Peter The Fisher of Men
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We come to the study of one of the outstanding Apostles of the Cross. Whatever you may think of Peter, and his failures, you must grant that he was an energetic, whole-souled, and sacrificial servant of the Lord.
1. Let us observe how Peter was wooed and won for Christ.
(1) The testimony of John the Baptist, and its results. John looking upon Jesus, as He walked, said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Two of John's disciples heard John as he spoke. We never know the far-reaching effects of any vital testimony which we give to Jesus Christ. John had borne a faithful testimony, and John's disciples had. profited thereby. As the two disciples, one of whom was Andrew, heard John speaking of Jesus, they followed after Him.
(2) The query of Christ. Jesus, seeing them following, turned, and said unto them, "What seek ye?" They answered, saying, "Rabbi, * * where dwellest Thou?" The Lord Jesus read the inner yearnings of their heart, and He said unto them, "Come and see." Thus it turned out that the two went with Christ that day, and abode with Him.
(3) Andrew seeking Peter. One of the first quests of a genuinely born-again soul is his desire to bring his friends to Jesus. This was true with Andrew. "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." Thus Andrew brought Peter to the Lord Jesus.
If we cannot do much ourselves in the way of public service, we may in the quieter walks of life, be able to point some one to the Lord who will prove a valiant soldier of the Cross.
2. How Christ accosted Peter. As soon as Jesus beheld Peter, He said unto him, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."
(1) Christ's Divine perception. Christ said, "Thou art Simon." The Lord knew everything about Simon Peter the moment that he stood before Him, He knew his vacillating disposition; He knew, as well, his stalwart and strong characteristics; He knew also that Peter was impetuous and hasty. None of this, however, caused the Lord to hesitate as He spoke to Peter.
(2) The Divine forecast. The Lord Jesus said, "Thou art." He also said, "Thou shalt be." "Thou art," was a record of Simon in his self-life. "Thou shalt be," was a record of Simon after grace had completed its work in his life. The Lord took Peter for better, not for worse. He knew that ultimately Simon would become Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
I. PETER'S CALL TO THE APOSTLESHIP (Matthew 4:18-20)
1. Fishing for fish. As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea. The Lord, no doubt, saw in a moment that they knew how to catch fish. Immediately, however, He called unto them saying, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
From fishing fish to fishing men was a great stride for these sons of the net. They might have pled their inadaptibility to the discipleship, they might have clung to their nets but they didn't. Without any hesitancy, and with immediate response to the call of Christ, they left the ship, and left their father, and followed the Lord. How many are there among us today who will do as they did?
2. Fishing for men. Peter had known some marvelous catches of fish, but he afterward knew many more marvelous catches of men. He who had been a good fisherman for fish, became a better fisherman for men.
We have heard many addresses on how to catch men; we have read numerous books and booklets on the art of soul-winning; we believe, however, that Christ gave the one supreme requirement for fishing men successfully, when He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
There is more than a human preparation for soul-winning. There is a supreme Divine preparation. The Lord said, "I will make you fishers." Those whom He makes fishers, are those who follow Him; but, even followers of Christ are not, naturally, successful fishermen. We need to be made fishers, by the Divine anointing of the Holy One. Christ fulfilled this pledge to Peter particularly on the day of Pentecost, when Peter was filled with the Spirit.
II. LAUNCHING OUT INTO THE DEEP (Luke 5:4)
The disciples had not yet wholly ceased their fishing. It came to pass as the people pressed upon Christ to hear the Word of God that He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's and He prayed him to thrust out a little from the land. There Christ sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. After He had finished speaking, He said unto Simon, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught."
There are several lessons before us.
1. We must launch out into the deep of men's needs, and of God's promises if we would catch men. Fish are in the sea, not on the land. Men also are out in the great sea of life. We dare not shut ourselves up in some cloister, if we would catch men. We must go out where the men are.
2. We must launch out into the deep under the Master's command. Simon quickly said to Christ, "Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net."
The soul-winner cannot, under any conditions, separate himself from the Saviour. We may toil in the night in our strength, and catch nothing, and then again, we may toil in the daytime, when fishing is usually unproductive, and catch fish, if we have the Saviour's blessing. Whether this, or that, we must always stand ready to hear the Master's voice, and to do His will.
3. They enclosed a great multitude of fishes. This is what we would all like to do. There is no joy in fishing for men, week in and week out, with no men being caught for God. There is joy when souls are saved, and the results pile up.
When Peter saw what had happened, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord"!
III. PETER AND HIS GREAT CONFESSION (Matthew 16:16)
1. The query of the Lord. Christ asked the disciples, saying, "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?" They said, "Some say that Thou art John the Baptist. Some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the Prophets." This response did not satisfy the Lord. Therefore He asked, "But whom say ye that I am?" Let us remember that we dare not place Christ on a par with any other man. John the Baptist was the greatest man born of woman, and yet he, himself, admitted that he was not worthy to unloose the sandals from the feet of Christ.
2. Peter's response. Brushing aside what some had said concerning Christ, Peter bravely answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." This confession of Peter brought a twofold statement from Christ:
(1) Christ said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona." Then Christ continued, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in Heaven." Peter, therefore, had been Divinely taught.
(2) Christ said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is builded, therefore, upon the great underlying testimony of Peter's confession, which involved the Deity of Christ.
