The Call to Action

The Call

The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake surrounded by mountains and is below the headwaters of the Jordan River - NAC- Lake Galilee

Mentioned in the bible 197 times

Jesus is passing alongside - can you envision Him walking down a waterfront when the fishermen are mending their nets and inspecting tackle

Question- Does He know who is He is looking for or are these just the first fishermen He comes to? It really doesn’t say that He came looking for Simon and Andrew but that it was them who first received the invitation to follow Jesus. To fully answer this this question we can use the bible in it’s entirety and see that God uses specific persons for specific roles. From Moses who was chosen to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the little boy who gave his lunch to feed the people on the mount

He matches our talents and current situation to the task at hand.

The Fishermen

Think about Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John these were men who were work hardened. They were outside in the elements everyday fishing. I think we can see through the lens of today’s hobby of fishing something much milder than fishing they did. More towards commercial fishing but we really can be sure of the specifics. We do know that they used nets as they were in the process using and of repairing them.

Jesus calls out “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men”.

Question- What is a fisher of men?

Would it be someone who tried to get people to bite a shiny thing that has a hook in it? Or throwing a net over a group of people at a social event and see who manages to get out of it?

How about this. I will make you ones who share the truth of bible with people and help them understand how they can become believers.

Changing Vocations

These guys weren’t rookies they were lifers who had been handed down the talents and skills to catch fish. And I imagine they were pretty rough and tough. We want to sanitize our spiritual leaders don’t we. Put them up on a pedestal and think they are holy individuals who never slip up. Well that is a lie. Simon Peter is a great example of that lie.