Luke 5:1-11, “Now it happened that while the crowd was
pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the
lake of Gennesaret; 2
and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had
gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And
He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a
little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people
from the boat. 4 When He had finished
speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water
and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon
answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I
will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6
When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and
their nets began to break; 7 so they
signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them.
And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at
Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions
because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10
and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not
fear, from now on you will be catching men.” 11 When
they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
In this event in the life of Jesus, we see many things taking
place. Remember, this is very early on in His ministry. One thing that you find
is an invitation. Have you ever received an invitation to something? Have you
been invited to a party? Was it someone’s birthday party.
I remember when I was a kid in elementary school, someone
would have a birthday party. The person would have little envelopes with names
on them. Inside the envelopes were the invitations to the party. I was so
afraid I wouldn’t get invited. Have you ever experienced that fear?
Also, for my 9th birthday—5th
grade—my mom let me have a party. I was so conscious of leaving someone out
that I had mom invite the whole class. Not all of the class came, but all were
invited. I had a great time.
There were a few times when I wasn’t invited to an event. I remember how that made me feel. I was really hurt. Often, I was the last one chosen when teams were being selected to play some sports. When I became the star athlete in high school, I always chose the least likely players to be on my team. I knew I could win with them, and they didn’t have to feel left out.
When you get an invitation to something, most of the time,
there is a cost involved. Most invitations come with gifts expected whenever
you show up. This is a point to keep in mind as we go further into our story..
Up to now, Jesus hasn’t performed any of His
signs that caused many to follow; however, He still draws a crowd with only the
word of God. Today, He still draws a crowd. Every Sunday millions meet because
of Him and His ministry. The crowd is large enough that people are pressing
against Him. Everyone wants to be near Him. You could liken Him to a modern-day
Elvis. Elvis was so popular that he couldn’t go into public. He nearly lived
free inside a prison. Later Jesus has Peter and the others surrounding Him in
order to keep the crowd from pressing too closely.
Because of the crowd, Jesus needed something to
move him away from them. He saw two boats sitting there on the beach. He got
into the boat belonging to Simon Peter, and Jesus asked Peter to push out a bit
from the shore. After the boat was a little bit from shore, Jesus sat down on
the bow with the crowd standing along the shore and began to speak. The place
now is like an amphitheater where all the crowd, standing or sitting on the
beach, could hear Him teach.
Matthew and Luke do not tell their audiences what
Jesus taught. However, Mark 4 teaches that he taught the parable of the Sower.
However, Mark adds nothing about the huge catch of fish. Could Mark’s account
have been at a different time? It surely looks as if it could be.
Although Jesus taught in the synagogues to the
pompous, rich leaders, here by the sea He teaches to the poor masses of
humanity. He gets into a boat to teach. Could this teaching from a boat be a
preview of the Gospel being shipped to the islands of the Gentiles?
Nonetheless, Jesus teaches to the multitude by the Sea
of Galilee. Although we are not sure what His message was, He taught to the
lowly, the masses, the dregs of society. It would be these people who would be
dependent on the fishermen to supply their food. Since the fishermen had fished
all night and caught nothing, could the huge catch of fish have been Jesus’ way
to do two things: 1. Draw the three disciples to Him, and 2. Supply food to the
poor?
Then too, it was extremely ironic! After He
taught, what happened to the crowd?
1.
Did he send them away?
2.
Did they remain and see the miracle of the catch?
3.
Could they have bought fish from Zebedee and the servants?
4.
The truth is, you don’t know because Matthew and Luke do not say.
Even as it was then, many people today hear the word about Jesus, but few obey Him. God says “. . . Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22b). If you are to follow the Lord Jesus, then, one requirement is that you obey His word.
After Jesus teaches to the people, He tells Simon
Peter, ““Put out
into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4).
Why would Peter even consider obeying Jesus words? It could be because John the
Baptist introduce Andrew and John to Jesus (John 1:36). Andrew then found his
brother, Simon Peter and brought him to meet Jesus (John 1:41). Maybe, Peter had met
Jesus and knew who He was. Also, there was Jesus’ message to the people on
shore. Peter heard the message. He could have heard and believed the words that
Jesus taught that day.
It is rather ironic that a carpenter would tell a seasoned
fisherman where and when to fish. Peter was a businessman. He owned the
company, and he had two of his friends in business with him, John and James,
whose father was Zebedee. Zebedee owned their boat.
Recall if you will that these men had worked hard all night
and had caught nothing. The reason for fishing at night is because of the
netting that was used for fishing at this time. The net was made of linen and
it was white. During the day, the fish could see the net coming and escape.
Once again, another thing ironic about this situation. When Jesus told Peter to
let down his net for a catch, it was daytime. Not the time to catch fish
with a white net.
