The Calling of the Christian: Fishers of Men, Part 2

Matthew 4:18–22 ESV

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Story about Bob

I once had a conversation with a student on campus, I’ll call him Bob.

I talked to Bob about his life, his hopes for the future, and what he believed about God.

While talking with him, he told us that he was the son of a pastor.

He explained that he knew all about Christianity.

I exclaimed, “That’s great! So, you’re a follower of Jesus?”

To which he replied, “No, man. I believe, but I am not following him right now.”

With a perplexed look, I replied, “What does that mean?”

He explained that it means that he believes in all that Jesus did, he did on the cross for him and all the things, but he didn’t want to submit his life to him.

We explained to him that this was not possible, that Jesus required him to submit his life to him, not just believe intellectually about what he did.

I am grateful that Bob was honest with me to explain his past and know that he was not submitting his life to Jesus.

The problem I have is, Bob (along with all fans of Jesus), think that everything is okay.

They think that they are Christians.

Should that be the normal path for the Christian?

Do we simply have a “get out of hell free card”?

You may be quick to dismiss this because he was the son of a pastor

But before you dismiss this, you would probably recognize someone like Bob.

They go to church every Sunday.

They have been to summer camp all of his life (which they love)

They say “their prayers” before they goes to bed.

To merely believe intellectually without submitting life to Jesus, is not genuine Christianity.

“I know Jesus died for my sins, but it doesn’t affect the rest of my life.”

“I know Jesus is the Savior of the world, and my own personal Savior. But I don’t live my life any different because of Him.”

This is cheap grace.

It is forgiveness without repentance.

“Grace at a low cost, is simply a new law, which brings neither help nor freedom.”

-Dietrich Bonhoffer

This is trying to accept Jesus’ sacrifice without seeing that it requires you to be different.

Matthew 4:18 ESV

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

Jesus was beginning His earthly ministry.

He just came from His temptation in the wilderness.

After he was tempted, in the power of the Spirit, he begins calling His disciples.

If we were to start a movement, who would we choose?

The smartest

The strongest

The most powerful

Who does He choose though?

Ordinary men.

Fishermen, no less.

Matthew 4:18 ESV

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

dis·ci·ple: someone who worships Jesus, is changed by Jesus, and obeys Jesus' commands.

I want to hone in on verse 19 from Chapter 4.

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus is saying that His disciples must follow Him.

But, what exactly does Jesus mean by this?

The word for “follow” literally means to go after someone in order to observe.

He is calling these fishermen to come after Him and observe His manner of life.

Discipleship is simply the process of becoming like Jesus..

Example of an Apprentice

An apprentice initially knows nothing but grows in knowledge and skill as they walk with the teacher.

Jesus is calling these disciples to a new way of life.

This following required all of their lives, not just a portion of it.

They were to watch the way he live.

They were to come along with Him as He did miracles.

They even were to participate in preaching of the good news of the kingdom.

These same disciples that followed Jesus along His earthly ministry, witnessed the miracles, heard His teachings, and ultimately saw Him hanging on the cross after His crucifixion.

It was these same disciples who Jesus explained what true greatness looked like.

It was these same disciples who Jesus explained why He had to die...

It was these same disciples who witnessed all that took place in Jesus’ life and in His hardest hour on the cross.

They saw Him killed and buried in the tomb for three days.

But then, they also saw Him after His resurrection.

Matthew 28:16–17 ESV

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

It was these disciples which saw Jesus alive and realized that He was worthy of being worshipped!

They worshipped Him because He is worthy of our worship!

If you desire to be a follower of Jesus, you will worship Him

They believed the Gospel, which literally means “good news”

This “good news” was that God had placed their sins upon Jesus, and Jesus’ perfect life was given to them.

So because Jesus was raised from the dead, He confirmed that He was in fact the Son of God, and He was in fact Lord of All!

A follower of Jesus is essentially a worshipper of Jesus!

You must see that this same Jesus that the disciples worshiped after the resurrection is the same Jesus who speaks to us today!

What exactly does "worship” mean?

Worship as an act of allegiance.

Discipleship Pie Chart

“First, we are not casual listeners. True disciples don’t simply listen to the words of Jesus week by week and then move on with their lives. Second, we are convinced listeners, people who are content to merely affirm belief in Jesus. Even the demons believe Jesus is who He says that He is. Followers of Jesus are not simply casual or even convinced listeners; we are committed learners and followers.”

For you here today, you must believe that you cannot just stand by and watch Jesus.

