Followers of Christ come in all sizes, shapes, races, languages, and ages. They each have their own special way of serving the Lord. Some are new at it; some are long-time servants. All are guilty of sin from time-to-time. None are perfect. All still need teaching, Bible study, and prayer.

There are some qualities that existed in the lives of the twelve selected disciples of Jesus. They were of different backgrounds, probably different ages, different in appearance, and different in their vocations. So, what made Jesus choose the particular men He chose?

I think we may all wonder about that question, but only an interview with Jesus in heaven will answer that. There are, however, some things we see in the selection of Peter, Andrew, James and John that serve as great examples for us as we think about being a disciple of Jesus.

In Luke 5, we find the story of the call of Peter, James, and John. Matthew tells this same story and includes Andrew. All of these men were fishermen. They were ordinary men with ordinary jobs, working to provide a living for their families. We find these men at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, washing their nets after an unsuccessful night of fishing.

Jesus arrives at the shore, and He is being pushed by the crowd of people interested in hearing Him speak. They were probably hoping to see some miracle. Finally, Jesus gets in Peter’s boat and calls him to stop his work and come push out away from the shore. Jesus then sits down and teaches the people from the boat. At the end of His teaching, Jesus tells Peter to launch his boat out farther and put his nets in the water to catch some fish. Peter tells Jesus that they have fished all night and caught nothing. Then Peter says, “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

When Peter throws his net into the water, the net immediately fills with fish. As Peter tries to pull it into the boat, the fish are so many that the boat begins to sink. He calls to James and John; they fill their boat, and their boat begins to sink. Peter is overwhelmed with what is happening, and he falls down in front of Jesus proclaiming his sinful life. Jesus tells him and the other men that they should not be afraid. He says that from this time forward they will catch men. I guess we could say that Jesus has started His preacher training school.
There are lessons we can learn from this fishing trip. We see that Peter responds immediately to Jesus’ request. He doesn’t tell Jesus that he is busy washing his nets and can’t help Him, or that he just prepared his nets for the next fishing trip. He responded to the Lord’s need willingly. How many times have we said “no” to a request for help from the preacher, the elders, the deacons, another church member, or even a stranger in need of help? These men were willing to serve at the request of the Lord.

We all find there was cooperation from these men. When Peter needs help, he calls for James and John. They willingly stop what they are doing and come to his aid. Are we willing to work with our brothers and sisters in a cooperative effort, or do we have to be “in charge” in order to serve?

We don’t see Peter bragging to James and John that it was his boat that Jesus chooses to sit on to teach. He doesn’t choose to keep the fish for himself and leave his partners without their share of the daily catch. Do we like to receive the praise for having been chosen for a particular work or service, or do we do it with humility?

Peter confesses to Jesus that he is not worthy to have had Jesus preach from his boat and be the recipient of such a bountiful blessing. He confesses that he is sinful, but Jesus takes him just as he is. Are we willing to confess that we are sinful men and women, needful of God’s forgiveness each and every day?

Finally, when Jesus tells Peter that going forward he will catch men, I doubt that Peter, Andrew, James and John knew what was ahead of them. Peter would die a terrible death. James would be beheaded by King Herod. John would grow old and deliver a marvelous prophecy to the people of God. We don’t hear much about Andrew, but we can know that he would suffer for the cause of Christ just like the others.

Jesus wants us to be fishers of men, just like the men who followed Him through the three years of His life on earth and through the difficult times of the start of Christianity. We will need to be responsive to the needs that we see in the world. We need to learn to be cooperative people, willing to work with others to accomplish the Lord’s work. We need to be humble and serve the church as we live the Christian life. We need to confess that we are sinful in the sight of God and ask for guidance as we live the Christian life. Last of all, we need to be fishers of men. We can’t bring others to Christ if we don’t live a life pleasing to God.

Sandra Oliver