Then why did Peter obey Jesus? Because Peter says, “. . . but I will do as You say and let down the nets” (V 5b). Just because you say so, I will obey, Peter tells
Jesus. That response should always be yours when the Holy Spirit speaks to you,
“I will do it because you say so.”
Peter and his crew,
weary and worn from working all night, let down the nets and caught such a
great quantity of big fish that he had to
summons James and John to help get the fish in the boats. Even then, the boats
were sinking as they limped back to the shore. The netting was beginning to
tear, too. This was not good because the nets had to be repaired if they broke.
The Romans charged a huge tax on the linen to make and repair the nets.
Peter is overwhelmed by the fact that Jesus had done this
miracle. Yes, Peter saw the catch as miraculous. “. . . he fell down at
Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a
A Huge Catch of Fish
Peter and his crew, weary and worn from working all night, let down the nets and caught such a great quantity of big fish that
he had to summons James and John to help get the fish in the boats. Even then, the boats were sinking as they limped back to the shore. The netting was beginning to tear, too. This was not good because the nets had to be repaired if they broke. The Romans charged a huge tax on the linen to make and repair the nets.
Peter is overwhelmed by the fact that Jesus had done this miracle. Yes, Peter saw the catch as miraculous. He “. . . he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon” (Vs 8b-10a),
Simon was blown away! He couldn’t contain
himself. He was slain in the Spirit and bowed down to the divine nature of
Jesus. Peter realized that he was in the presence of a Holy God. He recognized
his sinfulness and out of respect for Jesus’ Godliness asked Him to leave.
However, Jesus did for Peter the very same thing that He does for anyone who comes to Him or calls to Him, He told Peter to get up because He would make Peter, James and John catch people rather than fish. Jesus sees the value in each of us, and although we cannot meet the standards of a sinless Christ, we are made whole and perfect by the relationship Jesus has for us.
The Cost of Following
Jesus calls these three fishermen to be a part of
something that they didn’t understand, couldn’t see the total value of it, nor
did they have any idea where it would lead them. However, because He asked
them, the three believed that Jesus and His ministry had value.
You might ask, “How do you know this?”
Because the three men left everything to follow
Jesus. Salvation is free but following Jesus costs. There is a price you pay
for following Jesus.
Look at the things these three men left behind to
follow Jesus:
A great deal of
money from the catch.
A thriving
business.
Their father.
Their families.
The communities
dependence on them to provide food.
The only life they
had ever known
Of course, we could continue the list, but you get the point. Following Jesus will cost something. He has to be priority number one if you follow Him. You can have other priorities in your life, but you won’t be totally committed to following Jesus.
Rest
He says in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
If you truly follow
Jesus, you will be yoked to Him. Therefore, you will go where He goes, do what
He does and stay where He stays. There is no longer “I” but “we.” Allowing the
Holy Spirit to direct your life, your decisions, is what Jesus means by rest.
You don’t get to sit in the shade and drink lemonade. You will be working in
ministry as the Holy Spirit gives His directives. That is rest. B. C.
Ministries, Inc. has a study on rest. It is free. Email them and request your
copy to bcministries1@gmail.com).
Who Does Jesus Use
From this historical event you learn that Jesus’
message was presented to the marginalized, the broken and sinners. These are the
ones Jesus sought in His ministry. He allows Simon to become a minister of
grace and forgiveness. Jesus uses imperfect people to minister to imperfect
people. He gives these men and women the opportunity to bring good news to
imperfect people. He looks for those whose only quality is a willingness to be
used by God.
Jesus extended to these lowly fishermen an
invitation to a great opportunity. He allowed them to accept now or later regret
that they didn’t accept His invitation. He offers you the same invitation!
Jesus asks you to give everything over to God in order to become His minister.
Then, your proper response to Jesus’ invitation is to obey and follow.
Jesus Demands Your All
Obedience and following is expensive. He wants
everything from you. You can’t hold back anything to follow Him. Everything
must be sacrificed. It was God who provided it for you anyway.
You must be willing to submit all to Him. You
can’t follow Jesus from the front! You are no longer in control. You simply
obey without regard to anything. What He asks may seem preposterous, but do it
anyway.
If you think you have faith before, you will
follow Him only by faith. Your faith will be the real thing that God leads,
guides and rewards you. So, in reality, you are not giving up anything. You are
gaining the good, abundant life. You must understand the decision to follow
becomes your life. The decision will cost, but it will also bring great
rewards.
Finally, your decision to follow means action on your part. Jesus doesn’t expect you to watch people fish. You must go fishing! Sitting in the pews at church isn’t fishing. Yes, church is a place where you can use your gifts, but how many lost souls can you catch in church?
Fishing requires you to go. Then, as you are
going, be preaching by using words or by your actions and lifestyle. Then, you
can show others how to be baptized in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
That is fishing, my friends. Keep your fishing equipment and bait ready at all times!
