Be Fishers of Men (Sermon from 2008)
Jesus gives us a vivid metaphor of sharing the Gospel and Luther extends that metaphor by likening the casting of nets to the preaching of the Gospel. The boats are the church and the fish are that portion of mankind brought into the church.
As the nets go into the water, so the Word of God goes into the world. Some hear and believe; others do not. The power is in the Word. It’s not in the specially-made nets, or top-of-the-line boats. The power is always in the Word of God.
We’re not always privileged to see the results of the casting of nets for faith is invisible, along with the church. Nevertheless, at the word of Jesus, we continue to cast our nets for we know the power lies within Word of God. So, go forth and be fishers of men!
For reference, the sermon text is taken from Luke 5,
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.