Come, Follow Me

Matthew 4:18-25 

Key verse 4:19 

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 

In the previous passage, we saw how Jesus began his ministry in fulfillment of what God prophesied through Isaiah:  “...the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”  In today's passage, we see how Jesus called four fishermen to follow him with the promise of making them into fishers of men. This calling was God's grace. Instead of working hard only to catch fish, these men began a new life of living for God's glory. God would ultimately use them to build his kingdom on earth. May God bless us to listen to his call through this passage.

Look at verse 18:

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen."

Simon and Andrew were ordinary fishermen working hard to support their families. When Jesus saw them, however, he had great vision for them to be fishers of men. Jesus' vision was not based on human considerations. Fishermen were not well-educated, nor did they have a lot of free-time, but Jesus saw them from God's point of view. In God's eyes, these fishermen were children of God made in the image of God. They were full of great potential that was waiting to be unlocked. So what did Jesus do?

Look at verse 19:

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus calling came with a direction and a promise.

The direction was, "Come, follow me..." This meant to commit their lives fully to Jesus--not just in words, but in practice. It meant going where Jesus went, learning from him, and participating in Jesus' ministry. 

With this calling, Jesus gave a promise: "and I will make you fishers of men." This promise was the bait Jesus used to hook these fishermen. This promise provided them with a new vision for their lives: instead of fishing for fish, they would fish for men. They didn't know anything about fishing for men, but Jesus promised that HE WOULD MAKE THEM into fishers of men if they followed him.

After years of fishing for fish, they knew how meaningless it was. Every day, they went out and worked hard to catch fish, kill them, and sell them to put bread on the table. Was this why God created them and put them on this earth? Surely not, but this was the situation they were stuck in until Jesus called them.

Jesus promised to make them into fishers of men. What is a fisher of men? Like a fisher of fish, the job of a fisher of men is to "catch" something. But  instead of catching fish, fishers of men catch men. Instead of using a net, a fisher of men uses the word of God. Instead of working hard to put bread on the table, a fisher of men works hard to build the kingdom of God. Instead of killing fish, a fisher of men saves people through the gospel of Jesus. In short, the life of fishing for fish is a meaningless life; the life of fishing for men is the most meaningful life.

How did they respond to Jesus' calling? Look at verse 20:

"At once they left their nets and followed him."

Simon and Andrew were not educated men, but they were instantly understood that Jesus was offering them the life that they truly wanted to live. So, without hesitation, and without calculation, they left their nets and followed him. Through this decision of faith, they began living a new and wonderful life. This life included the following:

*They lived together with Jesus.
*They studied the Bible with Jesus.
*They learned about the kingdom of God from Jesus.
*They learned from Jesus how to pray.
*They worked together with Jesus to fish men into the kingdom of God.
*They grew up into mature ministers of the gospel of Jesus' Christ.
*They witnesses Jesus life, death, and resurrection. 
*They saw the kingdom of God grow from a small number of disciples into a great harvest of souls throughout the Roman world.
*And the work God did through them continues to bear the fruit of salvation to this day.

I don't think Simon and Andrew knew that all of this would happen as a result of their decision to follow Jesus, but they were sure that the life of fishing for men would be incomparably greater than the life of fishing for fish. They were right.

Look at verses 21-22:

"Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."

James and John were in a similar situation as Simon and Andrew when Jesus called them, but there was one difference: they were fishing together with their father. To follow Jesus would mean leaving their father. Yet, they didn't calculate. Like Simon and Andrew, James and John knew that Jesus' calling was God's grace to them. They could not refuse this opportunity from God. So, they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

These events remind me of God's grace to call me to be a fisher of men. When I was a freshman in college, someone fished me while I was walking to class by inviting me to Bible study.  At that time, I was known as a "runner" because I was on the college cross country team and spent a lot of time and energy running. But through Bible study, I heard God's call to be a fisher of men. Unlike the fishermen Jesus called, I hesitated at first. But God did not give up on me. He helped me to make a decision of faith to follow Jesus and live as a fisher of men by teaching the Bible to college students.  When I followed Jesus, I left behind my running shoes and started running the spiritual race to the kingdom of God. Since that time, my life has been completely changed in too many wonderful ways for me to share right now. I can testify that God gave me joy as I followed Jesus and worked to fish men into the kingdom of God. That was about ten years ago, and I'm thankful to God today for His calling grace. May God help all of us to know and hold onto this grace.

Look at verses 23-25: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.”

Here we see how Jesus fished men into the kingdom of God. He did three things: teaching, preaching, and healing. Jesus' ministry brought complete healing to the people. When the people saw that Jesus was a spiritual doctor, everyone wanted to come to him for healing. Jesus healed sinsick minds. Jesus healed tormented souls. Jesus healed afflicted bodies. Throughout all of this, Andrew, Simon, James, and John were learning from Jesus how to be fishers of men. Their eyes were opened to see that Jesus truly is the Son of God--the source of complete healing and life. They understood what Isaiah was talking about when he prophesied: "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

One word: God's grace of calling