they probably had not anticipated the nature of his calling upon their lives. So powerful was his call to them that they resolutely followed after him. Certainly they responded to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting him enough to leave their livelihood to follow after him. But true faith is always coupled with obedience, and we see this evidenced clearly in their lives. Jesus promised that upon following him, he would make them to be fishers of men.

 

One thing is certain. With the call of Christ comes the creative work of Christ in our lives. It is no idle call, but a call to following him that leads us to a completely different life-fishing after men. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?

 

I. The call of Christ

 

We must probe the nature and power of Christ's call upon the four disciples. Charles Spurgeon does not hesitate to say, "This is a mark of the effectual calling by divine grace, whenever it comes, men are led "straightway" to obey it" [MTP, vol. 45, 181]. It features the simple but direct words of Christ, demanding that they come and offering the certainty of his promise. "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." The Greek is not as smooth as our translation, though the translation captures the meaning: "Come here after Me!" There is a difference between a call and an effectual call. The first is general and debatable. It can be easily sloughed off or ignored. But the effectual call cannot be laid aside. It burns in the heart with passion for obedience. I can call you to faith in Christ all day long to no avail. But when Jesus Christ, by the Spirit calls you, you will follow. Jesus expressed this in John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I known them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." Here is this same continuity between calling and following. It is a personal call to decisive action in relationship to Jesus Christ.

 

1. It is personal

 

Jesus singled out Peter and Andrew, and then James and John. We know that Zebedee, was in the boat with James and John, and there likely could have been other men fishing alongside Peter and Andrew. In addition, Mark adds that there were hired servants working with Zebedee (Mark 1:20). But the call of Christ focused upon these four men. "Follow Me!" These four took up the mantle of following Christ.

 

It was not unusual in the first century for men to follow a rabbi as his disciples. But it was unheard of for a rabbi to call men to himself! The normal process was for someone to decide that he wanted to join himself to particular rabbi, so he sought out the rabbi and asked to join his ranks. But men in the darkness of sin do not seek after Jesus Christ. They love darkness rather than the Light. They do not come to the Light because to do so would expose their evil deeds; so they avoid Jesus Christ (John 3:19-20). Instead, men naturally pursue the way of sin and rebellion against God. Mankind does not have a divine spark in him that causes him to gravitate toward the Light of the gospel, rather mankind is at enmity with God, and hates the Light (Rom 8:7).

 

We have been discussing this idea on the past couple of Wednesday nights. We do not begin to comprehend the wretchedness of our sin, and the waywardness of our rebellion against God. We have little idea of the magnitude of our sin. But consider what it cost for God to remove the infinite blot of our sin! Dare we think lightly of our own sin when we think of Jesus Christ bearing the wrath of God in our place at the cross? We might quickly point out how horrible other men act. They engage in all sorts of brutal sins. They do things that we would never think of doing. But what we may fail to realize is though we might be restrained from some of the more brutal and grotesque sins that we see in others, the nature of those sins resides in our own bosom. Ralph Venning adds, "So what is done by any man would be done by every man, if God did not restrain some men from it by his power, and constrain others to obedience by his love and power" [The Plague of Plagues, 30].

 

So the personal nature of Christ's call shows his mercy and grace: mercy, in that those being called do not deserve the relationship to Christ; grace, in that the Lord provides what is necessary for the sinner to follow after him.

 

2. It is decisive

 

But we also see the decisiveness of this call. "Follow Me!" You will notice that he did not ask a question: 'Would you like to follow Me?' or 'Are you willing to follow Me?' He looks at them and commands, "Come here after Me!" It is not time to quibble about the nature of his call or what our plans might be or how we have other interests or how it is too costly. "Follow Me!" Peter and Andrew heard this, and "immediately they left their nets and followed Him." The same with James and John, "Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him." No discussion, no hedging, and no wondering about what they might miss out on if they obeyed; they simply followed.

 

These men understood something of the urgency of following Christ. They were not the theologians of Israel, just fishermen of Galilee. But they understood that when Jesus calls it is time for decisive action. Have you known this decisiveness in your own life? I wonder if there are not some among us that have heard the call of Christ in the gospel but have thought about all the plans of life and ambitions and relationships, and thus have turned a deaf ear? Is that you? Augustine heard the call of Christ in his garden and followed immediately. Spurgeon heard the call of Christ in a blizzard while visiting a London church, and immediately he followed. After laboring under legalisms and rituals for years, George Whitefield heard the call of Christ in the gospel, and immediately followed. Have you heard his call and followed?

 

3. It is relational

 

We must see that the call of Christ is relational. By that I mean that he does not call you to a concept or an ideology or a philosophy or an institution. "Follow Me," "Come here after Me," Jesus demanded. "Me" is a common word that we use all the time. But it was never used more importantly for these four men than when they heard the voice of Christ calling them to himself. It was a call to relationship, to know him as Redeemer and Lord. It was a call to learn of him, to listen to what he taught, to observe the details of his life, to receive rebuke and instruction from him. It was a call to evaluate the darkness and sinfulness of their own hearts in light of the purity and holiness of Christ's. It was a call to love Christ more than any earthly treasure, to find him as the pearl of great price that consumes the mind, the hidden treasure that one sells all that he has to buy (Matt 13:44-46). It was a call to walk with Christ, talk with him, and if need be, die for him.

