Four Fishermen Mending Nets as Jesus Approachesby oxfordelly
1:17Mark 1:17
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
Jesus called working fishermen beside the Sea of Galilee to leave their boats and nets and follow Him, promising to make them catchers of people instead of fish. The promise means He Himself would enable them to draw human hearts by His power and love, just as His word had gathered the fish from the sea. He chose lowly, unlearned, teachable toilers rather than dignitaries and learned men, esteeming piety alone and passing by rank, wealth, and titles. The call carried divine authority and required immediate obedience, leaving occupation, possessions, and family ties to share His self-denial without fixed payment. That same call still speaks to all, men and women alike, taking people from humble trades today to warn their neighbors and gather souls to Christ.
Setting by the Sea
The call was given at daybreak beside the Sea of Galilee after a night spent in fruitless toil in fishing boats, when the fishermen had come to land. Jesus had come to the waterside in the early morning for a quiet hour of rest from the multitude that followed Him day after day, but the people quickly gathered and pressed upon Him on every side. He stepped into Peter's boat, had it pulled out a little from shore, and taught the multitude on the beach from the boat where He could be better seen and heard.
The scene showed the glorious Commander honored in heaven sitting in a fisherman's boat proclaiming the good news of salvation and declaring the great things of His kingdom in the open air to common people pressing down to the water's edge. No more fitting scene could be found for His labors, for the lake, the mountains, the spreading fields, and the sunlight flooding the earth illustrated His lessons and impressed them upon the mind. No lesson fell fruitless, and every message from His lips came to some soul as the word of eternal life. It belongs to the call by the sea, where Jesus called fishermen working from sailing boats on a lake to follow Him, a call also told in Matthew and Luke.
It was spoken on the shore to three fishermen while they were mending their nets broken by the great weight of fish just taken, repeating in similar form what had first been spoken to Peter about catching men. The promise follows the miraculous catch that reveals divine power and answers Peter's shame and fear with reassurance. The disciples had returned to fishing after John the Baptist's imprisonment and the opposition to Jesus had discouraged them, and Jesus called them to leave their former work and join their lives and efforts to His mission.
The calling of the twelve disciples to the apostolic work to be fishers of men took place near the Sea of Galilee, beneath the trees on the mountainside. The later miraculous catch recalled that first call and renewed their commission to bring people to Him. It showed that even without His visible companionship the risen Savior would care for their needs as they did His work, and taught that their labor would succeed when joined with Christ's divine power.
Fishermen Jesus Chose
The call shows that Christ chooses His workers from the humble walks of life and values them for godliness alone, passing by brilliant intellect, high birth, inherited greatness, wealth, and impressive titles. He did not turn to priests and rulers but to lowly, unlearned fishermen rather than Jewish dignitaries, and they answered at once by leaving their nets to follow Him. Those He chose were men unspoiled by praise or flattery and not filled with self-sufficiency.
He took His fellow workers in the work of salvation from hardworking laborers among the fishermen of Galilee. That choice rebukes all who separate religion from business. From these humble men went out a power that will be felt through all eternity, and it is working men and women willing to bear responsibilities with faith and hope who find what is great and good in life.
Their freedom from worldly customs and fashions and from the bigotry and hardened prejudice of the scribes and Pharisees made them teachable and useful for His work. Their openness, fairness, kindness, and sympathy for the suffering of others fitted them to learn from Jesus and to preserve His teaching for future generations. They were unlearned fishermen without schooling in the traditions and customs of their time and without rabbinical training, taken directly from their fishing boats. Yet they were capable, humble, and teachable, and through training and close association with Jesus they became like Him in mind and character.
Talented, quick to understand people from among the common people, though not ordained ministers, if they keep following on to know the Lord as consecrated humble servants, will become fit to understand His work and be entrusted with the Lord's goods to use and increase. For that reason their judgment should be enlightened and not ignored in managing and carrying forward the cause.
Meaning of Fishers
To come after Him is to become a worker who leads people to Him, answering at once by leaving nets to follow Him rather than turning to priests and rulers. Those who answer recognize divine authority in the call, leave work and possessions in obedience, and are commissioned to spread His teachings and win people to salvation. Their preparation is walking and working with Him and practicing His virtues until they become His witnesses, learning from Him and not from worldly schools or the customs and traditions taught by Jewish rabbis. They are to serve with Christlike love and compassion, oppose evil, follow Jesus as their pattern, share His truth without human traditions and sophistries, and help bring people from Satan's service into God's service. Their immediate leaving of nets shows that ministry requires setting aside business entanglements that would damage Christlike character or hinder spiritual growth.
