If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to Luke chapter 5.
Last Sunday, we heard about Jesus' visit to the town of Capernaum.
And we heard about the response of the people to Jesus when he went there.
We heard about how they were astonished at the power and authority of his words.
Because with his words, he cast demons out of people.
And he healed all kinds of sicknesses and illnesses and diseases.
One of the people that he healed was the mother-in-law of a man named Simon.
And Luke now circles back in this gospel to tell us about Simon and how he became a follower of Jesus.
And so we pick up the story here in Luke chapter 5.
One day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.
He saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore.
Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
So in these first couple verses here, Luke sets the scene for us.
Jesus is standing by the lake of Gennesaret.
That's just another name for the Sea of Galilee.
It has to do with a plain that was named the Plain of Gennesaret in the northwest of the sea there.
Luke's always really careful to refer to this body of water as a lake,
probably because he cares about the size and didn't want to give people the wrong impression.
The lake.
And so Jesus is standing there by the lake, and Luke tells us that the people were crowding around him,
and they were listening to him as he taught the word of God.
So this is a teaching moment.
And Jesus spots these two boats belonging to fishermen,
and he asks Simon, who was one of the fishermen, to take him out in his boat.
Jesus then uses the boat as a platform to teach the people from.
And this is kind of a great idea if you think about it.
Think of all the people that would have been crowding around Jesus,
and many of them are desiring to get real close, perhaps for healing,
or for healing for a loved one.
Others are simply pressing in, trying to hear better.
So you can imagine how Jesus might begin to find himself right up against the water.
And going out in a boat kind of gives Jesus some space,
and it allows everyone to be able to see him better and hear him better.
The water may have kind of acted as a natural amplifier for his voice,
carrying it to the people.
And it's worth mentioning at this point that Jesus and Simon had probably already been acquainted.
According to John's Gospel, Simon's brother, Andrew,
had already spent part of a day with Jesus.
And after spending that time with Jesus, Andrew immediately went to find his brother, Simon.
And he said to Simon,
We have found the Messiah.
And then it says that Andrew brought Simon to Jesus.
So that little account from John's Gospels probably already happened before what we're about to read in Luke's Gospel today.
Perhaps even the day before.
The sense is probably that these things happened very close together.
We don't know the exact order or timing of all this.
Perhaps Simon was still making up his mind about Jesus.
And in the meantime, life must go on.
There was work to be done.
And Simon was a fisherman.
And fishermen did their work at night when the fishing was best.
We don't know for sure, but maybe Simon and his brother, Andrew,
intentionally pulled their boats up on shore here after fishing through the night because Jesus was here.
Maybe they wanted to, you know, see what was going on with Jesus in the crowd
and maybe even listen in a little while they did some of their work.
Whatever the case, I imagine that Simon in this moment was probably
quite surprised when Jesus asked him to use his boat as a teaching platform.
Verse 4.
The teaching is over.
I imagine the crowd still there on the shore.
And Jesus basically says to Peter,
let's go fishing.
But notice a few details about how Jesus says this.
I think it will help us get the right picture of what happened.
First of all, we notice where what we're about to read will take place.
Put out into deep water.
So this isn't right at the beach, but this is further out.
They're going out on a little fishing excursion.
Next, we know how Jesus says it.
He doesn't ask the question, can we go fishing?
It's kind of the language of command.
It's an imperative.
Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.
Usually Simon makes the decisions about what to do with his boat and where to go
and when to fish and when not to.
I don't think Jesus was being rude or impolite, of course.
But he was telling Simon what to do in his own boat.
One of the neat things about the original language that this was written in
is that embedded in these imperatives is the number of people that they are addressed to,
whether singular or plural.
And when Jesus says put out into deep water, it's singular,
which means he's saying this to Simon.
But then when he says let down the nets, it's plural.
Simon, which means he's speaking to more than just Simon.
This is our clue that Simon's brother Andrew was likely in the boat with them
and possibly one or two hired hands.
