Disciples Make Disciples

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
—Matthew 4:19

Jesus’ invitation to Peter and Andrew contained a calling and a promise:

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

They had spent their lives catching fish. Jesus was now giving them a mission of eternal significance. They would proclaim the gospel, call people to repentance and faith, and help others learn to follow Him.

This brings us to the third part of biblical discipleship:

A disciple goes to make disciples obediently.


Leaving More Than Nets

Peter and Andrew left their nets. James and John left their boat and their father. All four immediately followed Jesus.

What they left behind was significant. Their nets and boats represented livelihood, security, routine, identity, and future plans.

But perhaps the most important thing they left behind was their claim over themselves.

They surrendered their plans to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

The same surrender is required of every disciple. Jesus may not call each of us to leave our occupation, but He does call every one of us to place our occupation, family, possessions, time, ambitions, safety, and future beneath His authority.

We no longer ask only, “What do I want to do with my life?”

We begin asking, “Lord, how do You want to use my life?”


Trained and Sent

Jesus called the disciples to Himself, but He did not intend for them to remain permanently gathered in a private circle.

He taught them, corrected them, modeled ministry before them, and then sent them out.

They proclaimed the kingdom. They ministered to hurting people. They called sinners to repentance. After His resurrection, Jesus gave them the Great Commission:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

That command did not end with the apostles.

The gospel reached us because disciples made disciples, who made disciples, who planted churches, which sent missionaries, who proclaimed Christ to still more people. Across centuries and continents, faithful believers carried the message forward.

Today, that responsibility rests in our hands.

The baton has been passed to the present generation of Christ’s Church.


The Danger of Remaining Silent

Imagine possessing a priceless musical instrument but keeping it hidden in an attic where it is never played. Its craftsmanship may be admired privately, but the world never hears the sound it was created to make.

Christians can live in much the same way.

We have received the greatest news ever proclaimed: Jesus Christ saves sinners. Yet it is possible to treasure that message privately while never allowing those around us to hear it.

When we remain silent, we are not merely missing an optional opportunity. We are failing to obey a direct command.

James 4:17 says, “Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Jesus has plainly commanded us to make disciples. Therefore, evangelism and discipleship cannot be reserved for pastors, missionaries, or unusually outgoing Christians. Every disciple has a role in helping other people know, love, and obey Jesus.

That does not mean every Christian will preach publicly. It may mean inviting a neighbor into your home, reading Scripture with a younger believer, explaining the gospel to a coworker, discipling your children, praying intentionally for someone who is lost, or walking faithfully beside another Christian through a season of struggle.

Disciple-making ordinarily happens through faithful relationships, gospel conversations, biblical instruction, prayer, hospitality, correction, encouragement, and a life that visibly demonstrates the truth being taught.


A Lifesaving Station or a Social Club?

A church can easily become inwardly focused.

It may begin as a lifesaving station, devoted to reaching people who are spiritually drowning. Over time, however, its members may become more concerned with their own comfort, programs, preferences, and social relationships than with the people still lost outside its walls.

Eventually, the lifesaving station becomes a club.

The Christian life was never meant to become a holy huddle in which believers wait comfortably for Christ’s return. God has placed His people in a dark world to shine as lights and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We should pray for awakening and revival. But we must also understand that God ordinarily spreads His gospel through the courageous and obedient witness of His people.

A healthy church produces mature disciples who make mature disciples.

That is the multiplication we should long to see: disciples making disciples, leaders developing leaders, families teaching families, and churches planting churches.

A disciple knows Jesus savingly.

A disciple is growing to look like Jesus visibly.

And a disciple goes to make disciples obediently.

So, who are you presently helping to follow Jesus?

Whose name are you regularly bringing before God in prayer?

With whom could you begin reading the Bible?

Who needs to hear the gospel from someone who genuinely knows and loves them?

Jesus still calls people to follow Him. And He still makes His followers into fishers of men.

May we be found faithfully casting the net.


This article was adapted from the sermon “A Disciple Knows, Grows, and Goes,” based on Matthew 4:18–22, preached by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church on October 1, 2023.