OH MY GOD!

It’s helpful to know the definition of the word, but it’s much more important to know that you can have a sudden revelation of the presence of God in your life. Some of these epiphanies are so strong that you’ll be shocked – or physically stunned - or more likely you’ll feel your desperate need for a savior.

An epiphany can happen at any time in your ordinary life. But, most people simply ignore the onset of an epiphany, just they way they ignore the onset of a cold, or covid, or cancer. The difference is that when you ignore what is starting to happen, and refuse to listen to God, he goes away. Your opportunity is gone, and may never come again.

The Gospel of Luke gives us a good example of an epiphany that happened in every day ordinary life. And, he shows how you play a part in letting it happen.

It happened on the north end of Lake Ganesseret. We usually call it the “Sea of Gailiee.” It’s actually a big lake about 8x14 miles. So it’s like from the 405 to the 10 and from Hermosa Beach to downtown.

The lake is where Israel got most of its fish. The fishermen didn’t have any hooks or lines or rods and reels. Some men fished in the shallow water, wading in and throwing a round net to catch little fish right next to the shore. Other men who had a boat would have big nets with weights on them. They would put the big nets over the side in water about 20 feet deep – where most of the fish were – and then they’d drag the net for a while and pull it up to see if there were any fish caught.

On a good day they would be a catch of 30 or 40 fish. That would be about 60 or 80 pounds of fish. You could make a good living on that – just go to the fish section of your market and look at the price of fresh fish.

With that background, here’s how Luke describes what happened.

Luke 5:1–11

“One day as 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 deep 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 the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 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. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees 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.”

This particular day, Jesus was trying to preach to a crowd of about three or four hundred people. He was becoming famous as a preacher and healer. So they were pushing in to hear him just get his attention – especially the ones that were sick.

Think about it. How long does it take you to get to see a Dr.? I know how long It takes me. And, how long does it take you to see a free Dr. who can actually heal you.

There were no microphones or loud speakers in those days, so the people back behind the third row couldn’t even hear him -- try it someday in a crowded room. They were pushing him right back into the lake.

This isn’t working. So, Jesus looks over and sees a couple of fishing boats left on the shore – just pulled up on the little strip of sand.

So, Jesus walks over to one of the boats, and he just gets in -- no “Please” no “May I” -- And he’s standing there and looks down at the boss – who happens to be Peter – and asks if he would mind taking the boat out a little bit so he can preach without getting crushed.

Now, Peter and the crew aren’t happy. They have been out on the lake all night since that is the best time to fish. They dropped their nets all night and just hauled in a bunch of weeds and rocks. Not one fish all night. Not a mud sucker, not a sardine, not even a cheese flavored goldfish. Nothing!!

They are tired and they’re discouraged. But, they are taking care of their nets. Cleaning out the weeds, and repairing any tears. They probably weren’t paying much attention to the rabbi or his preaching. Just like so many of us. We have things to do, and we get tired, and we don’t want to be bothered. So, just like us, they tried to avoid eye contact. And now, this rabbi they were trying to avoid just gets in their boat!

“He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore.”

You can imagine these guys when Jesus asks them to launch the boat again. They worked all night and not one fish. And, Peter and his crew have just finished cleaning and repairing the nets. They’ve probably just put them neatly in the boat and they are ready to go home, kick back, and have a cold one. And, now this rabbi wants them to get back in the boat, go a few feet offshore, and sit there in the sun while he preaches. So all the guys look at Peter. “Are we really going to do this.”

Let’s be honest. Suppose you were an auto mechanic, or you were working security at a shopping center. You see a big, pushy crowd, and a guy trying to preach to them about the kingdom of God. He’s getting pushed back toward you by the crowd. Now, you’ve just finished your night shift plus some overtime, and cleaned everything up so you can go home and relax. You think this preacher hasn’t noticed you – in fact you hope he hasn’t. You just don’t need it right now. You’ll go to church on Sunday, but right now you are tired.

Peter knows it’s inconvenient. But he and the crew are religious Jews, and the man that’s asking is a rabbi, and the rabbi just wants some help so he can get his message across to the crowd. And, it’s only ten or twenty fee off the beach. So, Peter says “come on guys – he’s a rabbi – and he needs help - and we aren’t really going out on the lake - it’s just a few feet - It’s only going to take a few minutes - and he’s already in the boat. You don’t really want me to tell the rabbi to get out do you? ”

So, they grumble a little, but they get in the boat and they go about 20 feet from the shore.

Jesus preaches for a while. He finishes preaching, and the crowd slowly starts to dissipate. The guys in the boat are anxious to pull the boat back to shore and go home.

Luke 5:4

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

There are so many things that are wrong with that – it’s foolish, - it’s embarrassing, - and it’s impossible. You have professional fishermen sitting in the boat. You have a crowd of people from a fishing village 20’ away.

Everyone knows that nobody goes fishing at noon. You can never catch anything. And, you certainly don’t go out into the deep water to fish with nets. All you will do is get your nets tangled and full of seaweed. And, you didn’t catch anything last night. There aren’t even any fish in the area. They just proved that!

