(“Fishing For Men”)

Matthew 4:18-22 (NASU)

(Matthew 4:19)

Heavenly Father, may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, even the highest heavens with all its angelic hosts – You have made the earth and all that’s on it – the seas and all that’s in them. You have given life to every living creature – and because of it the angels of heaven bow down before You in worship and adoration, and so do we (c.f. Nehemiah 9:5b-6).

Now, Father, give them (and us!) another reason to bow down before You in reverence and awe – by opening our minds to understand this portion of Your word that’s before us today – but also by enabling us to become what our Savior has called us to be – namely, fishers of men! We ask it in Jesus’ name – Amen.

(A) A FISHING METHAPHOR

(1) In our text Jesus approached Peter and his brother Andrew as they were “casting a (fishing) net into the sea (of Galilee)” (c.f. Matthew 4:18), and said: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19). A short time later, He issued the same call to James and his brother John, as they were sitting in a boat “mending their (fishing) nets” (c.f. Matthew 4:21).

(a) For most people, fishing is a leisure activity – a sport – a form of recreation and/or relaxation – something they do for fun.

(b) For the men in today’s Scripture lesson, however it was their life’s work – their calling – their occupation – the means by which they supported themselves and their families (c.f. Matthew 4:18). That makes their response all the more notable – for when Jesus said: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19), the Scripture says they “immediately … left their nets (and/or their boat) and followed Him” (c.f. Matthew 4:20, 22).

(2) We know Jesus was calling these men to be His disciples – but He was also calling them to the work of evangelism, and/or to be His witnesses. Furthermore, by describing that task as “fishing for men”, Jesus used a figure of speech all four men could readily understand.

(a) Today, given the fact so many people have computers connected to the Internet, He might have said: “Follow Me, and I will show you how to surf for men”. Had He been talking to a businessman, He might have said: “Follow Me, and I will use you to bring clients into My kingdom” – or, if He had been talking to members of a search and rescue team, He might have said: “Follow Me, and I will show you how to search for and rescue people who are lost in their sins.”

(b) None of these attempts to “modernize” the call found in this morning’s text, however, captures the simplicity or symbolism of our Savior’s words. Besides, I suspect far more people (including those living in remote parts of the world and/or inner cities) have some idea of what it means to go fishing – whereas they may have little or no idea what it means to run a business, surf the net, and/or take part in a search and rescue effort to try and find someone who’s lost in the wilderness.

(c) This morning, then, we’re going to stay with our Savior’s fishing metaphor to see what light it may shine on the mandate to be His witnesses.

(B) THREE METHODS OF FISHING

(1) According to John MacArthur, three methods of fishing were used in Jesus’ day.¹ One involved a hook and line, which is similar to how most recreational fishermen fish today. I didn’t do a lot of fishing as a boy, but when I did it was in a creek that ran through the NE corner of our Illinois farm. Furthermore, my fishing “gear” was pretty simple – a ten foot bamboo pole, about twenty feet of string, a bobber, a small lead weight, and a fish hook. I did try “fishing” once with a pitch fork – but the murky creek water made it almost impossible to “spear” anything.

(a) Jesus referred to this kind of fishing in Matthew chapter seventeen when He told Peter to “go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and (pay the required poll tax) for you and Me” (c.f. Matthew 17:24-27).

(b) Its clear from today’s Scripture lesson, however, that “hook and line” fishing was not what Jesus had in mind when He said: “Follow Me, and I will make You fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19). And yet, because we tend to read the Bible through the filter of our own culture, worldview, and/or things we know about, many sermonic analogies have been drawn between being a witness for Christ and fishing with a hook, line and pole² – in part, because that’s the kind of fishing most people today are familiar with.

I’m not ready to say all “hook and line” comparisons are invalid, and/or that they don’t contain anything helpful – but I am ready to say that “hook and line” fishing was not what Jesus was talking about in this morning’s text.

(2) A second way of fishing involved a large net strung between two or more boats – a method usually used in deep water.¹

(a) This may be the kind of fishing Jesus was alluding to when He said: “the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet [the Greek word is “sagene”]³ cast into the sea … gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and … sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away” – and then Jesus drew this sobering analogy – “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will … take out the wicked from among the righteous, and … throw them into the furnace of fire (where) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (c.f. Matthew 13:47-50).

(b) In some ways this is a picture of what we call the “visible church”, of which ours is one – in this regard, that every church has people among its members and/or sitting in its pews who are true Christians (i.e. “good fish”), as well as people who think they are Christians but aren’t (i.e. “bad” fish)!

(c) Therefore, I trust you won’t mind while I go off on an important tangent, and urge all of you to make sure you really are a Christian – to take the command found in Second Corinthians chapter thirteen seriously, that says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves (to see if) … Jesus Christ is in you” (c.f. II Corinthians 13:5).

To put it another way, don’t take being a Christian for granted (c.f. The Message). From time to time we all need to do a personal, biblical, spiritual check up to make sure we are – and/or to find out if we’re not (c.f. The Living Bible). Otherwise, when the day of judgment comes – and its too late to do anything about it – some will discover they are one of the “bad” fish Jesus talked about in the parable we just referred to – one of those He said will be “thrown away” (as it were) into “the furnace of fire”!

