In Matthew 4:19, Jesus called his first disciples. Matthew 4:19 – Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
Fish for People
This wasn’t just a
call for the first disciples. It’s a
call Jesus gives to all of us. To fish
for people means to join Jesus in His mission of drawing others into God’s
Kingdom through our witness, love, service, and proclamation of the gospel.
Jesus calling the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22) – Jesus meets fishermen where they are and uses their own experience to invite them into a new kind of fishing. You have to understand people's lives and the needs and struggles and meet them where they are. As Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of people,” He didn’t just walk up randomly and make the invitation. He had watched these fishermen—He knew their daily lives, their routines, and their struggles. He understood what their work meant to them. Then He took something familiar—their skill in fishing—and gave it a greater, kingdom-minded purpose. Jesus said, in effect, “This thing you’ve been doing, I’m inviting you to do it in a whole new way. Not to catch fish, but to reach people. And I will show you how to do it.”
The Woman at the Well (John 4) – Jesus engaged in personal
conversation and drew the Samaritan woman to faith. Here we see that Jesus isn’t just reaching out to people like Him—Galileans who grew up in the same region, or fellow Jews of the same background. Instead, He crosses cultural and social boundaries to speak with someone considered an outsider, someone others would have avoided. Jesus walks through Samaria, sits by a well, and notices a woman coming to draw water in the heat of the day. Why is she here now, when no one else is? Why not in the cool of the morning? He sees her situation, understands her deeper story, and begins a one-on-one conversation. Through truly seeing her and knowing her, He leads her to faith.
Feeding the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44) – Jesus includes
the disciples in the act of caring for the crowd, showing them that “fishing”
can also mean meeting practical needs that open hearts. Jesus says, “I want you to take care of these people’s practical needs. They’ve been with us all day, and they’re hungry.” The disciples want to send them away, but Jesus responds, “You give them something to eat.” They’re confused—“How can we possibly feed them?”—and then He shows them how, performing His miraculous work. In doing this, Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, that fishing for people often begins with meeting practical needs. If someone is hungry, homeless, or without clothing, how can they truly hear about eternal life until their immediate needs are met? Care for their physical needs first, and hearts will be open to receive the hope of Christ.
Sending out the Twelve & the 72
Jesus didn’t just show the disciples how to fish for people by doing it all
Himself. He challenged the disciples to
get out in the world and do some fishing themselves. In Matthew 10:1-15, Jesus sends the 12 disciples
out to practice preaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom. In Luke 10:1-20, He sent a broader group of 72
disciples out to share the message, showing that “fishing” is a task for all
followers, not just the original twelve.
And the disciples
learned well. By the time we get to Acts
2, we see Peter preaching in Jerusalem and leading 3,000 people to believe in
Jesus and be baptized. But it wasn’t just
about big numbers. Every single person
was important to the disciples because every person belongs in God’s
Kingdom. That’s why I love the story of
Philip. The story is found in Act
8:26-40, but let me summarize it.
It’s the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch was a high official, the treasurer to the queen of Ethiopia, riding in his chariot on the road home from Jerusalem. He had gone there to worship, but because he was a eunuch, the Law of Moses said he could not fully participate in the temple. So here he is, hungry to know God, yet feeling excluded. As he rides, he’s reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah about the Suffering Servant—someone who was despised and disfigured—and he’s wondering what it all means.
Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit tells Philip, “Go to that chariot.” Philip runs alongside and hears the eunuch reading Isaiah. He asks, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The eunuch replies, “How can I, unless someone explains it?” He invites Philip into the chariot, and Philip begins to share the good news: this prophecy is about Jesus, the Messiah, who gave His life so that all may be welcomed into God’s family. No barrier from your past, no wound, no exclusion can keep you out—because through Jesus, you are made whole.
The eunuch hears this, sees some water by the road, and says, “Look, here’s water. What’s to stop me from being baptized?” And in that moment, he is baptized into the family of Christ—fully included, fully loved, fully His.
