Jesus was a fisher of men

JESUS WAS A FISHER OF MEN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 4:18-19 "Now as Jesus was walking by the
Sea of Galilee,He saw two brothers, Simon who was
calledPeter, and Andrew his brother, castinga net
into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He saidto
them, "FollowMe, and I will make you fishers of
men."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Christ's Call To Service
Matthew 4:19
R. Tuck
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. From John 1. we learn that
these men were previously calledto discipleship. It was well that they should
have a time of fellowship with Christ before they were further called to the
service of Christ. Observe how the full idea of the Messiahshipwas gradually
unfolded, stage by stage. Our Lord never hurried. He seta noble example of
"doing the next thing;" and all the Divine plan for him gradually but surely
unfolded. These men were fishers. Our Lord used a figure which was quite

familiar to them, and would be very suggestive. Thesethoughts would surely
have come to their minds. As the fish have to be gathered, to be skilfully
gathered, and to be persistently gathered, so have men. Christ wants us to fish
for men as, during these long years, we have fished in this lake for fish. Here
will come in careful descriptions of the boats, nets, and methods of the
fishermen of Galilee.
I. MEN HAVE TO BE GATHERED. Morally, and in view of their
independence and self-willedness, men are like the fishes that roam free in the
water, going this way or that at their own pleasure. But this freedom is moral
peril. There are foes for men in their freedom, as there are for the fishes.
Gather the fish and deliver them from their foes. Gatherthe men into the
allegiance ofChrist, and so deliver them from evil.
II. MEN HAVE TO BE SKILFULLY GATHERED. Few occupations involve
more skill than fishing. The fisherman must judge the weather, decide on his
net or line, adapt his bait, and know the habits of the creatures. So the Apostle
Paul, as the great gospelfisherman, would make himself" all things to all
men." Illustrate by the conversions recorded in the New Testament, pointing
out how different were the methods used in eachcase in order to effectthe
ingathering.
III. MEN HAVE TO BE PERSISTENTLYGATHERED. Because there is a
natural resistance whichis too often successful, andmust be dealt with again
and again. Show where the fisher-figure fails. They who fish for men gather
them in order that they may be everlastinglysaved. - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
Follow Me.
Matthew 4:19
Follow Me

D. B. Hooke., H. Cole., W. Kelynack.
1. Follow Christ as your Teacher.
2. As your Example.
3. As your Friend.
4. If you see to the following what will Christ do?
(D. B. Hooke.)
1. These heavenlyfishermen follow Christ personally.
2. They follow Him circumstantially.
3. They follow Him singly, with a single eye.
(H. Cole.)The greatlessonofthe text may be summed up in this — that
successfulwork for Jesus must spring out of a devout imitation of Him.
"Follow Me," etc. In the example of Christ there are two points which it is
important to look at.
I. The estimate Jesus Christ gave to humanity in contrastwith all the other
objects that engagedHis attention. In comparisonwith the claims of man,
everything else was regardedas subsidiary.
II. His whole careerwas evolvedfrom this centralconceptionin regard to
humanity. To save men — that was His mission. I must work — that was His
motto. These thoughts were always presentto His mind. Our grand central
controlling purpose must be the imitation of the Master, in striving to become
the servantof all.
1. Christian work must so far resemble Christ's work as to be inspired with
the soulof earnestness.
2. The possessionofyearning pity and interest in humanity.
3. The cultivation of a spirit of large self-denial.
4. Persistencyin effort.

5. Prayer. Does this command stir your soul to nobler work and better service,
etc.? What is your response?
(W. Kelynack.)
Follow Me
Seeds and Saplings.
I. WHOM? .Notsimply a human teacher, but Jesus, who qualified Himself by
His earthly life, with its temptations, toil, and suffering, to be the efficient
leaderof men.
II. How? We cannotfollow His personas the disciples did; but we may —
Obey His precepts and copy His example.
III. WHY? We cannot direct our own course — there is no leaderequal to
Christ — if we follow Him we shall be in goodcompany. Only thus can we
escape spiritual dangerand eternal death.
IV. WHITHER? To God: "I am the way," etc. To heaven: "In My:Father's
house," etc.
V. WHEN? NOW. Always.
(Seeds and Saplings.)
The attractive face of Jesus
J. B. Brown, B. A.
In lower human forms this magnetic attractionof man on man is not
unknown. It is the orator's power. The orators of revolutions — men like
Mirabeau — are full chargedwith it; they are like jars laden with electric
fire; there is that in their words which flashes out, and stirs, sways, and rules
mankind. Christ constitutes in a still higher form the great Captain's power.
(J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Fishers of men.
Ministers fishers of men
Dr. Burns.
I. The APPROPRIATENESSofthe figure. The world is the sea, the scene of
their labours.
II. The DUTY TO BE DISCHARGED. This net must be employed —
constantly, diligently, skilfully.
1. Let the Christian fisherman rightly understand his net, and the appointed
way of using it.
2. Let successbe the grand object of attention.
3. Be cheerfully devoted to the work.
4. Our resourcesare infinite and exhaustless.
(Dr. Burns.)
Fishers of men
Beecher.
1. To fish well, it is necessaryto study the peculiarities of fish.
2. You must go to the fish.
(Beecher.)
Scientific knowledge not enoughfor the preacher
Beecher.

It is necessaryto know more than the science ofichthyology. What a book can
tell a man about fishing is worth knowing, but it is little that a book cando
towards making a man a true fisherman. If a man is going to fish for fish, he
must become their scholarbefore he becomes their master; he must go to
schoolin the brook, to learn its ways. And to fish for men, a man must learn
their nature, their prejudices, their tendencies, and their courses. Aman, to
catchfish, must not only know their habits, but their tastes and their resorts;
he must humour them according to their different natures, and adapt his
instruments according to their peculiarities — providing a spearfor some, a
hook for others, a net for others, and baits for eachone, as eachone will. To
sit on a bank or deck, and sayto the fishes, "Here I am, authorized to
command you to come to me and to bite what I give you," is just as ridiculous
as it can be, even though it does resemble some ways of preaching. The
Christian's business is not to stand in an appointed place and say to men,
"Here am I; come up and take what I give you as you should." The
Christian's business is to find out what men are, and to take them by that
which they will bite at.
(Beecher.)
Fishers of men
A. Thomas.
Christ came upon these men when they were busy at their everyday work. He
saw them casting net into the sea. His eye is upon us in all the work we do in
the world. And as:He looks upon us, so He calls us. It is true we may be so
absorbedin other pursuits as not to hear the call.
I. What was His call? They were to leave their work that they .might engage in
higher work.
II. How shall we hope to be successful?
1. We must follow Christ.
2. We must submit to His teaching and influence.

3. Christ only can qualify us for the work.
(A. Thomas.)
Industry an indication of worth
A. Thomas.
Whether, as He watchedthem putting out the net, He saw signs, whichwere
indications to His penetrating and prophetic eye of fitness for the higher work
to which they were to be called, we cannottell. It is possible. Fora very small
thing will serve as a revelation of characterto those who are keen-sighted, and
who understand how the little is allied to the great. Just as a student like
Owenwill constructthe entire skeletonif you give him a single bone, so the
master, in the study of the human nature, will often be able to give a fair
judgment of the whole characterif he sees only what many would regard as
casualand meaningless acts.
(A. Thomas.)
Men miss the call of Christ through over occupation
A. Thomas., C. H. Spurgeon.
You cannot attend to many things at once. There may be a glow of heavenly
light on the mountain-top, but it will be nothing to the man whose eyes are
fixed on the path along which he is painfully toiling. There may be the sound
of sweetmusic carried on the night breezes;but it will be lost upon those who
are disputing loudly and striving angrily with eachother.
(A. Thomas.)
1. A fisherman must be acquainted with the sea — we must know the locality
in which we have to work.
2. A fisherman must also know how to allure fish.

3. The fisherman must be a man who can wait with patience.
4. A fisherman is one who must run hazards.
5. The fisherman must be one who has learned both how to persevere and how
to expect.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
A fisherman must also know how to allure the fish.
C. H. Spurgeon.
I saw on Lake Come, when we visited Bellagio, some men fishing. They had
torches burning in their boats, and the fish were attractedto them by the
glare of the light. You must know how to getthe fish together. You know there
is such a thing as the ground-bait for the fishes. You must know how to allure
men. The preacher does this by using images, symbols, and illustrations. You
must know how to catch the fish, throwing out first.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Church enriched from the ranks of poverty.
Dr. d. Harris.
A few years ago, on a wintry morning, a boy in the habiliments of poverty
entered an old schoolhouseamong our westernmountains, and avowedto the
master his desire for an education. There was poverty laying one of her
richest gifts on the altar of religion, for that boy was Jonas King. On his
humble shoemaker'sbench, Carey laid the foundation of British Baptist
Missions. JohnNewtonfound in his congregationan unfriended Scotchbey,
whose soulwas then glowing with new-born love to Christ. He took him to
John Thornton, one of those noble merchants whose wealth, whose piety, and
whose beneficence increasedtogether. Theyeducatedhim, and that boy
became Claudius Buchanan, whose name India will bless when the names of

Clive and Hastings are forgotten. John Bunyan was a gift of poverty to the
Church. Zwingle came forth from an Alpine shepherd's cabin; Melanethon
from an armourer's workshop;Luther from a miner's cottage;the apostles,
some of them, from fishermen's huts. These are the gifts of poverty to the
Church.
(Dr. d. Harris.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(19) Follow me.—The command came, as we have seen, to those who were not
unprepared. Short as it was, it was in some sense the first parable in our
Lord’s teaching, the germ of an actualparable (Matthew 13:47). It suggested
a whole circle of thoughts. The sea is the troubled and evil world (Isaiah
57:20), and the souls of men are the fish that have to be caught and taken
from it, and the net is the Church of Christ. The figure had been used before
(Jeremiah 16:16), but then it had presented its darker aspect, and the “fishers
of men” were their captors and enslavers. The earliestextant hymn of the
Church, by Clement of Alexandria, dwells on the image with a rich and
suggestive playfulness. Christ is thus addressed:—
“Fisherof men, the blest,
Out of the world’s unrest,
Out of sin’s troubled sea
Taking us, Lord, to Thee;
Out of the waves ofstrife,
With bait of blissful life,

