As the calm waters reflected the slowly rising sun over the Sea of Galilee, a lonely figure walked from Capernaum along a path near the rocky shore of the lake. On this spring day, He noticed the flowers, with their hue of diverse and plentiful colors, in full bloom along the shore and delighted in the birds flying overhead, singing their melodious songs. Yet His heart was still heavy. A few weeks before His family and friends rejected Him in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16–30). Since then He had spent the last several Sabbaths teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum, the largest Jewish city along the northern shore of the lake (Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:31). Later that day, as the sun would set over the mountains of Lower Galilee, another Sabbath would begin. Yet before this day was over, the vocation of four Galilean fishermen would be changed forever.
“Follow Me, I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20).
The Seven Springs (today called Heptapegon, or Tabgha) are approximately 2 1/2 kilometers (1 1/2 miles) to the west of Capernaum. Warm water flowed from these springs, loaded with organic matter which attracted fish during the winter and spring months. Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, called the largest spring at this location the “well of Capernaum” (Jewish Wars III:519). It was here that the lonely man spotted several Capernaum fisherman. Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew were wading in the shallow waters using their cast nets. This circular net, usually 6 to 8 meters (19–26 feet) in circumference with small bars of lead attached to the edge, was carefully folded so that when the fisherman cast it forth it would open like a parachute and fall over the shoal of fish. The fisherman would dive down, gather the weights to entrap the fish inside the net, and drag it to shore to sort out their catch.
The lonely man called out from the shore, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This was not the first time these fisherman had encountered the Lord Jesus. More than a year and a half prior, Andrew, a follower of John the Baptizer heard his mentor proclaim with excitement, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In
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the process of leaving the Baptizer, Andrew found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” and brought him to Jesus and both followed him (John 1:29–42).
Three days later, Jesus and His new found followers were attending a wedding, probably a relative of Nathanael’s (John 1:45; 21:2), in Cana of Galilee. It was here that the Lord Jesus performed His first miraculous sign by turning water into wine, thus revealing His glory. His disciples put their trust in Him for their eternal salvation (John 2:1–11, cf. 20:30, 31). On several occasions they journeyed to Jerusalem with Jesus and other pilgrims for the various festivals. On the Passover of the next year, the Lord Jesus shared with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, his need to be born from above by the Spirit of God as well as God’s tremendous love for the world in sending His Son to provide salvation to all who put their trust in Him (John 3:1–21). On another occasion the following winter, while returning to Galilee, the Lord Jesus stopped with His disciples at a well near Sychar in Samaria. Here He offered a sinful Samaritan woman living water, eternal life. He then challenged His disciples to “…look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:1–42). A month later, following up on this challenge, Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Simon and Andrew left their nets to follow this lonely Man (Matt. 4:19–20; Mark 1:17–18).
Further along the shore, the Lord Jesus spotted two brothers, James and John, mending their trammel nets in their father’s large boat which was moored in the harbor near the Seven Springs. He called them as well and they left their father, Zebedee, and his servants and followed Him (Matt. 4:21, 22; Mark 1:19, 20).
That evening, Jesus and His new found “fishers of men”, returned to Capernaum for the Sabbath. Jesus began training His new followers in the art of “fishing for men” by casting a demon out of a man in the synagogue and healing Simon’s mother-in-law. These demonstrations of power provided two powerful lessons; “fishing for men” includes meeting both the spiritual, as well as the physical needs of people (Mark 1:21–35). Early on the morning after the Sabbath, Jesus slipped out of town to a quiet place to pray. Later, Simon searched for, found, and informed Him that everybody was looking for Him. He continued His lessons on fishing for men by taking His disciples along as He preached in the synagogues throughout Galilee (Mark 1:35–39).
“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:1–11)
Discipling people is not an easy task. It takes time and effort because those who are being discipled do not grasp the lessons being taught or the seriousness of their decision to follow the Lord Jesus. Jesus must have been frustrated with Peter at times, yet He was ever so patient with him.
After several months of following Jesus around and listening to Him preach in the synagogues of Galilee, Peter decided to go back to fishing. This decision had an adverse effect on the other disciples because several of them went back as well. Jesus needed to get them to understand who He was.
