A great line, isn’t it? I wish I came up with it but then I’d get a big head so just as well I didn’t! It’s a tagline from a church website and it encapsulates the core mission and vision of Christian discipleship. Jesus expressed it this way when he called his disciples, “Come, follow me…and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19).
In Luke 5:1-11 – a separate event that occurred after Matthew’s account – Jesus had just finished speaking to a crowd using a boat belonging to Peter. He, along with Andrew, James and John – all experienced fishermen – had fished all night but returned empty handed. They were tired and dispirited.
Jesus, a carpenter, tells Peter to have another go but this time to follow his instructions. Funny that! Peter swallows his pride and obeys the Lord. The result was a big haul of fish that ripped the nets and began to sink the boat. Peter instinctively recognised this was an act of God. He falls to his knees before Jesus in worship in recognition that Jesus is ‘otherworldly’. This is followed by a deep sense of unworthiness (Depart from me!) and confession (I am a sinful man).
Pretty soon, fear takes over Peter. This fear is not to be confused with the fear of the Lord which means being in awe of God, a positive and healthy posture to have before God. No, this fear, if left unchecked would keep him away from Jesus. Jesus knew this and tells Peter immediately to stop being fearful because fear has no place in a healthy and loving relationship. Know this: whatever it is that keeps us from approaching God with freedom and confidence (read Ephesians 3:12), it is not of Him!
Now to the object lesson of the miracle, ‘…from now on you will fish for people’. In Matthew 28, Jesus expressed the same point differently. In verse 19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”. In other words, ‘More People More Like Jesus’.
Jesus has said he will build the church. Our calling is to go and make disciples and it begins by discipling unbelievers to a saving faith in Jesus. To be more like Jesus at the very least has to mean to leave the ninety-nine sheep who are safe and go look for the one that is lost. Our Father is not willing for any of them to perish (read Matthew 18:12-14). Discipleship isn’t just upward and inward focussed; it is outward focussed as well.
And the thing is, the responsibility for ‘fishing for people’ does not rest primarily on us. Jesus will show us how to do it. He knows where the ‘fish’ are. He is already at work. We just need to listen to Him and act according to his direction.
The problem has never been the harvest (it is plentiful) but the lack of workers; committed, willing workers who will obey Jesus, in getting off the shore and jumping into the boat with him. In 2026, let us pray and work together to see more people, more like Jesus!
Mark
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