Mark in his gospel actually mentions the hired men of Zebedee in the other fishing boats.
So it's probably not just Simon and Jesus in this boat.
Likely Andrew and maybe one or two hired men were with them.
And lastly, I love the way that Jesus describes what's about to happen.
He could have said, let's go fishing.
But he doesn't.
He doesn't even say, let's try and catch some fish.
He says, let down the nets unto a catch or for a catch.
Maybe it's just me, but I imagine almost a twinkle in Jesus' eye as he said that.
There's almost a note of certainty in the way that he says it.
There's going to be a catch.
That's going to be the outcome here.
Well, Peter, Simon Peter answered,
Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.
So Simon meets Jesus' imperative with reluctance.
There's just not a lot of enthusiasm coming from him in this moment.
He's respectful.
He calls Jesus master.
But he also tells Jesus that he's feeling worn out.
Already been out, working hard, fishing the whole night.
But didn't catch a thing.
And of course, every good fisherman knows that the best time to fish is at night.
In the evening and at night.
And the slow time for fishing is in the middle of the day.
Jesus wants to get a catch in the middle of the day.
And so you can imagine what Peter's thinking.
Like, we're not going to catch anything.
But, because you say so, I will let down the nets.
I always imagine a long pause between these two statements.
We've worked hard.
We haven't caught anything.
And I imagine Peter just kind of letting that sit for a bit
and seeing if Jesus is going to, you know, give in and say,
Well, okay, don't worry about it.
We'll go fishing another time.
We don't have to go today.
But then I imagine Jesus just sort of looking at Peter and waiting.
And waiting.
And Peter realizing that Jesus is set on doing this.
He means business.
And finally, Peter just kind of gives in.
But because you say so, I will let down the nets.
So they let down the nets.
And they probably continue to roll around a bit.
Verse 6.
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish
that their nets began to break.
Imagine this from Peter's perspective.
All of a sudden, the nets begin to pull on the side of the boat.
The rope of which the nets are made is fraying, snapping, busting,
because there's such a large number of fish in the nets.
Just how many fish were in the nets?
Well, Luke tells us that Peter, who's a fisherman by trade,
signaled to his partners in the other boat to come and help them.
In other words, they realized very quickly that this haul of fish
was too much for just three or four guys to handle.
That's a lot of fish.
And they came, the guys in the other boat,
and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
I spent a lot of time thinking about this this week.
How many fish were in the nets?
There were so many fish in the nets that it filled both boats so full
that they both began to sink.
So we're not talking about just, you know,
the little smattering of fish over the floor of the boats.
We're talking about both boats filled with fish.
And I couldn't help but wonder,
approximately how many would that be?
Well, we happen to have the remains of a Galilean fishing boat
somewhat intact today in a museum somewhere over in Israel.
There's a whole story behind this boat.
They found it in a season of drought
when the water went way down and it was buried in mud.
And, of course, they had to go to great lengths
to get this thing out intact.
All kinds of preservation stuff.
There's a picture of it on the screen there.
Dates to the first century A.D.
Discovered in 1986 on the northwest shore
of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.
It's about 27 feet long,
or 8.2 meters long,
7.5 feet wide.
And it had a,
probably if it was fully restored to its actual height,
it would have been about 4.5 feet tall.
So you can't see the whole thing.
It's because some of it's missing.
But at that size,
they suggest it could have easily carried up to 15 men.
And for fun this week,
I just did a little digging to find out,
you know,
what's the common market fish
coming out of the Sea of Galilee?
Or what has it been historically?
This is already on the conservation list,
but it's tilapia.
And these guys weigh on average about 2.2 pounds
and are about 12 to 20 inches in length.
So just for fun,
I fed the dimensions of the boat
into an online calculation tool
to see what the max weight capacity would be
before sinking,
and then included the weight of the three or four guys,
some fishing gear,
the nets,
the oars,
sails,
rigging ropes,
all that stuff.
