This post continues my reflections from ‘Called to Fish for People’, where I began exploring what it means to follow Jesus’s call to fish for people. If you haven’t read that post yet, you might like to start there before reading this one.
As I continued to read Mark, I was struck by the exponential growth of Jesus’s ministry. In Mark 1:28, we read that news spread about Him all over Galilee. Jesus then continues by publicly healing many (Mark 1:33–34), and a leper (Mark 1:42–44), and also continues to preach and cast out demons (Mark 1:39). The end result of this is that “Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places, yet the people still came to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45 NIV).
The news truly has spread about Jesus, who He is and the miraculous things He can do, and He is being overwhelmed by the crowds of people seeking Him out.
Interestingly, if you read the account of Jesus calling His disciples in the Gospel of Luke, it would appear to foreshadow the vast numerical impact Jesus intended to have. In Luke 5, we hear how Simon has been fishing all night but has yet to catch anything. Upon Jesus’s request, Simon tries one last time and casts his nets into deep water.
“When they had done so, they had caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break” (Luke 5:6, NIV).
This is a metaphorical picture of what it is going to be like to fish with Jesus. Only Jesus’s focus is on fishing for people.
As I highlighted in Mark earlier, Jesus is having an incredible impact on a staggering number of people. Throughout the Gospels, we continue to see large, unmanageable crowds seeking Jesus out for healing, freedom and truth. The image of the nets beginning to break seems fitting as we see the scale of His ministry unfold.
How does this reflect in my own journey with evangelism? Am I only successful when I begin to hit these numerical heights? It can be easy to compare my own impact on those around me and feel it is rather insignificant.
However, when you read the Gospels, so many of the stories are about individual encounters, people who meet Jesus in a very personal and intimate way, where Jesus shows them He wants to meet their need. Jesus performed miracles and healing, yes, but He also made these individuals feel loved and seen.
Jesus’s ministry may have been bursting at the seams, but in the moment of ministering to those seeking Him, He was fully focused on the person in front of Him.
And that’s what I really want to take into my journey of evangelism: the ability to not just tell people about Jesus, but to make people feel seen, known and loved in the process. It’s about serving the person in front of me, not about hitting a numerical target.
But the huge impact Jesus had during His short time on earth still makes me wonder: how can I faithfully make a meaningful impact in the lives of the people around me?
I don’t have all the answers, but I know I need to turn to Jesus and ask for His help. If you feel led to, join me in praying this prayer.
Jesus, Your time on earth was incredible. Your impact was amazing. Please help me to see, know and love the people around me, and help me lead them to encounter You in all Your glory. Thank You for the hope that comes from knowing You. Help me to share that hope with others and lead them to a personal encounter with You. Amen.
