The Biblical image of fishing and fishing for men, comes up a couple of times. In Mark 1 we have a mirror image of this scripture. In Luke 5 we are thrown a definite curve, because we have much of the same information, but there is so much more that the commentators are confused as to whether it is the same event or a different one. Let’s read it, just so that we have it in our minds. Luke 5:1-11 – “And came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” As I say, the experts are divided about whether or not Matthew 4 and Luke 5 are the same event, because of the last two verses.
John 21:1-14 is a similar incident, but it’s obviously on a different day about three years later. After the Lord Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, “Simon Peter saith unto (the rest of the disciples), I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”
I think that by adding John 21 to Luke 5 and Matthew 4, we can learn some lessons about fishing for men. But first, we go back to last Sunday’s message.
Christ Jesus was calling these men to this specific work.
Christ wants his “brethren” to be “followers” – to be “disciples” – learning about Christ and the things of God. It is not enough to be simply “saved” from sin – to be card-carrying Christians with passports to Heaven. The Lord wants all of us to keep our daily responsibilities like catching and frying the family’s food in the correct relationship to our Heaven-sent responsibilities. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” Only after we have spent time at the feet of the Saviour, being taught by the Holy Spirit as disciples, we will find ourselves equipped to serve the Lord as “fishers of men.”
Have you ever seen pictures of those fishermen scattered around the world, who fish the oceans with small nets? Sometimes they are standing on rocks just above the water and sometime on small boats. They hold some sort of circular fishing net, most often with a heavy rope running around the edge, and as they toss it out away from themselves, they are able to release it in such a way that it flies out in a circle. It’s similar in difficulty to using a sling as David did to bring down Goliath. Instead of dropping down in a tangled lump the way that it would fall if I was throwing it, the experienced fisherman spreads out the net enveloping whatever fish are underneath it. I can’t imagine myself doing that successfully; it takes skill to do it, and it takes practice. Similarly, fishing for men requires instruction from the experts and practice by the novice. The “experts” to whom I refer are not the authors of the soul-winning books, but the Lord Himself.
The problem that I now have with that first sermon that I preached, lays in this area. It seems to me that most of the high-powered, highly successful, super-evangelists of today are far more familiar with the fish than they are with the Lord. I say this because of what they try to convey to their “fish.” They talk about Heaven and about the importance of avoiding Hell. They talk much about the love of God, but very little about the wrath of God. They say nothing about the sovereignty of God, because they know next to nothing about it. And many of them seem to think that they are more important than the Holy Spirit.
This week I read a little book which I think was written with a desire to be a witness for the Lord. But as an evangelistic tool, I think that it was a miserable failure. It spoke of miracles, about revelation and about the blessing of the Lord on a certain preacher’s family. But it said nothing about the holiness of God, little about judgment, and not a word about repentance. There was a focus on the words of revelation coming from the lips of a four-year-old child, but there wasn’t nearly as much focus on the authoritative Word of God. If it was meant to be a net upon the waters, I’m afraid that it was thrown out in a lump the way that I’d throw out one of those Mexican or Grecian fishing nets. The key to successful fishing for men follows the pattern of this scripture – “brethren” becoming “followers” and trained “disciples” before attempting to become “fishers of men.”
Obviously, the equipment that Andrew and Peter were using was a net rather than a hook.
One of the major differences between these two kinds of fishing is the potential catch. I know that some people who like to fish behind trolling motors, use lines with more than one hook, but they don’t usually expect to catch more than one fish at a time. When their reel starts to sing and the line begins to run out, they aren’t picturing three fish on the line. They are envisioning one monstrous trout or salmon. But if the man throwing out the net, or the crew on the big troller in the ocean, pulls in their nets with only one fish, no matter how big it is, they would be very disappointed.
Believe me, I am not opposed to “personal evangelism,” in fact I highly encourage it. I suppose that most of the time, evangelism boils down to the personal variety – more often than not. But whereas “angling” raises an image of personal work, the use of a net is much more general and broad. Did the twelve apostles ever do any personal angling for souls? Yes, they did, but I can’t think of a great many instances. Peter’s ministry with Cornelius might be considered as personal evangelism, even though the Roman’s house was filled with family and neighbors. When Philip brought the Ethiopian to Christ, it was on a one-to-one basis. Christ Jesus did the same with Zacchaeus, the man called “Legion” and a few others. Perhaps it needs to be kept in mind that with the Ethiopian and Cornelius, the evangelists were given specific orders by God to make that visit – they weren’t out trolling. There may not be anything in the world wrong with door-to-door evangelism, but I don’t think that you’ll find that sort of thing specifically taught in the Word of God.
When Jesus referred to “fishing for men” it was in the context of the circle of a net. Christ “said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” “And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that what the Lord was calling these particular fishermen to do was to scatter the precious seed, or to fling the net over as wide an area as possible. This takes us back to my closing thought last week – these fishers were more than the average Christian. These men were being called as missionaries, evangelists, preachers and pastors. Again, this isn’t to put down the importance of an individual witness, but I’m not sure that the context of this scripture supports that idea.
