Senior | UCSD

“And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) 

Matthew 4:19 was the theme verse for India Team’s fundraiser and to be honest it confused me. Jesus told His disciples to become fishers of men, but what does that mean? This question carried on throughout the entire mission trip. India revealed to me something I failed to recognize in Cambodia last summer: the character and unwavering faith of the missionaries displayed through their ministry. Ultimately, there were three lessons that I learned through this opportunity… 

Lesson 1:

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:10) 

Prayer is powerful. Prayer is practical. 

I always knew the power of prayer. Growing up I would hear stories of prayer causing miracles, and India was no different. We were blessed to hear countless stories of prayer saving lives, healing the sick, etc., but one thing that stuck out to me was how everyone saw prayer not as a luxury, rather a necessity for survival. The missionaries would always start everything with prayer, stating that it was only through the power of the Lord that their ministries were standing in the first place. One missionary shared that when there is no food for their orphanage, they use that as an opportunity to fast, and God would always provide them with necessary food and water. Their reliance on prayer showed their belief that God was their provider, their strength, their everything. The missionaries taught me true reliance on prayer. Without prayer there was no God and without God there was no ministry. 

Fishers of men pray. 

Lesson 2:

“But emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) 

Jesus was the first missionary. Jesus was humble. 

While eating lunch one missionary stood up and asked the team, “do you think Jesus was ever lonely?” “Of course not, Jesus has the perfect relationship with God”, I thought. The missionary, however, stated that although Jesus was perfect, He was the only perfect being in an imperfect world. He wasn’t lonely, but he was alone. “Think about your home, the comforts of AC, the delicious food, your loving family. All of this you had to give up to go on missions.” The missionary explained. “Now think about Jesus. Jesus left heaven. Jesus left perfect communion within the Trinity. Jesus left His perfect home so that we may enter. This is humility.” The missionary was getting emotional, her eyes filled with tears of sacrifice. She gave up her life and family for God, but through it she was able to better understand the sacrifice of Jesus. She was able to feel a fraction of the pain that Jesus felt, and the love that was required to go through that pain. The missionary’s humility did not come from her own character, but was rooted in Jesus’s love shown through His ultimate humility on the cross. Only through Jesus’s example can we serve in humility. 

Fishers of men are humble.

Lesson 3: 

“He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.”  (John 21:6) 

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. Follow me. Follow me. 

At the start of my testimony I asked what it means to be a fisher of men. A fisher of men is someone who follows Jesus. There will be countless lessons that can be taught on the character of fishers of men. Lessons like the aforementioned prayer, humility, etc. but ultimately, everything leads us back to Jesus. Instead of viewing ways to be fishers of men as separate parts of one’s character that we must improve upon, we must view everything holistically. The root of righteousness comes through the pursuit of Jesus. Without Jesus we cannot be fishers. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Just like how the disciples were obedient to Jesus by casting their nets on the other side of the boat, we must likewise have obedience through faith. We may never understand why God tells us to do things, but we know the goodness of God, and that is enough. 

Fishers of men follow Jesus.