The promise is to make them catchers of men instead of fish, giving ordinary working men a new work of winning people to Him as fishermen catch fish. That promise follows the miraculous catch that reveals divine power and answers shame and fear with reassurance, and it was obeyed at once by leaving nets, boats, and regular occupation. To follow Jesus is thus to become a gatherer of people for Him, which describes the work of evangelists who seek souls. Fishing for souls is hunting for souls, the same essential work as that of ministers, a great work of carrying a burden for souls that goes into new places to hunt and fish for people. Encouraging workers who labor in this way advances the cause in every line.
This fishing includes giving Bible readings and praying with families, laboring by personal effort, educating those newly come to the faith, and carrying the burden of souls. Women do this work just as successfully as men when they give their whole time to it. Those who do it are laborers worthy of hire and should be paid wages proportionate to the pay of ministers, with tithe reserved and used to support them, for justice requires that they not be left to labor for nothing.
The words I will make you mean He Himself makes His servants fishers of men, for just as His word gathered fish from the sea He can move human hearts and draw people by His love, enabling His servants to bring them to Him. Believers are therefore to combine as fishers of men to gather precious souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of His love, with deeper earnest concern for those out of Christ. They do this with two or three meeting together to plead with God for the salvation of some special one and then another, and with members formed into small companies for service where there are to be no idlers. These companies work not only for church members but for unbelievers, and where only two or three know the truth they still form a band of workers, keeping union unbroken in love and unity, encouraging one another to advance, exercising His forbearance and patience, using speech to build up one another in faith, forgetting self to labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, and as they work and pray in His name their numbers increase.
How He Makes Fishers
Following Christ is itself the preparation for becoming fishers of men, for by walking and working with Him and practicing His virtues the disciples become His witnesses and help bring people from Satan's service into God's service. As the great Teacher He teaches them from the Old Testament Scriptures as He walks with them, giving them knowledge from heaven free from error, superstition, and human precepts, and making them co-workers with Him. Their work is to share Christ's truth without human traditions and sophistries, learning from Him and not from worldly schools or from the customs and traditions taught by Jewish rabbis. Because their testimony and teaching will shape the faith and practice of future Christians, they need wisdom, perseverance, courage, and energy for their commission.
He qualifies them through God's enlightening power to spread His teachings throughout the world and across the ages, winning many to salvation. The work begun by these disciples is to be carried on by others until it reaches every land.
Though unlearned in the rabbis' schools and apparently unfit for service, the fishermen leave their nets without hesitation, receive instruction from Jesus, and become His faithful disciples. From Christ they receive power and ability to achieve spiritual victories, performing miracles through His name that bring glory to God and show Christianity's divine origin. Their example shows that new workers can be trained for soul-saving work.
Students who remove hindrances to Christian growth and let the Holy Spirit work in their minds will be made effective in drawing others to salvation. The salvation of God will shine from them like a lamp, so that wherever they are they can bring light to others and be blessed in their service. Faithful ministers answer the same call to follow Him and be trained to bring people to Him. Casting the gospel net, they must keep watch, pray earnestly, and persist even when labor first appears fruitless, keeping on working in faith and obeying their Master's direction, trusting God to give success.
Obedience the Call Requires
The call carries divine authority, and the fishermen recognized it and obeyed at once. Peter, James, and John left their nets to follow, leaving nets and boats, giving up regular occupation and work, leaving worldly possessions and family ties and what they were doing to come to Him. The call commissioned them to a new work of winning people to Him as fishermen catch fish, and that same call to leave former work and gather people to Christ continues for men and women.
Their immediate leaving of the nets shows that ministry requires setting aside business entanglements that would damage Christlike character or hinder spiritual growth. No fixed payment was offered for this service, for they were to share in self-denial and sacrifice. Obedience therefore means leaving nets and former work to follow, going forth without seeking the highest seat, following in self-denial and sacrifice and winning souls to the Saviour.
The call requires immediate obedience without first spending years in one place getting ready. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should start out and go to work, laboring under experienced ministers if without experience. They are to go out among the people from house to house.
Mission Continuing Today
The call and its promise belong to all, men and women alike. Christ still speaks to the souls of His ministers, leading them to take hold of His work and become fishers of men, and true humble workers give the honor and glory of God the first place in their hearts. Teachers and students are called to give effective service by helping bring people to Him. Peter, James and John left their nets, and the call to gospel service continues as men and women leave their vocations to proclaim the message and gather people to Christ.
