Matthew 4:18-19

“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’” (Matthew 4:18-19 RSV).

Question:

Can you explain what Jesus meant when he said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”? I have this picture in my mind of a net full of kicking and wriggling people who quite clearly have been caught. I wouldn’t want to do the catching, or to be caught.

Comment:

It’s an excellent question, and I think it can only be answered within the larger context of Jesus’ ministry. Was it his spiritual process—or is it ours—to grab people against their will, render them powerless, remove them from their natural environment, and do with them what we will? Clearly not. (Not that some well-meaning missionaries haven’t tried similar tactics in the history of Christianity.) 

Fish were a spiritually important symbol in the ministry of Jesus. Metaphysically, they represent divine ideas—expressions of creative possibility—existing within the vast ‘waters’ of Divine Mind. Among the many times Jesus uses fish to communicate a spiritual idea is this brief parable: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad” (Matthew 13:47-48 RSV).

He’s describing, I think, a process of spiritual discernment. We must find within ourselves the ideas that are worthy of being a part of the new consciousness that is ‘the kingdom of heaven’—those we retain as creative sustenance. We toss other ideas back into the realm of Divine Mind so they can continue to grow in size and strength. They, too, will eventually become kingdom-worthy ideas, since everything is of God and nothing is ever wasted. 

So I hear Jesus calling Simon and Andrew—and, by extension, you and me as well—to become agents of discernment, helping to sort out in collective consciousness those people, thoughts, and choices that are ready to hear and express the kingdom, so that the spiritual process that is our human purpose can continue more efficiently.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed