Fishers of men

Recently, a clerical friend of mine was officially installed at a parish here in San Diego. It called to mind the invitation of Jesus to His Apostles:

“Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men” – Mark 1:17

I remember being in primary school and, upon hearing the phrase “fishers of men”, had fantastical pictures in my head of St. Peter and Andrew dragging ashore nets full of squirming bodies of fully-grown men. What can I say? I had a vivid imagination as a child.

In Bible study at the moment, we are working our way through Mark’s Gospel and so recently studied the verse quoted above. After doing a little bit of research, I found that Jesus’ turn of phrase wasn’t actually that original, but was quoting from the Prophet Jeremiah. Before we get to the relevant verse, let’s look at the verses which precede it:

Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land which I gave to their fathers. – Jeremiah 16:14-15

Up until this point in time, the God of Israel was primarily known for His saving act in Egypt, when He brought His people out of the bonds of slavery. However, says Jeremiah, there will come a time when the Lord will be known for a saving act which eclipses even the deliverance from Egypt. There will be a new and greater exodus, in which all of Israel will be reclaimed and gathered together from within all the nations. It is from this point that Jeremiah declares:

“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks…” – Jeremiah 16:16

Through His prophet, God promises that He will send many “fishers” and in the Gospel accounts, we find Jesus doing just that, first calling disciples and then sending them out to the nations:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-19