Fishers of People—Jeremiah 4: 1-10; Luke 5: 1-11
My guess is that Jesus knew how to fish. That must explain the success. I learned that lesson the hard way one time when I went fishing with a friend. We went to this small lake which was very calm and still. He said to me, “I”ll fish here, and you go down there a couple thousand feet or so, and we’ll see who catches the most.” I agreed and walked off. I set everything up, got my line in the lake, and caught all manner of things: several weeds, a bit of trash, a sunken log, but not a single fish.
I was now fed up and went back over to my friend complaining that this lake was completely empty of fish when I noticed he had caught about 4-5 really large nice fish. The first look on my face was shock, the second was intuitive aggravation. I realized something in that moment. He knew how to fish, and he had fished here many, many times before. He knew where the fish were and weren’t. He knew the kind of bait they liked. He knew, as best I can tell, exactly what the fish were thinking…but that may be a bit much.
You see it was the same here in the scripture. Jesus knew how to fish. Now, the disciples weren’t unskilled, foolish, or incapable. But they didn’t have Jesus’s insight into fishing. In order to fish in faith’s waters, we must fish with spoken truth, go out into the deep water, and be prepared to follow.
First we must fish with spoken truth. I hate to call this the “bait,” but I have a long metaphor going, and I don’t want to break it up. Before the disciples cast their nets, before all the fish came in, Jesus commandeered Simon Peter’s boat (after he’d fished all night) to use as a teaching platform to the people on the shore of the sea. Jesus spoke to them and taught them. Likewise in the Old Testament, prophets had spoken over and over to the people warning them, encouraging them, pleading with them. Here’s a difficult truth: sometimes you will speak God’s word and people will listen, hearts will be changed, and people will find a walk of faith. But sometimes, no one will listen at all. Sometimes the bait works, and sometimes it doesn’t.
God tells the prophet in Ezekiel 2:7, “You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious.” The same is repeated in 3:11, “whether they listen to you or not.” When it comes to our faith, silence is not an option, and hiding is unacceptable. There have been many times when I’ve had to find a polite way to say to someone that neither God nor their family would approve, and they need to re-find their faith. But just as many times, I’ve told the most ardent of Christians that the Bible does not support what they say and their actions are not very Christ-like. Speak, whether people listen or not, whether they want to hear it or not, for you never know when a seed may be planted.
Next we must go out deep into the waters. After he finished teaching, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” You see, Jesus knew how to fish, and Jesus knew where to fish. If we stay close to what is comfortable, in shallow waters, never going out, never risking sailing in the deep waters, we will be guaranteed to catch nothing. Jesus told the disciples to go out and fish in the deep water.
God actually has a habit of sending folks into deep water and uncomfortable places while asking that people just trust in God to lead and guide. Jonah, though reluctant, was sent into hostile, enemy territory. Abraham was called up to go far from home to a promised land he’d only seen and heard of in visions. Paul traveled all across the known world speaking the truth of God’s word. Sticking close to the shore and playing it safe proves both that we do not trust in God and that we have no intent to truly reach people in love and faith and hope.
Going out deep, does carry some risks. Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water, but when he took his eyes off Jesus, he sank. We may go out deep and speak God’s word of love, but it’s possible nobody will listen. Keep fishing anyway. When Jesus told Simon Peter to go out into deep water, Simon Peter had just come off of an entire night of fishing and catching nothing. Simon Peter had to trust Jesus and keep fishing, even if he had to risk going out into the deep water.
And finally we must trust and follow. After Simon Peter realizes the power of Christ, falls down before Christ in humility. Jesus replies, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people.” Simon Peter was called, just as Jeremiah was called, and Isaiah, Ezekiel, and so on. And we, too, are called to follow Christ and to fish for people. Many people take this as a mission to go out and convert with brute force. But there’s a gentleness in faith, in the hope that Christ gives.
When we follow, people will see Christ in our actions, in our words, and in our ways of treating others. It takes being in and amongst people out in deep water where they can see and experience Christ in our lives. There’s a whole element to speaking truth with our actions. There are many great preachers around the world who do live, have lived: Billy Graham, D. James Kennedy, Michael Piazza, Rick Warren, Nadia Bolz-Weber, for example. And while it is the preaching and speaking that draws the crowds, they too are watched whether they are walking the faith they preach.
You need to look no further than pastors of mega churches whose lives have included drugs, theft, and affairs to know that we speak of God not just in our words, but also with our lives. It is not the thought of bait that draws a fish, and no fish will come to an empty hook. It is the bait itself, there for the fish to see and experience. We testify to our love of others and of God by how we live and follow God every single day.
So, just as Jesus said to Simon Peter, we are instructed as well, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people.” And when we do fish in faith’s waters, we must remember to continually speak the truth of God’s word whether it be to those who have no experience of God or veterans of the church. We must go out in deep waters where the risk is great but the trust in God’s promises overcomes all fear and doubt. And lastly we must remember to always follow God, for our lives are examples of the faith we believe and our walk in life must match our talk of faith and love and redemption. Let’s get ready, then, and do some fishing, for it’s very possible that our nets will be full too.