You know,
and you could select
so that it would give you
the displacement calculations
for a real world scenario,
which means that this thing likely would have sunk
not just from the sheer weight,
but because of tipping in the water
for the balance of having all this stuff in there.
And, you know,
probably there were some little bit of waves.
We don't know that it was a perfectly calm day.
Anyways,
I fed all this into the calculator
and the calculation tool,
and even after reading that number,
I thought,
no way.
That must be way too high.
I think I'll just take a few thousand out
just to be safe,
just to be on the safe side.
It may have amounted
to two to three thousand of these fish
per boat
for a total of about four to six thousand fish
between the two of them,
which is like something
in the ballpark of eight
to thirteen thousand pounds
of fish.
No wonder
Peter had the reaction
that he did.
Verse eight.
When Simon Peter saw this,
he fell at Jesus' knees
and said,
Go away from me, Lord.
I am a sinful man.
For he and all his companions
were astonished
at the catch of fish
they had taken.
Peter,
the fisherman,
was astonished.
He immediately recognizes
that this is so far beyond luck
and the natural way of things.
He falls down before Jesus
and tells Jesus to go away
because he realizes
all of a sudden
he's a sinful man.
So Peter knows
that this is a supernatural act of God
in this moment.
this catch just put
all the wildest fishing stories
that Peter has ever heard
combined
to shame.
He knew that this was unnatural.
The sheer amount of fish,
the time of day,
and perhaps even the amount of time
it took
from putting the nets down
to hauling it in.
And so Simon's conclusion,
this can only be explained
by divine power.
And it's as if Peter knew
that what just happened
under the boat
was directly connected
to Jesus,
the man in the boat
with him.
Somehow,
amazingly,
Jesus,
you did this.
You made this happen.
Or God made this happen
for you
or through you.
and it's as if Simon
suddenly feels naked
and exposed.
He feels guilty
and conscious
of his own sins.
Now,
we don't know much
about Simon's life
before all this,
but if Simon says
he's a sinner,
then probably all kinds
of wrong things
that he had done
or had been doing
were coming to his mind.
And he's thinking,
I'm not worthy
to be near you,
Jesus.
You are a holy man.
You shouldn't be
in the boat
with me.
And it wasn't just Peter
who had this
strong reaction.
all of his companions,
it says,
were astonished.
Which probably refers
to Andrew
and at least one
or two hired men
with him.
All of them
were flabbergasted.
They could scarcely
believe what they
had just experienced.
They were all astonished
and on top of them,
so were James and John,
the sons of Zebedee,
Simon's partners.
We know from
the other gospels
that those are
the two brothers
in the other
fishing boat.
And they had hired
men with them.
Every single one
of them was utterly
floored by this.
None of them
had the reaction
of,
hmm,
that's a pretty
decent catch.
I've done better
a few times.
No,
they were shocked
because they'd never
seen a catch
like this.
It was beyond
anything
anyone had ever
heard of
or seen
because it was
a miracle of God.
then Jesus
said to Simon,
hold on a sec,
we'll just
back this up.
Simon says,
go away from me,
Lord,
I'm a sinful man.
man.
And then Jesus
said to Simon,
don't be afraid.
From now on,
you will fish
for people.
So they pulled
their boats up
on shore,
left everything,
and followed
Jesus.
Jesus' response
to Simon
here
lets us
know exactly
what Simon
was feeling
in this moment.
Not just
exposed,
not just
guilty,
but afraid.
Don't be
afraid.
The fear
of God
came over
Peter
in this
moment.
God did
this.
And here,
I've been
living a
sinful life
contrary to
what he
has commanded.
Simon would
have known
what the
scripture said
about how
God is just,
about how
he punishes
sin.
And so
you can
almost
imagine
Peter
wondering
what Jesus
will say
next in
this moment.
Is he
going to
say,
you're
right,
Simon,
you are
a sinner.
You've
been blowing
it big
time.
You need
to stop
this now.
You better
straighten out
immediately or
God's going
to wipe
you out.
