1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 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, he 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 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled 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, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Luke moves his story to some time later. Jesus was at the Lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) and the crowds were pressing around Him to hear what He taught. He saw two boats by the lake but the fishermen had finished for the day and were busy washing their nets. Jesus got into Simon’s boat and asked him to put it out to water a little so He could continue teaching without all the crowding.
When Jesus had finished teaching, He told Peter to head out to deeper waters and let down their nets for a catch. Simon, an experienced fisherman, responded that he didn’t think they’d catch anything because they had already worked all night without success. But, he agreed to do what Jesus asked. The result, they caught more fish than their nets or two boats could handle. Their nets began to break and after calling in reinforcements from James and John, both boats began to sink from all the fish they had loaded. Simon’s response was to recognise his sinfulness in the presence of the powerful holiness of the Lord. All the fisherman were completely astonished at the catch they had brought in. Jesus turned to Simon and told him not to be afraid because He had a job for him. Instead of catching fish for food, he was now going to catch men for the Messiah. After bringing their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus. How could they walk away from everything so easily? Because Jesus had just shown them that He was more than able to provide for their every need.
Peter had doubts about doing what Jesus said. His experience told him that trying to fish was going to be futile—but it wasn’t. Is there something God is calling you to do that you know you should be doing but you have doubts about whether it will work or not? Are you willing to step forward in faith? Are you willing to give up everything and follow Him?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
David Spares Saul: 1 Samuel 24