There is a principle that applies to every good and profitable work: One does not just up and start – one pauses, considers what is to be done, plans accordingly and only then starts.
The gardener does not immediately grab a shovel and start digging – they must first ensure they are dressed for the job, then they look at the land. They must be ready to dig and determine where to start digging, so that their work will not be in vain. Likewise the architect does not draw up plans for a building without first consulting the bylaws, and then considering the land the building will sit on. The surgeon does not just start cutting, but checks to see that all the tools are in order, reads the scans and ensures the life support team is ready. This is a universal principle of starting well. Prepare yourself, and then observe, and only then act. This same principle applies to every good work.
We are at Matthew 4:18. Jesus has prepared His own soul. He has dealt with the tempter’s work, and has now gone to the seashore. He does not start ministry immediately, but wisely pauses and observes. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.”
Jesus looks. He sees – likely among all the others working there – two brothers. He knows them, because He has had conversations with them before (see John 1:35-42). In fact, He had been with them at a wedding in the past and blessed them in a dramatic way (John 2:1-11). Perhaps it was at that wedding that the disciples put their faith in Him, but they had not yet been called.
He watches as they go about their jobs. They cast a net into the lake. The text adds, “for they were fishermen”. That information seems redundant, but that is just a signal that something else is happening here.
One imagines that Jesus was contemplating how and when to call them into service. After all, Jesus would later testify, “I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” So it is entirely possible that He was watching them while praying – asking the Father to tell Him when and how to call them. It is entirely possible that seeing that net rise in the sky and fall into the lake, Jesus heard the Father tell Him exactly what to say. For it is only then that Jesus speaks. ““Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.””
Jesus’ soul and mind are prepared – He is done dealing with the tempter. He has been most prayerful. He has engaged the hearts of the people by means of prior relationship. He has waited on God’s signal. Subsequently, the work of reaping is immediately profitable, “At once they left their nets and followed him.”
Sometimes we rush to the work of evangelism entirely out of zeal. But a fruitful harvest never follows a forgetful work. The real work of evangelism is almost entirely unseen. Spiritual preparedness, prayer and observation all take time, and they all go without public announcement.
But that ‘behind the scenes’ work is never unfruitful.
What is the problem? Rather than following Jesus’ four-step approach, we reverse the order and begin with the last step, witnessing, and skip the blessing, the fellowship and the caring that are to precede the good news. In most cases, this approach to witnessing does not work.
Ed Silvoso
APPLICATION: Intentionality
Are you ready to engage the work of harvest? How have you prepared yourself? Have you spoken to the Father about who you are called to reach? How have you blessed them? How is your relationship with them developing?