LUKE 5:1-11
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around Him and listening to the word of God.2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.3 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.
4 When He had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.
Luke 5:1-11 CONSIDER A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Springford Baptist Church: January 29,2023.
Encounter with Jesus changes life completely! This is what we see when these fishermen leave everything and follow Jesus.
Let’s talk about fishing… Simon Peter and the others had worked hard all night and had not caught anything.
That would have been incredibly discouraging.
We all know what it is to work hard and feel like we got nowhere-didn’t get the results we were hoping for.
Still, there is work to be done. These fishermen are there on the shore washing and stretching their nets, preparing for the next time they will go fishing because this is their way of life, this is their livelihood. If they didn’t fish, what would they do? After all, they are fishermen.
They are experienced fishermen who know so well how to fish. Nighttime was the time when they did their best fishing. This was the way it was done.
Jesus comes and gets into Simon Peter’s boat. When Jesus, God’s Son gets on board, we can expect things to be different.
Initially, Jesus is not talking about fishing. We are told here that people were listening to the word of God. It was compelling. Even if people did not recognize or realize at this point that Jesus is God’s Son, there was something about the way He taught and talked about God that drew people to Him. There are so many people in fact that it was getting crowded on the lakeshore. What a good idea Jesus had to get into the boat and to set out a little from shore and to teach from there.
Jesus does have good and creative ideas and He is available to inspire us with them. When we are trying to figure out how to solve a particular problem, are we in the habit of praying and asking Jesus to provide us with an answer?
Often, we may have a tendency to worry and fuss and then as a last resort to pray. Why not make prayer our first resort, our first option?
This is what it means to follow Jesus, to depend on Him, to turn all our concerns over to Him.
Jesus has things to teach each of us and that continues. Our part is to be willing to listen carefully.
This is what it means to follow Jesus, to let Him be our Teacher. We can look to Him expectantly and with an awareness that we do need to learn from Him.
Jesus finishes speaking to the crowd and now has something to say to Simon Peter: “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”(Luke 5:4) Jesus does speak to us as individuals and has personal insights for us if we are willing to listen.
Simon Peter thinks he knows fishing and tells Jesus that they have already done what should have ensured success. They have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.(Luke 5:5a)
Yet Simon Peter is willing to do what Jesus says…
This is what it means to follow Jesus, not just to listen, but to obey, to act on what Jesus urges us to do. It means being willing to, “CONSIDER A DIFFERENT APPROACH.”
Is that your usual practice? There are the general principles for living life that we know Jesus asks of us-like living each day with love and forgiveness. Beyond knowing, haven’t you found that Jesus places in your mind and heart specific people that He wants you to call or to reach out to? Sometimes there are specific things that He wants us to say.
There is a rhythm of following Jesus that requires intentional obedience on our part.
It’s like Peter responding, “But because You say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5b)
This does not really make sense to me. I don’t know if anything will come of this… But because You say so…
A huge catch of fish follows! In fact, so many fish that the boats nearly sink.
God delights in surprising us! God is generous and the results of obeying Him are often much more than we would have expected.
Simple steps of obedience have the potential of leading to a remarkable experience of God’s provision. This is what we see happen when Jesus performs the miracle of feeding over 5000.
Are you puzzled by what happens next between Peter and Jesus?
Simon Peter comes and falls at Jesus’ knees and says, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)
Wouldn’t we expect him to say, “Stay with me always. I can fish so much better with You!
We are told that he and the others with him were astonished at all the fish that they caught.
Peter had experienced the unimaginable grace of God and that drove him to realize his own sinfulness.
Spending time with Jesus will result in us being keenly aware of our sin. The nearer we come to God, the more we will feel our own sinfulness and unworthiness.
But this too is what it means to follow Jesus. When we recognize our sin and weakness, we can recognize the vast love of God. We can be assured that He loves us no matter what.
We all have things to surrender to God, areas of our lives that need renovation.
Jesus says to Peter, “Don’t be afraid…”Jesus knows how we feel. He knows the things that cause us to be afraid or uncertain or confused about what to do next.
Jesus has something new for Peter and his companions to do.
We might be inclined to conclude that success in a particular venture means we should keep on doing that very same thing. Not necessarily so.
The reality here is that Jesus is the one who made the success possible.
Their own efforts had resulted in failure for these experienced fishermen, but Jesus made the difference.
Now He has something else for them to give themselves to-fishing for people!
They will now need to work hard to see people caught by faith in God and brought into relationship with Him.
Yes, they will be fishing for people.
This is what it means to follow Jesus–making people the priority. Peoples’ lives are much more important than financial profit-a big catch of fish, a large paycheck…
And finally we conclude with where we began this message:
Encounter with Jesus changes life completely! This is what we see when these fishermen leave everything and follow Jesus.
This is what it means to follow Jesus –to be willing to leave everything and to trust Him completely.
What can happen as we choose to follow Jesus like this each day? What can we be BECOMING?