(d) Besides, we have to be one of Christ’s redeemed people before we can be one of His witnesses! And the only way we become one of His people is by admitting we need a Savior – and then actually repenting of our sins and professing faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son God and only Savior of sinners like ourselves (c.f. John 20:31; Acts 4:12; 20:21). Afterwards, as proof our conversion to Christ was genuine, we are to strive to obey His commands (c.f. John 14:15) (albeit not in our own strength, but by His enabling grace)! Otherwise, we will just be “playing church”, “deceiving ourselves” (c.f. James 1:22), and/or pretending to be something we’re not!

(3) A third method of fishing used in Jesus’ day involved a different kind of net – one usually thrown from shallow water along the shore.¹

(a) The Apostle Matthew used the Greek word for this kind of fishing in verse eighteen when he said Peter and Andrew were “casting a net [“amphiblestron”] into the sea” (c.f. Matthew 4:18) as Jesus approached.

If you could see this Greek word for yourself, you would notice it resembles English words like “amphibious” or “amphibian” – words used to describe animals or plants that can live on land and/or in the water – words used to describe vehicles that can function on both land and water (like “the Ducks” used to take tourists from the strip in Branson, Missouri out onto nearby Table Rock Lake).

In this morning’s Scripture lesson the word Matthew used refers to the kind of fishing done by a person standing on or just off the shore, who would throw this particular net into the deeper water where the fish (hopefully) were.¹

(b) This is the kind of fishing Peter and Andrew were doing when Jesus called to them and said: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19). Hence, we might paraphrase our Lord’s words like this: “Follow Me, and I will teach you how to cast your net for men” – or, “Follow Me, and I will show you how to catch men in your net.”

(c) It’s interesting to note that Matthew used a different word for “net” in verse twenty when he said Peter and Andrew “immediately … left their nets [“diktuon”]⁴ and followed (Jesus)” (c.f. Matthew 4:20) – and again in verse twenty-one when he said James and John were “in the boat … mending their nets” [“diktuon”]⁴ (c.f. Matthew 4:21) when Jesus called them to be fishers of men. In these instances, Matthew used a general Greek word that could refer to any kind of net, including one nets to catch birds or animals.⁵ In today’s Scripture lesson, he used it to refer to two kinds of net fishing – one in the shallow water nearer the shore – and the other where a net was strung between two or more boats when fishing in deeper waters.

Despite this fact, one thing is clear – the biblical record indicates that when Jesus called His disciples to become “fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19), He was using the analogy of net fishing rather than hook and line fishing.

(4) What, then, does the imagery of net fishing suggest to us about being Christ’s witnesses, especially when we contrast it with the hook and line method?

(a) First, it implies hard work is involved.² Unlike hook and line fishing, which is often caricaturized (at least in our day) as a laid-back way to fish (even a good way to get in a nap), net-fishing is labor-intensive (c.f. Luke 5:5a).

[1] For one thing, if you’re fishing from the shore you have to learn how to throw your net correctly, so it covers as large an area as possible – otherwise it will bunch up and greatly hinder your chance of catching anything. The only way to learn how to throw a net is have someone teach you, and/or by using the three-P’s method (i.e. practice, practice, practice).

In the same way, you and I need to learn how to throw the net of the Gospel correctly – otherwise, the likelihood of “catching” anything will be remote at best. Moreover, its helpful it we have someone to teach us – but whether we do or not, we must practice, practice, practice if we ever want to get better.

[2] Net fishing also requires you to repeatedly throw your net into the water, and then draw it in to see if you’ve caught anything – indeed, you have to do it again and again throughout the course of the day.

In a similar fashion, we can’t be content to periodically throw the net of the Gospel into the sea of lost men every year or so. We have to keep at it – we have to be willing to do it over and over – if we expect to see any significant results we have to keep throwing the net out and drawing it in, again and again and again and again.

(b) A second thing net-fishing implies (especially the kind where a net is strung between two or more boats) is that ordinarily the work of evangelism ought to be carried out as a cooperative (rather than an individual) effort.

[1] In Luke chapter five Jesus told Peter to “put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v 4). Peter answered: “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets” (v 5). The passage then goes on to say: “When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and (together) filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink” (vs. 6-7).

[2] In a similar fashion, fishing for men ought to be viewed as a group effort. In our case, the “group” would be the Westminster church family. According to the imagery in today’s Scripture lesson, fishing for men is not a one man effort – it’s not just Andy Balcom’s project – or Rod Beckett’s – or Jim Wiest’s. Christ gave the mandate to be His witnesses to every Christian – which means you and I need to be involved as well!

[3] That doesn’t mean everyone will be doing the same thing. Forgive me for mixing metaphors, but Paul once said: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth … Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (c.f. I Corinthians 3:6, 8) – he also said, to mix metaphors even further: “like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it” (c.f. I Corinthians 3:10a).

