Fishing for Men

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.
- John 15:16

Because I said so.
- Craig Schertzer

As a child, one of my least favorite phrases was, “because I said so.” My dad would tell me to mow the grass. When I’d ask, “Why” the answer was always, “because I said so.” It is no coincidence that this phrase sits no better with us in adulthood than it did as a child.
When confronted with the task of evangelism, many Christians basically ask, “Why should I?” The answer is quite simple, “because God said so.” As in our childhood, we grumble, unhappy that we have to do something we don’t want to do and begrudgingly go about the task – or worse yet – don’t do it at all. Our grumbling is displeasing to the Father in both cases.
Recently as I was reading through the book of Matthew, something jumped out at me that I had never seen before. I had read this particular passage many times before, but I never fully understood it until that moment. In Matthew 4, Jesus is calling his disciples for the first time. He set about the task of choosing the men whom he would call friends and that he would teach and disciple throughout the rest of his life.
The very first words he ever spoke to them were, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” It’s so simple; I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. He didn’t say, “Come, follow me and I’ll make you a good person,” or, “Come, follow me and I’ll teach you how to be religious.” He basically said come, follow me and I’ll teach you how to be an evangelist.
In this context, this verse has three important parts. The first part contains the words, “Come, follow me.” Jesus has never asked us to do anything without his assistance or example. The word “follow” literally means, to go after or proceed behind. Jesus spent his life sharing himself with people. As we become like him, it should be our pursuit to be like him in every way, specifically in sharing him with people.
The second phrase is, “and I will make you.” Jesus isn’t saying that he will force us to do this, but rather he will craft us to do this. He is implying that he will show us how to do it if we submit ourselves to his good and perfect will. Our life’s pursuit is to become like Him. However, on our own, we are incapable of any good. It is only through the redeeming power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin the process of sanctification. Thorough our submission to His will, we can be formed into the person that he created us to be. Whether you like it our not, evangelism is part of the character he is creating in you.
The final part of this verse, “fishers of men,” uses an interesting analogy to the situation in which the disciples found themselves. Fishing was an integral part of my childhood. I spent many evenings and weekends fishing with my dad and grandpa. We lived on the water for several years and even went fishing on vacations. Our family fished a lot. From an early age, I was taught that in order to be a good fisherman, several things were required. First, you have to be patient. You are not going to catch a fish on every cast. Second, you have to be smarter than the fish. Third, you are going to get dirty. Fourth, you are not always going to catch the fish you are fishing for. Fifth, always be ready, you never know when the fish are going to bite. And finally, it is always more fun to fish with a friend. Each of these points will be covered in more detail in the following chapters.
Having majored in marketing in college and spending several years in the business world, I’ve taken several courses on public speaking. In each of those courses, the instructors will tell you the basics of giving a good speech or presentation. Here are the three basic keys to getting your point across:
1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
2. Tell them.
3. Tell them what you told them.
We’ve already discussed the first thing that Jesus told his disciples. It is significant that the very first words Jesus ever speaks to his disciple’s concerns evangelism. Let’s look how he, “tells them what he told them.”
It stands to reason that the last thing you tell someone is what they are going to remember most. At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus has already been crucified, has come back to life and is now speaking to his disciples for the last time. Thomas has seen the wounds, Christ’s deity is confirmed and he is giving them some final instructions before he returns to heaven for the last time before the glorious appearing. In his final words to his disciples in Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
This passage has been a bastion of evangelists and missionaries for centuries. They are the parting words of our Lord and Savior. We hang on them, recite them and for most Christians, completely ignore them.
It makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I hear someone say, “I don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism.” Well, you know what, I don’t have the spiritual gift of doing the dishes, but when my wife tells me to do them I do them if I know what’s good for me. I’ve been given a command from the boss. I don’t complain (please don’t verify this point with my wife), I just do it. And I try to do it in a spirit of love. Let’s equate the “it’s not my spiritual gift” excuse to other things that God has commanded us to do and see how it holds up. Communion, for example. God commanded us to do this in remembrance of him. Do you have the spiritual gift of taking communion? Yeah, neither do I. But I continue to take communion – out of obedience. Let’s try another one in case you still don’t get the point. How about baptism? The public profession of our faith. Were you baptized? Do you have the gift of being baptized?
You know what? Jesus didn’t have the spiritual gift of dying on the cross. He did it out of obedience to the Father and he did it in love. He did it for people that didn’t deserve it then and don’t deserve it now, including you and me.
So why is it different with evangelism? We see what God has to say about keeping his commands in John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Are you walking in obedience to his commands? Or are you hiding behind weak excuses like, “Evangelism isn’t my gift.”
In large part, we are hindered by fear. Baptism and communion take place in the friendly confines of your church, among like-minded people. Evangelism takes place on the front lines of the battle. In all honesty, I’m fearful every time I share the gospel. I fear my own inadequacies and limitations. I fear rejection. I think sometimes I am standing in fear of the presence of the Lord and I’m not alone. I’ve always been amazed at people’s reactions in the Scriptures to the presence of heavenly beings. Have you notice the first words out of the angel’s mouths most of the time they appear? “Don’t be afraid!” It’s the most commonly given command in scripture. Yet we continue to hide in fear. Adam hid from God. Elijah hid from Jezebel. Moses’ mother hid him in a basket. When we walk in obedience to the commands that God has given us to make him known, we don’t walk alone. We walk hand in hand with the God of the universe and that can be comforting, exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
The normally brash Peter was scared before he got out of the boat and then got scared again when he saw the wind. He must have been thinking Remind me again why I am doing this. We often need reminded as well.
Around the time our oldest son was born I would often leave the house when it was time for him to sleep. My wife was convinced that the smallest of noises would wake him and so I was typically banned to the backyard. After several backyard projects, I decided to go to the golf course. Normally I would go with friends, but I was off work on this particular day and ended up playing with another guy that was out by himself.
We were having a nice time from the start. He was a little old guy who looked like he played five times a week and thought about it the other two days. He didn’t hit it very far, but straight as an arrow. We made our way to the first green and, of course, his ball was closer to the hole than mine. He picked up his ball and I putted. Two putts later it was his turn. Instead he simply walked off the green. I was a little puzzled, but let it go and moved on. After a few holes of the same behavior it was killing me and I had to ask.
“Ok Joe,” I said a little perturbed, mostly curious, “You’re scoring a whole lot better than me, but I could probably make a game of it if you would putt.” Joe chuckled and said, “Why would I want to screw up a perfectly good round of golf by putting?” And that was that. Joe didn’t want to putt because he wasn’t any good at it. He had simply eliminated the part of his game that he didn’t like or wasn’t good at it. He was content to simply do the things he liked to do. It didn’t concern him that he wasn’t playing the game the way it was supposed to be played. He was playing for his own enjoyment, not mine or anyone else’s.
I know a lot of Joes. They site beside me at church, at work and sometimes even in my chair. They are the ones that are playing by their own rules, content to do only the comfortable parts; happy to stick with what is easy for them. Why screw up a perfectly good Christian walk by evangelizing? I’m not any good at it. I don’t enjoy it. Someone else is surely better at it than I am. It’s not my gift. Let them do it.
It’s time I let you in on a little secret: you HAVE to putt. You don’t get a choice. If you are truly living a life committed to God, he sets the rules. I couldn’t putt for Joe and no one else can evangelize for you. Your round is incomplete if you don’t putt. It is unfinished. Your scorecard is false.
Here’s the real kicker and those of you who play golf will understand. There’s more joy in sinking a putt than in any other part of golf. Maybe you hit the ball a mile off the tee, but until you drop that thirty foot putt for birdie it doesn’t count. Few joys rival that of leading someone to a personal relationship with Christ. Just as the putt is critical in golf, evangelism is a critical component in our spiritual life.
It is so important to God that his Son used his first and last words to his disciples to say that we need to be an evangelist for the cause of Christ. He said he would set the example - and did. He said he will show us how - and will. But yet, we still grumble. Children, all you need to know is that you should do it because he said so.