Captain's Log - Fishers Of Men

As Jesus began his work of bringing the good news to mankind, he used certain techniques to recruit people for service. Notice Jesus technique as he calls Peter and Andrew.

Matthew 4:18-20 "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. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him."

Jesus does three things to insure success in his appeal to Peter and Andrew that we can imitate today.



First Jesus meets them where they are. Notice he doesn't try to get them to come to a synagogue service or a temple. He goes out to the common man, in the common world and goes to them. Jesus latter tells his disciples in Mark 16:15 to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Notice that Jesus did not wait in the ivory palaces of heaven for sinners to come find him. He sought them out in the midst of this sinful world and approached them with an offer of grace.

Second Jesus calls them to something spiritual. He did not appeal to their flesh. He did not appeal to their desire for money or land. He appealed to their better nature. He appealed to their desire to make a difference for God in the lives of their fellow man. He called them not to buildings, money, pride or prestige but service, sacrifice and searching for their lost fellow man. What you win them with is what you win them too.

Third Jesus relates to them in terms they understand. Jesus didn't talk like other religious teachers (John 7:46). Jesus didn't use 5 syllable words all day or talk in religious jargon. He spoke in a way that appealed to common men and women seeking the truth. Jesus was not pretentious but spoke to fishermen in analogies and metaphors that they could grasp and be motivated by. To fisherman, he spoke of evangelism in fishing terminology.

Jesus was very successful with this type of preaching and teaching. It drew large crowds, built a solid core of leaders, and changed the world. We would do well to imitate him. He was the master fishermen. If we want to be fishers of men like Jesus we should use the same bait.