And what
does Jesus
say?
Don't be
afraid.
fear not.
From now
on,
you will be
catching men.
Jesus
doesn't
condemn
Peter.
He doesn't
send Peter
away for
being a
sinner.
There's
just mercy
implied in
Jesus'
words here.
Fear not.
From now
on, you
will be
catching
men.
I've got
work for
you to
do,
Peter.
And again,
we notice
the language,
I think,
it's not
quite right
in this
translation
on screen,
but catching,
not fishing,
catching.
You're going
to be
catching people
now.
Your days
as a
fisherman
are over,
Peter.
I want
you to
come
follow me.
Jesus
is on a
mission from
God to
gather a
people for
God who
will be the
citizens of
this kingdom
that Jesus
has been
proclaiming.
and you're
going to
work for
me now,
Peter,
and help
with
gathering
them in.
I have
chosen
you.
And this
great miracle,
this awesome
sign,
just seals
the deal
that day
for Simon.
Not only for
him, but for
Andrew, for
James, for
John as
well.
They pull
their boats
up on shore
and they
walk away
from them.
they walk
away from
their careers
to follow
Jesus full
time from
then on.
Matthew, Mark,
and Luke all
emphasize the
gravity of
this moment.
It's like there
was no hesitation
after they
witnessed this.
No hemming and
hawing, no
deciding whether
Jesus really was
the Messiah.
Jesus called
them, he
said, come,
follow me.
And they
immediately,
without delay,
got out of
the boats,
left everything,
and followed
Jesus.
Mark tells
us that James
and John left
their father's
ebony in the
boat with the
hired men.
Dad, we
gotta go.
He's called
us to come
to follow him.
Should be
enough fish
there to feed
everybody for a
long time.
And they
began to
travel with
Jesus from
place to
place and
town to
town, witnessing
everything that
he did.
All his
preaching, his
teaching, the
miracles.
Well, what are
we meant to
take from
this story?
For some of
you, it
might be really
familiar to
others.
Maybe you've
never even
heard this
before.
How should
we react to
this?
How should
we respond?
Many things
came to my
mind this
week as I
was meditating
on this.
First, I
think we
should be
in awe at
the power
of God.
I like to
imagine myself
out there in
the boat with
Jesus.
And even
imagine that I
was a highly
skilled fisherman.
And yet for
all my skill and
fishing prowess,
what power do I
really have over
the fish?
I could hunt
them, I could
know their
spots, I could
present the most
irresistible
bait.
But this is
so many more
times fish,
so many more
fish than I've
ever caught in
my entire life.
Like how could
this even
happen?
Neither Luke
nor the
fishermen even
had a clue
about how this
miracle happened.
Did Jesus'
presence attract
all of the fish
in the area to
the bottom of
the boat?
Did Jesus
summon the
fish with a
silent thought?
Did God
simply command
the fish to
swim into the
net and they
came from all
over the area
and just swam
right into the
net?
We don't even
know how this
happened.
But it
demonstrates God's
rule and power
over the natural
world.
Even the fish in
the lake obey
him.
Second, it's no
coincidence that
the miracle God
does to convince
the fishermen
is a miraculous
catch of fish.
God personally
tailors this
miracle to
them and to
what they know
best.
This might not
have had quite
the same effect
on a boatload
of carpenters.
They might have
wondered, wow,
what a catch.
Is that typical
for an afternoon
out on the
water?
What's one of
those fish worth
anyway?
it would have
been less
meaningful,
less personal
to someone who
wasn't a
fisherman.
And that
quality of the
miracle cuts
both ways.
It would have
been even
harder to fool
a fisherman
had this been a
deception of some
sort.
And so the
personal nature
of this miracle
authenticates it
and it reflects
the intimate
knowledge and
choosing of
these men in
particular.
similar.
Notice even
how the call
that Jesus
gives them
comes in the
terms of
fishing.
I will make
you fishers
of men.
