You Can Be A Fisher Of Men Like Peter

Peter Was A Fisher of Men- Are You?

Jun

For many, going fishing is the prospect of a day spent quietly in a peaceful place. Catching fish may be less important than enjoying a day hidden from the demands of family and work. For others fishing is an essential part of life. If they do not catch fish they face hunger. Jesus told Peter that He would make him a “fisher of men.” Did that mean that Peter was called to a casual escape from the real world, introducing the occasional person to Jesus? Or, was Peter called to pull in the “fish” (or, new converts) as the main focus of his life?

Peter Fished for a Living

When Jesus told Peter that he would be made into”a fisher of men” he was using language that Peter understood. Peter was a fisherman, not the casual kind, but the type who caught fish for a living. Peter did not wake up in the morning and wonder whether he would go to the lake and catch a fish or two for pleasure. Fishing was his job.

When Jesus invited Peter to join His group of twelve disciples or close followers, Peter’s job description changed. Although he would still fish, his main purpose was to be a “fisher of men”.

Jesus Taught Peter How To Fish For Men

Peter did not become a really effective evangelist overnight. He spent three years with Jesus learning first hand what it looked like for God to heal and to perform all sorts of miracles, as Jesus drew people to Himself so that they would hear His message of repentance and salvation.

In the first chapters in Acts we see Peter earnestly seeking the lost, preaching a message of tremendous hope for those who became followers of Jesus. By this time he has witnessed Jesus rising from the dead and at Pentecost he had been filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus had made Him a fisher of men.

Jesus had given him an object lesson when Peter and other disciples were out fishing. They spent all night trying to catch fish without any success (John 21: 1-6). On their own they could catch nothing. After a frustrating night Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side and the net was immediately full of fish.

The lesson applies to us too. Catching fish in Peter’s life is a metaphor for bringing people to a life saving knowledge of Jesus. We cannot do this without Jesus’ help. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit. Pray, seek, go!

We Can Be Fishers Of Men

Yesterday I went to my daughter’s middle school. For the last seven years I have gone there to teach a Bible club. Before we discuss the Bible we sit at the picnic table and eat cookies while kids walk past. When an encouraging number of kids came to the club, my focus was to talk with them. Now that the numbers have dwindled, I look beyond the three or four kids who now attend and focus on the kids who walk by.

The kids who pass by are in many respects like fish. They move along swiftly but they pause when they see the cookies! They are hungry by the end of the school day and cookies are like bait for hungry fish. Some ask for cookies and we tell them what our club is about. We invite others to find out about how much God loves them.

We cannot predict the responses. Some move on quickly explaining that they have no interest in religion. Others say that they attend church and a few stop and say that they really want to find out about Jesus!

As We Fish, Jesus Does Most Of The Work.

Our job is to cast the net. Jesus does the rest. In the last couple of weeks three kids have received Bibles and I have prayed for them as they have expressed an interest in Jesus. This is a crucial beginning. The seeds have been planted.

The few remaining Bible club members are witnessing some of what Peter witnessed when he was Jesus’ disciple. They are seeing Jesus at work and one of them has started calling out to kids as they pass: ” Are you interested in God?” Danny who is twelve or thirteen is now becoming a fisher of men too.

Do you take Jesus’ call to be a “fisher of men” casually or seriously? Are we praying for opportunities to draw people to Jesus or are we like recreational fishermen seeking a quiet life? I promise you that there is nothing more exciting than realizing that Jesus has already started working in some of these kids’ hearts. We need to cast the net and see who Jesus brings to life. We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to learn when we need to cast the net in a different place.

How many youth pastors are so busy focusing on the kids who show up in their youth rooms that they fail to notice the fish in another part of the lake . It is not just pastors who have a responsibility to cast their nets wider. Jesus can make all of us into “fishers of men”. Are we willing to learn? Are we willing to join with someone who is already a “fisher of men” so that we can be encouraged to carry out the Great Comission?