From Now On You Will Catch Men

Before we consider Peter in Luke 5:10, I want us
to travel back to 2 Kings 7 and consider how four
desperate lepers learned a timeless truth that might
help us understand the importance of evangelism. How
good news was never meant to be kept to oneself.

In 2 Kings 7, we see Israel’s dramatic rescue from a
brutal Syrian siege led by King Ben-Hadad. Determined
to dominate the North Kingdom, Ben-Hadad failed to see
that God was in control and was using His prophet Elisha
to expose the enemy’s strategies. Frustrated, Ben-Hadad
surrounded Samaria, creating a famine so horrific that
people resorted to eating their own children (2 Kings 6:28-
29). If anyone was to blame for everything, it was Israel.
The nation had consistently rebelled against God. Later, 2
Kings 17:7-23 summarizes Israel’s history, pointing to their
rejection of God’s covenant, idol worship, and refusal to
heed prophetic warnings as the catalysts for their problems.

Yet 2 Kings 7 begins with a powerful statement of God’s
grace through Elisha: “Hear the word of the Lord.” While
Samaria was dealing with the famine, God was dealing
with the Syrians. Sadly, sometimes the hope of salvation
through God’s Word is ignored. This is where we meet
our four lepers, who stood outside the gates of a starving
city, rejected, with nothing to offer, nowhere to run, and
nothing to lose, so they took their chances with the enemy.
They stumbled upon an abandoned camp with treasure
everywhere. Luckily, these four lepers had conviction
(2 Kings 7:9). They understood that while Samaria was
suffering, they had a moral obligation to speak about the
good news they had found. Their choice brought hope to
the hopeless and life to the dying.

Fast-forward a few hundred years, and we see a similar
scenario, except it’s not four people entrusted with good
news, but eleven. Matthew 28:16-20 records the Great Commission given by Christ to his remaining disciples
before his ascension to heaven. Jesus tells them to “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matt. 28:19).
Evangelism is one of those concepts that Christians consider
important and necessary but don’t understand. What if I
told you evangelism isn’t about saving people? The essence
of evangelism is recognizing that we have received good
news we do not deserve and have a moral responsibility to
share it with those who are dying. Jesus approaches this idea
in Luke 5:10, as he says, “Do not be afraid. From now on
you will catch men.”

Prior to these words, Peter and the disciples had
experienced Christ’s grace and power. They saw the One
who could truly save and were now being commanded to
give to others what had been given to them. When Jesus
called Peter in Luke 5, Peter had just seen a miracle. After
a night of failed fishing, Christ provided an overwhelming
catch. The miracle was meant to show Peter and all
Christians that, when it comes to salvation, it isn’t about us
or how skilled we are, but about our dependence on God.

I believe the reason people are afraid of evangelism is the
pressure to perform. We think about knocking on doors and
become afraid that our efforts won’t work. What we need
to remember about salvation and evangelism is that only
God can save someone. 1 Corinthians 3:6 reminds us, “I
planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” That’s
why Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for
everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek.”

The lepers did not defeat the Syrian army. God did. The
lepers discovered what good God had done and shared it.
Peter did not catch the fish. God did. Peter was commanded
to share that good news with others. Our role in evangelism
is to proclaim the good news of what God has done. We
share the Gospel not merely because we are commanded to
do so, but because we have seen what God’s good news can
do, and others need to see it too. When you know who the
Savior is, what good are we doing if we keep that treasure
to ourselves?

-David Olmos