When they are first introduced in the gospel records, Peter, James, and John were partners in a fishing enterprise on the Sea of Galilee. After toiling all night on one occasion and catching nothing, they beached their ships and were cleaning their nets when a great multitude of people approached them along the shore. This crowd was following the remarkable Teacher from nearby Nazareth whose name was Jesus. Because the people were pressing Him, Jesus asked Peter to let Him enter his boat and then cast out a little way into the sea. From this more convenient position Jesus taught the people for some time. Then He told Peter to let down his net into the sea. Now Peter was an experienced fisherman and knew it wasn't likely he would have any luck, but at Jesus' word he did as he was told. To his astonishment the net enclosed such a school of fish that it began to break, and he signaled James and John to bring their boat over to help. Luke then reports that "when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him," (v.11).
This miracle produced a turning point in the lives of the three men. No longer would they be commercial fisherman, for they had been appointed by Jesus to be "catchers of men." When they left their boats and nets, they became followers of Jesus. To be a follower implies there is a leader. Consider the necessary qualifications of a leader who is worthy of the name. First, he must know the way to go. There is no leader like Jesus, for no one knows the way like He does. He proclaimed to the world, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," (Jno. 14:6). Of all the people who have passed through the world, or who are currently passing through it, only Jesus knows the way beyond the portal of death to the realm of eternal bliss about the throne of God. Only Jesus came from that beautiful Place, and He alone knows the way back to it. Is it not remarkable that some men gather followers and lead them off into the future when they themselves do not know where their courses will end? And is it not just as remarkable that multitudes will commit their life journey to mortal men who do not know even what tomorrow will bring, when so much evidence from history proves the folly of such? Jesus once made a poignant comment on men following men: "They are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit," (Mat. 15:14).
The second qualification of a leader is that he command the genuine trust of his followers. To command this trust he must earn it as his followers benefit from the way he leads them. Those who follow Jesus will certainly put their full trust in Him, because the benefits derived daily from the course are innumerable and incomparable. They include: relief from sin and its guilt, personal identity in a cause that is greater than life, peace that passes understanding, hope for eternity, and other blessings beyond count. Those who have experienced Jesus' leadership have built such trust in Him that, when challenged to accept a new leader, at once echo the words of Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the word of eternal life," (Jno. 6:68).
The third qualification of a leader is that he command the attention of those who follow him. Christians give their undivided attention to Jesus because "His word possess[es] authority," (Luk. 4:32). Jesus said that "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me," (Jno. 10:27). Jesus' followers prove their devotion to Him as leader each day as they deny the appeals of worldly companions to think, speak, and act in the fashion of the world. Though these appeals are often very enticing, they control their inclinations and keep on "looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith," (Heb. 12:2).