The very same Jesus Christ, the very same teacher who called fishermen right from their fishing boats and set them to work, still calls people to go. The call can take people from farms, businesses, plows, vineyards and other trades and humble walks of life to leave ordinary pursuits. Those called are to warn unwarned neighbors and cities that the Lord is coming, give them the truth and warn the world, done with zeal and earnestness under the power of the Holy Spirit and with Christ's promised presence to the end. Obedience means going forth without seeking the highest seat, following in self-denial and sacrifice, and winning souls to the Saviour.
Calling fishermen to be disciples established a pattern God still follows, showing that God can raise up people from among the common people and equip them for His work. He entrusts them with bringing people to the truth. The Lord will raise up men and women from among the common people to accomplish His work by means not now seen. Soon there will be a surprising awakening in which those who do not realize the necessity of what must be done will be passed by, while heavenly messengers work with those called the common people, fitting them to carry the truth to many places, so now is the time to awake and do what can be done.
His call also applies to each person: God calls people to come to Christ, renew communion with Him, consecrate themselves and cooperate in His work. Those who follow God are to be worked by Him and shine as lights, showing the difference between those who love God and those who follow Satan. Christ calls workers to seek people and bring them to Him like fishers seeking fish, including going to new places and joining in the effort to bring people to the truth. Workers who carry a burden for souls should be encouraged, and more should labor in this way so the Lord's cause can advance in every line.
Believers are to combine as fishers of men to gather precious souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of Christ's love, with deeper earnest concern for those out of Christ. Church members are to be formed into small companies for service where there are to be no idlers, working not only for church members but for unbelievers. With two or three meeting together to plead with God for the salvation of some special one and then another, and where only two or three know the truth still forming a band of workers, they keep union unbroken in love and unity, encourage one another to advance, exercise Christ's forbearance and patience, and use speech to build up one another in faith. Forgetting self to labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, as they work and pray in Christ's name their numbers increase.
Fishing for souls is hunting for souls, the same essential work as that of ministers, including giving Bible readings, praying with families, laboring by personal effort, educating those newly come to the faith, teaching new believers, and carrying the burden of souls. Women do this work just as successfully as men when they give their whole time to it, and their work is essential. Those who do this work are laborers worthy of hire and should be paid wages proportionate to the pay of ministers, with tithe reserved and used to support them. Justice requires that they not be left to labor for nothing nor treated as unpaid workers because their husbands receive wages.
Jesus called working fishermen beside the Sea of Galilee to leave their boats and nets and follow Him, promising to make them catchers of people instead of fish. The promise means He Himself would enable them to draw human hearts by His power and love, just as His word had gathered the fish from the sea. He chose lowly, unlearned, teachable toilers rather than dignitaries and learned men, esteeming piety alone and passing by rank, wealth, and titles. The call carried divine authority and required immediate obedience, leaving occupation, possessions, and family ties to share His self-denial without fixed payment. That same call still speaks to all, men and women alike, taking people from humble trades today to warn their neighbors and gather souls to Christ.
Setting by the Sea
The call was given at daybreak beside the Sea of Galilee after a night spent in fruitless toil in fishing boats, when the fishermen had come to land. Jesus had come to the waterside in the early morning for a quiet hour of rest from the multitude that followed Him day after day, but the people quickly gathered and pressed upon Him on every side. He stepped into Peter's boat, had it pulled out a little from shore, and taught the multitude on the beach from the boat where He could be better seen and heard.
The scene showed the glorious Commander honored in heaven sitting in a fisherman's boat proclaiming the good news of salvation and declaring the great things of His kingdom in the open air to common people pressing down to the water's edge. No more fitting scene could be found for His labors, for the lake, the mountains, the spreading fields, and the sunlight flooding the earth illustrated His lessons and impressed them upon the mind. No lesson fell fruitless, and every message from His lips came to some soul as the word of eternal life. It belongs to the call by the sea, where Jesus called fishermen working from sailing boats on a lake to follow Him, a call also told in Matthew and Luke.
It was spoken on the shore to three fishermen while they were mending their nets broken by the great weight of fish just taken, repeating in similar form what had first been spoken to Peter about catching men. The promise follows the miraculous catch that reveals divine power and answers Peter's shame and fear with reassurance. The disciples had returned to fishing after John the Baptist's imprisonment and the opposition to Jesus had discouraged them, and Jesus called them to leave their former work and join their lives and efforts to His mission.
The calling of the twelve disciples to the apostolic work to be fishers of men took place near the Sea of Galilee, beneath the trees on the mountainside. The later miraculous catch recalled that first call and renewed their commission to bring people to Him. It showed that even without His visible companionship the risen Savior would care for their needs as they did His work, and taught that their labor would succeed when joined with Christ's divine power.
