Flashback Episode — The Rest of the Call: Luke 5:1-11

If you have ever wondered what was going on in the minds of Jesus’ early followers, or if you have ever questioned whether it was a good idea to follow Jesus, the event we will focus on in this podcast episode may help. As we continue our journey through Jesus’ life, we arrive at a set of passages where Jesus invites some of His closest and most well known disciples to be disciples.

However, while the event we are looking at can be found in three of the four gospels, in the case of Matthew and Mark’s version of this event, we are left to wonder exactly what was so special about Jesus that caused four fishermen to abandon their careers to follow Jesus.

To help us understand Matthew and Mark’s perspective, which are both very similar, let’s read Matthew’s version of this event. This event can be found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 4, starting in verse 18. Reading from the New Century Version, Matthew sets the stage for us by saying:

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰ So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹ As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him.²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

After finishing this passage, I might be tempted to finish this episode early with the big theme: “When Jesus calls, follow Him”, but while this is a good theme present in this passage, for some of us – or maybe it is just me –, the idea of following Jesus “because He asked” isn’t a good enough reason to follow. Remember, this is before most of the miracles, before the fame, before Jesus has hundreds of people asking to follow Him. This would be like a traveling homeless speaker asking you to leave your job and maybe even your family too and travel with him without any promise of fame or money. The only promise present in this passage is the play on words that Jesus would teach them how to fish for people rather than fish.

Luke must have read Matthew or Mark’s gospel and told himself that this event didn’t add up, so he went and did a little more digging to find out what else must have happened. In Luke’s gospel, we are able to read what some might call, “The rest of the story.”

For this reason, let’s focus on what Luke’s gospel tells us about this event for the rest of our podcast episode. In Luke’s gospel, chapter 5, 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.

There are so many amazing details in Luke’s gospel that part of me is surprised that Matthew and Mark shortened this event. I suspect that Mark and Matthew didn’t include the miracle because they both wanted to keep the focus on Jesus and minimize these early followers following Jesus simply because He gave them a miracle. After all, not everyone will be given a miracle when they are invited to follow Jesus.

Part of me wonders if Matthew and Mark shorten this event because they wanted to focus on a different aspect of Jesus’ ministry, and not on how Jesus called each of them. In reality, there is not much space given in any of the gospels to the details of how many of the original twelve disciples were called. All we have in some of the gospels is a list of the ones who were included.

Jesus calling you or I likely won’t be as impressive as hitting the jackpot with a catch of fish. It is likely that Matthew and Mark omit these details to help us more easily relate to how Jesus usually calls people to follow Him.

But Luke knows that Theophilus, the person he is writing to, probably won’t buy into the simplistic nature of how these most famous disciples were called. So he does some digging, and uncovers an amazing story surrounding how Jesus interacted with these four fishermen before calling them to follow.

While reading Luke’s version of this event, one verse and statement stood out to me. In Luke, chapter 5, verse 5, we discover a glimpse of faith in Peter. Up to this point, Jesus is simply another Rabbi, or spiritual teacher, to Simon Peter. No miracles had yet taken place, but this is how Simon Peter responds to Jesus: “Master [referring to Jesus], 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.”

Peter and the other fishermen probably had just finished cleaning their nets when Jesus finished His sermon and made this request, and the fishermen were likely tired and probably ready to head home and to bed after the long night. But Simon Peter is willing to test this new preacher out. We don’t have any idea what Jesus taught that morning while Simon Peter and the others were cleaning their nets, but it was enough of something that gave Simon Peter the courage to test Jesus. Perhaps he had faith that fish would come, or perhaps he thought to himself that after the nets come up empty again, he will politely tell Jesus to stick to preaching and let him stick to fishing.

What mattered in this event was that He obeyed; that He tested Jesus’ instructions by trying them out.

In my life, I have rarely been able to analyze my way into understanding some of the things that Jesus taught. More often, what has helped my faith is testing Jesus’ words by living them out. After several days or perhaps even a week of living in semi-blind obedience, I ask myself if my life looks any different. Is my life better, worse, or the same?

Only if my life is worse do I reconsider or analyze further. If it is better, it is pretty clear to keep obeying. If nothing changed, which is often what I feel like happens, I conclude that perhaps I have not lived long enough to see a difference and there is no harm in continuing.

I suspect some people might think this is a too simplistic view of following Jesus, but personal experience trumps intellectual theory every day they compete. While I could sit on the sidelines and watch others live lives of faith, only by living a faith-filled life myself will I ever truly discover for myself whether God’s way is best! If all of us together truly followed Jesus, modeling our lives after His, using His methods, and loving those He loved, I am positive our world would never be the same.

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally place God first in your life. Choose to test Jesus’ words and teaching for yourself to discover just who God is and how much He wants for you!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to learn more about Jesus and God. While other people have ideas and opinions, only when you open the pages to read the Bible can you discover what God wants you to learn about Him and His plan!

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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!