Drawing Thy nets to shore
With choicestfish, good store.”
BensonCommentary
Matthew 4:19-20. He saith unto them — Namely, after some previous
circumstances, anaccountof which is given, Luke 5:1-11. Follow me — That
is, not only now and then, as you have hitherto done, since my baptism, John
1:37; but now leave your ordinary employments, and become my constant
attendants; that by continually hearing my doctrine, and seeing my miracles,
you may be fitted, in due time, to become my messengersto mankind. It is
observable that, when God has calledmen to offices ofdignity and usefulness
among his people, or has particularly appeared in their favour, they have
generallybeen engagedin some honestemployment. Saul was seeking his
father’s asses, andDavid was keeping his father’s sheep, when the Lord called
them to the kingdom. The shepherds were feeding their flocks when they
receivedinformation from the angel, accompaniedby the heavenly host, of the
birth of Christ. Godcalled Amos from the flock, Gideonfrom the threshing
floor, and the apostles here from their fishing. God does not encourage
idleness, nor despise persons in mean employments. And I will make you
fishers of men — You shall gathermen into the gospelnet, and gain them over
to the faith; and such abundant successwill I give you, that the number of
souls converted by you, shall be greaterthan that of the fishes you have been
used to catch. See notes on Ezekiel37:6-10. Observe, reader!The work of
ministers is here set forth. They are not to fish for a livelihood, much less for
honour and applause to themselves, but to win souls to God, and are to bait
their hooks and order their nets for this end: which, however, will never be
answeredif, either by mere generaldiscourses,they make the meshes so wide
that sinners will find an easypassage throughthem, or, by abstract
reasonings, andfine-spun speculations, theymake the threads so small that
they can easilybreak them; or, if they neglectto close the net upon those they
have enclosed, by a proper and pointed application of their subject. Nor will
all our art or labour make us fishers of men, without the divine blessing.

Without this, like the disciples of old, we may toil all day and all night, but we
shall catchnothing, or nothing to purpose. And it is to be observedfurther,
that the apostles were not immediately to enter upon the work of the ministry,
but were first to follow Jesus. And the apostles, inthe choice of one to succeed
Judas, limited themselves in their electionto those that had companiedwith
them all the time the Lord Jesus had gone in and out among them, Acts 1:21.
Those who do not observe this become fishers for something else rather than
the souls of men. They straightwayleft their nets and followedhim —
Influenced by the powerof his word, and struck with the wonderful miracle
recordedLuke 5:6-9. It is not of indispensable necessitythat those who are
calledto the ministry of the word should have nothing else to do. Paul’s hand
ministered to his necessitiesand those of his companions. But it is very
desirable that they should be so supported as to be able to give themselves
wholly up to the work of the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
4:18-22 When Christ beganto preach, he beganto gatherdisciples, who
should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be
witnesses ofhis miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not
to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but
to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which calledPeter
and Andrew, could have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God
nothing is impossible. But Christ choosesthe foolish things of the world to
confound the wise. Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing to Christ, and it is
no hinderance to a holy life. Idle people are more open to the temptations of
Satanthan to the calls of God. It is a happy and hopeful thing to see children
careful of their parents, and dutiful. When Christ comes, it is goodto be found
doing. Am I in Christ? is a very needful question to ask ourselves;and, next to
that, Am I in my calling? They had followedChrist before, as common
disciples, Joh 1:37; now they must leave their calling. Those who would follow
Christ aright, must, at his command, leave all things to follow him, must be
ready to part with them. This instance of the powerof the Lord Jesus
encouragesus to depend upon his grace. He speaks, andit is done.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

Fishers of men - Ministers or preachers of the gospel, whose business it shall
be to win souls to Christ.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
19. And he saith unto them, Follow me—rather, as the same expressionis
rendered in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17).
and I will make you fishers of men—raising them from a lowerto a higher
fishing, as David was from a lowerto a higher feeding (Ps 78:70-72).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Here was their call to the office of apostles. It is observable that God’s calls of
men to places of dignity and honour, and his appearances offavour to them,
have ordinarily been when they have been busied in the honest employments
of their callings. Saul was seeking his father’s asses, Davidkeeping his father’s
sheep, when the Lord calledthem to the kingdom. The shepherds were
feeding their flocks whenthey had the revelationof Christ. He calleth four
apostles from their fishery; Amos from amongstthe herdmen of Tekoa;
Matthew from the receiptof custom; Moseswhenkeeping Jethro’s flock,
Exodus 3:1,2; Gideonfrom the threshing floor, Judges 6:11. God never
encouragesidleness, but despisethnot persons in meanestemployments.
Follow me, that is, to return no more to your employment.
I will make you fishers of men: here is the work of ministers setout, to gain
souls to God; they are not to fish merely for a livelihood, much less for honour
and applause to themselves, but to win souls to God, and are to bait their
hooks and order their nets to this end, which they will never serve, if either by
generaldiscourses theymake the meshes so wide that all will dart through
them, or if by their wit and learning they make their discourses so fine and
curious that few or none of their hearers canunderstand them. Nor will all
our art make us fishers of men: I will make you, saith Christ. Paul may plant,
and Apollos may water, Godmust give the increase. Butyet we must order

our nets rationally and probably in order to our end, and without that cannot
expectGod’s blessings. Norwere the apostles presentlyto enter upon the
work of the ministry, but first to follow him. And indeed such should all
gospelministers be. In the choice ofMatthias, Peterlimited the people in their
electionto those that had accompaniedwith them all the time the Lord Jesus
went in and out amongstthem, Acts 1:21. Other ministers commonly prove
fishers for something else, not for the souls of men.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And he saith unto them, follow me,.... These two brethren had been the
disciples of John, as Theophylact thinks, and which seems agreeable to John
1:35 and though through John's pointing out Christ unto them, they had some
knowledge ofhim, and conversationwith him, yet they abode with him but for
that day, John 1:37 and afterwards returned to their master; and upon his
imprisonment, betook themselves to their former employment: from whence
Christ now calls them to be his disciples, saying "follow me", or "come after
me": that is, be a disciple of mine; see Luke 14:27. And to encourage them to
it, makes use of this argument; "and", or "for", I "will make you fishers of
men": you shall be fishers still, but in a higher sense;and in a far more noble
employment, and to much better purpose. The net they were to spreadand
castwas the Gospel, see Matthew 13:47 for Christ made them not , "fishers of
the law", to use the words of Maimonides (g), but fishers of the Gospel. The
sea into which they were to castthe net was first Judea, and then the whole
world; the fish they were to catchwere the souls of men, both among Jews and
Gentiles;of whose conversionand faith they were to be the happy
instruments: now none could make them fishers in this sense, or fit them for
such service, and succeedthem in it, but Christ; and who here promises it
unto them.
(g) Hilcot. Talmud. Torah, c. 1. sect. 12. so Dr. Lightfoot cites the phrase, but
in Ed. Amsterd. it is , "the judgments of the law".
Geneva Study Bible
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 4:19-20. Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου] come here after me! ‫ל‬ ְ‫כ‬‫ּו‬ ְַ ֲ‫ר‬ַ‫י‬ (2 Kings
6:19; 1 Kings 11:5), be my pupils. The disciples were in constantattendance
on their teacher;Schoettgen, Hor. in loc.
ποιήσω … ἀνθρώπων] I will put you in a position to gainmen, that they may
become members of the kingdom of the Messiah. Words borrowedfrom the
domain of hunting and fishing (Jeremiah 16:16)often denote the winning over
of souls for themselves or others. Wetsteinand Loesner, Hemsterhusius, ad
Lucian. Dial. Mort. viii.; Burmann, ad Phaedr. iv. 4. Comp. on 2 Corinthians
11:20. Here the typical phraseologysuggesteditselffrom the circumstances.
εὐθέως] belongs to ἀφέντες, not to ἠκολ.
ἠκολ.]as disciples.
καταρτίζ.,eitherarranging (Bengel)or repairing (Vulgate and most
commentators). We cannot determine which; Luke has ἀπέπλυναν.
REMARK.
The want of harmony betweenMatthew 4:18 ff. and John 1:35 ff. is to be
recognised, andis not (as the Fathers of the church, Kuinoel, Gratz,
Olshausen, Hoffmann, Krabbe, Neander, Ebrard, Arnoldi, Luthardt, Bleek,
Riggenbach, Lange, Ewald, Hausrath, Märcker, have attempted) to be
removed by supposing that in Matthew it is a secondcalling of the apostles in

question that is recorded, viz. that they had alreadybeen at an earlier date
(John 1:35 ff.) disciples of Jesus in the wider sense ofthe word, but that now
for the first time they had become so in the narrower sense—thatis, had
become apostles. Comp. on John, remark after ch. 1. Matthew does not even
agree with Luke 5:4 ff. See remarks on the passage,and Keim, Gesch. J. II. p.
215. We must in any case (in answerto Baur, Hilgenfeld) seek the true history
of the occurrence in John, in whose accounta merely preliminary adherence
to Jesus is the less to be thought of, that immediately afterwards οἱ μαθηταὶ
αὐτοῦ go with Him to Cana (ii. 2), to Capernaum (ii. 12), and to Jerusalem(ii.
17, 22). This also in, answerto Liicke on John, I. p. 466 f., and to Wieseler,
who distinguishes a threefold actin the selectionofthe disciples:the
preliminary calling in John 1:35 ff.; the setting apart to be constant
attendants, Matthew 4:18 ff; Matthew 9:9 ff.; and the selectionofthe Twelve
to be apostles, Matthew 10:2-4. Wieseler(chronol. Synopse, p. 278)lays
especialweighton the circumstance that John names τοὺς δώδεκα for the first
time in John 6:67. But John in general, with the exceptionof this passage(and
the John 6:70 and John 6:71 belonging to it), only once againexpressly
mentions the τοὺς δώδεκα (viz. in John 20:21), which is determined by the
antithetic interest in the context. Especiallyin John 6:67 are the Twelve
opposedto those others, many of whom had desertedHim. Previously,
however, John had no opportunity, where this or any other antithetical
relation might give him occasion, to give prominence to the number of the
Twelve.
Besides, the history of the calling in Matthew, if it were not in contradiction to
John, would by no means bear in itself a mythical character(Strauss finds in
it a copy of the call of Elisha by Elijah, 1 Kings 19:19 ff.), but is to be
explained from the great, directly overwhelming impressionmade by the
appearance ofJesus on minds prepared for it, which Matthew himself
experienced(Matthew 9:9); and this also is to be applied to the Johannine
account. This narrative, which Schenkeland Keim relegate to the sphere of
free invention, does not exclude the profound and certainly original words,
“fishers of men,” which may have proceededfrom the mouth of Jesus to His
first calleddisciples on that day, John 1:40; and upon the basis of these words

the narrative of the call, as it is preservedin Matthew and Mark, might easily
be formed.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
19. fishers of men] A condensedparable explicitly drawn out, ch. Matthew
13:47-50.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 4:19. Δεῦτε, come ye) This word has the force of calling combined
with the idea of the present moment; see Matthew 11:28, Matthew 21:38, etc.
This is evident from the singular δεῦρο, hither.—ποιήσω, κ.τ.λ., I will make,
etc.)The authority of Jesus Christ[is here asserted].—ἁλιεῖς,fishers)See
Jeremiah16:16.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 19. - Follow me; come ye after me (RevisedVersion); δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου.
There is no thought of continuous following from place to place (ἀκολουθεῖν),
but of immediate detachment from the present sphere of their interest and of
attachment to Jesus as their leader. And I will make you fishers of men;
Mark, "to become fishers of men," laying more stress onthe change in their
characternecessaryforsuccessin this new kind of fishing. Luke 5:10 brings
out the change in the nature of the work(ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν). Fishers. The word
suggestscare, patience, skill, besides habits of life fitted for endurance of
privation and fatigue. The same promise is, as it seems, relatedin Luke 5:10,
where notice:
(1) It is connectedwith the miracle of the draught of fishes.
(2) It is not verbally identical with this: Μὴ φοβοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ
ζωγρῶν.

(3) The words are addressedindividually to Simon.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
131. The Making of Men-catchers
And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 4:19
CONVERSION is mostfully displayed when it leads converts to seek the
conversionof others: we most truly follow Christ when we become fishers of
men.
The greatquestion is not so much what we are naturally, as what Jesus makes
us by his grace:whoeverwe may be of ourselves, we can, by following Jesus,
be made useful in his kingdom.
Our desire should be to be men-catchers;and the way to attain to that sacred
art is to be ourselves thoroughly captured by the greatHead of the College of
Fishermen. When Jesus draws us we shall draw men.
I. SOMETHING TO BE DONE BY US. "Follow me."
1. We must be separatedto him, that we may pursue his object.
We cannotfollow him unless we leave others (Matt. 6:4).

We must belong to him, that his design may be our design.
2. We must abide with him, that we may catchhis spirit.
The closerour communion with Christ, the greaterour powerwith souls.
Nearfollowing means full fellowship.
3. We must obey him, that we may learn his method.
Teachwhat he taught (Matt. 28:20).
Teachas he taught (Matt. 11:29;1 Thess. 2:7).
Teachsuchas he taught, namely, the poor, the base, children, etc.
4. We must believe him, that we may believe true doctrine.
Christ's own teaching catches men; let us repeatit.
Faith in Jesus on our part is a greatforce to begetfaith.
5. We must copy his life, that we may win his blessing from God; for God
blesses those who are like his Son.
II. SOMETHING TO BE DONE BY HIM. "I will make you."

Our following Jesus secures oureducationfor soul-winning.
1. By our following Jesus he works convictionand conversionin men; he uses
our example as a means to this end.
2. By our discipleship the Lord makes us fit to be used.
True soul-winners are not self-made, but Christ-made.
The making of men-catchers is a high form of creation.
3. By our personalexperience in following Jesus he instructs us till we become
proficient in the holy art of soul-winning.
4. By inward monitions he guides us what, when, and where to speak.
These must be followedup carefully if we would win men.
5. By his Spirit he qualifies us to reachmen.
The Spirit comes to us by our keeping close to Christ.
6. By his secretworking onmen's hearts he speeds us in our work.
He makes us true fishers by inclining men to enter the gospelnet.
III. A FIGURE INSTRUCTINGUS. "Fishers of men. " The man who saves
souls is like a fisher upon the sea.

1. A fisher is dependent and trustful.
2. He is diligent and persevering.
3. He is intelligent and watchful.
4. He is laborious and self-denying.
5. He is daring, and is not afraid to venture upon a dangerous sea.
6. He is successful. He is no fisher who never catches anything.
See the ordination of successfulministers. They are made, not born: made by
God, and not by mere human training.
See how we can partake in the Lord's work, and be specimens of his
workmanship: "Follow me, and I will make you. "
Hooks
I love your meetings for prayer, you cannot have too many of them: but we
must work while we pray, and pray while we work. I would rather see a man,
who has been savedfrom the gulf below, casting life-lines to others struggling
in the maelstrom of death, than on his knees onthat rock thanking God for
his owndeliverance; because Ibelieve God will acceptactionfor others as the
highest possible expressionof gratitude that a savedsoul can offer. —Thomas
Guthrie
Ministers are fishers. A busy profession, a toilsome calling, no idle man's
occupation, as the vulgar conceive it, nor needless trade, taken up at last to
pick a living out of. Let God's fishermen busy themselves as they must,
sometimes in preparing, sometimes in mending, sometimes in casting abroad,
sometimes in drawing in the net, that they may "separatethe precious from

the vile," etc. (Jer. 15:19;Matt. 13:48); and no man shall have just cause to
twit them with idleness, or to say they have an easylife. —John Trapp
The minister is a fisherman. As such he must fit himself for his employment.
If some fish will bite only by day, he must fish by day. If others will bite only
by moonlight, he must fish for them by moonlight. —Richard Cecil
I watchedan old man trout fishing the other day, pulling them out one after
another briskly. "You manage it cleverly, old friend," I said. "I have passeda
goodmany below who don't seemto be doing anything. " The old man lifted
himself up, and stuck his rod in the ground. "Well, you see, Sir, there be three
rules for trout-fishing, and 'tis no goodtrying if you don't mind them. The
first is, Keep yourself out of sight; and the secondis, Keep yourself farther out
of sight; and the third is, Keep yourself farther still out of sight. Then you'll
do it. " "Goodfor catching men, too," thought I. —Mark Guy Pearse
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoesofthy tone:
As thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children, lost and lone.
O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the waywardfeet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
O strengthen me, that while I stand
Firm on the Rock, and strong in thee,
I may stretchout a loving hand

To wrestlers with the troubled sea
O teachme, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
—F. R. Havergal
The best training for a soul-saving minister is preciselythat which he would
follow if his sole objectwere to develop the characterof Christ in himself. The
better the man, the more powerful will his preaching become. As he grows like
Jesus, he will preach like Jesus. Given like purity of motive, tenderness of
heart, and clearnessoffaith, and you will have like force of utterance. The
direct road to success in saving souls is to become like the Savior. The
imitation of Christ is the true art of sacredrhetoric. —C. H. S.
Mr. Jesse relatesthat certainfish give preference to bait that has been
perfumed. When the prince of evil goes forth in quest of victims, there does
not need much allurement added to the common temptations of life to make
them effective. Fishers of men, however, do wellto employ all the skill they
can to suit the minds and tastes of those whom they seek to gain. —G.
McMichael
Charles Hadden Spurgeon
132. The Disowned

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesiedin thy name? And
in thy name have castout devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
ONE of the best tests of everything is how it will appear in the moment of
death, in the morning of resurrection, and at the day of judgment. Our Lord
gives us a picture of persons as they will appear "in that day."
Riches, honors, pleasures, successes, self-congratulations, etc., shouldall be set
in the light of "that day."
This test should especiallybe applied to all religious professions andexercises;
for "that day" will try these things as with fire.
The persons here depicted in judgment-light were not gross and open sinners;
but externally they were excellent.
I. THEY WENT A LONG WAY IN RELIGION.
1. They made an open profession. Theysaid, "Lord, Lord."
2. They undertook Christian service, and that of a high class:they habitually
prophesied and workedmiracles.
3. They had obtained remarkable success.
Devils had owned their power.

4. They were noted for their practicalenergy.
They had done many wonders: they were active in many ways.
They had done wonders. Astonished everybody.
5. They were diligently orthodox.
They did everything in the name of Christ. The words "Thy name" are
mentioned three times.
II. THEY KEPT IT UP A LONG WHILE.
1. They were not silencedby men.
No one discoveredtheir falsehood, ordetectedtheir inconsistency.
2. They were not openly disownedby the Lord himself during life.
3. They were not made a laughing-stock by being left to use the holy name
without result (Acts 19:13-17). Devils were castout.
4. They expectedto enter the Kingdom, and they clung to that false hope to
the last. They dared to say, "Lord, Lord," to Christ himself, at the last.
III. THEY WERE FATALLY MISTAKEN.

1. Their tongue was belied by their hand They said, "Lord, Lord," but did not
do the will of the Father.
2. They used the name which is named by disciples, but did not possessthe
nature of obedient servants (Luke 6:46).
3. They prophesied, but did not pray.
4. They castout devils, but the devil was not castout of them.
5. They attended to marvels, but not to essentials.
6. They wrought wonders, but were also workers ofiniquity.
IV. THEY FOUND IT OUT IN A TERRIBLE WAY.
They had the information from the mouth of him whom they called Lord.
Here let us carefully notice:
1. The solemnity of what he said. "I never knew you. " He had been omitted
from their religion. What an oversight!
2. The terror of what it implied: they must depart from all hope, and continue
for everto depart.
3. The awful truth of what he said. They were utter strangers to his heart. He
had not chosenthem, nor communed with them, nor approved them, nor
caredfor them.
4. The solemn fixedness of what he said. His sentence would never be recalled,
altered, or ended. It stood, "depart from me."