Peter and his fishing partners had fished all night and caught nothing. They had moored their boats in the harbor of the Seven Springs and were washing their nets in the small waterfall near the shore. Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat and used it as a floating pulpit to preach to the multitudes which were gathered to hear the words of this famous Teacher. When He had finished teaching, He again turned His attention to His wayward disciples. Instructing Peter, He said, “Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Peter protested for a minute
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because he and his partners had fished all night and caught nothing. Something else was in the back of Peter’s mind, the trammel net which he was instructed to let down was used only at night! This net 200–250 meters long (656–820 feet), consisted of three layers of net, a fine meshed one sandwiched between two large meshed outer nets. The fish swim through one of the large meshed outer nets and into the fine meshed middle net and through the other outer net. When it tried to escape, it gets hopelessly entangled in the nets. These nets are only used at night because the fish can see the nets during the day. Peter must have questioned, Jesus’ thinking in giving these instructions and was probably secretly daring Jesus to do something, yet he obeyed his works. Much to Peter’s amazement, there was a miraculous catch and the nets began to break. He called for assistance from his partners on the shore. When they come to help, they filled the boats and began to sink. Peter fell down before Jesus and said, “Go away from the Lord; I am a sinful man.”
Peter realized that he failed to learn the lessons which Jesus taught the day before while preaching on the mountain (Matt. 5–7). This sermon, addressed primarily to these who had already trusted the Lord Jesus for their salvation and decided to follow Him, touched on the issue of the disciples daily provision for food, drink and clothing. The Lord promised He would take care of these matters if they sought first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. If they did, all these things would be provided (Matt. 6:25–34). Peter failed miserably at this point. Rather than seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and trusting the Lord for his daily needs, he went back fishing to provide for himself. The goodness of God led him to repentance (Rom. 2:4) when he realized he was being discipled by the Lord of all Creation whom he could trust for his daily needs. Jesus reassures Peter that he was forgiven for not learning the lesson taught the day before with the words, “Do not be afraid” (5:10). When Peter came to a realization that Jesus was the Lord of Creation and that He was personally interested in him and could love and forgive him, in spite of his lack of attention the day before, he left everything and followed the Lord. This act was no small decision for Peter because he had a house, a boat and a very profitable fishing business. Yet this is what Jesus wanted of his disciples.
“Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (Matt 17:24–27).
One subtle danger that faces a disciple is spiritual pride. For more than a year now, Jesus had taught and trained these twelve men to be fishers of men. Three had seen Him transfigured before them just a few days before. As they left Mount Hermon and wandered back to the Sea of Galilee a heated theological discussion developed. The issue at stake was, Who would be greatest in the Kingdom? Their concept of the Messiah was of one of a military warrior overthrowing the oppressive Roman authorities and establishing His Kingdom on earth. Yet on two prior occasions, Jesus predicted He would suffer and die in Jerusalem, and be raised from the dead three days later (Matt. 16:21; 17:22).
In response to the discussion on greatness, Jesus demonstrated humility, true Biblical greatness, before He addressed the issue. Jesus, God manifest in human flesh (I Tim. 3:16) and greater than the Temple (Matt. 12:6), did not have to pay the Temple tax. After all, it was His Temple!
In order not to offend others. He instructed Peter to go to the harbor of Capernaum and let down his fishing line. The first fish which he caught, a barbel fish, would have a Tyrian shekal in its mouth. This would be sufficient to pay
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the Temple tax for both of them. Jesus exemplified the words which the Apostle Paul would pen years later, “in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interests of others” (Phil 2:4, 5).
Word Pictures from Fishing Life
Good teachers use word pictures or illustrations with which the student is well familiar to convey truth. Jesus, the Master Teacher, used fishing Illustration on several occasions to teach His disciples spiritual lessons.
When Jesus wanted to describe the Kingdom of Heaven, He used the analogy of the dragnet. This net was usually 400 meters long (I,312 feet) and had a fine mesh. The top of the net floated on the surface by means of corks while the bottom hung down with lead weights. The net was laid out in a large semicircle by a crew of fisherman in a boat while another crew held the other end on the shore. After this was done, the net was pulled to shore and the fish were sorted, the good fish from the bad ones. The observant Jewish fisherman would throw the non-kosher catfish away. This scavenger fish had fins, but no scales (Lev. 11:9–12). By analogy, when the end of the age came, the angels would separate the wicked from the righteous (Matt. 13:47–50).
On another occasion, Jesus was approached by a rich young ruler inquiring what he had to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17–31). Jesus, using the Mosaic law lawfully, sought to point out to this man that he was a sinner by listing some of the ten commandments. Yet He deliberately left out one, “Thou shall not covet”. In order for this man to see he had not kept the Law perfectly, Jesus instructs him to sell all he had and give it to the poor. This self-righteous religious person went away sad. Jesus pointed out to his disciples that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man trusting in his riches to enter the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:22–24). The fisherman-disciples would immediately remember the needles which they used to mend their nets and sails and they realized the impossibility for a rich man trusting his riches to be saved, yet it was possible with God because the Spirit of God would convince wealthy individuals of their unbelief and need for a Savior (John 10:5–11).
“Friends haven’t you any fish?” (John 21:1–14).
A historian once said “History repeats itself, yet we never learn the lessons of history!” This axiom holds true even in the spiritual realm.
After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, He told His disciples He was going before them to Galilee and would see them there (Matt. 28:7, Mark 16:7). They went back to Capernaum and waited … and waited … and waited. Finally Peter, not noted for his patience, declared, “I’m going out to fish.” Six other disciples, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John and two unnamed disciples, decided to go with him. They went back to their favorite fishing spot near the Seven Springs and experienced a fruitless night of fishing. As the sun slowly rose over the Lake, a lone figure on the shore asked if they had caught any fish. The reply was negative. He instructed them to throw their net on the right side of the boat. Heeding this advice, the net produced a large catch of musht fish. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, said that the figure on the shore must be Jesus. Peter jumped into the Lake and swam for shore.
Jesus had breakfast prepared for them, yet even this was used to reinforce a lesson. On the coals were sardines (“small fish”) and bread, a meal which was served by the Lord Jesus twice before. The first time was the spring
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before when He fed the 5,000 men plus women and children, mostly Jewish (Matt. 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–14), and the second time was the previous summer when He fed 4,000 Gentiles in the Decapolis region (Matt. 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–10). These two feedings demonstrated to the disciples that He alone was sufficient for their provisions and He had the power to provide for their daily needs (John 6:22–59). It also showed that the Kingdom included both Jews and Gentiles (Mark 8:13–21; Matt. 16:5–12).
To reinforce the miracle which just occurred, Jesus purposely asked Peter for some of the sardines which were just caught. After dragging the net to land. Peter sheepishly realized there were 153 large musht fish! Peter’s mind must have gone back to the events after his Master preached on the mountain and realized he failed “to seek him the Kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33; Luke 5:1–11). Then, as now, the Lord Jesus used the goodness of God to bring him to repentance.
After breakfast, Jesus, probably pointing to the fish, nets and boats, said “Peter, do you love me more than these?” Three times the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him, three times Peter responded in the affirmative and three times the Lord Jesus charged Peter to feed His lambs and sheep. The Lord Jesus, in love and grace, showed Peter that he was forgiven for his three-fold denial. Peter, as well as the other disciples, never went back fishing for musht, sardines or barbel fish, but rather went fishing for the souls of men and women. The Lord Jesus used them to reach their own world and beyond with the gospel.
Postscript
Peter never forgot his former occupation of fishing even while out preaching the gospel. When he penned his first epistle, he used two word-pictures from his former trade. The first, he wrote “prepare your mind” (“gird up the loins 1:13 NKJV) and applied it to the mind of the believer. The second, after writing about believers suffering for the glory of God, he penned a benediction, “and the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you (= mend – Mark 1:19) and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (5:10). May we be encouraged also as we fish with the Lord Jesus for the souls of human beings.
Miraculous Draught of Fishes, Santi Raphael, 1483–1520
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