3. Peter's great error. From the time of Peter's confession that Jesus was the "Christ, the Son of the Living God," the Lord began to show unto His disciples how He must suffer, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Peter rebuked the Lord, saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee." The Lord immediately said to Peter, "Get thee behind Me, Satan." He who had made a good confession, utterly failed to recognize that Christ, the Son of God was the destined Saviour of men, by means of His death, burial and resurrection. It is not the Deity of Christ that saves us, but it is the death of the One who was God.
IV. PETER UPON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION (Matthew 17:1-2)
It was soon after Peter's great confession that the Lord took Peter, James and John up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them.
1. Peter held a place of privilege in the Master's ministry. On various occasions he, along with James and John, was chosen to occupy a special nearness with the Lord.
2. Peter profited by his vision of the Lord. The full force of the transfiguration did not immediately dawn upon Peter. It was in after years, when, under the Spirit he was writing his Second Epistle, that Peter explained how the transfiguration of Christ, which he saw in the most excellent glory upon the Holy mount, was the foreshadowing of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Second Coming.
V. SATAN'S DESIRE FOR PETER (Luke 22:31)
We may well understand why Satan should have singled out Simon Peter from among the Twelve, and why he should have particularly desired to have him for his sifting.
1. Satan recognized Peter's ability and power. Satan knew that this stalwart son of grace was a tremendous asset to the work and ministry of the Lord: and that Peter, being impulsive, and rather dogmatic in disposition, might fall an easy prey to his wiles.
The story of Peter's denial, and of Satan's sifting, is told step by step in the fourteenth chapter of Mark. The finality was that, as Peter sat warming himself at the fire on the night of Christ's betrayal, he twice denied his Lord before a maid, and the third time he denied Him with an oath, saying, "I know not this Man of whom ye speak."
2. The Saviour stood by Peter in the hour of Peter's defection. Christ had said to Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." It is most interesting to follow the fruition of the loving prayer and tender care which the Lord exercised toward Peter.
After Peter had thrice denied the Lord, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. That look, so filled with compassion and heartfelt pity, caused Peter to weep over his hasty words.
From the Cross the Lord did not say anything to Peter. However, when the resurrection morn had come, an angel spoke unto Mary, he said, "Go * * tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee." These words must have tremendously stirred the Apostle, who, perhaps, felt that he had been disowned by his Lord.
Afterward, Christ appeared to Peter, and then later on, following the miraculous draft of fishes, He restored unto Peter his work, saying, "Feed My lambs, * * feed My sheep."
VI. PETER AND PENTECOST (Acts 2:14)
1. Peter, Spirit-filled, proclaimed a marvelous message of truth. We haven't time to discover the wonderful Scriptural statements which Peter set forth in his Pentecostal sermon. Suffice it to say that he proclaimed Christ crucified, Christ risen and seated at the Father's right hand, and Christ the King, who under the oath of God, was destined to sit upon David's throne,
2. Peter's fearless declaration. The man who had quailed before a maid, stood before the masters of Israel and charged them with the death of Christ, saying, "Jesus of Nazareth * * ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
Nor did Peter ever retrench his faithful and fearless fidelity to his Lord. Beaten and bruised by the leaders, and commanded to speak no more in Christ's Name, Peter solemnly declared, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." No persecution, no threats, ever caused Peter to hesitate, for, continually with great power, he gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Peter, the fisher of men. Our mind goes back to the day when, by the shores of Galilee, the Lord said unto Peter, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
On the day of Pentecost the people, pricked in their hearts, said unto Peter and to the others, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter told them to repent and be baptized; and with many other words did he testify and exhort. That day there were added about three thousand souls. These gladly received his word, and were baptized. Truly, Peter had become a fisher of men.
VII. THE DEATH BY WHICH PETER GLORIFIED GOD (John 21:18-19)
1. A reminder of Peter's early impetuosity and self-will. In John 21:18-19 we have, in a nutshell, a review of Peter's early days. He had paddled his own canoe. His own will had been his law. He had charted his own journey, and piloted his own ship.
The true believer must come out of this spirit of self, and yield himself wholly to know the will, and to walk in the way of his Lord.
2. A prophecy of Peter's future ministry and death. The Lord was not slow to tell Peter that when he was old, after a fitful experience of strenuous service, and toilsome tasks, that other hands would gird him, and that other shoulders would carry him whither his natural flesh would not choose to go. In all of this Christ was speaking of the death by which Peter should not only die, but by which he should glorify God.
3. A call to Peter's obedience. After Christ had spoken of Peter's death, He said, "Follow Me." Peter did not hesitate at the darksome picture that lay before him, but, seeing John standing by, he said to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Jesus said unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me."
AN ILLUSTRATION
"'The Lord diggeth deep when He meaneth to raise the building high; and when He would give men to know much of Christ, He first bringeth them out of themselves by godly sorrow.' We see many to be but low and mean in point of grace, not rising like towers towards Heaven, but lying low upon the earth: these have never been digged out by a deep sense of sin, nor excavated by profound soul-trouble, and hence it would not be safe to build high with so shallow a foundation. If we could read the secret history of dwarfed Christians we should find that they never had much humbling of heart. They tell us there is as much of a tree under as above ground, and certainly it is so with a believer, his visible life would soon wither were it not for his secret life, and his high enjoyments would fall over to his ruin were they not balanced by his inward humiliations. There must be deep foundations if we are to have high walls; we must be emptied of self, and everything of human strength, or we shall never be filled with the love of God.
"O my heart, be ready to be trenched deep if this be the necessary preparation for being built up aloft. Welcome pain and down-casting if edification is to follow.