Some plant the seed of the Gospel in people’s lives, some water it, others cultivate it, and eventually (if God wills) someone else gets to harvest it. Likewise, someone lays the foundation of the Gospel in a non-Christian’s life, someone else comes along and build on it, someone else comes along and builds on it some more, and finally (by God’s grace) someone else gets to cut the ribbon and/or dedicate the building (so to speak).

[4] It’s worth nothing that Paul viewed those who supported him financially and/or prayed for him regularly as co-workers in his efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ (c.f. II Corinthians 9:13; Philippians 4:15).

The point is, our Savior’s mandate to be His witnesses ought never be thought of in terms of “Lone Rangers” working independently of and/or in competition with each other – but rather as a coordinated body (c.f. I Corinthians 12:12), where each member has an important role to play in helping to fish for men.

(C) TWO BASIC FISHING PRINCIPLES

(1) Regardless of the method, there are at least two principles that apply to both kinds of net fishing, as well as hook and line fishing. First, and most basic of all, is that a fisherman has to go where the fish are.

(a) We all know fish live in an environment that’s totally different from ours. Among other things, that means they won’t be coming to us, because they can’t live in our environment – hence, if we’re going to have any chance of catching some of them we’re going to have to go where they are. We can stand on the corner of College Avenue and Fifteenth Street from now till this time next year casting our net and pulling it in – but we’re not going to catch any fish because they aren’t there! There are fish in the Rio Grande – there are fish at Elephant Butte – there are fish up at Bonita Lake – but there aren’t any fish on the corner of College Avenue and Fifteenth Street, because the environment’s not right. Hence, if we want to catch fish, we’re going to have to go where they are.

(b) In many ways, non-Christians live in a world very different from ours – which often means they aren’t going to feel comfortable coming to us, so we’re going to have to be willing to enter their environment and/or their world. That’s why I exhorted you (and myself) in several previous messages to start trying to build relationships with non-believers. Get to know them in their environment – spend time with them in surroundings they find comfortable – try and draw them into your “net” of friendship and love, before introducing them to the strange world of the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

(c) I’m not interested in fishing, so I don’t go. In fact, I haven’t caught a fish in over thirty years. I don’t even own any kind of fishing equipment any more.

Many Christians have the same problem when it comes to fishing for men – most of us aren’t really interested in doing it, so we don’t. Hence, the sad fact is some Christians haven’t had a part in anyone coming to Christ in twenty, thirty, or forty years! Indeed, they’re no longer equipped to get involved.

(d) It really doesn’t matter whether I go fishing for fish or not – but it matters a great deal whether or not I’m involved in fishing for men. It matters because I have a mandate from my Savior to be His witness (c.f. Acts 1:8) – it matters because people are lost in their sins and need to be “found” (c.f. Luke 19:10) – it matters because God’s eternal wrath hangs over the head of every non-Christian (c.f. John 3:36).

(e) It also matters because of something Jesus said in our text – namely, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (c.f. Matthew 4:19). Note the words “I will” – those words stress Christ’s sovereignty. You and I can’t turn ourselves into “fishers of men” – but Jesus can. In fact, He said He would! So if we aren’t, what does that say about our profession of faith in Christ? If we aren’t going where the fish are – if we aren’t involved in helping with the task of evangelism – if we aren’t fulfilling the mandate to be His witnesses, then what does that say about our claim to be a Christian? I would suggest that’s a very a sobering thing to consider.

(2) The other basic principle I want to mention is that no one fisherman catches all the fish – nor does any fisherman “land” every fish he sets out to catch.

(a) Every true fisherman has a tale about “the one that got away” – the one that snapped his line – slipped off the hook – and/or escaped through a hole in his net. Every fisherman has a tale about the “big one” in the lake – the one that’s been there for years – whom people see from time to time – but no one has ever been able to catch.

(b) In a similar fashion, even the best witness for Christ will not be able to maneuver every “fish” into his net. To put it terms we’ve talked about before, not every non-Christian we try and build a relationship with will respond to our overtures – not every non-Christian we try to make friends with will want to be friends with us. What's more, not every non-Christian with whom we become friends will respond to the Gospel in repentance and faith.

(c) These “set-backs” never stop a true fisherman, however, in part, because he knows there are other fish he will catch. Likewise, any set-backs we encounter as we go about fulfilling the mandate to be Christ’s witnesses (and there will be set-backs!) should not stop us from continuing to pursue Christ’s calling to be fishers of men.

As Reformed Christians we believe God is sovereign, even over who is saved. Among other things, that means we will “catch” those He has determined we will catch – that those He has ordained to be caught will be caught – that those He has predestined to find their way into our “net” will find their way into our net. Hence, the Scripture says that as Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel in the city of Pisidian Antioch, “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (c.f. Acts 13:48b).

Knowing this encourages us to keep throwing the net of the Gospel into the sea of unsaved men and drawing it in, in part because we know God has ordained that we will “catch” some – maybe not as many as others – but then, that’s not the point is it?! The point is to keep fishing, and leave the results to Him.

Misunderstood Analogy for Evangelism; p. 1.