“As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who would be called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ‘Follow Me,’ He told them, ‘and I will make you fishers of men!’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him” Matthew 4:18-20.
Put yourself in the position of Simon and Andrew: Jesus, a rabbi they may not have ever seen, walks up and says, “Follow me.” It was an honor to be recruited to follow a rabbi—but that normally happened to top students at much younger ages. These men were grown and settled-in to a career as commercial fishermen. Simon Peter had a wife. Perhaps Andrew did too. They probably had bills to pay.
But the presence of Jesus must have been irresistible. His words must have touched their hearts like the men three years later who would say, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us?” Luke 24:32.
I believe Peter and Andrew KNEW this was their moment. This was that one great moment that was going to change the entire course of their lives. They could not say no. One look into the eyes of Jesus and they knew it: they could not not follow Him.
Moments later another pair of brothers would make the same decision: James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who would leave not only fishing but would turn their backs on their own father to follow Jesus and become fishers of men—or what one writer[1] paraphrases as “fishermen for God.”
Have you ever been recruited by God? Has He called you to a career path? Or to a specific education? Or perhaps to a particular position in a particular city? If God has called you to something, how quickly should you expect it to happen? Like I said, some of the disciples had families to feed. How could they do that while following an itinerate preacher (fancy word for ‘preacher without a car’), walking from one dusty town to the next?
I don’t know how God provided for those families. Perhaps He used the two miraculous catches of fish, one at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the other near the end, see Luke 5:6-7 and John 21:6, 11. But I do know this: Peter, Andrew, and the others were called to be Fishers of Men, but it would not happen for a long time. In terms of preparation, those three years were a crash course: Jesus covered a lifetime of lessons during three years on the road. And His trials, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension would have taken things further than those young fishermen’s wildest imaginations. They must have grown decades-worth during that short, three-year ministry with Jesus.
Has God called you? Hang on to His promise. Believe Him and trust Him—but be patient. Many years may pass between the calling and the fulfilment. God does not get in a hurry.
“Faithful is He who calls you and He will also bring it to pass” 1 Thessalonians 5:24.
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[1] https://marcalanschelske.com/i-will-make-you-fishers-of-men-really/
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