So our
first reaction
to this I
think really
should be
awe at the
power of God
on display
here and
at the
personal
nature of
this display.
Look at
what God
did.
Look at
what Jesus
did.
If God
can do
this,
if Jesus
can do
this,
what else
can he
do?
Next,
I'm
captured by
the responses
of Simon
to Jesus
in this
account.
There are
three key
responses of
Simon to
Jesus in
this story
and surprisingly
all three of
these responses
are spoken of
throughout the
scriptures
as the
responses that
we should all
have to
God
and
especially
to his
son
Jesus.
The first
response we
should all
have to
Jesus
is to
trust him
and
specifically
to believe
his word,
to trust
his word.
That's where
it all
started.
Jesus said
to Simon,
put out
into the
deep water
and let
down the
nets
for a
catch.
Can you
imagine if
Peter had
simply refused?
Would he
have seen
the power
of God
like this
that day?
Jesus
gave Peter
this simple
opportunity
to trust.
Just let
down the
nets
for a
catch.
And what
was his
response?
I don't
feel like
it right
now.
It goes
against my
better judgment
as a
fisherman.
But upon
your word
I will
let down
the nets
because you
say so.
I will
do it.
This is the
first response
that all
of us
should have
towards God.
Towards
Jesus.
Simple
faith
in the
words
and
promises
of God.
This is
where it
all started
with Abraham
thousands
of years
before this.
Abraham
believed
God.
It says
faith is
where it
must start.
We must
put our
trust in
God
and
especially
in his
son
Jesus
whom he
has
sent.
You're
probably
familiar
with these
words.
Jesus
said
them.
John
316
For
God so
loved the
world
that he
gave his
one and
only son
that whoever
believes
in him
shall not
perish
but have
eternal
life.
do you
believe
in
Jesus?
Do you
trust
Jesus?
Do you
take
seriously
to heart
the words
of Jesus?
Next
our response
to Jesus
must
also look
like Peter's
response
after the
miracle took
place.
What does
Peter do?
he falls
before Jesus
knees
and says
I'm a
sinful
man.
I'm
unworthy
to be in
your presence.
as God
reveals himself
to us
and as we
begin to
take God
at his
word
just like
Peter
we will
feel
exposed.
We will
feel the
weight
of our
own
sins
our
own
guilt.
That fear
of God
will enter
our hearts
as we
read
in his
word
about what
we deserve
from him
because of
our sins.
A sense
of our
unworthiness
to be in
close
relationship
with him
will overtake
us.
And as
this happens
God has
made it
clear
by his
words
that it
is good
and it
is right
for us
to confess
our sins
to him.
This is
what God
calls
repentance.
This
in a
sense
is
a little
view
of
Peter's
repentance.
Jesus
will take
up this
very
word
repent
and
believe
the
good
news.
Have
you had
your
Simon
Peter
moment
with
God?
Your
moment
of
realizing
your
unworthiness
your
sins
your
guilt?
love
Have you
humbled
yourself
before
Jesus
and
acknowledge
and
confess
those
things
to
him?
only
then
are we
ready
to hear
the
gracious
response
of
Jesus
to
us
do
not
be
afraid
Jesus
doesn't
say
anything
here
about
what
he's
going
to
do
later
to
remedy
the
sinfulness
of
Peter
or
us
but
eventually
it
comes
out
that
Jesus
offers
full
and
free
forgiveness
of
all
of
our
sins
through
his
own
atoning
death
on
the
cross
for
us
finally
after
believing
and
repenting
our
response
should
be
the
same
as
Peter's
when
he
got
back
to
shore
Jesus
gives
the
call
to
all
to
follow
him
to
be
a
disciple
of
his
to
do
work
with
him
in
the
service
of
God's
kingdom
come
follow
me
said
Jesus
and
this
call
hits
us
all
differently
for
Peter
and
Andrew
and
James
and
John
follow
me
was
to
be
taken
quite
literally
it
meant
come
with
me
right
now
let's
go
it
was
a
very
tangible
!