 

That is the call of Jesus Christ. Have you heard his voice through the gospel and answered gladly his call? Are you following him?

 

II. The commitment by Christ

 

There is a commitment on the part of Christ attached to the call. We must see the simplicity of the language: "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." He did not say, 'Follow Me, and hopefully you will become fishers of men,' or 'Follow Me, and some of you will become fishers of men.' It is a gospel reality. There is such a decisive change in the entire disposition that the believer has a completely different focus and outlook on life. Christ is working something in the Christian, doing something that is contrary to his own nature. "I will make you fishers of men."

 

1. Divine obligation

 

You cannot make yourself a fisher of men. "I will make you fishers of men." Jesus Christ has assumed this as a divine obligation. Jesus used metaphors quite often, and what better metaphor to use with men skilled in fishing than one on fishing. You know how to fish for fish, but I will so work in you that your energies will be turned toward fishing for men. You fish for that which is perishable but I will change you, and mold you, and transform you so that you will be used in reaching men for eternity. You cannot do this yourself. You know how to catch fish but you do not know how to fish for men. I must work that in you.

 

Our Lord viewed the natural course of growing in grace by walking with him as the process for training Christians to be fishers of men. When we follow their story in the Acts of the Apostles, we do not find the disciples using gimmicks or trickery or slick techniques or deceitful schemes. They preached, taught, and conversed on the gospel of Christ, and thus fished for men. Everywhere they were scattered they fished for men. And why did they do this? It is because Jesus Christ had made them fishers of men. How did Jesus make them fishers of men?

 

First, Jesus worked on their character. He have them a new life, and worked a new disposition in them. He constantly refined them.

 

Second, Jesus worked on their ambitions. The disciples struggled with selfishness and the desire to be most prominent. Christ taught them humility, and harnessed their raw ambitions to focus upon giving preeminence to the kingdom of God.

 

Third, Jesus worked on their understanding. He taught them the gospel. He brought together the teachings of the Old Testament in a new light so that they began to understand the continuity of divine revelation, and its culmination in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

Fourth, Jesus worked on their trust. They had to learn to depend upon him, so he sent them out without extra baggage and money, so that they learned contentment on one hand and dependence upon God on the other. He assured them that they would stand before kings and governors to testify of him, and that the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say.

 

Finally, Jesus worked on their hope. He taught them that all that the Father had given him would come to him, that his sheep would hear his voice. So they could now fish for men with the hope and expectancy that God would call sinners out of darkness into the kingdom of heaven.

 

2. New occupation

 

After Matthew gives his brief description of Peter and Andrew, he adds, "For they were fishermen." The impact of that can be compared to 'for they were farmers' or 'for they were miners'. Fishing was more than an occupation for these men; it was their life. To abandon their nets was to leave behind what they had been brought up to do. They likely began fishing at an early age. It was talked about at the table. It was the discussion in social gatherings. Their friends were fishermen; their families were fishermen. Yet the call of Jesus Christ caused them to abandon their heritage and livelihood for a new occupation, following Christ and fishing for men.

 

The call of Christ still does this today. It is not that we quit our jobs or leave our families to pursue gospel ministry. Instead wherever the Lord places us we are to fish for men. Spurgeon comments, "The winds of providence will waft you where you can fish for men" [MTP, vol. 32, 344]. God moves upon our lives, placing us in strategic locations and settings so that we might, as followers of Christ, become fishers of men. Do you realize this? We might complain about our job or where we find ourselves, but when we consider that God in his providence has planted us then it changes the whole perspective. We must lift our thinking beyond meeting temporal needs at work or merely going to school. We must see that we have been placed by God to engage others in gospel conversations, to point men to faith in Christ.

 

In John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, as Christian struggles under the load of his burden of sin, and reads of the judgment coming upon his hometown, the City of Destruction, a man came along called Evangelist. Planted by God at just the right time, Evangelist pointed the struggling sinner to "yonder wicket-gate" where Christian would meet with deliverance through Christ. In Bunyan's narrative, Christian could not see the wicket-gate, so Evangelist focused the pilgrim's attention upon "yonder shining light," a phrase that implied the revelation of the Word of God that would take him to Christ. Evangelist was the one who pointed the way. He could not save Christian, but he could point him to the cross of Christ. That is precisely what fishers of men are to be doing. Our new occupation is pointing others to the only refuge from God's wrath, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

3. Certain expectation

 

Jesus had no doubt about what he would be doing in the newly called disciples, "I will make you fishers of men." It will happen; it may not be overnight but it will happen. And how did it happen that they became fishers of men? Did they sit down in a classroom receiving instruction, and then had the declaration upon them that they had completed the course and were officially fishers of men? They used the opportunities before them. On the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit rushed in a mighty way upon the band of believers, the sudden opportunity was thrust upon them, so Peter preached and God gave a great harvest. As Peter and John went to the temple to pray, a lame beggar asked for alms, and instead they gave him something greater. A crowd ensued, and the gospel was preached once again. They were thrust before the Jewish Sanhedrin, and again they testified of Christ. One opportunity after another in the daily course of life, led them to be fishers of men.

