Techniques Of Fishing For Men

In the book of Luke chapter 5:10 Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t

be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

I am not much of a fisherman to say the least. I have on occasion gone

out with my friends and tried to fish. We would sit on the pontoon boat

with the radio playing, telling jokes and laughing throwing one another

off the boat and just had a good time but we never seem to catch any fish

for some reason. I never could really understand why?

People have said that we scared the fish off but I don’t know why

three fellows weighing about 200 pounds each crashing into the water would

scare the fish. If anything the people on the boat should be scared of

the ensuing wake cause by the immersion.

No, I believe it has something to do with me. A few weeks back I broke

down and went fishing with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. We all

stayed in the boat and I still didn’t catch anything. Amy’s

dad, in the aft section of the vessel, would yank them up one after

another. Her brother even caught a couple but me nary a one. I cast my

line like a pro. Why I even tenderized the bait by accidentally casting

it up against the damn’s concrete wall once. No, a fisherman

I’m not.

But thankfully God has not called me to be a fisherman but to be a fisher

of MEN! In the text today we find Jesus calling His first disciples.

This event is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each time we hear Jesus

say, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” or, as in

Luke, He says “Now you will catch men”.

Although I don’t know much about fishing I know three necessities of

fishing for men we can see from this text.

I. We Must Bait the Hook

Before we could begin fishing that day we had to have something to entice

the fish to bite the hook. So Amy’s dad threw out the net a few

times and before long we had plenty of live bait to bait our hooks with.

Before the disciples could ever be successful fishers of men Jesus first

had to hook them and bring them into the boat. And though it appeared to

be an easy task for Jesus, for we read they immediately dropped their nets

and followed, we need to see that Jesus did have some tempting bait. The

disciples were uncertain, fearful, and tired. Even Jesus had to bait the

hook. He did that first by:

A. Giving Them Something to Gain Their Interest.

1. Jesus did this by going to where they were. Look at vs 1-3.

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people

crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the

water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were

washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to

Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and

taught the people from the boat.

If you want some to take an interest in you then your going to have to

show interest in them and their way of life. The world may classify

people and jobs from the lowly to the prestigious. But all are precious

in the sight of God. Jesus doesn’t come to people because of who

they are or because of their work He comes to them because of who He is

and because of His work. There are many people whose only contact with a

Christian is through their work because they don’t go to church and

more than likely Christians don’t come to their homes. Because

these fishermen were tough and rugged outdoorsmen they may have felt

uncomfortable going to the synagogue.

2. Jesus Gained Their Interest When He Met Their Needs. Read verse 4-6.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep

water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered,

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught

anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When

they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets

began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come

and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began

to sink.

These verses are a good example of receiving blessings from being

obedient. The disciples were going to receive an immediate blessing from

being obedient. But they almost missed out. Look at what Simon said in

verse 5, “We’ve worked hard all night”. That is still