Brethren, the Lord cannotsay to some of us that he does not know us, for he
has often heard our voices, and answeredour requests.
He has known us—
In repentance, seeking mercy, and receiving it.
In gratitude, blessing his gracious name.
In adversity, looking for his aid, and enjoying it.
In reproach, owning his cause under ridicule.
In difficulty, seeking help and safetyunder his wing.
In love, enjoying happy fellowship with him.
In these and many other ways he knows us.
Professors, does Jesus know you? The church knows you, the schoolknows
you, the world knows you; does Jesus know you?
Come unto him, ye strangers, and find eternallife in him
Warnings

In many simple works God is more seenthan in wonderful works. The
Pharisee atheaven's gate says, "Lord, I have done many wonderful works in
thy name";but, alas, has he ever made the Lord's name wonderful? —T. T.
Lynch
Pollok describes the hypocritical professoras—
The man that stole the livery of heaven
To serve the devil in.
I knew you well enough for "black sheep," or, rather, for reprobate goats:I
knew you for hirelings and hypocrites, but I never knew you with a special
knowledge oflove, delight, and complacency. I never acknowledged,
approved, and acceptedofyour persons and performances (Ps. 1:6; Rom.
11:2). —John Trapp
Not "I once knew you, but cannot own you now;" but "I never knew you; as
real penitents, suppliants for pardon, humble believers, true followers." —E.
R. Conder
Note our Lord's open confessionbefore men and angels, and speciallyto the
men themselves:"I never knew you." I knew about you; I knew that you
professedgreatthings; but you had no acquaintance with me; and whatever
you knew about me, you did not know me. I was not of your company, and did
not know you. Had he once knownthem, he would not have forgotten them.
Those who accepthis invitation, "Come unto me," shall never hear him say,
"Departfrom me." Workers ofiniquity may now come to the Saviorfor
mercy; but if they set up a hope of their own, and ignore the Savior, he will
bid them depart to endure the rigors of his justice. Is it not striking that
preachers, casters-outofdevils, and doers of wonders, may yet be workers of

iniquity? They may work miracles in Christ's name, and yet have neither part
nor lot in him. —C. H. S.
"Departfrom me,"—a fearful sentence, a terrible separation. "Fromme,"
said Christ, that made myself man for your sakes,that offered my blood for
your redemption. "Fromme," that invited you to mercy, and you would not
acceptit. "From me," that purchased a kingdom of glory for such as believed
on me, and have resolvedto honor their heads with crowns of eternal joy.
"Departfrom me:" from my friendship, my fellowship, my paradise, my
presence, my heaven. —Thomas Adams
Charles Hadden Spurgeon
The Call to DiscipleshipMatthew 4:19
As much as it hurts to admit, I truly believe the church has failed miserably in
one vital area of ministry. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s there was a concerted
effort to reach unbelievers with the Gospel, and the church rose to the call to
evangelize. Numbers acrossthe board rose:people made professions offaith,
were baptized, and added to church roles. From all outward appearances, the
church was strong and vibrant.
Now we have entered the new millennium and the church is in decline. In fact,
some denominations are in free-fall and are desperatelytrying to formulate a
plan for their survival. What happened? How did we go from what appeared
to be a time of prosperity to what we have today? The answerfor the
problems we face is found within the church itself. Now, I know we face a
determined adversarywho seeks to hinder the growth of the church, but until
we are willing to admit our need and take necessarysteps to change it, the
church will continue to decline.

Let’s take a moment to considerthe approachduring the boom in church
growth, just a few decades ago.Churches were doing a greatjob reaching
those who needed Christ. They were being faithful to share the Gospel, but,
for the most part, there was no plan to disciple those who had come to faith in
Christ. Many of those who were added to church roles never grew in their
faith. They were never grounded spiritually, and many of them have fallen by
the wayside. Of those who remain, many of them were never discipled
themselves, and thus they are not engagedin discipleship efforts. The great
harvest of the late 20th century has failed to reproduce itself and we are
reaping a meagerharvestas a result. If we are to reachthose who need Christ,
stabilize the exodus from the church, and ensure spiritual health for the
future, we must prepare our people to disciple others. When discipleship is
weak orlacking, the church will face decline.
Over the next severalweeks, Ihope to examine the biblical approachto
discipleship in an effort to equip Fellowshipto effectivelydisciple others.
Today I want to considerthe facets of Jesus’invitation as we discuss:The Call
to Discipleship. This statement is not difficult to understand. In fact, it is very
simple and yet very profound.
I. The Presentationof the Call – And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will
make you fishers of men. Consider:
A. The Invitation – Follow me. Jesus offereda simple invitation to Simon
Peterand Andrew, his brother. There was nothing specialabout these men.
They were simple fishermen, and yet Jesus invited them to follow Him. He
came to them and extended the call.

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 This invitation is separate from salvation, and yet the Lord extends the
invitation to all who have receivedHim in salvation. He comes to ordinary
people, where they are, and invites them to follow Him. Many are saved and
yet they have not surrendered themselves to follow Christ in obedience. If you
are saved, you are invited to follow Jesus.
B. The Expectation– Follow me. As Jesus invited Peterand Andrew to follow
Him, he fully expectedthem to do so. He did not expectthem to debate the call
or hesitate in following. They were not idle men; they were busy engagedin
work of their own, but the Lord invited them to follow Him in pursuit of His
divine plan.
 I fear that many today view the invitation of Jesus as something to consider
or pursue at a later time. The callto discipleship is being extended today, and
the Lord expects us to heed the call. He does not invite us to considerjoining
in His work, or delaying such pursuit to a more convenient time. He mentions
nothing about taking the time to pray about the matter. He is calling today for
us to follow Him, and He fully expects us to respond in obedience to His call. I
am not advocating we shouldn’t pray, but we don’t have to pray about
following the Lord.

C. The Obligation– Follow me. Again this call was not extended for their
consideration. Jesus hadspokenand they were obligatedto follow. He would
not have forcedthem if they were unwilling, but they were obligatedto
respond favorably to the call.
 Many likely feel the call is reservedfor the pastor, deacons, Sunday school
teachers, orothers in leadershippositions. Jesus is calling every believer to
follow Him, and if we desire to live within the will of God, we must follow
Him. This is the basis for our service to Christ. As believers, we have an
obligation to follow the Lord whereverHe leads!
II. The Preparationin the Call – Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men. This callinvolves particular preparation. Notice:
A. The Authority – Peterand Andrew had not received an invitation to follow
an ordinary man. This would involve labor unlike any they had known. Jesus
was not just another villager who desired assistance. He was the eternalGod-
Man. Their work would not be dependent upon the abilities or wisdom of a
mere mortal. The Son of the living God had calledthem and He would equip
them for the work that lay ahead.
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 If we were to focus solely on the numbers and the statistics, the outlook for
the church would appearvery bleak. However, we must remember to whom
we belong. We must recognize the Lord’s plan to build His church. He
ascendedback to the Father and entrusted the work of the church to Spirit
filled believers. We need not fear failure or resignto defeat. The Lord Himself
has calledus into the work of discipleship.
B. The Dependency– Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. As Peter
and Andrew followedthe Lord, He promised to make them fishers of men. I
hope you see the significance here. In order to be effective in the work they
were calledto perform, they would have to depend upon Jesus. Theydid not
currently possessthe ability to be successful, and it would never happen apart
from the working of the Lord. As He workedin their lives, making them
fishers of men, they would be used of the Lord in greatand mighty ways.
 This is likely one of the greatesthindrances among the church today. We are
not dependent upon the Lord. This fundamental principle has not changed
and it never will. We remain dependent upon the Lord for wisdom and
strength. If our lives are to be effective in discipling others, we will be fruitful
through the powerof the Lord. He will make us as it pleases Him, using us for
His glory and the goodof others! (Becoming an effective disciple for Christ is
natural for the believer. He desires to make each of us fishers of men.)

C. The Maturity – Mark 1:17 – And Jesus saidunto them, Come ye after me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men. In a parallel passage, Mark
reveals their becoming fishers of men was not immediate. As they obediently
followedJesus, walking with Him and learning of Him, they would become
fishers of men. They did not currently possessthe wisdom or ability to be
fishers of men. This would require time and commitment.
 With salvation comes the obligationto follow Jesus and disciple others, but
this is not an immediate transformation. In order to be an effective disciple,
we must continue to follow Jesus, growing in our faith and maturing in Him.
Our walk with the Lord, and service to Him, is a continual process. The
longerwe walk with Him, the more like Him we become. The more like Him
we become, the more we desire to please Him. Through committed fellowship
and obedience, we grow in our faith and become fishers of men. You don’t
have to be completelymature spiritually to disciple others, but if you are not
growing in your faith, you will be unable to effectivelydisciple others in the
faith. Discipleshipis a continual, growing process in the lives of obedient
believers.
III. The Priority in the Call – Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Consider:
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A. The Employment – Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Jesus
revealedthat He would make them fishers of men. Peterand Andrew
understood the conceptof fishing. They made their living fishing on the Sea of
Galilee. Theywould continue to fish, but they would now be fishing for men.
They had been zealous and committed to the business of catching fish, and
Jesus wantedthem to possessthe same zeal in service to Him.
 I would think it safe to assume that everyone here understands the concept
of fishing. A net or line is castinto the waterwith the hope of catching fish.
That is the purpose for the pursuit. I know some really enjoy being out in
nature, but most hope to catchsomething if they are going to the trouble to
fish. The net or line is cast, and once a fish is secured, it is brought to shore.
As believers, we are to be about the business of fishing. That is what the Lord
has calledeachof us to do as we serve Him.
B. The Engagement – Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Peter
and Andrew understood the importance of actually casting the net if fish were
to be caught. Simply thinking of fishing or hoping to catchfish would not be
profitable apart from putting forth the effort to fish. They were called to
active service, fishing for men.
 I know it sounds elementary, but if we expectto be successfulfishing, we
must engage in fishing. You will never catchanything as long as the boat is in
the shed, and you are merely contemplating fishing. You must get to the
water, where the fish are, and actively pursue catching fish. The same is true
in our work for the Lord. We will never reachthe lost or disciple another

believer apart from engaging their lives. Knowing how and where are not
enough; we must activelyengage in fishing!
C. The Emphasis – Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Peterand
Andrew were professionalfishermen, but now their emphasis would change.
They would continue to fish, but instead of seeking to catchfish, they would
be fishing for men. Their pursuit would have similarities, but the emphasis
would change. They would be used of the Lord to reachthose who had yet to
come to know Him. This would now be their priority in life.
 We need to graspthe significance ofthe callto follow Jesus. He has calledus
to a lifelong work. While we must engage in other pursuits in order to survive
physically, our emphasis in life should be fishing for men. If those apart from
Christ are to be reached, and those who are in Christ discipled in the faith, we
must be about the business of fishing. Eachday we must seek opportunities to
fish. This will require seeking outnew places to fish, stepping out of the
comfort of our favorite fishing spots at times, in order to be effective. One
thing is certain, we will catchnothing if we aren’t fishing!
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Conclusion: The call is very simple and yet most never respond. Are you
concernedwith the current state of the church? Do you sense the need for

