Luke 5:1-11

One day Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people 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.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deeper water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But….because You say so….I will let down my nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break! So they signaled to their partners to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this,he fell at Jesus’ feet 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, 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 catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore,left everything and followed Him.

The context of this passage is found in the beginning verses…This is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He is gaining popularity with the people as He preached throughout Galilee. As verse 1 tells us, people were crowding Him as they listened to Him. He was pushed to shoreline as He spoke.

The next thing to focus on is the fishermen. They had fished all night and, as verse 2 writes, were cleaning up their nets. That means they were done fishing.

The perspective of this passage is best understood when we place ourselves into the role of the fishermen especially when we are seeking for reasons to be unafraid.

I think I feel like telling the story as Simon Peter~ he is too much fun to resist imitating!

Goodness guys…I am tired. Whatta rough night- we caught nothin’.

You hear that guy over there talking? That’s some good stuff he’s sayin’. Dang it…my nets all tangled. Hey John, stretch that out will ya? Help a brother out!

Heeeeey….that guy’s getting into MY boat! Hey, John…JOHN! That GUY is in MY boat! Do I say somethin’???

Oh wait…he’s talking to me.. What mister? You want me to push my boat out a little from shore so you can keep talking to these folks? Ummm…well, yeah…I can do that. Sure. Yeah. No problem.

(perhaps looks back at John and shrugs)

Man…is this guy ever GOOD. He sure knows what he is talking about! I mean, he like REALLY knows his stuff and he speaks in a way that even I can understand…Not gonna have to talk to John about it later at all- like I got this meaning and stuff!

I kinda like listening to this guy…and I kinda like that I get to be the one in the boat with him too! I feel like this guy knows me or something.. like I could really trust him.

Wait a minute…what did you say Mister? You want me to go farther out into the sea and fish again? Ummmm…aren’t you still talking or something to these folks? And, I…uh…just fished all night and all and …uh…didn’t really catch anything…so..like… we’re done for the day and all. And ..I mean .. you’re a real good teacher and all ..but, I’m kinda the fisherman here and sorta know my stuff here as, you know, the guy who fishes for a living… and it’s not really the right time of day to fish so…

(perhaps looks to John, who is watching from the shore, with a question on his face and another shoulder shrug)

Wait a minute…This guy is just looking at me. Like, he’s not mad or anything… just, like waiting for me to do as he asks. Like he is waiting for me to trust him with this or something.

Geez. If I push out to sea with my nets at the wrong time of day people are going to think I AM CRAZY. But this guy…there is something in the way he is looking at me…waiting for me to just do as he asked… I think I wanna do it .

Um, so…like I said we’ve done it all night.. but ok. Since YOU asked, I’ll do it.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Something is happening here!

Hey John! Something is happening here!! Hey, guy~ what on earth is happening?? All these fish?! Where have they come from? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??

He’s just looking at me again. Man, those eyes say so much without him saying a word! He is smiling at me…but, like not in an “I told you so way”. He is honestly enjoying MY joy! How can someone look at me with so much love and happiness over a few fish?

Wait a minute! This isn’t a FEW fish!! Uhhh…guys! We need some help here! John- hey John! Get your boat!! There is more fish than you can imagine! This guy has done something here!

Cool…John, good. Grab the net and let’s haul these fish in! Oh my gosh!! They’re breaking the nets; there are so many!! Whatta haul!!

(perhaps looks to Jesus who is still smiling while helping with the nets)

The boats are sinking guys! There are too many fish!! We gotta get to shore!! Hurry guys!

I can’t help but keep looking at this guy! Who IS he? He is someone special that is for sure! He is way TOO GOOD for me to hang around! God has BLESSED this guy and I am no good…just no good. I gotta tell him that…It breaks my heart to tell him to go away but I just can’t be with him . .I’m nowhere near good enough to be his friend.

I’m seriously on my face in front of this guy…it’s like he is from God or something and I gotta be away from him. I’m a sinner and there is no place for me with a person from God.

I would rather eat the dirt than look up at him right now. I. Am. Not. Worthy.

How that HURTS to say out loud!!

Wait a minute…what did he just say? Did he just say “DO NOT BE AFRAID”???

I’m going to do WHAT?! Catch MEN and not fish?

This guy…wants ME to leave my job, leave my family, leave all that I know so I can FOLLOW HIM and catch men?

Look what he just did in the water with the fish.

Look at how he speaks with authority and people can’t help but listen to him and be changed by what he says.

Look at how I am changed by what he says.

I don’t know WHO he is exactly but I DO KNOW that he is of God for no man can do what he just did.

How could I possibly say NO? How could I possibly let him walk away from me and leave me here? If he can do this with fish, I wonder what he can do with men???

John, hey John- I’m going! Let’s go, Andrew! Dad will understand! Hey- John….WAIT UP man! He asked me first!

Have you ever been in a situation where you should be the voice of experience and someone else comes along to offer you advice? Or to tell you how to do your job?

Most of us don’t like that too much.

Neither would Peter, I wouldn’t think. We know him to be about as “normal” as a person can be so it is good to see him respond to Jesus as honestly as he does.

He watches Jesus.

He questions Jesus.

He asserts his knowledge into the situation.

And he submits to Jesus out of shear faith.

Other than looking foolish, what did he have to lose by tossing those nets back in the water when every bit of experience told him it would be a waste of time to do so?

Looking foolish, dealing with our pride, is often a hindrance to doing something out of obedience to God.

We are fearful of telling our testimony, aren’t we? Why is that??

We don’t want to sound like we are bragging?

We don’t want to come across as not politically correct?

We don’t have all the answers about our faith so we are afraid to set ourselves up for failure if others ask a question?

We don’t think people will care??

We don’t think others would believe us??

Peter was scared. He had a lot to lose; his credibility, his career, his personal job security, his friends, his family…

But at the words of Jesus to not be AFRAID, Peter stepped forward in faith to follow Jesus.

He saw what Jesus had already done and couldn’t wait to see more.

Dig deep inside yourself for a moment…Is there something inside you that you know God wants you to do?

Is to turn your life back to Him?

Is it to tell others what He is doing in your life?

Is it to change a habit that is destructive?

Is it to fully submit your EVERYTHING to Him?

Whatever it is …look at what Jesus has already done… Now, imagine what else He can and will do if you obey His calling?

Stepping out in faith is always risky.

It normally comes with a sacrifice of sorts.

It usually involves letting go of something.

It is ALWAYS better than you imagined it would be in the process of obeying.

Faith is an action word! We have to do something with it to see what good God has in store for us next.