Flashback Episode — Fishing for Fish: Luke 5:1-11

In our last episode, we looked at how some of Jesus’ closest followers drop everything and follow Jesus when He asks them to follow Him. To some people, this story sounds crazy to believe, and I believe this is one reason why Luke includes a little more details around the call of these early disciples. While it is miraculous in itself to think that God would invite humans to walk with Him, and it is miraculous to realize that these men were willing to drop a respectable life to follow someone who would ultimately be hated, condemned, and killed, Luke describes another miracle that likely prompted these early followers to pay attention.

In Luke’s mind, some people might not buy the idea that fishermen would drop everything to follow a religious teacher, especially One who lived the life of an outcast. So Luke gives us a little more detail surrounding the call of these men, and in Luke’s additional details, we learn what Jesus may have seen in these men leading up to their call.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ One day while Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee, many people were pressing all around him to hear the word of God. ² Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.

⁴ When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and put your nets in the water to catch some fish.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will.” ⁶ When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. ⁷ They called to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they were almost sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” ⁹ He and the other fishermen were amazed at the many fish they caught, as were ¹⁰ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

After reading about this miracle in our passage for this episode, it is no wonder that these fishermen decided to follow Jesus. After all, Jesus apparently knew more about fishing then any of them did.

However, Jesus described His role of teacher as turning them into fishers of people rather than fishers of fish.

But with this frame in mind, what prompted Jesus to invite these men to follow Him, and if Jesus were with us today, would He see the same character traits in us?

The first character trait that we learn about these men is that they were diligent workers. While Jesus was preaching, they were cleaning their nets. Verse 2 tells us that “Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.” Whether they were interested in Jesus or not at this point, they were focused on the task, and while cleaning nets wasn’t likely very fun, it was necessary to being a productive fisherman.

The next character trait we discover is that when Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and asks Simon to push off from the shore so He could keep preaching, Simon agrees. With this little request, Jesus tests the waters with how willing, flexible, and helpful Simon was. We have no idea what Jesus talked about while sitting in the boat, but I am guessing that Simon kept the boat from drifting too far in any direction while also continuing to clean his nets.

The third character trait we discover in Simon and the other disciples is when Jesus has finished speaking. Whether Simon was interested in Jesus’ talk or not, when Jesus asks Simon to take the boat further out and cast the nets out to catch fish, Simon’s response is fascinating. Simon tells Jesus in verse 5, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will.”

Simon’s response to Jesus is along the lines of, “Well, I know how to fish, and last night didn’t go well. But if you claim to know better, then I’m happy to at least try it your way.” Simon is willing to try something new, something untested, and something that could either fail, or succeed. Simon is willing to find out which it is. This character trait would be a powerful asset moving forward with Jesus.

The last character trait we see in Simon is after they have finished catching all the fish. Simon tells Jesus in verse 8, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” Simon realizes that He is unworthy to be near Jesus, especially when Jesus had just demonstrated that He knew more about fishing than Simon did, and Simon acknowledges in a humble way that Jesus is holy – even if Simon didn’t realize how true this idea actually was.

All four of these character traits are important things for all followers of Jesus to work towards in our own lives. We should be diligent workers, we should be willing to obey Jesus with the little tasks, we should be willing to obey Jesus’ crazy, illogical, and challenging big requests, and we should be humble before Jesus and acknowledge our sinfulness and need of a Savior. With these four characteristics, we will be the people God created and called us to be, and we will be able to model Jesus to a world in need of a Savior.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to seek God first and work towards incorporating all four of these character traits into your life. With a spirit of humility, an obedient attitude, and perseverance to press forward through challenges, we are able to grow into the people God wants us to be.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself, because through prayer and personal study, we are able to grow personally towards God, and the closer we are to God, the more we will ultimately be like Him and the better we will be able to reflect His love to the world around us.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!