Fishermen Jesus Chose
The call shows that Christ chooses His workers from the humble walks of life and values them for godliness alone, passing by brilliant intellect, high birth, inherited greatness, wealth, and impressive titles. He did not turn to priests and rulers but to lowly, unlearned fishermen rather than Jewish dignitaries, and they answered at once by leaving their nets to follow Him. Those He chose were men unspoiled by praise or flattery and not filled with self-sufficiency.
He took His fellow workers in the work of salvation from hardworking laborers among the fishermen of Galilee. That choice rebukes all who separate religion from business. From these humble men went out a power that will be felt through all eternity, and it is working men and women willing to bear responsibilities with faith and hope who find what is great and good in life.
Their freedom from worldly customs and fashions and from the bigotry and hardened prejudice of the scribes and Pharisees made them teachable and useful for His work. Their openness, fairness, kindness, and sympathy for the suffering of others fitted them to learn from Jesus and to preserve His teaching for future generations. They were unlearned fishermen without schooling in the traditions and customs of their time and without rabbinical training, taken directly from their fishing boats. Yet they were capable, humble, and teachable, and through training and close association with Jesus they became like Him in mind and character.
Talented, quick to understand people from among the common people, though not ordained ministers, if they keep following on to know the Lord as consecrated humble servants, will become fit to understand His work and be entrusted with the Lord's goods to use and increase. For that reason their judgment should be enlightened and not ignored in managing and carrying forward the cause.
Meaning of Fishers
To come after Him is to become a worker who leads people to Him, answering at once by leaving nets to follow Him rather than turning to priests and rulers. Those who answer recognize divine authority in the call, leave work and possessions in obedience, and are commissioned to spread His teachings and win people to salvation. Their preparation is walking and working with Him and practicing His virtues until they become His witnesses, learning from Him and not from worldly schools or the customs and traditions taught by Jewish rabbis. They are to serve with Christlike love and compassion, oppose evil, follow Jesus as their pattern, share His truth without human traditions and sophistries, and help bring people from Satan's service into God's service. Their immediate leaving of nets shows that ministry requires setting aside business entanglements that would damage Christlike character or hinder spiritual growth.
The promise is to make them catchers of men instead of fish, giving ordinary working men a new work of winning people to Him as fishermen catch fish. That promise follows the miraculous catch that reveals divine power and answers shame and fear with reassurance, and it was obeyed at once by leaving nets, boats, and regular occupation. To follow Jesus is thus to become a gatherer of people for Him, which describes the work of evangelists who seek souls. Fishing for souls is hunting for souls, the same essential work as that of ministers, a great work of carrying a burden for souls that goes into new places to hunt and fish for people. Encouraging workers who labor in this way advances the cause in every line.
This fishing includes giving Bible readings and praying with families, laboring by personal effort, educating those newly come to the faith, and carrying the burden of souls. Women do this work just as successfully as men when they give their whole time to it. Those who do it are laborers worthy of hire and should be paid wages proportionate to the pay of ministers, with tithe reserved and used to support them, for justice requires that they not be left to labor for nothing.
The words I will make you mean He Himself makes His servants fishers of men, for just as His word gathered fish from the sea He can move human hearts and draw people by His love, enabling His servants to bring them to Him. Believers are therefore to combine as fishers of men to gather precious souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of His love, with deeper earnest concern for those out of Christ. They do this with two or three meeting together to plead with God for the salvation of some special one and then another, and with members formed into small companies for service where there are to be no idlers. These companies work not only for church members but for unbelievers, and where only two or three know the truth they still form a band of workers, keeping union unbroken in love and unity, encouraging one another to advance, exercising His forbearance and patience, using speech to build up one another in faith, forgetting self to labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, and as they work and pray in His name their numbers increase.
How He Makes Fishers
Following Christ is itself the preparation for becoming fishers of men, for by walking and working with Him and practicing His virtues the disciples become His witnesses and help bring people from Satan's service into God's service. As the great Teacher He teaches them from the Old Testament Scriptures as He walks with them, giving them knowledge from heaven free from error, superstition, and human precepts, and making them co-workers with Him. Their work is to share Christ's truth without human traditions and sophistries, learning from Him and not from worldly schools or from the customs and traditions taught by Jewish rabbis. Because their testimony and teaching will shape the faith and practice of future Christians, they need wisdom, perseverance, courage, and energy for their commission.
