LOC 032: Life of Christ:
Fishers of Men
Mark 1:16-20
1. The Setting in Capernaum
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee,
2. His Action
He saw
3. The Identity
Simon and Andrew his brother
4. Their Action
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
5. Jesus words of calling
17 Then Jesus said to
them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
6. Their Response
18 They immediately
left their nets and followed Him.
7. The Action Continues
19 When He had gone a
little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
20 And immediately He
called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
servants, and went after Him.
Matthew 4:18
1. The Setting in Capernaum
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee,
2. His Action
saw
3. The Identity
two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
4. Their Action
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
5. Jesus words of calling
19 Then He said to
them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
6. Their Response
20 They immediately
left their nets and followed Him.
7. The Action Continues
21 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. He called them,
22 and immediately they
left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Do you see how each Gospel writer completes and compliments the
other? As we compare Scripture with
Scripture we get a full sense of all that went on and all that it meant at the
time and its relevance for the present.
This morning I want to look a little deeper at Mark’s version of
the events using an illustration from Luke to fill out the meaning of the words
and the metaphor.
1. The Setting in Capernaum
Mark 1:16 And as He [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee,
2. His Action
He saw
3. The Identity
Simon and Andrew his brother
4. Their Action
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
5. Jesus words of calling
17 Then Jesus said to
them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
We already looked at what it means to Follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. He wants nothing less than a
whole-souled committment to himself with nothing to distract your attention or
steal your affection.
But look at the metaphor Jesus uses when he calls Simon Peter and
Andrew. I will make you fishers of men.
These brothers were professional fishermen. If there was one thing they knew something
about it was fishing. When we think of
fishing we think of a man with a rod and real with one hook or a lure out at a
lake casting off the one line hoping to drop it where nearsighted fish might
see it and take the bait.
This is how modern day evangelism is often done--one on one. One man, one pool, one hook or a lure to
entice the catch to take the bait. But
this is not how this should be understood.
Time was of the essence, catching one fish at a time was a waste of
time, energy and resources. They would
take a large net and throw it out into the water and work it back towards the
boat in order to catch as many fish as possible with a great deal of
energy. Jesus would make them into what
he was--one who spoke to great crowds in order to preach the Gospel and bring
in all who were to be saved. Preaching
is the great net to be cast.
Perhaps you are saying you are no preacher, but you can be a
helper to tend the nets or bring others to hear that they may be caught up in
the fishing for souls done by the preaching of he GOSPEL. Consider another paralell passage as an
Illustration of the importance of all this and of how they fished:
Luke 5:1 So it was, as
the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the
Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen
had gone from them and were washing their nets.
Luke doesn’t tell us about the
other conversation, he focuses on Jesus’s actions rather than his words.
3 Then He got into one
of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the
land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
Do you see what he was
doing? He was fishing from the boat to
shore. He had no plastic lure to entice.
He used what man needed to swallow, hook line and sinker, the Word of God.
4 When He had stopped
speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your
nets for a catch."
5 But Simon answered
and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing;
nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."
Impetuous Peter correcting
Jesus. He had to get his opinion in.
6 And when they had
done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So
they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And
they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
They needed other helpers to
complete the work of fishing that day.
8 When Simon Peter saw
it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at
the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon,
"Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."
Simon Peter realized that Jesus had the ability to see right into
his core to know what was going on. He
reasoned, if Jesus could see where the fish were and guide them to the nets, he
certainly could see through one who wore his feelings out on his sleeve.
Simon Peter’s reaction is to fall down and cry out”Depart from me,
for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter realized not that he should not be in
Jesus’s presence, for he doubtlessly needed that. He realized that Jesus should not be in his
presence.
Think of it through the emotions of a fisherman: If Jesus could
give us the swimming fish in our nets, he can also bring the men into his
net. It would be better to fish for men
with the direction of Christ, than to fish for fish unaided.
They finally got the message.
Here is what they did.
11 So when they had
brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
They forsook all and followed Him.
Little did Peter know that 3,000+ souls would be saved in one day
through the fishing for men he would learn to do. You see Jesus said, “that you might become.”
There is a process. One must give himself to learning the craft. An apprentice
would work for seven years. The disciples at this point had less than three.
Jesus knew it; they did not.
Where was their vocation?
Following him to be disciples.
From where would their food and covering come? From following him.
How would they be taken cared of?
By following the one who can care for all. They learned a poswerful message that
day. A life of faith holds nothing of
this world in a clenched fist but is ready willing and able to forsake all that
does not really matter to follow Christ.
Here is where we pick back up with Mark 18. He tells us of ....
6. Their Response in fewer
well chosen words...
18 They immediately
left their nets and followed Him.
Immediately..... Mark loves this word. He uses one of to forms 36 times in 16
chapters to show the immediate and surprising power of Christ in miracles, and
his compelling ministry in calling men to be his disciples.
Without a moment of hesitation, they left their vocational
comforts and followed him. There was no
consideration of what they were leaving behind.
They knew the present and future would be glorious following this
Christ.
The effect of Jesus’s miraculous work of providence and his
compelling call came to Simon Peter and his brother. Now, they knew they had to follow with all
their hearts. They sold what they loved
so they could not easily return to what they knew the best. The cost was great, but a life of following
the Messiah would be better, no matter what.
Where are your values? What
do you prize? Your bank balance, your house, your family, your stuff? Or do you prize the majesty of Christ?
