The Ultimate Fisher of Men (Matthew 4:23-25)
The Ultimate Fisher of Men
Matthew 4:23-25
You may remember that last time we met we witnessed
The vocational calling of the disciples.
Jesus had previously called Peter, Andrew, James & John to salvation,
But on this day, He returned to the sea of Galilee
To call these men into vocational ministry.
He asked them to stop working for fish, and to start fishing for men.
The response was the same for all four of them.
Matthew 4:22 “Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”
They had just spent a night fishing with futility.
They had caught nothing.
And then here comes Jesus.
• They already knew Him to be the Messiah.
• They already saw Him turn water into wine.
• They already saw Him heal Peter’s mother-in-law.
• They had just seen Him multiply that catch of fish.
And then He offers them a job, a new career, as fishers of men.
They would have been fools not to jump at the chance.
And so they eagerly, readily, and immediately dropped those old nets
And started their new career.
Now you may remember the promise Jesus made to them
During that recruitment.
Matthew 4:19 “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Eventually, when Jesus was through with them,
They would be fishers of men, but they were not there yet.
And we even gave some examples of their lack of missionary zeal.
• Forbidding children to come to Jesus.
• Asking Jesus to send the crowds away.
• Even attempting to call down fire on a group of non-believers.
They were a work in progress.
And today, the training begins.
They were about to come under the apprenticeship
Of the greatest fisher of men who ever lived.
We call Him Jesus.
And because we all also long to be fishers of men,
It does us a tremendous service to see exactly how Jesus fished.
So Let’s Examine the Ultimate Fisher of Men (5 things)
#1 HE EXPLORED FOR SINNERS
Matthew 4:23a
“Jesus was going throughout all Galilee”
That is simple enough.
Jesus was on the search for lost men and women.
And this is certainly not new information to us.
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus was clearly passionate about finding those who are lost.
In fact, you remember this great chapter.
Luke 15:1-10 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
We see a contrast between the heart of Jesus who sought for sinners
And the heart of the Pharisees who despised them.
Jesus had a tremendous desire to see the lost saved,
And His first step in seeing that happen was to go to them.
And of course that makes sense if He was going to be good at fishing.
I’m certainly not a fisherman,
But even I know that if you want to fish,
It’s really difficult to do it from your living room.
Fish are stubborn like that.
Very rarely will a fish flop into your living room
To give you the opportunity to catch him.
Most fish are content to remain in their own world,
And if you want them, you have to go to them.
And Jesus did.
“throughout all Galilee”
He fished cities and villages all over that land.
He wanted to catch the fish, and so He went where the fish were.
And you and I understand that point.
We live in a day were most of us only want the fish to come to us.
Most churches evangelistic effort can be defined
With a sign outside of town on the highway that says,
“So and so Church welcomes you”
That’s like putting a sign by the lake
Inviting the fish over to your house any time they might want to come.
It doesn’t work like that.
If you want to catch fish, you have to go to the fish.
If you want to catch men, you have to go to them.
Your church is no more appealing to them,
Than your living room is to a fish.
If you want them, go get them.
And by the way, this is also how the ultimate fisher of men told us to do it.
Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”
One thing I know about fishing, if you’ve never been to the water,
Then you’ve never caught a fish.
Jesus Explored for Sinners
#2 HE EXPLAINED SALVATION
Matthew 4:23b
“teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,”
Make no mistake about it.
JESUS CAME TO PREACH
(Certainly miracles were also part of His ministry,
But don’t get the cart before the horse. He came to preach)
Mark 1:38 “He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”
Mark 2:1-2 “When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.”
Mark 2:13 “And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.”
Mark 4:1-2 “He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,”
Mark 6:1-2 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?”
Mark 6:34 “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”
Mark 10:1 “Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.”
Jesus was a teacher and a preacher.
• His objective was to move men from darkness into light.
• His objective was to open spiritually blind eyes.
• His objective was to rightly explain the Scriptures.
He wanted people to know the truth so that they might be saved.
WHAT DID HE PREACH?
“proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,”
Jesus preached the gospel. “good news”
The good news that man can be forgiven.
The good news that there is salvation.
The good news of how to enter the kingdom.
It was not a message void of difficult topics:
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
But altogether, it was still good news,
For He showed men how to be forgiven and how to enter heaven.
He preached the gospel.
WHY?
Because it’s hard to catch fish without a hook or a net.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
You can go to the lake, but if you don’t throw a hook in the water,
You are gonna have a heck of a tough time catching fish.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Your presence alone will not do it.
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME
• Sometime put on your waders,
• Put on that nifty little hat with all the fishing lures in it,
• Put on that vest that says “World’s Greatest Fisherman”
• Pick up your pole,
• Pick up your tackle box,
• Hold your net.
Then go stand beside the water and see how many fish
Jump out of the water into your net.
Fishing for men is real similar.
You have to use the hook, you have to use the net.
THE GOSPEL IS THE HOOK
And that is why Jesus proclaimed it everywhere.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
That is how Jesus did it.
He went to the fish and used the only tool He had for pulling them out of the water, and that was the hook of the gospel.
Follow the example of the ultimate fisher of men
Jesus Explored for Sinners
Jesus Explained Salvation
#3 HE EXHIBITED SIGNS
Matthew 4:23c
“and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”
And that is an understatement.
When you read the gospels,
It is literally overwhelming the number of miracles He worked.