So, if Peter does what Jesus says, he’s going to annoy his crew, and look foolish to the crowd that’s still standing there.

So now, is Peter willing to be embarrassed, willing to be a fool, willing to try to do something that’s impossible just because Jesus says do it? After all, Peter thinks Jesus is just another rabbi. He calls him “Master.” That’s really a polite Greek term for the word “teacher” or “rabbi.”

Peter has a pretty serious decision to make. Does he do what Jesus says, or does he keep himself from looking foolish.

Luke 5:5

“Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.”

Like so many of us, Peter doesn’t make a decision, he makes an excuse. “We’re tired -- there aren’t any fish out there - and and and.

You can just see Jesus standing there looking at Peter. It’s as if Jesus is saying “Come on Peter -- knock off the excuses - are you going to do it or not?”

So, Peter finally says:

Luke 5:5

“But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

This is one of those places in Scripture where you’d like to hear the speaker’s tone of voice. Is he looking up at Jesus in faith, and saying it because Jesus is God?

Luke 5:5-6

“But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

I think Peter is covering himself - he’s going to do what Jesus asked – but he doesn’t want to take responsibility for it. He’s thinking “ The crowd will know I’m not to blame for this foolishness – or for this decision – or for our failure which is sure to come. “It’s because you say so – not me.” And, I think he said it loud enough not only for the crew, but for the crowd to hear.

Peter is really saying “This is your idea, not mine! And, by the way Jesus, since it was your idea, and since we’ll have to clean the nets again, maybe you could give us a little help.”

So, off they go, and when they get to the deep water, they let down the nets. Immediately they start feeling fish in the nets. They try to bring up the nets, but it’s a struggle.

Luke 5:6-7

“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 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.”

The boats they used were about 30’ long and 7 ½’ wide. I did a little calculation, and it turns out that it would take about 50,000 pounds to sink one of these boats. So, with the crew and the weight of the boat, you would need about 40,000 pounds of fish to sink the boat. So, that’s about 20,000 fish. And, there were two boats sinking. That’s 40,000 fish. Nobody just whistled for the fish to show up. Even if someone did, and the fish came running, there aren’t that many fish in this lake.

That’s more fish than they’ve ever seen. In fact, that’s more fish than there has ever been in the lake.

And, the light goes on. Peter -- the professional fisherman -- actually understands that Jesus is creating more fish than have ever been in the lake..

Peter doesn’t know how, or why -- but he knows he’s in the presence of a power that nobody has ever seen.

This is the epiphany! Peter knows he is in the presence of God. Now he calls Jesus “Lord” instead of “Master.”

Luke 5:8-9

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

It’s the same thing Isaiah said when he had seen the Lord:

Isaiah 6:1–5

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; . . . And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””

That’s the way it is when, for just an instant, you know you are in the presence of God – when you have an epiphany. You want to get away, or for God to go away. You are so weak and dirty that you can’t stand it. All you want to do is hide from his presence.

Luke 5:8-9

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

The epiphany strikes, and you realize you are in the presence of God and all you can say is: “Oh My God! I am filthy.” and “Oh, My God, I fall at your feet.”

Here Jesus is creating more fish than have ever been in the lake. He’s not offending God with some little throw away comment of “Oh My God!” in a conversation. No taking the name of God in vain by texting “OMG.”

And epiphanies have an effect – they did on me - and they did on Peter - and they will on you.

In this case, the effect is that Peter and Andrew, and their partners James and John are rich. This catch in their boats is worth over ½ a million dollars. With that much money in those days, they could probably buy every house around the whole lake. They and their families would never have to work again.

But, Jesus calls Peter.

Luke 5:10

“Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

In other words, Jesus is saying “have faith.” Don’t rely on riches. Be part of something that is more valuable than money. He is saying, “Forget the money and follow me. Be like the wise jeweler.

Matthew 13:45–46

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Not everyone says “Yes” to following Jesus. It can be a tough decision. I’m sure it was for Peter and his partners. He’s being asked to leave boats, crew, family, money, a good business, everything. But, Peter and his partners say “Yes.”

Luke 5:11

“So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

And, although they thought they had left everything for Jesus, in the end, there was one last thing to give. It was their life. And, in the end, they gave it. But, they gained salvation on this normal day. On a day when nothing special was supposed to happen. On a day when they were tired and discouraged - on a day when they were asked to be fools for Christ - they became the apostles - the official messengers of the living God.

How about us? Are we just the same? When Jesus does miracles in our lives, is it: OMG Or “Oh, my God.”

Do we even recognize the miracles he does? Do we get so used to them that we think it’s just us . Or, are we like the pigs who eat acorns that fall on the ground, but never look up to see where they come from?

So, today, open your eyes and see the miracles around you. And, after you recognize the miracles and the goodness of God, look up to see the miracle maker. He’s calling you to know he is God. Today is the day of salvation. Rejoice in it.