Fishers of Men (2)

Introduction

Continue in our series on Christian Discipleship

Last week we considered the call of discipleship

Today we will consider the task of Discipleship

Fishers of Men

The first description of ministerial office in the NT - the fundamental task of all ministry!! To catch men alive - to throw the net of the gospel and to observe its efficacy in drawing men and women to Christ.

Men don’t catch fish, nets and lines catch fish. It is the same with fishing for men. Men do not catch people it is the gospel that does that.

Romans 1:16 RVR60

Porque no me avergüenzo del evangelio, porque es poder de Dios para salvación a todo aquel que cree; al judío primeramente, y también al griego.

I watched an old man trout-fishing the other day, pulling them out one after another briskly. 'You manage it cleverly, old friend,' I said. 'I have passed a good many below who don't seem to be doing anything.' The old man lifted himself up and stuck his rod in the ground. 'Well, you see, sir, there be three rules for trout-fishing, and 'tis no good trying if you don't mind them. The first is, Keep yourself out of sight; and the second is, Keep yourself further out of sight: and the third is, Keep yourself still out of sight. Then you'll do it.' Good for catching men, too!

Keeping yourself out of sight! Christ calls his disciples not to follow him and make themselves fishers of men but rather come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Christ makes us to be fishers of men and we catch men only to the extent that Christ is visible in our lives, in our attitudes, and in our words. And that is how Jesus’ call – come, follow me – is connected to his subsequent promise – I will make you fishers of men. When you follow Jesus Christ you are being molded and shaped into a fisher of men. But our tendency is to place the burden of catching men on ourselves instead of Christ. So let’s look at this passage again this morning with an aim towards understanding that following Christ is telling others about him – discipleship and missions are two sides of the same coin.

Eric Sipe – missions and discipleship go hand in hand.

Contextualizing Jesus’ Call

Comparison of the three gospel accounts

Mark 1:16-20; Matthew 4:18-20; Luke 5:1-11

The image of fishing for men

Not a new metaphor in Scripture. OT uses include

Jeremiah 16:16 RVR60

He aquí que yo envío muchos pescadores, dice Jehová, y los pescarán, y después enviaré muchos cazadores, y los cazarán por todo monte y por todo collado, y por las cavernas de los peñascos.

Amos 4:2 RVR60

Jehová el Señor juró por su santidad: He aquí, vienen sobre vosotras días en que os llevarán con ganchos, y a vuestros descendientes con anzuelos de pescador;

But Jesus gives the image a new meaning. While OT references speak of judgement Jesus uses it to speak of redemption

Jesus calls the fishermen to the apostolic office

Jesus is calling his apostles in this passage. And indeed his apostles became fishers of men

Peter fished for men in Rome from where Mark is writing this gospel

James fished for men up to the borders of what today is Russia

John fished for men in Ephesus

These men threw down the net of the gospel, committed the teachings to writing and gave us the fishing tools that we have today - the beloved gospel of God.

This is what Jesus is continually calling his disciples to do. To throw down the net of the gospel .

Now that we understand the context of the passage, let’s look at it in more detail. I want to focus on three aspects - first, Jesus makes us fishers of men; second, we are progressively being made fishers of men; and third, fishing for men is our higher calling.

Jesus makes us fishers of men

a. I will make

b. Many think that fishing for men is of our own initiative

i. We recognize great evangelists of the past and today

ii. We study their methods, their sermons

iii. We try to discover the secret

c. There is nothing wrong with being diligent to improve our witness, the problem is the way we do it

i. We seek out psychological methods – Charles Finney and DL Moody

ii. We seek to dialogue with the secular culture developing apologetic approaches and methodologies

iii. Fundamentally, the effectiveness of our witness is correlated directly with our relationship with Jesus Christ

iv. He will make us fishers of men – we don’t make ourselves fishers of men

d. How would you rate your witness this morning? Is it very good? So so? Your witness of the gospel is directly related to your relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Does that mean that unless you bring one new person to church every week you are somehow not right with the Lord? Not at all. Some people bring a new person to church every week and still live a life that is far from following Jesus Christ. For any of you who have been frustrated in your witness, I would like to give you a word of encouragement. The efficacy of your witness is not measured in the number of people that come to Christ. It is measured in the depth with which you communicate God’s grace to even just one person.

We are progressively being made fishers of men

a. I will make you become

b. Being a fisher of men is not a change of state – it is a progression. To the extent that you are growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord you are maturing and becoming expert in your witness.

c. The disciples did not become fishers of men that day, instead they were molded over time throughout Mark’s gospel – becoming a fisher of men meant struggling to understand

Mark 8:21 RVR60

Y les dijo: ¿Cómo aún no entendéis?

it meant difficulty in keeping watch

Mark 14:37 RVR60

Vino luego y los halló durmiendo; y dijo a Pedro: Simón, ¿duermes? ¿No has podido velar una hora?

it meant struggling to follow Jesus

Mark 14:50 RVR60

Entonces todos los discípulos, dejándole, huyeron.

it meant being scared of persecution

Mark 13:13 RVR60

Y seréis aborrecidos de todos por causa de mi nombre; mas el que persevere hasta el fin, éste será salvo.

d. They were made fishers of men not individually – they did not get a pole and a line. They were made fishers of men collectively – fishing was a team sport in those days. In Mark 6:7-13 he send his disciples out two by two

e. Take hold of all the resources that your God has given you to become fishers of men

Fishing for men is our higher calling

a. Jesus is calling four fishermen to become fishers of men

b. The Lord called David as a shepherd to shepherd the flock of Israel

Psalm 78:70–72 RVR60

Eligió a David su siervo, Y lo tomó de las majadas de las ovejas; De tras las paridas lo trajo, Para que apacentase a Jacob su pueblo, Y a Israel su heredad. Y los apacentó conforme a la integridad de su corazón, Los pastoreó con la pericia de sus manos.

c. Each of has a calling in life – and God does not call us to abandon that vocation – rather when we come to Christ we realize that we have a higher calling in God’s kingdom. And God is so gracious that he uses our preparation, our formation not just for our vocation but also for his service

Conlcusion

So let me conclude with three questions:

You don’t make yourself a fisher of men, Jesus makes you a fisher of men. Are you relying on your strength and expertise to share the gospel this morning or are you relying instead on the strength and expertise of Christ?

We don’t become fishers of men from one day to the next. We are molded and shaped in our witness progressively. As we grow in grace and knowledge in the Lord our witness also matures. Are you seeking that growth and maturity in Christ this morning?

Finally, God has placed us all in different vocations in different walks of life. But at the same time, he has given us each a higher calling. I am a teacher - that is the vocation that God has given me. How am I using that in the service of the Kingdom of God? And we don’t just have to think about our jobs. God has given us other vocations - the vocations of father and mother. So, mom and dad, how are using that vocation for the service of the Lord?