You cannot be a casual listener of Jesus, you must choose whether you will follow Him.

There are many kind of fans of Jesus.

But He is NOT looking for fans.

There are many kinds of “friends” of Jesus.

But He is NOT looking for more buddies.

He is looking for followers.

Luke 14:26–33 ESV

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Worship is our response to who God is.

Remember Bob at the beginning?

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ.

As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

- Bonhoeffer

A follower of Jesus is essentially a worshipper of Jesus!

If you desire to be a follower of Jesus, you will worship Him

But notice what else Jesus says to them who are to follow Him....

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus is saying that if they follow Him, He will form in these men exactly what they will need to be formed into.

This does not mean that they will be healthy, wealthy, or wise… but Jesus Himself will form these disciples into what He desires them to be for His purposes.

Oftentimes, I meet people who think that Jesus has failed them in some way.

When you start to hear why they think that you always find them wanting Jesus to “bless them” in some way.

Jesus is more concerned about your holiness, your becoming more like Him than He is about your happiness.

Jesus says, “I will make,” which means that He is committing to making us into what He said we will be.

If you desire to be a follower of Jesus, you will be changed by Him

Matthew 4:20 ESV

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

These men were immediately changed by this encounter with Jesus.

They left their nets and went after Him.

What about now?

How are we to be changed by Jesus?

If you look at the passage just prior to this one in verse 19, Jesus began His earthly ministry by declaring these words.

Matthew 4:17 ESV

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

To repent literally means: to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness

At a heart level it means to have changed thoughts, which affect beliefs, which further affects your outward life.

We become obedient to Jesus by repentance and faith.

A continual turning from sin and trusting Jesus.

He will form and create in us new affections, words, thoughts, and actions.

Matthew 4:23 ESV

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

Changed from Darkness

Matthew 4:24–25 ESV

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Changed into Light (His Image)

“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "you were bought with a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

To follow after Jesus, you will worship Him, be changed by Him, and obey His commands. As you follow Him, He will create you to be a fisher of men.

The question is, “How will God make us fishers of men?”

If you desire to be a follower of Jesus, you will obey His commands

We don’t beg people to follow Jesus as though Jesus is somehow needy.

Jesus will create desires in the hearts of His followers.

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

How will He go about doing that?

Our obedience comes from the heart.

The witness of the NT is that Jesus is will change His followers hearts.

Luke 9:54 ESV

And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Compare that to after pentecost.

Acts 3:6 (ESV)

“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

What happened between those two moments?

It’s the kind of heart change that comes when the Holy Spirit changes your heart.

The same guy who was ready to call down fire from heaven and consume people is now seeking to serve the poor.

The Holy Spirit came with power at Pentecost and has radically changed these men.

The same is true for all TRUE Christians.

Our obedience has a mission.

What is that mission?

AKA

What does it mean to be fishers of men?

Jesus is sending his disciples to “catch men” on his behalf.

It is interesting that Jesus goes to fishermen to call them to follow Him because of the new task He is calling them to.

It is paradoxical that Jesus would go to fishermen and tell them that they would now fish for him.

One way God spoke of redeeming Israel was to bringing in a net as fishermen would do.

The Lord promised to bring Israel out of exile and give them the land that He promised, but notice how He will do that.

Jeremiah 16:16 ESV

“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

WORSHIP is the aim but worship has a purpose and that is to draw others to Himself.

God uses you to draw others to Himself.

1 Peter 2:11–12 ESV

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Jeremiah 16:19 ESV

O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.

They will NO LONGER fish for fish.

They will fish for men.

NO LONGER will they pull up their nets and have fish.

They will cast out the nets of the kingdom and bring in people.

Matthew 13:47–48 ESV

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.

Jesus compares the throwing of the net to the spreading of the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of heaven goes out through people whose allegiance is to Jesus Christ.

Your obedience to Jesus Christ validates the message of the good news of Jesus.

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Our obedience will be our greatest witness.

John 13:34–35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Example of Searching for a Lost Person

Pretend with me for a minute that we got word that there was a person who was lost at New Germany State Park.

We got word about it and went to help with the search and rescue.

But we arrive at the State Park.

What would we expect to find?

But what if, rather than people searching for this lost person.

We find them sitting around on lawn chairs, playing corn hole, and grilling burgers.

We would say, “Where is the search and rescue?”

What would this tell us about the people searching?

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

To follow after Jesus, you will worship Him, be changed by Him, and obey His commands. As you follow Him, He will create you to be a fisher of men.