When Matthew (4:18-22) tells us about Jesus’ call to Simon and Andrew, and later to James and John, he includes some interesting details. Simon and Andrew, for example, aren’t casting any sort of net into the sea. They’re using a dragnet—a weighted net that would sink to the bottom of the lake and scoop up whatever it caught. He gives us little details about James and John, too. We hear the name of their father, and we see them mending their nets, taking care of the small but important details.
We hear Jesus call to them, complete with a promise to make something useful out of them. What we don’t hear is the motivation behind their response. What did Simon and Andrew see in him that caused them to quit their jobs and follow him? What did James and John hear that caused them to leave not just their nets, but their father behind?
Matthew isn’t interested in showing us the psychology of conversion, or the internal motivations that drive it. Instead, what stands out in his account is the seeming irrationality of their abrupt response. I think Matthew is doing something clever here. Jesus does not persuade these fisherman with compelling arguments or promises of a reward. His call takes hold of their hearts like a net snatches a fish. Before they can be fishers of men, they must first be caught by their Lord.
It is tempting to use a story like this to build an argument—for predestination, rigorous discipleship, extreme faith, etc. For now, let’s simply marvel at something obvious, but true. It is such a blessing to be caught in Jesus’ net! Romans 6:20 says that all of us are, by nature, bound by sin. We are slaves to it (Rom. 6:16-18). From a spiritual standpoint we are the sick, afflicted, and paralyzed that Jesus healed in 4:23-24. But in Jesus’ net we find not bondage, but healing, freedom, and new life. To be snared in Jesus’ net is to be bound to Christ, and to receive the righteousness and the inheritance that is given to him.
Does this passage answer our deepest questions about the human will, and how it relates to God’s? Probably not. But it does give us a stunning picture of the grace of God, and of the power of Jesus’ call to us. All of us who belong to him have been snatched out of the jaws of death and brought into new life. He is taking hearts of stone and replacing them with hearts of flesh (Ez. 36:26). And if all of this saving work can be hurled on us like a net by the Savior who calls, then his voice is worth listening to now. His promises are worth believing over the world’s false promises. His presence is worth seeking over all the world’s riches.
Justin+