Fishermen through grace

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

Just like Simon Peter and Andrew we followers of Jesus are to be fishers of men (or "people", the word translated "men" is not gender-specific) too.  Fishing for people means finding others who want to follow Jesus too as we read at the end of Matthew's gospel in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Peter and Andrew, and the other disciples, learnt to people-fish by spending time with Jesus and watching how he did it.  And they saw that what Jesus did was proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God, Matthew 4:23:

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

What is the kingdom of God? It is the grace of God impacting on us.  It is the proactive, loving, forgiving, reconciling, recreating power of God breaking through into the darkness of our world in a tangible way, overpowering the forces of darkness through the victory over them accomplished by Jesus through his death and resurrection (Colossians 2:13-15)  It is expressed through the healings and deliverances that Jesus did (Matthew 4:24).  The kingdom of God is the light of his grace shining in the darkness.  

The net with which we fish is the grace of God.  We fish by God's grace, through God's grace and with God's grace.  It is by the grace of God that we have been brought into his kingdom and made partners with him in bringing his kingdom on earth; it is through the grace of God that we have the talents, gifts and abilities we need in order to fish and it is the grace of the gospel that we demonstrate that will draw people to God.

James Ryle describes God's grace like this: "Grace is the empowering presence of God enabling you to be who God created you to be, and to do what God has called you to do – right where you are."  http://www.truthworks.org/grace-gods-unspeakable-gift/


We are able to make disciples - people fish - through the empowering presence of God because the empowering presence of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, is with us always (Matthew 28:19-20).

 
Bible passages taken from English Standard Version (ESV)  The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.