The Catch of a Lifetime

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to Luke chapter 5.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

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.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

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.

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

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

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

love

love

love

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