He qualifies them through God's enlightening power to spread His teachings throughout the world and across the ages, winning many to salvation. The work begun by these disciples is to be carried on by others until it reaches every land.
Though unlearned in the rabbis' schools and apparently unfit for service, the fishermen leave their nets without hesitation, receive instruction from Jesus, and become His faithful disciples. From Christ they receive power and ability to achieve spiritual victories, performing miracles through His name that bring glory to God and show Christianity's divine origin. Their example shows that new workers can be trained for soul-saving work.
Students who remove hindrances to Christian growth and let the Holy Spirit work in their minds will be made effective in drawing others to salvation. The salvation of God will shine from them like a lamp, so that wherever they are they can bring light to others and be blessed in their service. Faithful ministers answer the same call to follow Him and be trained to bring people to Him. Casting the gospel net, they must keep watch, pray earnestly, and persist even when labor first appears fruitless, keeping on working in faith and obeying their Master's direction, trusting God to give success.
Obedience the Call Requires
The call carries divine authority, and the fishermen recognized it and obeyed at once. Peter, James, and John left their nets to follow, leaving nets and boats, giving up regular occupation and work, leaving worldly possessions and family ties and what they were doing to come to Him. The call commissioned them to a new work of winning people to Him as fishermen catch fish, and that same call to leave former work and gather people to Christ continues for men and women.
Their immediate leaving of the nets shows that ministry requires setting aside business entanglements that would damage Christlike character or hinder spiritual growth. No fixed payment was offered for this service, for they were to share in self-denial and sacrifice. Obedience therefore means leaving nets and former work to follow, going forth without seeking the highest seat, following in self-denial and sacrifice and winning souls to the Saviour.
The call requires immediate obedience without first spending years in one place getting ready. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should start out and go to work, laboring under experienced ministers if without experience. They are to go out among the people from house to house.
Mission Continuing Today
The call and its promise belong to all, men and women alike. Christ still speaks to the souls of His ministers, leading them to take hold of His work and become fishers of men, and true humble workers give the honor and glory of God the first place in their hearts. Teachers and students are called to give effective service by helping bring people to Him. Peter, James and John left their nets, and the call to gospel service continues as men and women leave their vocations to proclaim the message and gather people to Christ.
The very same Jesus Christ, the very same teacher who called fishermen right from their fishing boats and set them to work, still calls people to go. The call can take people from farms, businesses, plows, vineyards and other trades and humble walks of life to leave ordinary pursuits. Those called are to warn unwarned neighbors and cities that the Lord is coming, give them the truth and warn the world, done with zeal and earnestness under the power of the Holy Spirit and with Christ's promised presence to the end. Obedience means going forth without seeking the highest seat, following in self-denial and sacrifice, and winning souls to the Saviour.
Calling fishermen to be disciples established a pattern God still follows, showing that God can raise up people from among the common people and equip them for His work. He entrusts them with bringing people to the truth. The Lord will raise up men and women from among the common people to accomplish His work by means not now seen. Soon there will be a surprising awakening in which those who do not realize the necessity of what must be done will be passed by, while heavenly messengers work with those called the common people, fitting them to carry the truth to many places, so now is the time to awake and do what can be done.
His call also applies to each person: God calls people to come to Christ, renew communion with Him, consecrate themselves and cooperate in His work. Those who follow God are to be worked by Him and shine as lights, showing the difference between those who love God and those who follow Satan. Christ calls workers to seek people and bring them to Him like fishers seeking fish, including going to new places and joining in the effort to bring people to the truth. Workers who carry a burden for souls should be encouraged, and more should labor in this way so the Lord's cause can advance in every line.
Believers are to combine as fishers of men to gather precious souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of Christ's love, with deeper earnest concern for those out of Christ. Church members are to be formed into small companies for service where there are to be no idlers, working not only for church members but for unbelievers. With two or three meeting together to plead with God for the salvation of some special one and then another, and where only two or three know the truth still forming a band of workers, they keep union unbroken in love and unity, encourage one another to advance, exercise Christ's forbearance and patience, and use speech to build up one another in faith. Forgetting self to labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, as they work and pray in Christ's name their numbers increase.
Fishing for souls is hunting for souls, the same essential work as that of ministers, including giving Bible readings, praying with families, laboring by personal effort, educating those newly come to the faith, teaching new believers, and carrying the burden of souls. Women do this work just as successfully as men when they give their whole time to it, and their work is essential. Those who do this work are laborers worthy of hire and should be paid wages proportionate to the pay of ministers, with tithe reserved and used to support them. Justice requires that they not be left to labor for nothing nor treated as unpaid workers because their husbands receive wages.