actionon our part? Are you willing to follow Jesus and allow Him to equip
you to reachthose in need? We need obedient disciples to reachthe unsaved
and invest in the lives of young believers.
You can’t become a fisher of men apart from salvation. If you have never
been saved, Jesus died for your sin and wants to save you today. He seeks
those who realize their need for salvation, responding to Him by faith alone. If
He has spokento you, come to Him today!
FISHERS OF MEN
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Luke 5:1-11
10-11-64 7:30 p.m.
On the radio you are sharing the services ofthe First Baptist Church in
Dallas. And this is the pastor bringing the evening message entitledFishers of
Men. The services in the evening are dedicated to a preaching through the life
of Christ. We go so slowly that it is hard for the people that listen I know to
have any sense ofmovement. Yet Sunday by Sunday, every Sunday evening
there is a part of the life of our Lord concerning which we are delivering a
message.
And I’d like to say that I cannotbelieve that such an hour has come as I now
look at and experience in this church. Foryears and years when the state fair
of Texas openedup the church nearly went out of business. The Sunday
schooldropped down abysmally and the training union disappeared

catastrophically. And the whole church disintegrated precipitously. You just
hardly had anybody in the choir. You hardly had anybody out there.
And when I read or heard read the attendance we had in the localchurch here
over 4000 in Sunday schoolthis morning in the localchurch and over 1400 in
the localchurch of training union tonight, and this marvelous audience to
preach to man, I just feel like taking off and spending the rest of the night
preaching the Gospelof the Sonof God. You want to stay? It’s a grand thing
to tell about the Lord.
Now what we are doing tonight is this. When the Lord Jesus was baptized He
entered immediately upon a ministry. That ministry is never referred to in
the synoptic gospels. It is only describedin the Gospelof John.
But the Lord immediately enteredupon an early ministry. Mostof it was in
Judea. After He was baptized, after He was tempted, after He was tried by
the devil, He entered on this first ministry and those early disciples
accompaniedHim.
For example, one of the things in that ministry was His interview with
Nicodemus down in Jerusalem. Then coming up towardGalilee passing
through Samaria is the story in the fourth chapter of John of the Samaritan
woman.
Then coming up to Galilee, He calls, after His rejectionat Nazareth, after the
new home at Capernaum, He calls these four fishermen to permanent
discipleship and says, "I callyou that you might become, to make you to
become." Isn’t that an unusual Greek construction? He calledthem to make
them to become fishers of men. That’s what we are going to preach about
tonight.
Now turn to the third gospel, chapter5, third gospel, chapter5. I am going to
preach about that tonight in the Gospelof Matthew and in the Gospelof
Luke. But we are going to read the story as Luke tells it in chapter 5. Luke
chapter 5, we shall read out loud the first elevenverses.

And on the radio you getyour Bible and read it out loud with us, the third
gospel, Luke, chapter 5, the first elevenverses;all of us sharing it out loud
together. Let us read.
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressedupon Him to hear the Word of
God, He stoodby the Lake of Gennesaret,
And saw two ships standing by the lake:but the fishermen were gone out of
them, and were washing their nets.
And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that
he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the
people out of the ship.
Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the
deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and
have takennothing: nevertheless at Thy Word I will let down the net.
And when they had this done this, they encloseda greatmultitude of fishes:
and their net brake.
And they beckonedunto their partners, which were in the other ship, that
they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so
that they beganto sink.
When Simon Petersaw it, he fell down at Jesus’knees, saying, Departfrom
me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes
which they had taken:
And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners
with Simon. And Jesus saidunto Simon, Fearnot; from henceforth thou shalt
catchmen.

And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed
Him.
[Luke 5:1-11]
Now this is Matthew’s greatsummation of it.
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea:for they were
fishers.
And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightwayleft their nets straightway, and followedHim.
And going on from thence, He saw two other brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets; and He called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followedHim.
[Matthew 4:18-22]
Now from the synoptic gospels youwould have the impression that that
is the first time they ever saw the Lord Jesus. That’s the first time they were
ever introduced to Him and upon the first meeting why, they forsake their
nets, and their father, and the whole fishing business, and the old life, and the
old world and become disciples of the Lord.
Now we learn different of that in the Gospelof John. These disciples
had been with the Lord for a long time. They had met Him down there on the
banks of the Jordan River. They were disciples of John the Baptist. They had
accompaniedthe Lord Jesus through that early Judean ministry. They had
been up with Him to Canaan, Galilee whenHe turned the waterinto wine and
they went back to Judea with Him in a ministry among those people around

Jerusalem. And they’d gone with Him all the way up through Samaria and
were now in Galilee again.
Now having come back to Galilee they that day went back to their own
business. And all that day they toiled fishing, caughtnothing; all that
afternoonand they didn’t give it up. They toiled all night long fishing.
Now it was the next day after they fished all the day before, and all that
afternoon, and all that evening, and all that night that the Lord Jesus came
walking by the Sea of Galilee. And when He saw those four fishermen out
there He saidto them, "Follow Me, follow Me."
Now to us that means just come along after me. But the disciples who
heard that call, and this is a thing that was not unusual for a master to do, the
disciples who heard that call knew what the Lord meant. It was a callto
permanent follow-ship. It was a call to these disciples to turn aside from their
old life and the old world, the nets, the fish, the lake, all of it and to devote
their full and entire life to the Lord Jesus. That’s what the Lord meant when
He said to these four men, "Follow Me."
There were three things in that call that those disciples realized. And
the first was this. Jesus has met His first opposition. The first harbinger of
persecutionhad arisen. It’s small. It’s the size of a man’s hand. But it is an
earnestof the vastpersecutionand opposition that is to come.
And when the Lord calledthese disciples they knew and they
understood the difficulties that awaitedthem. And when they gave their lives
to follow the Lord it was with that cognizance that it was a mission, an
assignmentand a discipleship of tremendous difficulty and hardship.
And what finally that was even they didn’t realize. Forthe Lord said,
"Canyou be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? And canyou
drink the cup that I drink?"
They said, "We can."
I don’t think they realized it. James, one of those boys there was
beheadedby Herod Agrippa. Simon Peterwas crucified head down. John

was placedon a lonely isle to die of exposure and starvation. And of course,
all the traditions say that Andrew also died a martyr. They understood
somewhatof the tremendous assignmentinto which they were called, one of
greatdifficulty and opposition.
All right, a secondthing. The Lord Jesus calledthem to a discipleship
that had in it a self-surrender of everything they knew and everything they
possessed. And they understood that. It meant bid goodbye to father, and
mother, and family. It meant a denial of themselves in turning aside from
place, and home, and family, and children. It meant a turning aside from
their livelihood. All that they’d ever know, the whole of the whole life was
forsakenand left behind.
And then a third thing entailed in that invitation to "Come and follow
Me." The Lord said that in an unusual way. Mark 1:17 put the genesthaiin
it. "Follow Me and I will make you to become fishers of men." There never
was a Rabbi who made an invitation like that.
All the other disciples who were taught by the Rabbis followedtheir
masters in order to learn something. Like Saul of Tarsus came from the
capital of Silesia overin Asia Minor to sit at the feet of Gamaliel in order that
he might learn all of the rabbinical lore. That is why he was a disciple of
Gamalielto learn from Gamaliel. What I am saying is that they were just
following out the bit and the self-direction that they’d already chosenfor their
lives.
But this is an all togetherdifferent kind of a discipleship. Forthe Lord
is calling these men to become something. He is calling them to do something.
I am making a distinction here betweena disciple who sits at a master’s feetin
order to learn something or a disciple who follows the Lord in order to
become and to do something. And this was a callto a discipleship unlike that
of any rabbi who’d ever taught in Israel. They were called to do something.
And I can’t help but pause here to describe a difference betweenour
church and some other churches I know. There are some devout, and holy,
and consecratedpeople who love to get togetherand to listen to the exposition
of the Word and who love to learn of the deep things of Godand they give

themselves to a discipleship of learning; just exactly as Saul of Tarsus did, just
exactly as all the pupils in the rabbinical schools ofGamalieland Shemi and
all the rest of those centers of theologicallearning.
But the true discipleship of our Lord is an all togetherdifferent kind of
a calling. We are not only calledto learn, we are not only calledto study, we
are not only calledto open our hearts to the truth of God that the Lord might
teachus but we are called to become something and we are calledto do
something. That was the great challenge ofthe Lord to the disciples. "You
come after Me, you follow after Me and I will make you be something. I will
teachyou to do something. Follow Me and I will make you to become fishers
of men."
So the disciples have forsakentheir fathers, their homes, their families,
their nets, their old business, the old world, the old life. They have forsakenit
all and they are now following the Lord Jesus.
Then Luke tells something about Simon Peterin the day of that call.
The Lord said to Simon Peter, "The boat, push it out, row it out just a little
bit from the shore with a crowd so pressedthat I can’t see them and I can’t
speak to them." So He got in Simon Peter’s boatand Simon rode from the
shore just a little and the Lord used that boat as His pulpit and He taught the
vast throngs of people.
Then after He had delivered His message ofteaching and Simon Peter
listened to Him, Simon Peter listened to Him, Simon Peterlistened to Him. I
can understand how Simon Peterfelt. "Lord, You have called me to deliver
God’s message andto catch these souls for Jesus and to deliver this greatand
marvelous goodnews of the kingdom of God. And Lord, I don’t see how I can
do it. I’ve never felt so inadequate in my life."
I’m leading up to why Simon Peter, when he saw that vastof fishes, fell
down at the feet of Jesus and said, "Depart from me for I am a sinful man."
That’s what I am leading up to. Why Simon Peterdid that. What happened
in his mind? What happened in his heart that he fell down at the feet of Jesus
when he saw that marvelous vast of fishes and said, "Lord, I am so unworthy.

