Through the Bible - Joshua 20-22, Luke 6:27-49
Good morning,
For today's verse we'll go to Luke chapter 5. Directly across the page from today's verse we have the account where Jesus healed Peter's mother in law of a high fever. What Jesus was able to do for his mother in law may have had something to do with how Peter reacted to Jesus' suggestion to "move out into the deep" for a catch.
Peter and his partners were experienced fishermen and surely knew better than this carpenter where the fish would be, didn't he? But since this request came from Jesus he obeyed.
Luke 5:5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. NKJV
Read the complete story below. John Piper writes that the point that Jesus is trying to make in this whole story is that "by Jesus' power and authority multitudes of people will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings by followers of Jesus who teach the word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble themselves, and treasure Christ above all."
Jesus chose to teach from a fishing boat. The boat is a place where God's Word is proclaimed, people come to hear the word, and "fish" are caught. He wasn't teaching in the synagogue. What is today's boat?
Notice the four things that John Piper points out.
They were to teach the word, the people were swarming to hear the Word of God, not a show or production (v.1,3). It involves teaching and explaining, talking about God's Kingdom. Have you ever seen a swarm of catfish or even goldfish being fed? God's Word, proclaimed with power and authority will draw people.
It involves obedience (v.5). What would have happened if Peter did not listen to Jesus' promptings to "move out into the deep". Will we be willing to "move out", change settings in where we fish?
The fisherman has to humble himself (v.8). We are not worthy of ourselves of praise for what He accomplishes, rather we should be humbled and amazed at what He has done. The more highly we think of ourselves in ministry, the more likely we'll be heading off on our own.
As a result of what He had done, they treasured Him, as evidenced by the fact that they were ready to drop what they had been doing and follow Him (v.11).
Are you a fisher of men? Are you ready to move out of the shallows of your faith and out into the deep for a catch?
In Christ,
Mike
Luke 5:1-12
The First Disciples
5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish."
5 "Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me—I'm too much of a sinner to be around you." 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. NLT
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