 

This is what we must get into our minds. Being fishers of men does not require that we follow a particular routine or course of study or planned out program. It happens when we use the normal events of daily life to engage others in gospel conversations. They might not be lengthy conversations or complete gospel discussions, but the unfolding of daily life must be seen as the divine process of making us fishers of men.

 

I think that some of us are so geared in our thinking that witnessing takes place on a visitation night or on a mission trip or a visit to the local prison, rather than seeing all of life, in a variety of settings as opportunities for the gospel to be set forth to some degree. You are already in the marketplace and on the mission field at your job and at school and in the community. Believing this is critical! Believing the promise of Christ, his commitment to make you a fisher of men, is even more critical. Let us believe him, obey him, and look forward to what he will do in making us fishers of men!

 

III. The consecration to Christ

 

The four men's story indicates that they pursued a genuine consecration in relation to Christ. I'm not speaking of some deeper level of Christianity that is out of the norm. They were appointed apostles, but before this they were followers of Jesus Christ. They followed Christ; and that is precisely what happens in the gospel. With each of them there was urgency, a leaving of their nets and occupation, and following after Christ.

 

1. Urgent following

 

In both cases, Matthew states, "Immediately they left." In Peter and Andrew's case, they left their nets. In James and John, they left their boat and their father. But it happened "immediately," or "straightway" as it is often translated. It was not good intentions that Jesus called for; it was following him. It was not a desire to follow but following that he called for. Their response shows us the urgency in the gospel call.

 

I wonder if there might be some among us that have dallied with the gospel. You have heard the gospel. You have it memorized and can even explain it, but you have not believed and followed after Christ. You must see the urgency! "Immediately they left... and followed Him." But, someone might say, I have things to think about, things to do, and things to work out. If you hear and understand the gospel, you have no cause to delay. Follow Christ!

 

2. Solitary following

 

The word "followed" "signifies self-commitment in a sense which breaks all other ties" [TDNT, vol. 1, 213]. "And they followed Him" is preceded by "they left their nets... their boat and their father, and followed Him." Is this too austere for you? Do you cringe at the thought of leaving the security of the world or the pet sins that you have nurtured or some fond ambition that has driven you? Then you cannot follow Christ. They "left" and then they "followed Him." The Rich Young Ruler, as we call him, could not follow Christ because he would not leave his covetous lifestyle. So many prosperous Americans have heard the gospel, and even indicated a profession, but have not left the love of things to follow Christ. I recall a man that came from a prosperous family, and everything seemed to drop in his lap. He indulged in the world, and followed his fantasies to all kinds of sins. He then found himself miserable and at a point confessed to be a follower of Christ. But the lure of things captured his attention and affections, and like a sow returning to the mire, he left following after Christ and turned back to the world. "They left...and followed Him."

 

Has this not been an area that has crippled the witness of the gospel in America? Who wants to listen to the gospel from people who live no differently than the world? Spurgeon was right, "I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church" [vol. 32, 339]. If he could say that in the 19th century, what would he say now!

 

3. Faithful following

 

"They...followed Him." Follow is an active term, a participatory term that indicates not a concept but a rigorous, faithful activity of following after Christ. That means we seek to listen to him speaking in his Word. We commune with him in prayer. We obey what he demands. We enjoy the fellowship of his presence. We respond when he corrects and disciplines us. We offer him our worship and praise. We give of our resources to the work of his kingdom. We love those whom he has redeemed and gladly participate in fellowship with them. We are willing to pay whatever price might be demanded of us for being a follower of Christ.

 

What does it mean for you to follow Jesus Christ? Do you look for the easy road? Do you avoid difficulties and demands? I passed along a current story from the Sudan to our missions committee of one particular Christian and what it is costing him to follow Christ in that country. His name is Aladi Omer Agabni Mohammed, a former Muslim, but now a follower of Jesus Christ. When he came to faith in Christ eleven years ago, he was branded an "apostate" and was put under the Sudanese death penalty for his faith in Christ. His family denounced him. His university expelled him. He spent time in jail, faced grueling interrogations, and beatings, and has been injected with impairing drugs. He has lived under threat of death. Mohammed has tried to leave Sudan but each time the police have pulled him from the check-in line at the Khartoum airport. Now he is in hiding, moving from one location to another, occasionally checking in with Christian friends, but letting no one know his whereabouts. Mohammed knows something of "the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death" (Phil 3:10). He is a follower of Jesus Christ, willing to pay whatever the price might be, even if it means death [Compass Direct, 2/27/02].

 

Conclusion

 

What Mohammed faces and what you and I face are quite different, but the principle is the same. Has Jesus called, and are we following Him? That is Christianity. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?

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