Fishers of Men

“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him” John 6:44

Draw – Jesus loved fishing.  The images he used (Matthew 4:19) and the miracles he performed (John 21:6) often involved fishing.  But if you thought that Jesus was simply teaching us fishing techniques, then you don’t understand this statement or the statement using the same word in John 12:32.  Jesus’ point is not that he will teach you to be fishers of men.  He doesn’t say that.  He says he will make you fishers of men.  You will become fishers of men because of what he does, not because of what you learn to do.

The distinction is important.  So often we think that evangelization is nothing more than spiritual packaging.  We approach the task of fishing for men with the assumptions of Madison Avenue advertising.  Be relevant.  Be visual.  Don’t expect men to understand the complexities of the gospel.  Present it to them like a comic book or Cliff Notes.  And certainly don’t demand too much.  After all, we want to catch as many as we can, right?  We want to fill the pews and the membership registers.  So, be contemporary.  Be dramatic.  Put on a show.  Drop a colorful lure into the world’s water and watch them bite.

Jesus doesn’t fish this way.

The unimaginable, unthinkable disclaimer in the word elkuse is this:  your techniques having nothing to do with spiritual fishing.  You’re wasting your time if you think that you are the one responsible for soul winning.  The very phrase insults the power of God.  You don’t have a thing to do with actually saving someone.  You’re just there to haul in the net after the catch has been made.  The word elkuse tells us that God accomplishes the real fishing expedition.  The word means, “to draw with an irresistible force”, “to tug or haul”.  It’s like bees to honey or iron filings to a magnet.  Salvation is a supernatural process that you are invited to observe.

Take another look at the John 21 miracle.  All night men fished.  They caught nothing.  When Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side, they still didn’t catch anything.  The net was full, but not because of their expertise.  It was full because God hauled all those fish into the net.  All the disciples did was pull them in.

Jesus does tell us the secret to fishing.  It’s not power points and brochures.  It’s not bands and billboards.  It’s not clever booklets and big sanctuaries.  It’s beseeching the Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9:38).  Supernatural fishing requires spiritual nets and only the Lord of the harvest has them.  Jesus makes us into fishers of men by teaching us how to pray.