Fishers of Men
01-27-2008, John P. Wilkinson

This morning I would like to focus on three words from our Gospel reading. I want to look at the phrase "fishers of men". There’s often more to life than appears on the surface. Take the year 1809. The Peninsula War in Spain was in progress and Napoleon had invaded Austria. There were at least 20 battles and skirmishes on record, the most famous were:

1. Coruna, at which Sir John Moore the British Commander in Chief was killed and
2. Talavera, which established Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington as one of our most able Field Commanders, the man who went on to defeat the seemingly invincible Napoleon at Waterloo.

The 10 o’ clock news would have been full of Napoleon’s war with the Austrians and in Spain.

Nobody then cared about the babies who were born that year. Yet in 1809 at least seven remarkable babies were born.

1. William Gladstone, who was destined to become one of England’s greatest Prime Ministers.
2. Alfred Lord Tennyson, who was destined to become one of Britain’s finest poets and writers.
3. Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American writer, who was destined to live a short and tragic life
4. In Paris, France the inventor of the blind alphabet, Louis Braille
5. In Germany, the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn and on the 12th February 1809 two remarkable men,

one on each side of the Atlantic were born
6. In England Charles Darwin, who achieved fame with his Evolutionary Theory was born and
7. In the USA - Abraham Lincoln – probably the greatest American President ever was born.

If there’d been a review of the year 1809, I’m certain these words would have been heard: "The destiny of the world is being shaped on the battlefields in Austria and Spain today."

But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America. Just as there was more below the surface in 1809, so I believe that there is more below the surface in Jesus’ words to Andrew and Peter when he said “I will make you fishers of men”. They were no longer to catch fish but bring men and women into the Kingdom of God.

But if the phrase "fishers of men" is going to have any significance to us today, it must do so by giving us insights into the character required of Christ’s disciples.

I personally think that there are three important character traits that fishermen in the 1st Century on the Lake of Galilee had, which apply to Christians who want to be involved in mission today.

1st Century Fishermen would have had to be ADAPTABLE, COURAGEOUS and TENACIOUS to make a living at fishing. So we have the anachronism A.C.T. If we’re going to be successful Christians then we too must ACT.

The first character trait was ADAPTABILITY

Depending on the fishing conditions of the day, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee would use one of three methods of fishing.
1. Use Hooks - One of these methods would have been the use of baited hooks for catching individual fish.
2. Use of the Cast Net - There were two types of cast net:
A simple cast net - which was in the form of a bag, coming to a point at the bottom.

Its mouth was about 3 foot in diameter with weights around it, which kept it open when it was thrown and closed it when it sank in the water. The fisherman would wade in from the shore and throw it with great dexterity considerable distance. The other cast net, was too heavy to be thrown and so would be used by fishermen when they found themselves in the midst of a shoal. It was this type net used by Peter; that Jesus, in one of his post-Resurrection appearances to the disciples, told them to “throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some”.

3 Use of a seine net - The third common mode of fishing was with a long seine net or a drag net, which would be drawn behind a boat with, floats on the top and weights on the bottom.

So how can we apply this in our situation?

I believe we need, like the fishermen, to be flexible in the way we present the Gospel. If we want to fish successfully, we need to see what the fishing conditions are like that day. There is no point using a baited hook when there are shoals of fish and there’s no point using a seine or drag net when there are only few fish out there.

In the same way if we want to reach today’s society, we can’t rely on methods of the past that were geared to another society. We need to be flexible in what we do. Not just in mission but also in our services too.

2. The second Character trait was COURAGE

2.1 Fishermen on the lake of Galilee had to be courageous and tough. The Lake was famous for the speed at which a storm could descend. It’s surrounded by mountains. Anyone prepared to go out on such a risky lake had to have courage.

2.2 So how can we apply this in our situation? Talking to our friends about Jesus – preaching the Kingdom of God – is often not comfortable.

We need to have courage to talk to people and to invite them to church.

For example I might suggest that each one of us decide to ask at least one friend to go with us to one of the many events we have here at Trinity?

3. The third character trait was TENACITY

Fishermen had to be determined, In other words, they had to have patience. They could not afford to give up, if the fish didn’t swim into their nets immediately. They would often be out all night fishing – and sometimes not have anything to show for it. But they didn’t give up fishing because of it.

3.2 So how can we apply this in our situation?
Too often, we are tempted to give up praying for people - because we don’t see immediate change. This is a real challenge not to give up on our families and friends. As we know, prayer is answered in Gods time in Gods way.

4. Conclusion - Fishermen on the Lake of Galilee had to be ADAPTABLE, COURAGEOUS and TENACIOUS
to survive. These are characteristics that we need if we are going to succeed in obeying Christ and sharing the Gospel in our city. We need to be adaptable in our outreach methods, courageous when opposition comes, and
tenacious in prayer when immediate results don’t seem to happen – because without the Holy Spirit’s power we can achieve nothing.