I am so unworthy. Departfrom me. Lord, Lord, I am such an unworthy and
such a miserable sinner." That’s what I am leading up to.
Simon Petersatthere in that boat that belongedto him and he listened
to the marvelous teaching of the Lord Jesus as the Lord Jesus castouta
spiritual net to catchthe souls of men. And Simon Peterlistened. And he
heard and that was the ministry to which Jesus was calling him. And he felt
so grosslyand so deeply inadequate.
"Lord," he thought in his heart, "How in the world could I ever do
that? How could I deliver a messagelike that? How could I ever be a fisher
of men like that?" And then he lookedat those nets. Why, his whole life in
prospectas a fisher of men like the Lord Jesus standing there speaking to
those multitudes. Simon Peter’s life was like that empty net. Taughtall night
long, castthat net all night long and all that he brought up was an empty net
filled with mud and sand and torn with rocks.
And that morning when the Lord came by he was in the boat washing
and mending his nets, empty, sterile, unable. And Simon Peterfelt that.
Do you know what? I am glad now. I am grateful now for the
backgroundthrough which the Lord led me in His providence as I became a
preacherand a pastor. But do you know for thirty-seven years now, for
thirty-seven years now I still often dream, often dream of that indescribable
trembling, and fear, and inadequacy that I felt when I startedout seventeen
years of age.
I would spend the solid afternoon on the Lord’s Day crying, crying.
Go to my room where I stayedin a dear home, shut the door and bow my
head and weep, and weep, and weep, and weep. I had tried my best at that
morning hour to preach and a little congregationof18 people, 20 people, just
do my best and just fail so ingloriously. I couldn’t saythe word. I couldn’t
make the sermon. I couldn’t deliver the message. And that afternoon, cry
and cry.
And when I’d go out to the church, ah, the trembling I would feel in
my souland the fear that gripped my heart. I say after thirty-seven years I

still often, often dream and that feeling comes upon me of fear, and trembling,
and inadequacy. Lord, I can’t do it. How shall I? How shall I? That’s what
Simon Peterfelt.
Listening to the Lord Jesus and God called him to be that, to deliver
God’s message,to bring God’s goodnews, to be a fisher of men. And so the
Lord said, "Well, Simon, in His defense, we’re just going to have a lesson
here. We’re going to have a lessonhere." He said, "Simon, roll this boat out
into the deep and let down the net and catchfish."
And Simon said, "Master, Master, it’s not any use. I can’t do it. I
can’t do it. I’m not able. I’m not strong. I don’t know, Master. I’ve tried
that all night long. All night long, all night long we have toiled and we haven’t
caught anything."
The Lord is saying to Simon, "Simon, when you fail, that’s just a signal
from heaven to start over again. That’s all that is." When you don’t succeed
that is just God’s Word to you. Take heart, take courage, andtry again.
That’s all that is.
O Lord, that I could learn that! Lord, teachme that. Lord, put that in
my heart. If what we are doing pleases Godand if it is God’s calldon’t ever
be discouragedand don’t everquit. Stay with it. Stay with it. When you fail,
that is just God’s little sermon to you. Start over again. When you don’t
succeedthat is God’s message to you. Try again. Try again. That’s all that
means.
Simon answering said, "Master, we’ve toiledall night long and haven’t
caught anything; just broken nets, just sand, and mud, and gravel, and
rocks."
"Simon, launch out there and put that net down." And here is the first sign of
the yielded surrender of Simon Peter. He said, "NeverthelessatThy Word
Lord I will let down the net. I will let it down."
And Simon Peter dropped the big net into the depths of the sea and they
encloseda greatshoalof fish. The nets began to break. They beckonedto
their partners. They came and they helped Simon and Andrew, James and

John helped Simon and Andrew. And they filled both of their ships so full,
they themselves beganto sink.
And when Simon Petersaw it, now he fell at Jesus’knees saying,
"Lord, depart from me. I am a sinful man, O Lord." What was that? Why,
when Simon Petersaw the futility and the failure of his ownlife and hands
toiled all night long following a toiling all day long and catch nothing? And
then the Lord filled that net full of fish. Why, this is what happened to Simon
Peter.
The Lord saw that shoalof fish down there. The Lord saw that school
of fish down there. The Lord saw to the bottom of that lake down there. And
that meant if the Lord could see to the bottom of the sea the Lord also sees the
bottom of my heart, and the bottom of my soul, and the bottom and the
farthest recessesofmy life.
And then Simon really saw his inadequacy. Lord, Lord, O God,
looking in me as I know You can see like that looking in the bottom of the lake
to see all that fish. O Lord, how unworthy and how inadequate. Lord, I am
not fit. Depart from me. Depart from me.
And the Lord Jesus said, seeing Simonat his knees, bowedthere at his
knees, the Lord Jesus said, "Simon, stand up, stand up. Stand up Simon!
Stand up. Stand up. I know your heart. I know your life. I know all about
you. But Simon, I’ve calledyou to make of you a fisher, a catcherof men.
Stand up, Simon, stand up."
What He said, "Fearnot, fear not, be courageous,Simon from
henceforth thou shall catchmen." Why, that was a pattern of Simon’s life.
"Simon, Simon, Satanhath desired to have you that he may sift you as
wheat. But when thou art converted, when thou art converted strengthenthe
brethren. I have prayed for thee." When Simon denied the Lord, the Lord
lookedon him, and went out, and wept bitterly. He came back just like God
knew he would. He stoodup at the day of Pentecost, brave and courageous as
a lion and preachedthe Gospelof the Son of God.

"Fearnot, Simon, from henceforth thou shall catchmen." Ah, what a
glorious thing that the Lord who knows all about us yet choosesus, and
understands us, and sympathizes with us, and calls us, and blesses us, and
sanctifies the work under our hands knowing all about us.
And when we know all about one another we getfilled with contempt,
and we criticize, and dislike, and all those things. Aren’t you glad the Lord
doesn’t treat us that way? Knows all about you, all about you; down to the
depths of your soul and yet He loves you, and calls you, and says, "Standup,
stand up, fear not. I’ve chosenyou to be a fisher of men."
Now I want to say a few words about that then I must close;a fisher of
men. I’ll make you to become a fisher of men. Did you ever walk down the
streetand meet a man with a little golden fishhook in his coatof tails? I’ve
done that every once in awhile. I think that is one of the finest things in the
world.
I never see it but that I always ask the same question. I go up there
and I look at that little gold fishhook and I say to him, "Do you belong to
CoonCreek out here, this fishermen’s club, or do you belong to some country
club somewhere ordo you so and so and so and so?" You know you think
that.
And then he says, "Oh no!"
And you say, "Well, what does that stand for?"
And he says, "I’ve given my life to be a fisher of men. I belong to the
fisher men’s club, catching souls for Jesus." Isn’tthat a wonderful thing?
And oh what God can make a man to become. Now I want to tell you
one thing that I did last week. Iwent over here to our Latin American
crusade at our Calvary Chapel and I heard Homer Martinez, that little
catholic boy in San Antonio who was so marvelously saved. And I listened to
Homer Martinez preach the gospel.
And when he gotup to preachwhy, he said, "How happy I am that our
pastor is here and after the service is over I want the pastor to come back and

see me. I have brought him a book and I want him to have this book." So
after the service was overI made a beeline back there to get my book. Nicest
thing in the world for people to give you something. It doesn’t matter what it
is. Justgive you something.
Well, I went back there to get the book and you cannotimagine the
delight of my soul. The book was The Conversionof Cyclone Mac, Baxter
McClendonand Other Sermons. Well, I’d heard about Cyclone Mac ever
since I was a little boy. And when I was in Kentucky and preaching in
Kentucky I met his tracks everywhere. He held meetings all over that country
and they were marvelous meetings. They were blessedof God.
I never had seenhim. He died before I had an opportunity to know
him but I just met that man’s influence everywhere back there in Kentucky.
And here was a book of sermons by Cyclone Mac and the first one was the
story of his conversion.
Well, I want you to know I went home. I sat in my study. I opened
that book and I startedreading as he told about his conversion. And dear
people I just turned the page and just cried and I turned the page and just
weepand I just turned the page and just cry. You just never heard such a
story in your life. You just never heard such a story in your life. You just
never did.
Why, it is unbelievable. It is amazing. It is miraculous. It is glorious
how God cantake an old reprobate, and an old gambler, and a pokerplayer,
and a drunkard, and a thief, and a liar, and everything vile and villainous,
wickedand bad and convert him and convert him and send him out to become
a preacherof the glorious Gospelof the Son of God. "Follow Me and I will
make you to become fishers of men."
Oh, it is glorious! It is marvelous what God can do with a man’s life.
You, you, you, anyone of us, sanctify and hallow the efforts of our hands.
Glorify our testimony. Make us sweet, and precious, and goodinstead of
vicious, and sniping, and cynical, and bad. Give us a new heart. Give us a
new personality. Give us a song in our souls and glory, glory, glory in our
hearts.

Shine in your eyes. Vibrate in the tone of your voice. You just look
something, you are just somebody else. That’s what God cando with you.
And bless your testimony. "Follow Me, follow Me and I will make you to
become fishers of men." O Lord, grant it to us tonight.
Our time is gone. Before we go off of the air could I make an invitation
as you listen on the radio? Once in awhile a man will write me saying, "As I
was driving down the highway I heard your sermon."
I got a letter that I published in the reminder, an airplane was flying
over Dallas and he listenedto our entire service and he was having a great
struggle in his soul. And he said, "I’ve found encouragementand comfort in
God." Flying over Dallas, the sermon lastedclearto the border, the state line
of New Mexico.
On this radio if you would like to have glory, and encouragement, and
peace, and help from heaven, and the presence of God in your life, let Jesus
make you to become a disciple of the Lord, a fellow servant in the vineyard of
Jesus. Ask Him, follow Him, acceptHis invitation and see if there is not a new
day, and a new glory, and a new joy, and a new happiness, and a new victory,
and a new destiny. That’s what God is able to do. He made us and He can
remake us.
FISHING FOR MEN
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Matthew 4:18
5-4-69 8:15 a.m.

On the radio you are sharing the services ofthe First Baptist Church in
Dallas. This is the pastor bringing the messageentitled Fishing For Men.
This is one in a brief series that I have begun to follow called "Fish, Fishing,
and Fishermen." And today it is Fishing For Men. Now, there are three
passages, in eachone of the synoptic Gospels, andthey tell the story of the
same incident. Only eachone of the synoptic writers – the word synoptic
refers to seeing a thing alike – and Matthew, Mark, and Luke are those three
synoptic writers. John is so different in his presentationof the gospel – and
these three are going to be the backgroundof the message this morning:
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called
Peter– later called Cephas, Peter, a rock – and Andrew his brother, casting a
net into the sea:for they were fishers.
And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightwayleft their nets, and followedHim.
And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets; and He called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followedHim.
[Matthew 4:18-22]
Now the text, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" [Matthew
419]. That’s from the latter part of the fourth chapter of Matthew. It would
appear, as these synoptic writers tell the story, that the Lord came by and
calledthem into this vocation. But we learn from John, who is not one of
those synoptic writers – we learn from John that this incident happened not in
Christ’s first introduction to those disciples, but in an altogetherdifferent
way.

