03/25/2026
Do you win souls to Jesus Christ, and by doing so fill the nets of heaven for God Himself? How long did it take for you to follow Jesus once you heard His voice calling you? Did you drop whatever you were doing and follow Him, or did you look away and think about it for a while? When Jesus calls us, His presence can be so overpowering that we immediately abandon our old life and begin a new and righteous journey with Him at once, but at that moment... do we really understand the entirety of who He is?
“And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
Matthew 4:19-20 ESV
I responded to the gospel call of Jesus as a boy. While in the small living room of Colonel and Mrs. Ira Palm in Augsburg, Germany I answered the voice of Christ and abandoned my old life. However, like Jesus, I had some growing up to do before I would be ready to be sent out by the Father, or even to hear Jesus say, “I will make you a fisher of men.” We all must mature in some way when we first believe. The disciples followed after Jesus immediately upon His call, but it wasn’t until much later that they would truly be ready to become the fishers of men that Jesus had called them to be. They had some spiritual growing up to do, but it all started with that initial call.
“and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."”
Luke 5:10 ESV
Jesus said these words to Simon after He had just finished teaching a crowd from Simon’s boat and subsequently directed him to drop his nets. Simon told Jesus that he had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught a thing but following the Lord’s instructions he reluctantly dropped his nets one more time and caught so many fish that the weight of the catch nearly sank two boats. Simon needed to experience that miracle before he would be ready to respond to the words “follow me”, but later Jesus would tell him something remarkable...
“He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:15-18 ESV
Even after leaving everything behind to follow this man, Jesus, it took Simon Peter a while to come to the conclusion that Jesus was the Son of God, but once he did (and he was the first of the disciples to do so) then Jesus blessed him, changed his name to Peter, and announced him as the rock on which He would build His church. Are we moving forward in our faith, and towards our blessing? Are we ready to become a rock and begin our new calling as fishers of men?
The disciples dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus, but they did so to follow Jesus the Man... not Jesus the Son of God. They had no idea who this man truly was, or the fullness of who they would become once they actually came to know Him. Isn’t this just like us? We begin our journey from a different place because we have already been told that Jesus is the Son of God, but like the disciples, we really don’t understand the full meaning of that until we have been in His presence, and under His tutelage, for a while.
“Never has a teacher taken such trouble with his scholars as Jesus Christ will with those who preach His Word. He will spare no pain; no time will be too limited or too long for Him. In the love that took him to the cross, He wants to fellowship and converse with us, fashion us, sanctify us, and make us fit for holy service.” – Pastor Andrew Murray
We are preparing to begin Holy Week, and at no time in the year should the realization of Jesus’ commitment to us be greater than now. We are moving swiftly towards our keen remembrance of His passion, His death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension. In this season, all those years ago, we can see what Andrew Murray wrote of when he penned the words,” Never has a teacher taken such trouble”. Through the passion events, founded in the overflowing love of God, we are endowed with the ability to become fishers of men. Some of us might only bear witness to a few, and perhaps none of these will be outside their own family, but we will all become fishermen in some regard. Are you on that journey yet? Are you pulling in the full nets and asking yourself “who is this man?” Or have you been sitting at the feet of Jesus for some time, and are being asked by Him as Simon was...
“He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"”
Matthew 16:15 ESV
Wherever we are in our pilgrimage towards righteous holiness, one thing is certain... this is no ordinary man who calls us, and this is no everyday fishing trip we are on. The Son of God wishes to make us true fishers of men, and the blessings we will receive upon reaching our destination with Him will be far greater than even our wildest dreams can imagine. Perhaps our harvest will threaten to sink many boats, or maybe it will consist of a single small fish, but whatever the catch... our blessing comes in answering His call to follow Him... and once we do that, we will find that we have begun the greatest fishing adventure of all time.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for drawing me to your Son Jesus Christ, and thank you for His pronouncement “I will make you fishers of men.” In this great calling that I am on I pray that you will reveal your Son to me, and through Him let me come to know you as my Heavenly Father. Teach me by your Holy Spirit as I follow the voice of Jesus, and hear me as I pray that my nets will be filled to overflowing. However, if I come home with but one fish in my hand I know that you will multiply it, and we will sit at your table with fish enough for all, and loaves of bread so plentiful that they will feed all who have answered your invitation to dine. I know too Holy Father that Jesus will provide the water and the wine as we revel in the blessing of this meal together. None will go hungry, and none will thirst, for your provision is boundless, and like your love, mercy, and grace, your bounty is forevermore.
As we remember the events of the first Holy Week and bring to fullness our desire to follow your Son by abandoning our old lives, hear our praise for you, and know that all we do is for your honor and glory! You are our God, and in the light of your Glory we long to bask forever. Bless our catch for the kingdom and bless us as your children... your fishers of men.
“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.”
John 21:12 KJV
Amen!
Rich Forbes