Becoming a Fisher of Men

 Becoming a Fisher of Men

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matthew 4:19)
By Pastor Park Ok-su, Good News Gangnam Church

“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 said, ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18–20)

While walking along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Though Peter and Andrew had many things to do in this world, they obeyed Jesus’ words, left their boats and nets behind, and followed Him. From that moment, they became fishers of men.

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How Could Someone Like Me…

I went to church from a young age. After the Korean War, during the difficult and impoverished times, I devoted myself fully to a small church in Seonsan. The church I attended would hold one or two revival meetings a year. Esteemed pastors from Gimcheon or Daegu would come and preach the Word for a week. I admired those pastors deeply and thought they were truly great. I also wanted to become a pastor, but then I would think, “How could someone like me ever become such a wonderful pastor?” I was convinced that it would be impossible for me to become one.

As a teenager, I had the opportunity to leave the mountains of Seonsan and study at a technical school in Seoul. Like Jesus, I learned carpentry. I lived in a rented room in Bugwang-dong with some older classmates who were also studying woodworking. Our school was in Samgakji, so we walked back and forth every day. But life was far from easy. My family had to send me living expenses each month, yet we were too poor for that. I constantly worried about money.

One day, while walking through Chungmuro 5-ga, I saw a sign hiring newspaper delivery boys. “That’s it! If I deliver newspapers, my family won’t have to send me money.” I went into the office and started delivering newspapers the next day. I was so happy. I was in charge of the Jangchung-dong area and worked diligently every morning. But a month later, when I went to collect subscription payments, I was deeply disappointed. Although I delivered 200 copies, only 150 were actual subscribers. The remaining 50 were distributed by the company to potential customers in hopes of gaining new subscriptions. Those households told me to take the leftover papers away.

When I explained the situation to the office, they said, “Just try to persuade them to subscribe and pay.” But even if I collected all 150 payments, I barely had anything left for myself. In the end, I gave up the newspaper job and returned home to my hometown.

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Why Didn’t I Know That the Bible Contains the Way of Forgiveness of Sins?

At home, where poverty weighed heavily, I had nothing to do. Still, I went to church faithfully. At that time, most churches in Korea taught people that they were sinners. I attended early morning prayer meetings almost every day. After everyone left, I would stay alone in the chapel and pray for forgiveness for my sins. Yet no matter how much I prayed, I remained a sinner, unable to free myself from sin.

Days passed in this way. I kept reading the Bible. One day, as I was reading Leviticus, my eyes stopped at chapter 4. I was astonished to see that it contained words about the forgiveness of sins. Leviticus 4 clearly records the way for one’s sins to be forgiven — not by tearful pleading for pardon. Because I had not known this, I had been praying in tears for forgiveness all along.

Leviticus 4 is divided into four parts: when the priest sins, when the whole congregation sins, when a ruler sins, and when an ordinary person sins — it explains how each can receive forgiveness. What amazed me most was that the Bible carefully records even the way for forgiveness for someone like me — an ordinary person who was neither a priest nor a ruler.

Before this, I had been praying earnestly for my sins to be forgiven, never knowing whether they were truly washed away. But in Leviticus 4, the way of forgiveness was clearly written. I was overjoyed. “The Bible clearly says that offering a sin offering brings forgiveness — why didn’t I know this before?” Sadly, though the Bible records the way of forgiveness, many people in churches today still do not know this way, and therefore, their sins are not forgiven.

From that moment, I began walking a completely different path. After finding the way of forgiveness in the Bible, all my sins were forgiven.

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Jesus Called Me to Preach the Gospel

Jesus saved me from the suffering of sin and called me to be a preacher of the gospel — to lead others, who are also suffering in sin as I once was, to the path of salvation. Such a life is truly blessed and glorious.