Now the chronologyof the event is like this. After the baptism of Jesus by
John the Baptistin the Jordan River [Matthew 3:13-17], in the southern part
of the Jordan Valley, He was tempted, tried by the devil [Matthew 4:1-11].
Then after the temptation, He had an early Judean ministry. In that ministry
is the story of Nicodemus [John 3:1-21]. ThenHe went through Samaria, and
you have the story of the Samaritan women who left her pitcher at the well to
return to her town of Sycharto witness to the grace of Jesus [John4:5-29].
Then His Galileanministry that begins here with this story that I’ve just read.
So when the Lord came by and calledthose four fishermen, Andrew and
Peter, James and John [Matthew 4:18-22], they had already been with Him
severalmonths in His ministry down in Judea, and they’d also been with Him
on the Jordan River because they were disciples of John the Baptist [Acts
1:22]. That was one of the requirements of being an apostle, a man who had
been with John the Baptistand who had been baptized by John the Baptist.
And when the Lord passedby and said, "Follow Me," they knew exactly what
that meant. They were being calledto a fellowshipof work in the Lord Jesus,
seeking souls, fishing for men.
Now I want you to see the difference in the call of these disciples and what
discipleship meant in Israelin that day. First: a disciple in that day when
Jesus lived was someone who was calledto learn, to study, and to follow a life
direction and pattern that was alreadyset and had been set for centuries.
There were rabbinical schools, like the schoolofHillel, like the schoolof
Shammai, like the schoolof Gamaliel, to which Saul of Tarsus attended. And
disciples that were calledto enter those rabbinical schools were calledto
learn. They were taught doctrine, and they were taught tradition, and they
followeda life that was already outlined.
But this discipleship is in an altogetherdifferent category, and you’ll see that
when I read it as Mark tells it. "And Jesus saidunto them, Come ye after Me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men" [Mark 1:17]. These men were
calledinto a discipleship of being and of becoming and of doing. They were
calledinto a fellowship in the work of our Lord, to do something for God, to
win men to Christ, seeking souls. "Follow Me, andI will make you to become
fishers of men."

All right a secondthing about this discipleship that is so different from the
discipleship of all other groups in Israelat that time, the secondthing: so
much of the discipleship, the "followership," in the days of the Lord Jesus was
violent. It reminds me, as I read of that day, it reminds me of this day. It was
a call into the "followership," the discipleship of the day when Christ lived, it
was a callinto agitation, and into violence, and into disruption.
And so many joined that train, followedthat discipleship, that in 66 AD, they
led the nation into a catastrophic rebellion, that ended, as you know, in 70 AD
with the destructionof the state, and with the destruction of the city of
Jerusalem, and with the destruction of the holy temple.
Now the agitation, I say, and the violence of that day on the part of these
hotheads reminds me of our day and of our time. I have here in my hands an
address by J. EdgarHoover, the Director of the FederalBureau of
Investigation, the F.B.I. And he speaks ofthe agitationin our day in these
words:
The mood of the new left and philosophy of life is not one of support for
America and its traditions of upholding moral and democratic values;rather,
it is one of defiance, hostility, and opposition to our free society. It seeksto
destroy, not to build; its whole approach is one of negativism: to criticize,
belittle, denigrate –
Now I had to look that word up; I had never seenit before. –
denigrate the principles on which this nation was built. Cynicism, pessimism,
and callousnessare its motto. At its heart the new left is nihilistic and
anarchistic.

Then as he continues his address, which is very long, he came to another
paragraph in it:
Basic to [the new left’s] mood is the idea that contemporary American society,
contemptuously called, "the establishment," is corrupt, evil, and malignant,
and must be destroyed. To reform it, to change it for the better is impossible.
It must, along with its Judaic-Christian values, be liquidated.
[from "SDS College Orientated, It’s Goal-to Liberate Society" by Larry
Krasulak, in The Beachcomber, Vol XXX No 21, Lake Worth, FL, March 10,
1969]
Now that’s what J. Edgar Hooversays of the goals ofthese agitators that you
see throughout the length and breadth of America, walking up and down
these streets, intimidating officials in our universities who don’t have any
backbone, period, exclamationpoint! And a thousand other things that are
occurring and coming to pass in America. Now as I say, as I read of the times
of our Lord and that propensity to violence on the part of those agitators, it
reminds me of our day and of our generation.
Now, the discipleship into which Jesus was calling these men was an
altogetherdifferent kind of discipleship. Forthis was a discipleship to save
men’s souls, and to save men’s lives, and ultimately to save the people and the
nation. What a contrast, and what an unbelievable one! Do you remember
the story of James and John, two of those men He called here? He nicknamed
them Boanerges, Boanerges. He calledthem that, "Sons of Thunder" because
they were so volitive. They were so fiery.
Do you remember the story told in the ninth chapter of Luke when He sent
out those boys, those young men, those young disciples? He setthem into a
village of Samaria and there to prepare for His coming, like Dr. Bryant and
Mel Cartersometimes do in preparing for a crusade, He sent those disciples
before Him to prepare for His coming into the village. And the Samaritans
wouldn’t receive Him, they wouldn’t open their doors to Him, they wouldn’t

have Him [Luke 9:52-53]. And when John and James came back to the Lord,
they said, "Lord, the time has come. Bid fire to come down from heaven and
destroy them, burn them up alive, turn them into ashes!" [Luke 9:54]. And
the Lord said, "You do not know what manner of spirit ye are of. Forthe Son
of Man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them" [Luke 9:55-56].
This is a discipleship in an altogetherdifferent world. This is a discipleship of
salvation, of winning, of seeking, ofsaving. "Follow Me, and I will make you
to become fishers of men."
Before I leave this, may I sayone other word? Believe me, the future and the
destiny of our nation, and of our young people, and of our country does not lie
in the hands of those who are violent and seek by violence to tear its structure
apart. But if we have any future, and if we have any destiny, it lies in the
dedication of followers ofChrist who are seeking souls for Him. "Follow Me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men" [Mark1:17].
Now I’m going to turn to the story as Luke tells it. And we’re going to follow
the especialcallto Simon Peter. In the fifth chapter this same story is told by
Luke, and he says it like this, that the Lord was teaching by the side of the sea,
and greatcrowds pressedaround Him [Luke 5:1]. And in order to speak to
them, they were about to shove Him into the water:
He saw two boats there: and the fishermen gone out of them, washing their
nets. And He enteredinto one of the ships, one of the boats, which was
Simon’s, and said to him, Thrust out a little from the land, and He satdown
and He taught the multitudes who were there on the shore.
And when He had left speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep,
and let down your nets for a draught.
And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all night long –
we have fished the entire night and have takennothing: nevertheless at Thy
word I will do it, I will let down the net.
And when they had done it, they encloseda greatshoalof fishes: and the net
beganto tearapart, so greatwas the catch.

And they beckonedto their partners, Peterand Andrew, beckonedto their
partners, James and John, and they came and filled up both the boats.
And when Simon Petersaw it, he fell down at Jesus’knees,saying, Depart
from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
And the Lord saidto him, Fearnot Simon, Fearnot, for from now on thou
shalt catchmen – from henceforth thou shalt catchmen.
[Luke 5:2-8,10b]
Now that is the specialcalland particular call to Simon, the big
fishermen. And you’ve heard me said when the novelist entitled his novel, his
story The Big Fisherman, he entitled it correctly. There are severalthings in
the Bible – and I haven’t time to mention them now – that give you the
impression that Simon must have been a giant of a man physically, stronger
than sevenother men, strongerthan six other men [John 21:8-11]. Simon
Peterwas an especialone in the discipleship of our Lord.
When LeeRoyand I were in Israel lastSeptember – last September, isn’t it
September, you and I? October. October, he says it’s February; man!
October. It was October. We had a guide – I’m never gonna ask you
anything more while I’m preaching. He’s not awake! Our guide, Israel
Sulkowicz, had one thing he wanted us to do, and that was to eat a dinner at a
place that he loved himself on the northern slope on the Sea of Galilee,
overlooking the full length and breadth of the sea, and he wanted us to have a
dinner of fish. And when we sat down he said, "This is calledSt. Peter’s fish."
It’s a little crappie, just about the size of a big man’s hand and of course
deliciously fried and prepared in one of the most delightful meals that we have
ever eaten. Now do you remember that?
[LeeRoyTill] "I do."
You remember that?
[LeeRoyTill] It was goodfish.