Anything from curing leprosy to blindness, to bleeding, to muteness,
To deafness, to palsy, to paralysis, demon-possession, disease,
And even death.
In short, HE HAD POWER
Now, again, we shouldn’t get confused.
The aim of His ministry was not
Signs and wonders and miracles and healings.
That is NOT what He came to do.
(He came to teach)
The miracles were the validity to His preaching.
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
Later in the upper room
John 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
And even the lost understood this.
John 9:30-33 “The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
His power proved He was the Son of God,
And therefore you had better listen to His words.
And of course later He even gave this ability to His apostles.
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
The point is that in fishing for men,
Jesus verified His message with the signs He worked.
WHILE WE DO NOT WORK MIRACLES,
WE CERTAINLY MUST VERIFY OUR MESSAGE.
HOW?
The power of our transformed lives.
Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
The old German reformer said,
“Show me your redeemed life, and I might consider your Redeemer.”
In other words, don’t offer me freedom from sin
If you are still living in it.
That is why Paul told Timothy to watch more than just his preaching.
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
This is what Jesus meant when He said:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
And of course this proof
Aided the preaching of the early church immensely.
Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”
We don’t just go about preaching a message,
We live a life that verifies the truth we preach.
• We say Christ can deliver from sin, so we live in holiness.
• We say Christ can deliver from guilt, so we live in peace.
• We say Christ can secure eternal life, so we live in hope.
• We say Christ can fulfill, so we live in contentment.
• We say Christ will reward, so we live in generosity.
• We say Christ is Lord, so we walk in obedience.
Our life verifies the message we preach.
THIS IS YOUR FISHING LISCENSE.
Ever so often when you fish, you will run across a true antagonist.
You run across someone who wants to know
If you have the right to fish these waters.
In a literal sense, we call him the Game Warden
In a spiritual sense, it is anyone who balks at your preaching.
• What gives you the right to preach to me?
• Who do you think you are telling me what to believe?
• Don’t judge me to confront my sin!
If you are going to fish, you had better go to the water,
You had better throw out the hook,
And you had better have a fishing license,
Or you will pay the penalty.
Jesus Explored for Sinners Jesus Explained Salvation Jesus Exhibited Signs
#4 HE EXERCISED SYMPATHY
Matthew 4:24
When we read that verse, we are quickly made aware
Of the extreme popularity of Jesus.
“The news about Him spread”
Let me remind you that popularity is not always a positive thing.
Some heard and came to Him.
Others heard and wanted to kill Him.
But one thing about a fisherman.
If he starts pulling enough fish out of the water,
Other people around the lake will start noticing.
And here the people flocked to Him.
“they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.”
And of course the irony is that the people missed the point.
(They often do)
He came to teach them, so that they could have eternal life,
All they were concerned with was physical and temporal healing.
And they had every possible problem
“demoniacs” – those who were demons possessed. It was the most extreme spiritual sickness there was.
“epileptics” – SELENIAZO (literally meaning “moonstruck”) This was mental illness.
“paralytics” – which of course was physical illness.
This was not why He came
BUT – He was compassionate.
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
Matthew 14:14 “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 15:32 “And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
You may even remember that Jesus
Taught on the importance of compassion.
After being chastised by the Pharisees for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said:
Matthew 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Of course the Pharisees didn’t learn and later on Jesus rebuked them for not having figured it out yet.
Matthew 12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
The point is that compassion was highly important to Jesus.
HE LOVED PEOPLE
And Jesus told His followers to do the same.
Matthew 10:7-8 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘ The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
Luke 6:35-36 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
COMPASSION IS IMPORTANT
I suppose you could just throw an empty hook into the water, and there is a chance you might harpoon a fish and drag him out of the water.
But most fisherman have learned that fishing works so much better
If you put a little bait on the hook.
COMPASSION IS THE BAIT
The gospel is good news, but it is not always received as such.
To those living in sin, the gospel can seem course and offensive.
So we have learned that people are far more open to the demands of the gospel if we present it with a little compassion.
It is a love for people that makes listening easier.
Jesus Explored for Sinners Jesus Explained Salvation
Jesus Exhibited Signs Jesus Exercised Sympathy
#5 JESUS EXPERIENCED SUCCESS
Matthew 4:25
Could it get any clearer than that?
“Large crowds” came
And they came from long distances away.
“from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”
He caught fish all over the place.
And yes, He was a successful fisherman in God’s eyes with or without a catch, but don’t overlook that He still caught a lot of fish.
And by the way, so did the men He trained.
Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”
Acts 2:46-47 “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 4:4 “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
Acts 5:14 “And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,”
Acts 6:7 “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
Acts 9:31 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.”
Acts 9:42 “It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”
Acts 11:21 “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”
Acts 11:24 “… And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.”
Acts 14:1 “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”
Acts 14:21 “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,”
Acts 16:5 “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”
Acts 17:12 “Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.”
Obvious enough?
Jesus took these old flaky, temperamental fishermen and through His example, actually transformed them into fishers of men.
They walked with Him
They watched Him
They learned from Him
They followed Him
And they, like Him, became great fishers of men.
It’s really not complicated, we just follow His example.
• We Explore for Sinners
• We Explain Salvation
• We Exhibit Signs
• We Exercise Sympathy
• We Experience Success
Take it from the Ultimate Fisher of Men
Acts 1:7-8 “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
