For my 14th birthday I asked for a fishing rod. I liked the idea of sitting beside a river, relaxing, chilling out, having a drink and… oh yeah catching a fish! My friend Jamie and I would attach them to our bikes and cycle to a small pond hidden by trees in a field somewhere in Essex! The pond may have been small but there were loads of fish in it and we were guaranteed to catch something!
Not all my fishing experiences were very good though. I often felt like I spent more time setting everything up than I did catching anything. More often than not I caught nothing! On one occasion, shortly after receiving the rod for my birthday. I cast the line only for the spool (the part of the reel that has all the line on it) to fly off and plummet into the water! I could see it below the surface of the water but could not reach with my hands. Pulling the line didn’t help at all, that only unwound it more. Several sticks failed to retrieve it and I was left with no option, I took my trousers off and slowly waded into the very cold water in my underpants. Unbelievably my arms still weren’t long enough when I was nearer, I ended up with half my head going in to get it back!
My fishing escapades only lasted a short while before I was into the next thing!
When Jesus started out in his public ministry, he called people to follow him, to be his disciples. Two of the first he called were Simon (also known as Simon Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and Jesus spoke to them whilst they were casting their nets – I assume more successfully than me casting my line!
Jesus said to them…
“Come, follow me, … and I will send you out to fish for people.”Mark 1:17
It was part of Jewish culture for people (men) to follow a Rabbi and to be disciples (learners). Rabbis would seek out the best of the best and if you didn’t make it and weren’t picked then most likely you would end up in the family business for example as fishermen. Jesus doing his usual turning things upside down, selects Simon and Andrew who clearly had not made the mark! Yet he calls them to follow him. And in the same way he calls them he also calls us. Every day I choose to follow Jesus, to give myself to him, to learn and to serve.
The second part of what Jesus says here connected with these fishermen for obvious reasons, Jesus using their occupation to illustrate their calling. But what exactly did Jesus mean by fishing for people?
Essentially Jesus is saying they will be used to gather other people to follow Jesus.
The net they were familiar with casting, was to catch fish but this was unpredictable, there are no guarantees you’ll catch anything. Jesus is saying the gospel is the net. Cast it far and wide, in the way you live, love, follow, pray and speak about Jesus and his salvation (they were yet to understand all this). To share Jesus with the world, our country, our county, our town / village, our street, our neighbour. Maybe some will be captivated by the love of Jesus and his saving grace where they too will want to follow him and fish for people also. Maybe others will not respond so favourably, and others still even seek to change our minds.
The truth is the gospel is powerful, it can pierce through the hardest of hearts, the darkest of souls, the most adamant and anti of beliefs that people have, or those who think they have all they need. It is for all people, all the time, it transcends culture, time, philosophy, and religion. So, get fishing, get sharing in the normal and the everyday, you never know which person’s heart will be caught!
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” Romans 10:14 (NLT)
