Luke 5 part I: Fishers of Men

Jesus’ ministry in Capernaum continued to grow. Large crowds were beginning to press in around Jesus in order to hear the word of God. I think it is important to take a second and think about how important teaching the word is to the growth of God’s kingdom. The proclamation of the Gospel was the focus of Jesus’ ministry. Preaching was more important to Jesus than healing or performing miracles.

Luke 4:43 CSB

But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

Rather than stay and continue to heal Jesus pressed on in His preaching of the Gospel. The healing ministry Jesus had was important. Jesus didn’t want people to suffer and hurt. However, Jesus was focused on healing the eternal more than He was on healing the temporary. What does a person gain if they get the ability to see after being blind their whole life but still die in their sin and spend eternity separated from God? Jesus was focused on making an impact in people’s eternities and we should be to.

Do the words we say have eternal significance?

Luke 5:1–3 CSB

As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret. He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.

On this occasion as the crowd inquired more and more out of Jesus He was forced to put out to sea and teach from the boat of a local fisherman named Simon. This is not our first introduction to Simon in the Gospel of Luke. In chapter four Simon’s mother-in-law was sick and Jesus healed her. Simon was somewhat familiar with who Jesus was. This applies to Simon’s partners as well. His brother Andrew and their partners James and John spent some time with John the Baptist before they began to follow Jesus.

Luke 5:4–5 CSB

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

Simon and his partners had worked all night and had caught nothing. You can imagine how they felt that afternoon as Jesus sat in their boat. They were sore, tired, frustrated. They probably felt stressed, no fish means no money, no money means unpaid taxes, unpaid debts, and no dinner. I imagine the last thing they wanted to do was fish again. They had just gotten done cleaning their nets and now a carpenter is trying to tell trained fishermen how to fish. Simon reluctantly agrees. He says, “We’ve been at this all night, but is that’s what you want that’s what we’ll do.”

Luke 5:4–7 CSB

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.” When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

This miracle Jesus performs along with all the others serve as a helpful reminder of who this Jesus truly is. He is not simply a good teacher. He is the Son of God. He not only has authority over illnesses and demons, but even the fish of the sea are obedient to His command. Jesus causes so many fish to be caught in their nets that it began to sink their boats and their nets began to rip. I have no doubt in my mind that these men had never caught this many fish ever before in their lives. There was no question who was responsible for this catch.

Jesus’ miracles point to His identity not to our comforts

Luke 5:8–11 CSB

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.” Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.

Throughout the Gospels Simon Peter comes across as someone who lives life with a foot in his mouth. He is constantly doing and saying boneheaded things, but every now and then Peter’s potential shines through. When Christ performs this miracle Peter falls on his face in response. This is the correct response for a sinner to have when they come into contact with the holiness of God. Peter didn’t care what people thought of him. He didn’t care if what he was doing was cool or if it was embarrassing. He didn’t care if his friends did it with him or not. When Peter encountered Christ all he thought of was “who am I to be in the presence of God?” Simon Peter’s response is not entirely unfamiliar for us. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah responds in a similar way to his encounter with God.

Isaiah 6:1–5 CSB

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

Jesus’ holiness leads us to reverence and worship

There is a reverence that comes with being in the presence of God. The presence of God leads us to a place of awe and wonder, a place of praise and worship, a place of obedience. Reverence is having a deep respect for someone or something. In our culture today we don’t really have reverence for anything. Everything is a meme. The queen of England died and all of Gen Z laughed. That is just how people are. The Lord is gracious and merciful but He is not a meme. When we look at the Old Testament and all the ways God commands His people to revere His presence and worship we find that it isn’t a joke. Aaron’s sons offered an incense on the altar other than the one God commanded and it cost them their lives. People would carry the Ark of the Covenant incorrectly and it would cost them their lives. People would enter into the Holy of Holies incorrectly and it would cost them their lives. There were so many aspects of worship that required the utmost respect and consideration. The purpose behind all the Levitical laws and commands was to show people that God is holy. Today the presence of God lives inside His people. Worship is no longer bound to a temple but is done in the heart. The reverence remains but the obligation to the law is done away with by God’s grace towards us. Reverence and worship are natural responses to Christ and the good news of the Gospel.

Worthy of Worship

Worthy of worship, worthy of praise,

Worthy of honor and glory;

Worthy of all the glad songs we can sing,

Worthy of all the offerings we bring.

Worthy of reverence, worthy of fear,

Worthy of love and devotion;

Worthy of bowing and bending of knees,

Worthy of all this and added to these.

Almighty Father, Master and Lord,

King of all kings and Redeemer,

Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend,

Savior and Source of our life without end.

You are worthy, Father, Creator.

You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer.

You are worthy, worthy and wonderful;

Worthy of worship and praise.

Is Jesus worthy of my worship?

Look at how Jesus responds to Peter. Here is Simon Peter falling on His face before Jesus. He recognizes that as a sinner he has no business being in the presence of God. He knows he is deserving of punishment of his sin and he was afraid.

Luke 5:9–10 CSB

For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”

Jesus looks at Peter with compassion and tells him, “Don’t be afraid”. Although Peter was separated from Christ because of his sin, Jesus had the power to forgive Peter of his sin. Jesus takes this opportunity to call Peter to follow Him.

What does it mean to be called by Jesus?

The call to follow Jesus is for all people. Later Jesus will call his disciples with a special call to apostolic ministry. Not all were called to be Apostles but all are called to follow Jesus and be His disciple. Likewise, not all of us will be called to vocational ministry. Not all of us will make church our profession, but we are all called to follow Jesus and serve Him.

Who is it that Jesus calls?

Unequipped

no skills useful for ministry

no religious training

not wealthy

just a regular fisherman

Unqualified

no official cause for respect in the religious community

no title

no tribal authority

Unworthy

“I’m a sinful man”

There are no prerequisites to following Jesus. No hoops to jump through. We feel like we have to have our life put together and have everything figured out before we answer the call but Jesus is calling us now.

Jesus equips the unequipped

When I first started following Jesus I didn’t know how to pray. I didn’t know how to read the Bible. I didn’t know how to do anything. But as I follow Jesus He is teaching me how to do all those things. I didn’t know how to teach, I was uncomfortable with public speaking, but Jesus called me to a occupation where all I do is talk out loud. And by following Jesus He is equipping me with those skills. Following Jesus means being a disciple. He is a teacher we are learners. He has given us His Holy Spirit and He has given us His Bible to train us and equip us for every good work.

Jesus qualifies the unqualified

What is the thing that qualifies us to follow Jesus? The fact we said yes. There is no title we need to hold to be a follower of Christ. There is no test or exam. No application or interview.. The invitation is open to all we need only to say yes to Jesus.

Jesus transforms the unworthy

The promise of following Christ is life transformation. Our old self dies and we are born again by the Spirit to walk with Christ. Jesus transformed Peter’s life and literally gave him a new identity.

John 1:42 NASB95

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

What are the different parts of being called to follow Jesus?

The authority of the call

Jesus has all authority and is doing the calling

The comfort of the call

Jesus comforts our fear in His calling

Hearing God’s call is like an overwhelming sense of calm

The uniqueness of the call

Jesus uses our personalities to call us

Simon the fisherman becomes Peter the fisher of men

The purpose of the call

To reach people with the good news of the Gospel

To be a fisher of men (cast the net of the Gospel regularly)

The cost of the call

Peter and the other three leave everything behind

All that fish meant a whole lot of money

The blessing of the call

new life and new identity in Christ

How should we respond to the call?

Peter’s reluctance turned to humility which turned to obedience

Luke 5:11 CSB

Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.