St. Peter’s fish out of the Sea of Galilee.
Now when this thing happened, the Book says whenSimon Petersaw it, that
greatcatchof fish, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, "Departfrom me
Lord; for I am a sinful man" [Luke 5:8]. Now we’re going to follow through
that whole story, fishing for men. Now look:first the Lord said, "Now you
launch out there in the deep, and let down your nets for a draught" [Luke
5:4]. And Simon Petersaid, "Lord, we fished all night long, all night long,
and have caughtnothing, and have caughtnothing. Lord, it is a waste of
time; there are no fish here, none here, there just isn’t. We’ve tried the entire
night, and this is the early morning, and there is no fish to be found" [Like
5:5]. And when he enclosedthat greatshoalof fish, then the story, falling at
Jesus’feet, "Lord, Lord I am a sinful man, I can’t fish. I can’t fish. How
could I be a fisher of men?"
For you see, the occasionof it, and you canjust follow it through plainly if you
look carefully. The Lord Jesus;Simon could see:the Lord Jesus could look
down into that lake, and He could look through those waters, and He saw that
whole shoal of fish right out there. And Simon Petercould see immediately,
that the same Lord God that could see through the waters and down to the
bottom of that lake and that shoalof fish, was the same Lord God that could
see through him and to the depths of his own heart. And he said, "Lord,
Lord, Lord, I can’t be a fisher of men." And he fell at Jesus’knees, "Iam a
sinner man, Lord" [Luke 5:8].
Isn’t that a funny thing? I talked to a man this week trying to gethim to
Jesus, and he did what I’ve heard men do ten thousand times multiplied in my
ministry. Telling me how goodhe is, and how fine he is, and how upright he
is, and how moral he is, and how honesthe is, and how fine he is, and how
righteous, and on and on and on and on. And course all I can do is just nod,
"Yes, that’s right, I know, I know you’re an honestman. I know you’re a
goodman." And you know, it is so strange. The farther a man is awayfrom
God the better he thinks he is. Man, I’m walking in the light of the goodness
of my own life, I don’t need another torch, I’m able and sufficient to myself.
The farther a man is awayfrom God the better he thinks he is. And isn’t it a
strange thing: the nearera man gets to God, the more sinful he feels himself to

be. Isn’t that strange? And when you get real close to Jesus, youjust abhor
yourself, like Job. You read the nineteenth chapterof Joband see what Job
thought of himself. But at the end in the forty-second chapter, "Wherefore I
abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" [Job42:6]. Now that’s what
happened to Simon Peter.
Well, the secondthing: and the Lord said to him, "Launch out into the deep,
and let down thy nets for a draught." And Simon Petersaid, "Lord, I have
toiled all night long and haven’t caught anything" [Luke 5:4-5]. Well, failure
is just a sign for us to begin again, that’s all. Let’s start over again, that’s all.
Let’s try again, that’s all. Becausewhenyou work for Jesus, you’re going to
meet lots of failure. And Simon Petersays, "Lord, I can’t be a fisher. Why,
I’ve toiled and toiled and toiled, and I haven’t caught anything. I can’t catch
fish." And believe me, the spirit of a true fisherman is sure one of trying all
over again. Let’s start again.
I wish I had time to tell you a story that Wiley Chapman got me into in my
little church in Kentucky. Downthere not far from us flowedthe Barren
River. And he is a born fisherman; Wiley Chapman was a young teacherin
the high schoolthere where I was pastor. So he took me down there and he
said to me – camping, you know, on the river – and he said to me, "Now the
first thing we do, we gonna get this net and we’re gonna run up and down this
river catching minnows. We’ve got to have them for bait." So I goton one
end of that net, and he got on the other end of that net, and we ran againstthe
stream, and we did that all day long. We ran againstthat stream. We didn’t
run down it; we ran againstit! And when the sun went down I was dead. I
was dead, I was deader than Lee RoyTill is this morning and that’s real dead.
I was dead!
Now he had a new box, and it had mesh wire all around it, and every time
we’d run up there and get those minnows for bait, we’d put them in that mesh
cage. And the cage was stuck downin the waterto keepthe minnows alive,
and anchored, you know, to a limb there. Well, after all day long a running
againstthat streamand catching those little old things and sticking them in
that cage, why, he went away for some errand and I laid down, I collapsed
down exhausted on the sandbank there where that cage was tied.

And after I had lain there a little while, I thought I’m going to look to see the
fruit of our day’s work. And I went overthere and I pulled that cage outof
the water, and to my horror there wasn’ta minnow in it, not one! And I
lookedat that thing closely– he had just had it made – and the carpenterhad
tackedit all the wayaround on all those sides, but there was one side at the
bottom that he had forgottento tack and every one of those minnows had just
swum right out of that bottom, and there wasn’t any left. Well, when he came
back I said, "You go pull up that cage ofthose minnows and look at it." And
he pulled it up and he said something not very nice, even though he was a
Christian.
Well, I said, "Our fishin’s off, isn’t it?" "Oh no," he said, "you come with
me!" Why, he was not discouragedat all after he got it out of his system.
Sometimes I think it’s better to do that than it is to take it out on your wife or
the dog or something. And you know what that guy did? He started all over
againwith me. He gotme on the other side of that net, and evidently the river
had overflowedin days past, and he took me to those dark smelly waterholes
where the waterhad been stagnantfor no telling how long, and we went down
into every one of those holes seining for crawdads. Theyare the awfulest
looking critters that God ever made, a crawdad. Oh! It’s an insult to
intelligence just to pick one of them up. Oh! And I sink down, mud over my
knees sometimes, almostovermy head where the hole would fall off. And we
went clearthrough all of that until the midnight hour, getting crawdads in
order to put them on those trotlines that he’d had across that river. Well, I
got to stop telling that story, but there’s a whole lot more to it that that.
I want you to know;I never saw anything in my life like fishermen. If he’s a
fisherman, nothing discourages him. "They’re not here, that’s right, but boy
they’re over there." When you go over, "Well, they’re not over here, but man
they’re over there." "Well, they’re not there, but they’re there over there."
That’s a fisherman!
And that’s what God said to Simon Peter, "Simon, you have toiled all night
long and you have not caught anything. Listen Simon, that is just the sign to
start all over again." And Simon Petersaid, "Lord, I do not know about that.

I tell You this is the driest haul I have ever made in my life. Nevertheless, at
Thy word, I will let down the net. I will try again" [Luke 5:5].
All right, a third thing in that story: and the Lord satdown and talked to
people out of the ship [Luke 5:3]. And Simon Peterlistened to Him, and when
the Lord said, "Simon, you are going to do that too; you are going to catch
fish for men, you are gonna speak forMe," and Simon Peterlookedand said,
"Lord, how in the world could I do that? How could I do that?" Listening to
the Lord speak aboutGod, and salvation, and all the rich treasures in glory.
"Lord, I can’t fish for men. I can’t talk like that." He fell utterly unable and
inadequate.
Did you know I’ve lived through that? Oh, I haven’t words to describe it.
When I was introduced to my first little congregation, I trembled from head
to foot. It frightened me to death. My little country church of about eighteen
members; it frightened me to death. And when I stoodup to preachon
Sunday morning, I would spend the entire Sunday afternoon crying. I
couldn’t do it. I couldn’t say it. I had it in my soul, but I just couldn’t preach
it. And every Sunday afternoon, getoff to myself and cry. Did you know to
this day, this present day, time after time after time, I’ll have dreams at night,
and that same feeling of inadequacy and unableness will come over me, as I
dream that I’m preaching to you.
Let me pause here to sayhow God blesses. Theyhad a pulpit committee here
of seven, six men and one woman, who called me as pastor to the church. And
one of the men was very definitely for another man that he wanted to be called
here. And after I preachedhere, when the committee met, that man said,
"Thatboy is the preacher;that’s the one!" And they turned to him in
amazement and said, "Why, why, we don’t understand. What made you
change like that?" And he said – he was one of the deacons seatedright down
there on the front row – he said, "When that boy stoodup to preach, I was
close enough, and I watchedthe Bible in his hand, and his hand trembled as
he held the Word of God." And the deaconsaid, "I’ve been here a long time"
– and he had been; he was raised in this church. He said, "Time after time do
I see preachers come and stand in that pulpit, and they do it as though this
were just common stuff. This is just doing what I do all the time; this is just

another occasion." "But," he said, "Forthe first time he stood there, and the
Bible was shaking in his hand."
Isn’t that funny? I knew that Bible was shaking in my hand; I couldn’t keep
it from shaking. I trembled before the Lord and before this church, and when
I went home, I said to God, "Lord, I’m so ashamedof myself. I just seemingly
can’t ever do it! And standing there before the people, and the Bible shake in
my hands." Isn’t it amazing? And that that was the thing; that was the thing;
I was ashamedof it before the Lord and told Him so. That was the thing that
put it on that deacon’s heart; "That’s God’s man, and he’s our man." That
feeling of inadequacy just drives you to your knees, and Simon Petersaw it
and fell down at Jesus’knees, "Lord, I can’t fish. I can’t fish. Departfrom
me, Lord [Luke 5:8]; and unable, and not gifted. Lord, I can’t." And the
Lord God said, "Simon, it is a man like that I am looking for. Fearnot; stand
up Simon. From now on you are going to catchfish" [Luke 5:10]. And how
he did! The Lord said to him, "Satan’s desiredto have you that he may sift
you like wheat, but when you are converted – when you turn around –
strengthen thy brethren" [Luke 22:31-32].
On the coals offire, fish for breakfast, and the Lord, who had seenand heard
him deny Him three times, the Lord said, "Lovestthou me? Then Simon
follow Me unto death, fishing for men" [John 21:15-17]. And at Pentecost, it
is this man who fell on his face before the knees of Jesus. It’s this man who is
God’s preacher for the hour [Acts 2:14-42]. And in Samaria, it is this man
who opens the door to the Samaritans [Acts 8:14-25]. And in Caesarea, itis
this man who opens the door to the Gentiles [Acts 10:34-48]. "Fearnot
Simon; stand up, from henceforth, thou shalt catchmen" [Luke 5:10b].
Well, it’s a greatcalling, isn’t it? It’s a heavenly commitment, isn’t it? And
we’re at it and we’re in it. And more and more, as God shall give us grace, we
shall pray to turn the energies ofour church and of our own lives to testimony
and to witness, for the saving of the lost, for the saving of the home, for the
saving of the life, for the saving of the nation. God bless our testimony, fishing
for souls.

What does it mean to be “fishers of men”?
Question:"What does it mean to be 'fishers of men'?"
Answer: The phrase “fishers of men” was spokenby Jesus whenHe was
calling two of His disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew, to follow Him. “As
Jesus walkedbeside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
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
followedhim” (Mark 1:16–18;see also Matthew 4:19).
The idea behind fishing is to know the fish you are looking for and attract it so
you canmake the catch. To catcha fish we must know what equipment to use,
the habitat and depth of the water we are fishing in, as well as the kind of bait
the fish will go after. After we understand everything we need for real fishing,
then how do we relate that to being fishers of men?
God asks us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18–20). Justas we
need equipment to be fishermen, we need equipment to be fishers of men.
Putting on the armor of God is one way to be ready at all times with
everything we need (Ephesians 6:10–18). Especiallyimportant are the shield
of faith with which we ward off the opposition from demonic forces who don’t
want to see men savedby the gospelof Christ (v. 16) and the swordof the
Spirit, which is the Word of God (v. 17). Without these two pieces ofspiritual
equipment, we will find fishing for men’s souls impossible.
Not only must we have the armor of God as our equipment, but we must also
know the fish we are trying to catch. Knowing the lost condition of the people

Jesus was a fisher of men

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