Fishing for Men
Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 4:19
Fishermen in the first century used special tools for catching fish. One was a line and hook (Mat 17:27). Another was a spear or possibly a type of harpoon (Job 41:26). A third was the dragnet (Mat 13:47). It was sometimes over three hundred feet long and about eight feet wide. Fishermen buoyed up one side with corks and weighed down the other side with lead sinkers. Sometimes they stretched the net between two boats and rowed in a circle. They would then draw in ropes attached to the bottom of the net, trapping the fish (John 21:6).
In today’s verse, however, Jesus was referring to a casting net, which had a circular form (about fifteen feet in diameter) made of fine mesh and lead sinkers around the edge. Attaching a long piece of line to the center of the net, the fisherman would cast it into shallow water. He then would draw up the center of the net by its cord and wade into the water to secure the catch.
Just as the disciples caught a school of fish within the reaches of their circular net, the Lord wants His contemporary disciples to reach out to the men and women around us.
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 95). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Listen to this entry
Matthew 4:19
Fishermen in the first century used special tools for catching fish. One was a line and hook (Mat 17:27). Another was a spear or possibly a type of harpoon (Job 41:26). A third was the dragnet (Mat 13:47). It was sometimes over three hundred feet long and about eight feet wide. Fishermen buoyed up one side with corks and weighed down the other side with lead sinkers. Sometimes they stretched the net between two boats and rowed in a circle. They would then draw in ropes attached to the bottom of the net, trapping the fish (John 21:6).
In today’s verse, however, Jesus was referring to a casting net, which had a circular form (about fifteen feet in diameter) made of fine mesh and lead sinkers around the edge. Attaching a long piece of line to the center of the net, the fisherman would cast it into shallow water. He then would draw up the center of the net by its cord and wade into the water to secure the catch.
Just as the disciples caught a school of fish within the reaches of their circular net, the Lord wants His contemporary disciples to reach out to the men and women around us.
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 95). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Listen to this entry
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