Why Jesus Calls Us to Be Fishers of Men

Life is about helping others find their way to Jesus. Life is about reproduction. Jesus' words call us to reproduction. Jesus's first words to his first followers and his last words to his followers tell us Jesus wants us to reproduce.

Jesus called out to them, 'Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!' And they left their nets at once and followed him. Mark 1:17-18

What do the first words of Jesus to his followers tell us about reproduction? Here it is. Jesus expects me to be a fisherman of people. Jesus was from Galilee – the northern portion of Israel. The dominant land feature there was the sea of Galilee. Fishing was a common job because fish was a staple of their diet. So everyone understood the importance of fishing. Simon Peter and Andrew were fishermen. So when Jesus said, "Follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people," he spoke their language. Jesus was telling them, "You are in the fishing business. I am in the people business. So follow me, and I will teach you to fish for people."

We know they understood his invitation because they left at once and followed him. They walked away from everything and everyone they knew to learn from Jesus what they did not know. What a profound truth their choice illustrated.

Sometimes you must leave the safety of what you know to learn what you don't know.

Peter and Andrew knew fishing and everything about fish, but if they were like most fishermen, they knew very little about people. Honestly, fishermen are not always high on people skills. They knew nothing about Jesus. The fishermen left what they knew to learn what they did not know. And here is what they learned.

To follow Jesus is to fish for people.

You can be a fan of Jesus and just sit in the boat with Him, but if you are going to follow Jesus, you are in the boat to fish for people, lead people to Jesus, and get people in the boat.

We lived in Miami for 19 years, so we bought a small fishing boat. We could be in the intercoastal, the ocean, or the Everglades in 20 minutes. Both my husband and son love fishing. When we lived in South Florida, Dan occasionally asked someone if they wanted to go fishing in our boat. And they would say, "I'm not really into fishing, but I would love to ride in the boat."

Uh, no. Dan didn't take people for boat rides. He took people fishing. You can be a fan of Jesus and be along for the boat ride, but if you are a follower of Jesus, you are fishing for people.

"The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren't interested in following Christ." Kyle Idelman

Jesus is not looking for fans or social media followers. He is looking for faithful followers. A Christ follower is someone who does what Jesus does and obeys what Jesus says. Jesus is always fishing for people – I mean, all the time. He makes his mission very clear in Luke 19:10.

"I came to seek and to save the lost."

Jesus wants us to help people discover who he is and how to have a personal relationship with him. If people know God but have lost their way, Jesus wants to help them on their way back to him.

The Jesus boat is a fishing boat. The Jesus mission is a fishing mission. The Jesus way is reproduction. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will show you how to fish for people."

Those are the first words of Jesus to His followers. Now let's check out the next to last words of Jesus to His followers - as he talks to the eleven disciples, to his inner core.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Translation? Jesus expects me to be a disciple-maker.

I took a class in college as part of my English major on grammar. They called it English, but it was actually Texican that I learned. Texican, the language of heaven. I also took a class on grammar. We spent an entire semester diagramming sentences. Fascinating stuff. The wording is essential. The structure is important. I learned the difference between the main verb and a helping verb. The main verb describes the primary action in the sentence. The main verb we read in the Scripture is "make disciples." If you diagrammed the sentence for optimal meaning and clarity, it would go like this.

"Make disciples – everywhere you go, by baptizing and by teaching and by remembering that I am with you always."

So what is the point? Jesus invites me to be a disciple-maker. Jesus does not just ask me to be his disciple but also to make disciples. It sounds intimidating to me. It is not.

Did you ever play the kids came called "gossip?" Everyone sat in a circle. The game began when the first person would whisper something in your ear – one time. Then you would whisper it to the next person – one time. When the circle was completed, the last person tells what they heard to the group – and it was not even close to the original message.

We do this in family relationships all the time. Parenting is passing on to your kids what your parents taught you. Discipleship is passing on to the next person what someone taught me. Check out how Paul described this process to Timothy.

"Pass on what you heard from me to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:2

Barnabus disciples Paul. Paul disciples Timothy. Timothy discipled his friend, and his friend discipled his friend - and so on and so on. Again, discipleship is passing on to the next person what someone has taught you about Jesus. The first words of Jesus invite me to fish for people. The next to last words of Jesus ask me to disciple people. Here are the last words of Jesus to his followers.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8

Jesus expects me to be on a mission. The setting of these last words of Jesus matters. He has been crucified and then resurrected. Jesus spent 40 days appearing to different groups of his followers and was getting ready to ascend into heaven.

Last words matter. The last words of Jesus were clear. We are to go and tell others about him. We are to be on mission. It comes down to one big truth.

Be on mission wherever you go. Be on mission in your everyday community. Jesus says, "I will empower you – the Holy Spirit is coming your way! He will empower you, lead you, and speak through you."

Jesus says, "I will send you – anywhere you go." So some went to Jerusalem, while others went to Judea. Still, others ministered in Samaria and some around the world. Jesus says, "I commission you as my missionary." Therefore, we are to be missionaries in our everyday community, circle of friends and family members, and city. Simply put, we are to be Jesus' missionaries in everyday life.

Have you ever wondered what made Jesus mad enough to curse? Of course, it wasn't using bad words and wasn't misusing God's name. So what made Jesus angry enough to curse something? It only happens once. You can read it for yourself in Mark 11. Jesus is hungry and sees a fig tree blooming, which means it is in season for figs. Jesus then notices that the tree has no fruit, so he curses the tree. When they pass that tree the next day, the disciples see that it has died overnight.

Jesus cursed the tree for looking like it was producing fruit – but being fruitless. Hmm, not what I expected. You? Jesus wants us to bear fruit, to be fruitful, and to reproduce. There are three ways Jesus wants me to reproduce: fishing for people, by making disciples, and living as a missionary in my everyday life.

I love neighborhood convenience stores. No, they don't have everything I need, but they do have some essentials. When we lived in South Florida, we had a neighborhood convenience store. It was not a chain. It was an independently owned store. Like many homes and businesses in Fort Lauderdale – it sat on a canal.

Every time I went by the convenience store during the day, the same two old-timers were fishing in the canal next to the store. Every day, they were sitting in lawn chairs, drinking their beer, and fishing poles in their hands.

On several occasions, I would stop and ask, "Catching anything?" I am a fisherman. If they were catching fish – I wanted to know."

But every time, their reply would be the same, "No. We aren't even using bait. We aren't fishing. We are pretend fishing." I loved the honesty, but I hated the answer because to follow is to fish.

Jesus not only wants and teaches his followers to fish, he expects his followers to fish. So what are you fishing for?

Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.