成为得人的渔夫

 

“耶稣对他们说：‘来跟从我！我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。’”（太4：19）

作者：朴玉洙（好消息江南教会 牧师）

 

“耶稣在加利利海边行走，看见弟兄二人，就是那称呼彼得的西门和他兄弟安得烈，在海里撒网。他们本是打鱼的。耶稣对他们说：‘来跟从我！我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。’他们就立刻舍了网，跟从了他。”（太4：18~20）

耶稣在加利利海边行走，对彼得和安得烈说：“来跟从我！我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。”彼得和安得烈，虽然在世上有很多事情要做，但他们按照耶稣的话，扔掉了船和网，跟从了耶稣，成了得人的渔夫。

 

像我这样的人怎么……

我从小就去了教会。在朝鲜战争结束后，生活贫困的那段时期，我全身心投入到了善山的小教会里。我去的那个教会，一年有一两期复兴会。从金川或大邱来的尊贵的牧师会传讲一周的话语。我觉得那些牧师都特别伟大。我也想成为牧师，可是又觉得：“像我这样的人，怎么能成为这样优秀的牧师呢？”我觉得，我绝对不可能成为牧师。

少年时期，我有机会离开善山山，到首尔的技术学校去学习。我像耶稣一样，学了木工。我和跟我一起在学校学习木工、年龄比我大很多的人，一起在普光洞租了一间房。学校在三角地，所以我们来回步行去学校。但这样的生活也并非一帆风顺。家里每个月都得给我寄生活费来，可是我家贫穷，没办法给我寄钱。我经常为这事发愁。

一天，走到忠武路5街时，我看到了招送报工的广告。“对啊，我去送报，家里就不用给我寄钱了。”我走进办公室，从第二天开始送报。我真是太高兴了。我负责送长中洞地区，每天早上都卖力地送着报纸。但一个月后，我去收报纸钱时，却感到失望了。我派发了两百份报纸，实际订购的人只有150人。剩下的50份，是公司为了扩大订阅者，单方面派送的。这样的人家都要我把积压的报纸拿走。我跟办公室人说明了情况，他们说：“你去劝这些人看报纸，把钱收回来吧。”就算把150份报钱都收回来，我也几乎剩不下一点钱。最终，我放弃了送报工作，只能回了故乡。

 

《圣经》里有罪得赦免的道路，为什么不知道呢？

在贫困的家里，我无事可作。虽然如此，我还是热心地去着教会。当时，韩国大部分教会都教导人们说是罪人。我几乎每天都参加凌晨祷告会，等凌晨祷告会结束，人们都走后，我独自留在礼拜堂里，为犯过的罪做赦罪祷告。可是，不管我怎么祷告，我还是罪人，无法从罪中脱离出来。

日子就这样一天天过去。我不断读着《圣经》。一次读《利未记》时，我的目光落在了第四章上。我看到这里记载着罪得赦免的话语，吃了一惊。《利未记》4章里记录着明确的罪得赦免的道路，并不是让人们恳切地祈求赦免罪。因为不知道这条路，所以我一直哭着祷告祈求赦罪了。

《利未记》4章由四部分内容组成。记录着，祭司犯罪时、全会众犯罪时、官长犯罪时，以及平民犯罪时，如何罪得赦免。惊人的是，《圣经》里也仔细地记录着，即不是祭司、也不是官长的我这个平民罪得赦免的道路。

在这之前，我不断祷告祈求饶恕我的罪，却不知道我的罪有没有洗净。但在《利未记》4章里，明确地记录着罪得赦免的道路，我太高兴了。“《圣经》里写着献上赎罪祭，就能罪得赦免的道路，我为什么一直不知道呢？”尽管《圣经》里记录了罪得赦免的道路，但遗憾的是，有太多去教会的人不知道罪得赦免的道路，所以没能罪得赦免。

我开始走上与之前不同的道路。在《圣经》中找到罪得赦免的道路之后，我所有的罪都得到赦免了。

 

耶稣拯救了陷在罪中痛苦的我，呼召了我，要我成为福音传道者，让我把像我一样陷在罪中痛苦的人们引导到得救的道路上。这样的生活无比的蒙福与荣耀。