The language of the Bible gives us insight into our personal and spiritual development. When Jesus spoke, He phrased things in a specific way. As we study His life and leadership two thousand years later, we can understand more about Him as we listen to what He said and how He said it. As Jesus began His ministry on earth, He called a dozen men to be His disciples. We can learn about Jesus’ methodologies from His uniquely worded invitation.
Matthew 4:18-20 recounts Jesus’ invitation to two brothers: “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him.”
“Come, follow Me.” In the Jewish culture of Bible times, the men Jesus was talking to would have recognized him as a religious teacher, or rabbi. “Follow me” was an invitation that a rabbi would give to prospective students, and it was a great honor to receive such a call. In fact, one would likely translate the original Greek to have said, “Come follow after Me.” When Peter and Andrew heard this, they recognized it was an opening for a long-term learning opportunity with Jesus. This was a call to be taught in all facets of religious leadership. Through these words, Jesus was communicating He was a leader in the Jewish faith, and that the invitation was to become His pupils.
Today we use the term “disciple” to describe people who follow and learn from Jesus. But this is not a modern term—disciple existed as a term in Judaism from the Old Testament forward. Jews considered a key aspect of life to be moral and religious training. When speaking of Abraham, God says, “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just” (Genesis 18:19a). In the New Testament we read of several kinds of disciples. “Besides Jesus’ disciples, we have the ‘disciples of the Pharisees’ (Matthew 22:15-16, Mark 2:18), who possibly belonged to one of the schools, as well as ‘disciples of John the Baptist’ (Mark 2:18) and the ‘disciples of Moses’ (John 9:24-29).”[1] Jesus might have chosen any wording here, but He was deliberate to infer a “disciple” relationship that these men would immediately understand.
“At once they left.” It’s not unusual to read that Peter and Andrew dropped their fishing nets at once. This was the kind of invitation that only came along once in a lifetime. Likely these men were old enough that they had already been “passed over” in terms of any opportunity for formal religious training. As young men they were probably among many Jewish youth that studied the Scriptures, went to the temple and held to traditional beliefs. They saw their sharpest of their peers become students of the local rabbis. But it didn’t happen for them, so they took up a reasonable profession in fishing.
“Jesus lived in a deeply religious culture that highly valued understanding and adhering to the Scriptures. Rabbis were greatly respected, and to be a disciple of a famous rabbi was an honor. Rabbis were expected not only to have a vast knowledge about the Scriptures, but to show through their exemplary lives how to live by God’s law. A disciple’s goal was to gain the rabbi’s knowledge, but even more importantly, to become like him in character. It was expected that when the disciple became mature, he would take his rabbi’s teaching to the community, add his own understanding, and raise up disciples of his own.”[2]
“And I will make you.” In the context of the rabbi’s call to discipleship, Jesus’ promise to these men is to spiritually form them. Notice in Jesus’ statement Who is doing the work. Jesus indicates He is the One who will form them. He is not inviting them to a class, or a mentoring opportunity, or on-the-job training. The relationship with Christ will literally form these men into effective, reproducing disciples. We see this formation language elsewhere in Scripture. Remember the illustration of man as clay in the hands of God? He said in Jeremiah 18:6: “‘…Can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand…’”
In this case, what is the responsibility of the clay? Nothing, in terms of its final form—that is being determined by the Potter. The clay needs merely to be moldable. This is Jesus’ call to His disciples—“Follow Me, and I will do the work of molding and forming you into the person I desire you to be.” The instruction here is to set aside one’s own goals, desires, methods and means and become clay in the hands of Almighty God.
“…fishers of men.” To make this invitation, for fishermen to become fishers of men, is a memorable turn of phrase in English, but it is also equally so in the original Greek.[3] Throughout the Gospel we read accounts of Jesus using phrases and language His audience could easily understand. He’s talking here to fishermen, and so he references their lifelong daily pursuit to help them understand the nature, purpose and method of His call.
It’s notable here to remember what fishing was like in Jesus’ time. These men did not bait a line and try to coax fish to bite as we do today. Rather they cast a wide, circular net into the water, and gathered fish caught under it. This is an illustration of the Gospel, where we “throw a net” of Jesus’ message, not knowing who specifically will fall under it. The Lord is the one who gives the catch. These fishermen hearing “I will make you fishers of men”, would have caught a glimpse of what Jesus was up to. Christ was going to make the most of who they already were. It would be a transforming relationship, but it would also be one that built on the knowledge and skills they possessed.
Today’s call? How might Jesus call you as a man and leader to be His disciple today? Would He say, “I will make you a CFO of men”, or “I will make you a sales director of men?” Is your vocation today a position from which you can learn from Christ and pass along His teaching to others? Jesus has indeed made a call to each Christ-follower. We find it in Matthew 28:19-20. He tell us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”
It's understood that Jesus’ disciple-making command is in the context of our own lives, work and cultures. Indeed you are to be a CFO of men, a sales director of men, a consultant of men, an investor of men, a shift manager of men, an accountant of men, a truck driver of men, an analyst of men, etc. How you are letting go and becoming clay in the hands of the Father and of the Son in your daily life and leadership? In what ways are you being molded and formed into the person of influence for the Gospel that God designed you to be? What is Christ making of you today that glorifies Him, and draws others to Himself?
As Jesus began His ministry on earth, He called a dozen men to be His disciples. We can learn about Jesus’ methodologies from His uniquely worded invitation.