Luke 5:1 - 11
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake Gennesaret; 2and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.3And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat.4Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”5Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”6And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;7so they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of their boats, to the point that they were sinking.8But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ”Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”9For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;'10and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said the Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
What we have here is Luke’s account of the first disciples to be called by Jesus and there are some important lessons to be learned from it. But before we get into that it is worth setting the scene and looking at what happened before this incident. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, he shows us that Jesus was baptised by John who had prophesied about Him. That the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him and that Jesus was tempted by the devil. And finally, that Jesus had begun His public ministry. In Luke 4:14 we are told that Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit in His ministry. We see in chapter 4 that Jesus spoke with authority and healed many. He became popular with many people but some rejected Him and tried to kill him. So, by the time we get to this incident on the shore of Lake Gennesaret (Galilee), Jesus was being hard pressed by the crowds who wanted to hear what He had to say and see what He would do.
We then find Jesus preaching to the crowd on the shore of Lake Galilee where Simon and his colleagues had been fishing. Because He was hard pressed by the crowd, Jesus got into Simon’s boat and asked Simon to move his boat a little way from the shore so that He could finish His preaching. Did this happen by chance? Was it a matter of mere chance that Jesus found himself on the shore of Lake Galilee near to Peter and his boat? I think not. Remember, Jesus is incarnate (both man and God at the same time). As God, Jesus knows everything. So, this was no chance encounter. Jesus put himself in this position because He had plans for Simon. Jesus was in control and He took the initiative. It was Jesus who got into Simon’s boat and gave him instructions. All that Simon had to do was go along with what Jesus wanted.
By getting into Simon’s boat and getting him to move away from the shore, Jesus turned Simon into a captive audience. Sitting in the boat with Jesus, Simon had no choice but to listen to Jesus preaching. This was the first part of Jesus’s plan to get Simon’s attention. Simon hears the word of God. Then Jesus makes His next move. He gets Simon to go on a fishing trip. Now He’s really going to get Simon’s attention. He is going to perform a spectacular miracle as a demonstration of His power. First the word of God, then the power of God.
We need to bear in mind that Simon made a living by fishing. He was the expert when it came to fishing. He would have known the waters of Galilee well and he would have known where and how to fish. And here was Jesus telling him how to fish. Jesus wasn’t a fisherman. Simon understood this and that’s why he reminded Jesus that he (the expert) had failed to catch any fish. However, Simon does something remarkable; he agrees to do as Jesus instructed. Imagine yourself in Simon’s position. Would you have been so willing to do what Jesus said? Remember that at that time Simon didn’t know who Jesus was. I don’t know about you but I would have put up a lot more resistance and argued with Jesus. But Simon didn’t. Why is that? I suggest that it was because Simon had heard Jesus preach and, in his spirit, Simon knew that Jesus was no ordinary man; He had true authority.
So, Simon did as Jesus instructed and the miracle happened. He caught a super abundance of fish; possibly the biggest catch he had ever made. Now, Simon knew that he was in the presence of greatness. God had visited him and he was left exposed. How should any of us respond when in the presence of a holy God? Like Simon, is the answer. One of the marks of a true Christian, someone who knows God personally, is to be aware of your unworthiness, your sinfulness. Is that your experience? it should be.
And when Simon told Him to go away, did Jesus do what Simon wanted? Did He carry out his wishes. Certainly not; that is not the nature of God. Jesus knew that a solution to the sin issue was at hand and besides, Jesus wanted Simon. He chose him and then he called him. In verse 10, we see that Jesus starts by reassuring Simon. He tells him not to be afraid. We all need assurance and Jesus gives it to us over and over again. “Do not fear”, He says. Then comes the calling. “From now on you will be catching men”, says Jesus to Simon. Jesus has chosen Simon to be a fisher of men. In other words, his calling is to preach the Gospel. And finally, after Simon has been chosen and called by Jesus, he left everything and followed him.
I said at the beginning of this teaching that there are important lessons to be learned form this event. So, bearing in mind everything I have said so far, I want to explore those lessons.
The first thing that we learn from this event is that Jesus is the one that takes the initiative in our lives. He is the one with a plan for our life. He chooses us and he calls us. Nothing is by chance when it comes to Jesus. He is the only one who truly knows us and he knows what is best for us. As Christians we need to acknowledge this and submit to it. That’s what Simon did. He listened to Jesus and obeyed Him. The alternative is to try to do it our way and that is a recipe for failure. Even though Simon was the expert, his attempt at fishing failed but as soon as he did it Jesus’ way, he succeeded. That’s a lesson we all need to learn.
The second lesson that we learn from this event is that we need both the word of God and the power of God in our lives. We need the truth of the word of God along with the transforming power of God. That’s what Jesus did with Simon. He spoke the word and then He acted in power. And that’s what we need in our lives as Christians and in the life of the Church. All too often we only have one of these in our lives; but we need both for our faith to be authentic.
The third lesson that we learn from this event is to know what our calling in life is. When Jesus chooses us, he calls us into the plan He has for us. He has a plan for each one of us and we need to know what that is in order to fulfil it. And Jesus will not be silent on the matter. He will tell us what He has called us to do if we are willing to listen. As soon as I was born again, I turned to Jesus and asked Him what He wanted me to do and He answered me. And over the years he has reaffirmed it again and again. That is why I am writing this. It should be born in mind that our calling may be for a season and that Jesus can lead us into another calling when that season is over. Do you know what your calling is?
And the final lesson that we learn from this event is found in verse 11. When Jesus calls us, we need to leave everything behind and follow Him. Whatever we want, whatever we desire, whatever we are attached to, we need to leave it behind. That’s what it means to follow Jesus. That’s what it means to be a Christian. Have you done that?