So then what exactly is the net, if we are taking the parable in this direction?
Let’s assume for the sake of argument that it is the gospel – the good news. I was reading the latest “Leadership Journal” – a Christian magazine – earlier this week. As is very often the case, I start to read an article, but when I learn something about the author, I quit, moving on to the next article. In one of them, the author was saying that the gospel is more than a message about salvation. Half believing that is the case, I read on a half paragraph farther before I quit. This neo-evangelical author went on to say that social action is a part of the gospel message. Today’s “neo-evangelical” is not far removed from the old “neo-orthodox” and the old “liberal.” Those were terms we used to use a lot, but it seems that now there isn’t much need to use them. The old evangelicals are now a new breed of evangelicals, who say that social action, like treating AIDS patients and feeding the inner city is a part of the gospel. What is the net that Christ wanted His disciple to cast out onto the waters? Rather than the context of the 21st century Christianity, I think that we need to keep this net within the context of the first four chapters of Matthew. What social action did John the Baptist deliver to the people of Judah? Was his net any different from the net that Jesus used? “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
I am of the opinion that the Christian fisher’s net is the gospel. But indeed, the gospel is a bit more broad than just the idea of forgiveness. It should include, if not actually begin with, the holiness of the Lord. There is no reason to preach repentance outside the context of the righteousness of God. And of course repentance demands an explanation of man’s wretched sinfulness. Both John and the Lord made reference to the Kingdom of God. That is a huge subject which begins with the sovereignty of Jehovah, and extends into the future. It speaks of the rule of God at this moment, the future rule of Christ upon David’s throne during the Millennium and on into the eternal kingdom.
There is another scripture which could be melded into this message, but which I’ll save for another day. Matthew 13:17-50 – “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
It’s interesting to note that in several of these “fishermen“ scriptures there is a reference to the men working on their nets. Here in Matthew the sons of Zebedee were mending their nets. In Luke 5 the fishermen of both ships were washing their nets. Would we be stretching the illustration too far by suggesting that it is important that the Lord’s disciples constantly strive to maintain their knowledge and affinity with God and His truth?
In another article which I read this week, there was a reference to using a scythe in the same way that the fishermen were using their nets. The author described a situation where a pair of men were using large scythes or sickles to cut down the tall grass along the side of a road. As the travelers were quite some way from the workers, they were able to see that the men would work for 20 minutes and then stop for 10 minutes as they re-sharpened their blades. Over and over again, they would work and then stop, work and then stop. For every two hours spent cutting the grass they spent an hour preparing to cut the grass. The author of the article pointed out that it is absolutely imperative that the servant of the Lord stay sharp, stay spiritual, stay in tune with the Lord, if he intends to cut much grass. And similarly, judging from the comments in these scriptures, if fishers want to catch much fish they must often clean their nets and mend them.
Think about the very nature of a net. It’s not exactly true, but you might think of a net as thousands of tiny parts all woven together. And the gospel contains a thousand segments as well – this doctrine, that doctrine, and another doctrine. It might be the doctrine of God’s love which snares one fish, but it’s the doctrine of God’s wrath which catches another. The doctrine of soteriology is made up of justification, redemption, the atonement, regeneration, adoption and a dozen other parts – and it might be one and not another which entices some soul. There is the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of Christ, and the work of the Father. There is the historical aspects of creation and the fall of man, linked together the glorification of all things. There are hundreds of prophecies and hundreds of illustrative parables. They all link together to catch the Lord’s fish, but it might be said that each fish is caught in the segment of the net designed by the Lord especially for him.
And well use that last idea as our closing thought.
The disciples might be the fishers, but Christ is the Lord of the fish harvest.
Here in Matthew this idea doesn’t arise, but it does in several of the related scriptures. Luke 5:4 – ”Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” Just about everyone sees the miracle of the fish in this story, but there is a parabolic message as well. Andrew and Simon were being called to become fishers of men. And the success of their catch would be as equally dependent upon the Saviour as their catch of blue backs or sardines were that day. And just in case those men forgot the necessity of dependence upon the Lord, Christ reiterated His point in John 21. “Simon Peter saith unto (the rest of the disciples), I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”
One of the problems which I have with modern fishing for men – super-evangelism – is the apparent lack of dependence upon the Lord. Not one of the evangelists that I have met would ever say that he deliberately neglected to ask for God’s blessing. And none of them that I known would say that the saving of a soul was not by God’s grace. But neither would any of them say that God saves souls sovereignly by His grace. And yet that is what I see both in Biblical theology and in these illustrations of fishing for men.
As I suggested last week, we need to “pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest.” But we also need to pray the Lord of the harvest to bless that harvest. Fishing for men is the work of God – through fishers of men.