I wanted to start of by apologizing for being SO late in this post. I didn't mean for my computer being with geek squad to mean 2 weeks away from my blog.
We don't know when John was put in prison, or what for, yet. I'm sure it is specified in a different or parallel passage. It probably was because John the Baptist was "disturbing the public" with his radical speeches. But after John had been put in prison, Jesus went out among the people and shared the same message that John had said, to repent their sins and open their hearts to accept the good news that the Kingdom of God was upon them, that Jesus brings the Kingdom of God to the people, and Jesus was there.
I see this scene as an old political ad, where they drive around with a megaphone, "Vote for Mayor for mayor!" (Powerpuff Girls reference there) So there's Jesus with his megaphone, walking all throughout the land, and he walks beside the sea and sees two fishermen, Simon and Andrew. He tells them to drop their nets and come be fishers of men. I'll come back to this phrase in a second.
Jesus went a little further and finds James and John with their father Zebedee. In enters "other John" along with the confusion of "is it John the Baptist or John the Disciple?" This comes up a lot in the scriptures. But they were two very different men. These guys were getting ready to fish and "without delay" (another action phrase of Mark's), meaning with no hesitation, Jesus calls them to follow. Jesus didn't get Simon and Andrew and walk off and then double-back, "Hey, you guys wanna come too?" No. He saw them, He knew the purpose He had for them and he called to them. Also without hesitation, they left their father in the boat with his hired workers. No hesitation means they didn't sit there and think, "Hmm, should we?" or "Dad, is it ok if we go?". They didn't even know who Jesus was, but they "knew" and they could feel the Holy Spirit's pull on them and they left.
Fishers of men. For the longest time, this phrase totally confused me. Maybe because I grew up a Christian so phrases like this were "normal" and used in daily conversation without explanation to what it really meant. To be a fisher is different from being a hunter. Fishers are patient and wait for their catch, as opposed to hunters who chase it. Fishers are passive, while hunters are aggressive. Notice Jesus didn't find hunters to be his disciples. 4 men, which means 1/3 of His disciples were fishers. Fishers were important to Jesus and he used His men to tell the Good News, the way that shepherds are used to tell stories in both the Old and New Testament. Fishers catch fish by laying down nets or baited lines and the fish come to them. Hunters attack their prey by surprise or long distance. When Jesus finds fishers and asks them to be fishers of men, he is asking them to a) leave their lifestyle, career, home and family and b) to lay down their life and their story to lead people to Christ. Jesus is not finding disciples to hunt down people and forcibly make them believe in Christ.
These same words apply to today. Here I am, writing this blog, laying down my time, energy, words, stories and life in the hopes of leading people to Christ. I can only hope that the people reading this are doing the same and leading others. I'm not pounding on doors and holding a gun to your head demanding you to repent to save your soul. That kind of person is a hunter, not a fisher. As you live your life and speaking to others about Christ, ask yourself if you are doing so as a fisher, or as a hunter.
Jesus went a little further and finds James and John with their father Zebedee. In enters "other John" along with the confusion of "is it John the Baptist or John the Disciple?" This comes up a lot in the scriptures. But they were two very different men. These guys were getting ready to fish and "without delay" (another action phrase of Mark's), meaning with no hesitation, Jesus calls them to follow. Jesus didn't get Simon and Andrew and walk off and then double-back, "Hey, you guys wanna come too?" No. He saw them, He knew the purpose He had for them and he called to them. Also without hesitation, they left their father in the boat with his hired workers. No hesitation means they didn't sit there and think, "Hmm, should we?" or "Dad, is it ok if we go?". They didn't even know who Jesus was, but they "knew" and they could feel the Holy Spirit's pull on them and they left.
Fishers of men. For the longest time, this phrase totally confused me. Maybe because I grew up a Christian so phrases like this were "normal" and used in daily conversation without explanation to what it really meant. To be a fisher is different from being a hunter. Fishers are patient and wait for their catch, as opposed to hunters who chase it. Fishers are passive, while hunters are aggressive. Notice Jesus didn't find hunters to be his disciples. 4 men, which means 1/3 of His disciples were fishers. Fishers were important to Jesus and he used His men to tell the Good News, the way that shepherds are used to tell stories in both the Old and New Testament. Fishers catch fish by laying down nets or baited lines and the fish come to them. Hunters attack their prey by surprise or long distance. When Jesus finds fishers and asks them to be fishers of men, he is asking them to a) leave their lifestyle, career, home and family and b) to lay down their life and their story to lead people to Christ. Jesus is not finding disciples to hunt down people and forcibly make them believe in Christ.
These same words apply to today. Here I am, writing this blog, laying down my time, energy, words, stories and life in the hopes of leading people to Christ. I can only hope that the people reading this are doing the same and leading others. I'm not pounding on doors and holding a gun to your head demanding you to repent to save your soul. That kind of person is a hunter, not a fisher. As you live your life and speaking to others about Christ, ask yourself if you are doing so as a fisher, or as a hunter.
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