How Did Jesus Teach His Disciples to be Fishers of Men?
He took the time to help the most helpless people.
Jesus had an important message to proclaim.
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
He called His first apostles — Peter, Andrew, James, and John — to leave their fishing business and follow Him (Matthew 4:18–22). Having seen with their own eyes the authority of Jesus (Luke 5:1–11) motivated these men to follow Him.
But how did Jesus go about teaching them to “fish for people?”
Training to be fishers of men.
Jesus continued teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He also took the time to help those who came to Him.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him — from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. (Matthew 4:23–25)
Jesus trained His disciples to “fish for people” by combining teaching with helping others. Or you could say by combining evangelism with benevolence.
Do we follow this example of our Lord?
Sometimes I hear comments from well-meaning Christians who say something along the lines of “The church’s mission isn’t to provide for all the needy people of the community.” I understand this to an extent — the church does not exist solely to provide food or clothing to the community.
But didn’t the Lord help the sick? Didn’t he feed the hungry? Yes, He did.
When those crowds of people would gather around as Jesus healed their loved ones, Jesus also used those opportunities to teach the gospel of the kingdom.
In fact, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) directly follows Jesus healing many people.
To follow Jesus’ example, shouldn’t we provide help to the needy and suffering ones in our community while also teaching them the Word of God?
It’s exactly what Jesus did.
Jesus loved people (John 3:16). He showed that not only by what He taught them — but by what He did for them.
Is it possible we have forgotten our Lord’s example?
Jesus’ way is best — let’s follow Him.
