When a fisherman begins to tell you about his “big catch”, be prepared. Fish stories are notorious for being embellished, and often the fish in the story is larger than the fish actually hauled in.
This past week the Associated Press carried stories on two record catches, both of them accompanied by photos of the catches. One of them was in Florida, where biologists hauled in the largest Burmese python ever recorded. At 18 feet long and 215 pounds, it eclipsed any other python captured in Florida. (Incidentally, this was not a catch-and-release situation, as these snakes are an invasive species which are putting other species of native wildlife in danger.)
The other story came from Cambodia, where a fisherman landed a 660-pound freshwater stingray while fishing the Mekong River. From snout to the tip of its tail, the stingray measured 13 feet. The prior record for a freshwater fish was a 646-pound Mekong giant catfish taken in Thailand in 2005. The stingray, by the way, was released after a tracking chip was implanted in its tail.
Jesus knew something about record catches of fish. In Luke 5 He asked Peter to move his boat “out into the deep” for a catch (Luke 5:4). Peter was hesitant; he had fished all night without any fish being caught. But when he did as the Lord instructed, this happened: “… they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6,7). Jesus guided His apostles to another amazing catch of fish in John 21:6, after His resurrection.
Don’t draw the conclusion that Jesus came to teach men how to catch fish. His aim was much higher than that. When He first called Peter and Andrew to follow Him He used this invitation: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). These two, along with the next two men Jesus called (Matthew 14:21), happened to be fishermen by vocation. Catching fish is fine, but catching people is the ultimate aim of life.
What did Jesus mean by “fishers of men”? A good example can be found in Luke 19 where Jesus met with a tax collector named Zacchaeus. This man was in the grip of Satan, for he confessed to having taken goods from people “by false accusation”. After Zacchaeus turned back toward God Jesus announced, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Zacchaeus had been pulled from Satan’s waters and released into the kingdom of God.
Are we fishers of men? Jude (believed to have been the half-brother of Jesus) urged us to be: “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 1:23).
Many are floundering in sin. Jesus calls us to care enough to try to rescue them from that fate.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2022, Timothy D. Hall.