What do you follow? The
stock ticker, the sports line, the lottery numbers, the latest fashion rage,
the Times top ten bestselling books? Or
do you prize following the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you held back from following him because you know it may hurt those
things of the world that you crave and covet?
It’s not just Simon Peter who had to learn this, and its not just
us, listen to the Apostle Paul, Phil 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to
have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are
ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus.
Paul gave up a life of comfort and prestige in order to fallow
Christ as one born out of time. What
about you?
Do you shift the force of following Christ on to others? That’s okay for so and so, but I have to
provide for my family. Is your motive
really to provide for your family, or is it to provide the good life for
yourself according to your selfish desires.
Don't use the family as an excuse for not following Christ. He said. “Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father
or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son
or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
He isn’t calling you to the same sacrifice as Peter and Andrew,
but he is calling you to a sacrificial life.
He has not placed you where you are, if you are his disciple, to make a
lot of money for creature comforts, he has placed you there that you might be a
fisher of men. Do you work to increase the Kingdom and influence of
Christ? That is the work of his
disciples.
Cast the net of the gospel out boldly being wise as serpents and
harmless as doves. When was the last
time you invited someone to come here to hear the Gospel. Well its to far. You travel that far for work, would not they
travel far to hear what they saw as a compelling power in your life.
How we live preaches as loud as any words we could ever
speak. Be fishers of men, not fishers
for stuff that is fleeting and brings no real satisfaction. If you are not willing to give all you have
away in order to follow Christ, there is something you love more than him. PERIOD!
There is no other reason. What we
love we pursue until we posess it. Do
you posess Christ in every fiber of your being?
Has he made you new? Are your affections set on the things above?
Are you one of his disciples in deed, or just in wishful
thinking? Your life is at stake.
7. The Action Continues
19 When He had gone a
little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
20 And immediately He
called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
servants, and went after Him.
Where in our study have we met a number of these men before?
John 1:35 Again, the
next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He
walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard
him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned,
and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They
said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher),
"where are You staying?"
39 He said to them,
"Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained
with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who
heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He
first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the
Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You
shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
At the time we noted that it is understood from the detail known
by John the Gospel writer that he was one of the first two who were disciples
of John the Baptist in Judea. Andrew was the other. They left John to follow Jesus. But we find
them up in Capernaum fishing. John with his brother James and Peter with his
brother Andrew. It appears that there was a strong bond between the four men,
two sets of brothers.
They did not give themselves completely to stay with the Lord
Jesus Christ and to learn from him. At some point, they moved away from
travelling with Jesus to working as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps it is while Jesus was in Nazareth.
Now that Jesus is in Capernaum, he seeks them out and calls them
to remain with him. You see the effect
he had upon them. This miracle had a
greater effect than the miracle at the wedding at Cana--where if you remember,
they were there too (John 2:2).
This was not their first calling to follow Christ, but their
second. This is the one that had a compelling force behind it. We see this from
their action. They knew Jesus meant
business. I only say this to make an important
application: How many times have you been called outwardly and reminded of your
personal need to follow Christ no-matterwhat?
A couple of dozen, a few hundred, thousands, more? How many times have
you said to yourself, “That is what I really need to get this mess of a life
straightened out?” How many times have you walked away from Christ without
doing a thing about it?
What will you do today? The
Spirit may be at work convicting some that they need to follow Christ more
completely, or that they need to start today to really follow him. Well, I hope you know what a radical
committment a life of faith really means.
It is not that we can add Jesus and his benefits to everything else in
our life in order to be happy happy happy all the time time time; it is that we
can lay ourselves on the altar of sacrifice ready to do all that it means to
follow him. Just to be ready to give up
all for him who gave his all for sinners like you and me.
Jesus held back nothing in the work that was given to him to
do. I am so glad he was not like you and
me. If he had been, he would have worn a
religious smile on the outside while seeking his own pleasures on the
inside. He would never have been an
umblemished perfect lamb for the great offering of himself upon the cross. He would have been crucified as a sinful man,
for himself alone.
We should have been crucified.
Or should I say, we need to be crucified, in order to follow Him.
Listen to the Apostle Paul once again:
GAL 2:20 "I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
for me.
For whom do you live? Yourself? If yes, than you are your own
disciple. If for Christ, you may be his. Do you live by faith in the son of
God? Did he love you and give himself for you?
What have you given back to him? A token percentage or your whole self?
For he also says:
GAL 5:24 And those who
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Have you? Why not? Why do you live as if you belonged to
yourself. Do you not know you were bought with a price? The precious blood of
Christ.
And, in what do you boast?
GAL 6:14 But God forbid
that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Enough said. Those who
Christ calls to follow him, live a crucified life in his service as fishers of
men as they boast about Christ.
Do you need to make things right with the Lord Jesus Christ? Do it
without delay. Sinner, he alone can save
you from certain ruin. But, consider the cost of following Him on his terms. Professing saint, what do you love most? When
you are alone of what are you concerned? Your spiritual well being, or the
things and stuff of this world. What has
Christ called us to? Faithfulness. Faithfulness in doing what? What does he require of us? If he were hear, he could sum it up in two
words--FOLLOW ME.
LEAVE YOUR EXCUSES BEHIND, follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see yourself as Peter did as an
unclean man in whose presence Christ ought not to be? Blessed be God, that he is patient and calls
the likes of us to be his disciples in order to learn to follow him. He has not left us alone as orphans. He has pledged to be with us until the end of
the ages. What a glorious savior and a
Lord of grace. He alone is worthy to be
heard, obeyed and worshipped.
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