physical
following
of
Jesus
for
these
men
that
day
and
we
might
be
tempted
to
think
that
because
of
that
maybe
somehow
it
was
easier
for
them
to
follow
Jesus
but
I
would
suggest
maybe
not
for
them
it
meant
actually
physically
walking
away
from
their
jobs
their
careers
from
the
greatest
catch
of
fish
that
they'd
ever
seen
it
meant
leaving
their
possessions
behind
even
their
families
and
it
meant
walking
with
Jesus
into
the
company
of
hostile
people
on
many
occasions
often
not
even
knowing
where
their
next
meal
would
come
from
living
with
Jesus
day
to
day
in
complete
dependence
on
God
but
for
all
who
would
answer
Jesus
call
to
follow
later
and
become
a
disciple
of
his
for
us
following
him
looks
different
Jesus
is
now
in
heaven
the
Bible
tells
us
and
you
know
so
we
don't
walk
around
beside
him
or
behind
him
neither
are
we
always
called
to
leave
our
homes
or
our
careers
or
family
to
follow
him
following
him
today
may
even
look
like
persevering
in
faithfulness
with
our
families
pressing
on
in
the
same
difficult
career
while
being
content
to
live
in
the
same
home
or
to
drive
the
same
car
for
us
today
following
Jesus
however
still
means
taking
him
at
his
word
and
clinging
to
his
promises
but
it
may
lead
each
one
of
us
to
take
different
decisions
and
paths
through
the
circumstances
that
God
places
before
us
God
offers
each
of
us
our
own
unique
way
of
glorifying
him
with
our
lives
Peter
and
his
companions
were
fishermen
and
so
Jesus
called
them
very
specifically
to
join
him
in
catching
people
for
God
and
this
is
our
command
as
well
to
go
and
make
disciples
of
all
nations
and
to
help
with
the
great
gathering
of
God's
people
today
in
our
world
but
just
as
Peter
and
his
companions
were
fishermen
and
Jesus
related
the
work
that
he
had
for
them
to
their
skill
I
would
suggest
that
Jesus
also
has
work
for
every
one
of
us
to
do
in
his
kingdom
that's
related
to
each
of
our
own
skills
and
giftings
what
has
God
made
you
to
be
good
at
what
skills
has
he
given
to
you
to
use
in
his
service
whatever
it may
look like
for us
to follow
Jesus
today
we
shouldn't
miss
the
urgency
and
the
importance
that we
see in
Peter's
response
they
left
everything
and
followed
him
they
recognized
that
following
Jesus
was
the
single
greatest
opportunity
the
highest
priority
when
following
Jesus
came
with
a
cost
they
were
willing
to
sacrifice
and
leave
behind
whatever
was
required
all
of
it
in
order
to
follow
him
is
following
Jesus
the
highest
priority
of
your
life
would
you
trade
everything
for
it
is
that
reflected
in the
decisions
that
you
make
in
the
way
that
you
spend
your
time
in
what
you
do
with
your
finances
and
how
you
relate
to
other
people
whether
family
or
friends
is
following
Jesus
the
highest
priority
in
your
life
what
other
things
are
competing
with
Jesus
for
the
priority
in
your
heart
will
you
leave
them
behind
if
necessary
to
follow
him
I'm
really
amazed
at how
this
encounter
with
Jesus
sets
before
us
the
path
that
we
must
all
take
to
be
close
to
him
and
it's
not
complicated
believe
repent
and
follow
I
want to
encourage you
to reflect
on where
you're at
with
Jesus
today
let's
pray
father
in
heaven
please
speak
to
each
one
of
us
in
these
moments
give
us
a
clear
understanding
of
where
we
stand
with
you
because
nothing
matters
more
give
us
the
strength
and
help
we
need
to
take
you
at
your
word
to
humble
ourselves
before
you
and
to
follow
you
with
all
our
heart
soul
mind
and
strength
and
may
you
be
glorified
in
us
in
Jesus
name
amen