I did not catch this reference until today. It was just one of Jesus' strange metaphors. Upon discovering the reference I was both excited and disappointed. Disappointed because in 26 years no one has ever mentioned this ever in any context. Excited because it makes increases the power of the statement by about 10 fold and make's the disciples following Jesus far more clear. Here is the reference:
Jeremiah 16
14 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' 15but 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
16"Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.17For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.18But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations."
So while I think there is a level of ambiguity as to whether the fishers and hunters are positive or negative, that is to say a rescue or a judgement... Nevertheless I am convinced that this is the passage that Jesus is making reference to and that it was understood in a Messianic, bringing the people out of exile sense. So therefore, "Follow me and I will make you fisher of men..." is a messianic claim and direct invitation to a participatory ending the exile and establishing God's kingdom as foretold in the prophets. Now that sounds a lot more tempting than following weird metaphor guy...
I have done no research on this beyond just looking at the text. Has anyone else researched this? Any tidbits to add? Or reasons why this doesn't work?
Very interesting. I've never heard that before. But I think v16-18 is a contrast to 14-15: "There _will_ be a time that I restore Isreal, but _now_ I'm sending fishers and hunters to punish." Verse 18 seems pretty clear this is a negative thing.
ReplyDeleteCompare
Then the question is, did Jesus mean "fishers of men" with a negative connotation?
*Compare Hab 1:13-17
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure we can separate them so cleanly. Just as perhaps we cannot separate God's mercy and judgement so cleanly... v 15 is about brings people back and then v 16 is about sending people to catch them... Despite the paragraph break which is an interpretive decision they seem to me very connected. Perhaps they can be read as two perspectives on the same event...
ReplyDeleteHow did you make the strong time distinction? There may be something in the Hebrew that suggests this, I haven't looked. I think its ambiguous in the English.
Yeah Habakkuk throws a very negative spin on the image of men as fish and fishing as judgement...
Very interesting. Perhaps not so surprising the disciples were confused when Jesus didn't drop kick Rome's ass? Or perhaps a signal that there is just as much judgement in the ministry of Jesus as love and mercy...