Day 127: What it takes to follow Jesus – Luke 5 vs 1 -11

1-2 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake. But the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 And when he had finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6-7 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 10 And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (From the English Standard Version)

It may look like a 'coincidence' that a boat belonging to a man named Simon was nearby and, after borrowing it, Jesus asked Simon to become one of his followers. But do you think vs 5 & 10 could suggest that Jesus had good reason for choosing some fishermen as his first disciples?

Could it be that the work of going into the world to call people to turn to God would require the sort of patience, perseverance and hard work that fishermen were already used to? They knew the disappointment of having worked hard all night but catching nothing! How true this can be of trying to tell others about Jesus Christ. Some missionary biographies tell of how they had to work for many, many years before they saw a first conversion.

But, right from the start, Jesus gave Peter and the other fisherman an example of his power to do more than they could think or imagine. One can picture their astonished looks as they hauled in nets bursting with a catch of fish after a long night in which they had caught nothing. But how did this affect Peter? Vs 8.

For me personally, Peter's reaction is even more amazing than the catch of fish! Here is a man who rubbed shoulders daily with fishermen. He would've known the sort of banter and conversation that can take place among men in a tough trade. (I wonder if there had been some swearing as they returned in their empty boats earlier that day after the wasted night.) But Peter, having no doubt heard Jesus' teaching and now seeing the huge catch of fish, realised that he was in the presence of someone holy. And he immediately is conscious of the sins of his own life! That in itself is a work of God's power. When men and women come under real conviction of sin it is because the Holy Spirit is at work. Preachers can toil for years with little impact – and then God can reveal His power.

It's important that we are aware of our own sins before we speak to others of their need of a saviour. In Psalm 139 the writer asks God to search his heart and reveal any wicked things in his life, and that's something we should often do as well. And if God's Spirit does make us aware of something dark, then we must ask God's forgiveness and turn from whatever it is He has shown to be wrong in our life. But we mustn't despair. Notice again how Jesus responded to Peter in vs 10.

Jesus did not come to condemn us – He came to bring forgiveness for sin and peace with God. That's the message we can share as we go fishing for others.