One morning, Jesus was standing by the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret with
people crowding around Him to hear the Word of God when He saw two boats moored
near the shore, from which fishermen had come who were washing their nets. Jesus
got into Simon’s boat and asked him to push out a little way from shore, then He
sat down in the boat and began teaching the crowd.
When He finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Move the boat out into deep
water, let down your net and you will bring in a catch.” Simon replied, “Master,
we’ve worked all night with nothing for our efforts. Nevertheless, I’ll do as
you wish and let down the net.” They did so and the net was so filled with fish
that it began to break. They called for help from their partners in the other
boat. They came and filled both boats so full that they were about to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Turn away from
me, Sovereign. I’m a sinful man.” He and all those who were with him, including
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners, were astonished
at the large haul of fish. But Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now
on you will catch souls.” And when they had brought the boats back to shore,
they left everything to follow Jesus.
(Luke 5:1-11)
There is disagreement among scholars as to the chronology of this incident. There are similar details between this and the ones recorded in Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20. But we need not get so lost in the chronological details or lack thereof that we miss the big picture. Perhaps Jesus invited the disciples to join Him more than once, perhaps not. Luke uses phraseology that can lead one to believe this is a separate incident, so we will proceed on that basis.
Jesus was walking along the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, (Sea of Galilee), and a growing crowd was following Him trying to listen to Him speak, when Jesus looked out and saw a couple of boats that had just come in from their night’s work. Jesus apparently knew something about acoustics and the fact that sound travels well across water, so He went up to Simon Peter, who was busy cleaning his net, climbed into Simon’s boat and asked him to take Him out a little way so that He could address the people. Simon was happy to comply. Scripture doesn’t tell us what it was that Jesus was teaching the people, and it could very well be that what happened next was a part of it.
Now these were professional fishermen, but the night’s work had proved fruitless. No fish were to be found. Jesus’ instruction to go back out for another round of fishing must have sounded pretty unreasonable to them. They were tired and frustrated. But already Simon had come to respect Jesus enough to honor His request. Imagine their surprise when the net filled to the breaking point. It was so full they had to request help from their sister boat, and even then the boats had to struggle to keep from sinking, they were so full.
Luke makes no further mention of the presence of the crowd, so it is also possible that these events took place after the crowd had dispersed when the boats set back out toward deeper waters as Jesus had instructed.
Simon Peter became so overwhelmed at the sight of the large haul of fish that he fell to his knees in obeisance, and called Him kyrios, which means Lord or Sovereign, because Jesus surely must be the One sent by God. Go away from me, Peter says. Leave me alone. I am unworthy to be in Your Presence. I am a sinner.
And right away Jesus demonstrates His attitude towards sinners. “Don’t be afraid,” is Jesus’ response. Was Peter a sinner? Of course he was, as were all of his companions. As are all of us. To be human is to be a sinner. No one among us gets things right all the time. We all make mistakes. Because we all are sinners together, no one has a right to judge another for their particular sins.
This is an area of growth far too many in the Christian community seem to lack. Isn’t it amazing how some people get so caught up in what they perceive to be other people’s sins? Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered people must constantly face the wrath and condemnation of people who call themselves Christian yet seem to forget the teachings and behavior of Jesus towards sinners. We don’t even have to engage in the sin/no sin argument. We know our sexuality is a gift from God–it is not a sin. The point is that EVERY human being must deal with his or her own sins–must engage in his or her own struggle toward perfection. None of us is so spiritually evolved that we have the right to look at what we believe are others’ sins and point a finger at them. We must never forget that when we point a finger at another, there are three more fingers pointing back at us.
What was Jesus’ attitude toward this sinner? When confronted with Peter’s confession, did Jesus get angry? Frustrated? Authoritarian? Did Jesus tell Peter that he’d better repent and change his ways or he was going to hell? No. Instead of being put off, Jesus reached out with kindness and compassion. “Don’t be afraid,” was what Jesus had to tell Peter and the others with him. Don’t worry about it. Everyone struggles to do right, and from time to time we slip. We make mistakes. We do things we ought not, and we leave undone things we ought to do. When that happens, you pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and try to be better. Don’t let your humiliation over your sins keep you from doing what God calls you to do. “From now on you will catch souls,” Jesus told them. Jesus was saying; don’t let your fears about your inadequacies keep you down. You’ve got things to do. You’re going to save souls for God.
So many of us worry so much about what we see are failures of our spirits that often we allow fear to paralyze us. We are so afraid of doing wrong that we fail to do right. Others of us feel so unworthy that when success comes our way we can’t handle it. Perhaps we forget that we didn’t do it alone. Then we confuse humility with self-abasement. We fall apart. The disciples had just had a taste of overwhelming success in that huge catch of fish. They didn’t think they had done it on their own. They didn’t think it was luck. They didn’t think it was coincidence. They realized that what had happened to them came only by the grace of God.
Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid,” and they took Him at His word. And when Jesus said, “from now on you will catch souls,” they brought the boats back to shore, and they left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus didn’t go on a hunt for perfect people to be His closest companions. Jesus didn’t go to the elite. Jesus didn’t go to the ones with power. Jesus didn’t go to the most religious. Jesus went to the ordinary people–the imperfect people–the so-called sinners. And with this motley crew, Jesus changed the world.
Points to Ponder