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Having grown up in South Florida, one would reasonably expect me to have developed some expertise in fishing – but alas, that wasn’t the case. So when my son, at the age of three, became infatuated with the idea of fishing, i had no experience from which to draw. One day, he saw an advertisement on television for fluorescent-colored fishing lures that were “guaranteed” to attract fish – and plenty of them! As his birthday approached, he emphatically told my wife and me that this was the only gift he wanted. i will never forget the look of delight in his eyes as he unwrapped that particular box of lures, and then looked at me and excitedly declared, “Let’s go fishing!” He knew in his heart that he was about to have the greatest fishing experience of his life.
With fishing gear in hand and those brand new fishing lures guaranteed to attract fish, off we headed to the intracoastal waterway. We hadn’t been fishing along the seawall very long when my son’s pole arced, and his line started to rapidly run out. He had a fish on his line – and it was a whopper! His eyes widened like saucers as he saw the biggest “fish” he had ever seen swimming away with the lure in its mouth. Unfortunately, the thrill was short-lived as what turned out to be a manatee made short work of snapping that ten-pound test line and continued to swim away. Regrettably, my son didn’t catch any fish that day, but boy, did he ever have a story to tell about the one that got away!
Mark records an encounter in his Gospel that two fishermen had with Jesus one day. As Jesus was walking along “the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”(1)
That particular day was not Jesus’s first encounter with Simon and Andrew. Andrew had been with John the Baptist in Bethany the day Jesus returned from His forty days in the wilderness. Andrew had heard the baptizer declare Jesus to be the Lamb of God, and had immediately set off to follow Him. Within a matter of days, Andrew had the privilege of introducing his brother, Simon, to Jesus. This particular encounter that Mark records took place several weeks later.
When the men first encountered Jesus, He had said to them, “Come and you will see.” Andrew had, in fact, gone with Jesus and seen Him perform several miracles, while Simon stayed home and attended to the family’s fishing business. This time, however, Jesus’s invitation was different. He said, “Follow Me.”
His invitation to them had been progressive. His first invitation had been for them to observe; this invitation was to abandon – to abandon their work – their very livelihood – and follow Him. Simon could resist the first invitation, but he could not resist this second one.
Jesus never told them where they would be going as they followed Him. Rather, He was telling them to abandon all they knew and all that they did. He was telling them to leave their responsibilities to the family business. He was telling them to be absent from their families for extended periods of time. He was telling them to do things that would not only cost them personally, but would cost their family as well. He was telling them to step out by faith and trust Him completely – for their livelihood, for their family and for their very lives.
Over the years, the Lord has given me numerous opportunities to invite people to join me on a short-term overseas mission experience. There are always many details surrounding those trips, and most of the people i have invited have had many questions about what all is involved – from where we are going, to how we will get there, to what we will wear, what we will say, what we will eat and where we will sleep – to name just a few. And it has always been interesting to watch how the answers – and the subsequent experiences – have moved the individuals out of their respective comfort zones. i can honestly say that i have never had anyone join me on a trip and not ask any questions. But look at Simon and Andrew – they didn’t ask Jesus any questions – they simply stepped out in abandon and followed Him.
Jesus told them that He would make them become “fishers of men”. By the way, Jesus didn’t invent that term. It was actually a common description used by philosophers of the day who “captured men’s minds” through their persuasive teaching. They would “bait the hook” with their captivating words and “catch” disciples. Perhaps, Simon and Andrew had that concept in mind when they heard Jesus first utter those words.
But, of course, Jesus was using a term these professional fishermen would understand. They were part of a successful fishing enterprise. They knew all the right things to do, and the right order in which to do them that would result in the greatest harvest of fish. They knew how and where to cast their nets in order to produce the greatest yield. So perhaps when Jesus told them He would make them fishers of men, their minds immediately went to techniques He was going to show them. In our modern day vernacular – perhaps He had a new evangelism method or the latest discipleship tool.
But the reality was that Jesus’s plan did not involve the learning of persuasive words or new techniques. If Jesus had wanted scholars of the faith, He would have established a school. If He had wanted soldiers, He would have set up a code of conduct. If He had merely wanted practitioners of the faith, He would have simply established standards. But Jesus was seeking men and women with hearts surrendered to follow Him – wherever and however He leads. So His invitation was simple – “Follow Me!”
But the response required total surrender. And the promise that He would make them “fishers of men” was that they would become His followers who would lead others to follow Him, who would, in turn, lead others to follow Him. Unlike a harvest of fish in the net, it would be a harvest of followers that would multiply exponentially to become a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation following Christ to the glory of the Father. Now that’s some promise that Jesus made to them!
And get this, they didn’t stop to think about what He said. They IMMEDIATELY followed Him! This particular passage says they had just cast their net into the sea; it doesn’t tell us that they even took the time to draw in the net!
My personal prayer is that i will respond to whatever Jesus tells me to do in the same way that Simon and Andrew did that day. Their lives were never the same after that. i envision them following after Jesus with that same wide-eyed excitement my son had about those new lures. But their excitement did not lead to disappointment – it led to an intimate love relationship with the Son of God and a transformation they could never have imagined.
Jesus has extended that same invitation to each of us. He has invited us to follow Him and become fishers of men. i pray we will do so as wholeheartedly and unreservedly as Simon and Andrew did that day – and each day that followed.
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It was the truths expressed in this post that prompted me to write the book, A Fisherman Called Simon. We know him as the apostle Peter, but those close to him knew him as Simon. It is my desire that we see him as a son, a brother, a husband and a father – and in so doing, consider what it meant for him to follow Jesus. There are parallels to our own lives that i pray the book prompts you to consider. i invite you to read this seventh book in my series, The Called – the portion of his story you may know, and the rest of his life that could have been. The book releases this week through Amazon in paperback, large print and for Kindle or Kindle app. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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Portions of this post are taken from Walking With The Master, chapter 12, entitled “Fishers of Men.” This fourth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on this book.
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(1) Mark 1:16-18 (NKJ)
Copyright © 2022 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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