Whether it was the 3,000 who responded to Peter’s preaching, or the one man Philip led to Christ, the disciples were faithfully doing it. They had learned well what it meant to fish for people.
It occurs to me that there’s a lot more to fishing than just the moment you cast out your nets.
But here’s what makes Joey a great fisherman: he starts fishing long before we ever get to the beach. Months in advance, he’s studying the tides, the kinds of fish in season, the best times of day, and the best spots to fish. He asks around, gathers information, and prepares. By the time we show up, Joey knows exactly what bait to use, where to cast, and what to expect. I just get to do the fun part—cast the line and reel them in—because Joey has already done the hard work.
On top of that, Joey knows what kind of fish we’re catching, whether they’re keepers, how to clean them, and how to cook them. That’s what makes him an excellent fisherman—it’s not just the moment of casting a line, but the preparation, knowledge, and care that go into it.
Now let’s take that idea into our spiritual call to be fishers of people. Too often, when we think about fishing for men and women, we only think about the moment itself: What am I going to say? Will I know what to do? But real fishing begins long before the moment of encounter.
We prepare by spending time with Jesus, reading His Word, and letting Him shape us. That way, when we come alongside someone—like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch—we’re ready. He just “happened” to be reading Isaiah, and Philip was able to say, “I know what that’s about.” That didn’t happen by accident; it was God at work in both of them. And God can do the same in you.
You may think, I don’t know the Bible well enough. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to know it all. God knows what’s coming. He may nudge you today to read Isaiah 40, and you might not know why. But four weeks later, you’ll find yourself in a dentist’s waiting room, and someone will bring it up—and suddenly you’ll realize God had you preparing for that moment all along.
It’s like maintaining your fishing gear. I’ve been there: I show up at the beach, throw my line out, and the reel locks up because I never cleaned it from last year. Is your spiritual life like that? When someone opens their heart and says, “My wife just told me she wants a divorce, and I don’t know what to do,” do you freeze up? Or are you ready because you’ve been walking with the Lord, keeping your nets clean and your heart prepared?
And fishing doesn’t end with the first catch. When someone says, “I’m coming to church with you Sunday,” don’t just say, “Great, see you there.” Meet them on the front porch. Walk in with them. Sit beside them. Help them find a small group, a class, or a place to serve. If they love to sing, introduce them to the choir. That’s what it means to cast the net and to follow through.
Fishing for people is so much more than one moment. It’s preparing beforehand, being ready in the moment, and walking with people afterward. That’s the full picture of what Jesus calls us to.
Preparation is important—but at some point, you have to cast the net. You can do everything right beforehand, but if you never cast, you’ll never catch.
Jesus
called His disciples to be “fishers of people,” and that same call comes to us
today. So, let me ask you—who are you fishing for? Who in your life needs to
experience God’s love, hear the good news, or see faith lived out through your
example? Every one of us has family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers who need
the hope of Christ. Following Jesus means not just being caught by His
grace, but also casting our nets wide so that others might be drawn into
His Kingdom.
The disciples’ faithfulness in becoming fishers of people led to the rapid expansion of the Christian Church. As more and more people became followers of Christ, they too became fishers of people. Being fishers of people is not optional—it is essential. Any generation that fails in this calling faces decline and eventual death. But faithful disciples across the centuries have carried the gospel, and now followers of Christ are found in every corner of the globe. Today, on World Communion Sunday, we celebrate this witness to the spread of the faith. Though we speak different languages, eat different foods, and live in different nations, we are united as part of Jesus’ fishing crew—bound together by His sacrifice and the power of His resurrection. World Communion reminds us that all Christians are interconnected, breaking down denominational and cultural barriers. It is also a call for us to remember our mission to be fishers of people. What our world, our country, and our community need now more than ever is to live out the principles of forgiveness, grace, love, sacrifice, and service that Christ taught us. This is the only hope for our world. Will you answer Christ’s invitation: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
No comments:
Post a Comment