In this story of Jesus directing Peter to a miraculous catch of fish we see four aspects of the life of a disciple of Jesus: his obedience, excitement, humility, and treasure.
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The Life of a Disciple of Jesus
Luke 5:1-11
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gathered the apostles and commanded them to go and make disciples of all the nations. Here at The Bridge, we talk a lot about disciples and making disciples. We understand that to be the mission of our church, and of every church. But what does the life of a disciple of Jesus look like? Is a disciple simply someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ? Does his life look any different than anybody else’s life? In order to find out, let’s turn in our Bibles to Luke 5 where we find Jesus calling the first disciples.
You will recall from last Sunday, that Jesus has been ministering in Capernaum. He has been teaching in the synagogue in which He cast out a demon. Then He went to Simon’s home in which He healed his mother-in-law. Afterwards when the sun set, the whole city showed up outside Simon’s door. Jesus went about all of the sick and afflicted and laid His hands on each one, healing them. Then, the next morning He was up very early while it was still dark, praying to His Father. In those quiet morning hours the Father communicated to Him that He needed to keep on preaching in the other cities, rather than settling down in Capernaum. So, when we come to Luke 5, we see Jesus doing just that. He is traveling around the various towns and villages in Galilee teaching the word of God. We find him in Luke 5:1 standing by the lake of Gennesaret, most often referred to as the Sea of Galilee. It was really not a sea at all, but a very large lake. Simon, Andrew, James and John lived very close to this lake, because they were fishermen, and made their living from it.
And what is Jesus doing on the bank of the lake? He’s teaching the word of God. The crowds that have come to hear him are enormous. In fact, they are so great that Jesus comes up with a plan to give Him a little space so that He can minister to the multitudes more effectively. He sees two boats lying at the edge of the lake. The fishermen, Simon, James and John, had gotten out of the boats and were washing their nets, to remove all the weeds and grime. Jesus, the Lord of every situation, got into Simon’s boat, asked him to push it out a little way, and from that boat, Jesus taught the multitudes on the shore.
Now, at this point Jesus deliberately sets in motion a series of events by which He will teach these men some very important lessons. It’s important to note that this was not the first time that Peter had met Jesus. Actually Peter’s brother, Andrew had met Jesus first about a year earlier than these events. Andrew then found Peter and brought him to Jesus. So, Peter has been acquainted with Jesus for some time. Peter has heard Jesus teach. He has seen Him drive out demons. He has watched Him heal his mother-in-law, and then heal great multitudes of people right outside his front door. But now the Lord is going to do something so amazing that it will change Peter’s life forever.
In the unfolding of this story, Peter is going to reveal to us something of the life of a disciple of Jesus. We are going to see a Disciple’s Obedience, a Disciple’s Excitement, a Disciple’s Humility, and a Disciple’s Treasure.
1. A Disciple’s Obedience (5:4-5)
Notice that Jesus’ words to Peter were put in the form of a command. He isn’t suggesting to Peter that this might be a good idea. He is commanding him – “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” How does Peter respond? He says, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” You can sense the reluctance in Peter’s voice. To Peter, Jesus’ words must not have made any sense at all. Fishing was done at night, not during the day. If they hadn’t caught a single thing all night, surely they were just wasting their time letting down the night during the day. Then, if they did let down their nets, they were going to get weeds all over it again, and they were just going to have to wash them all over again. On top of all that, Peter was exhausted because he had been working all night long.
I can just hear the wheels spinning Peter’s mind: “Lord, we are professional fishermen. You are a carpenter, and a rabbi. You may know a lot about theology and Scripture, and how to make a table and chairs, but we are the ones that know about fishing. Now, You leave the fishing to us, and we’ll leave the Bible teaching to you!” However, Peter sighed and decided he would humor the Lord.
Now, notice the content of the Lord’s command to Peter. It was two-fold. First, put out into the deep, and secondly, let down your nets. The Lord intends for Peter to learn a very valuable spiritual lesson from all of this. Although Jesus was directing Peter in catching fish, He wants Him to learn about catching men.
The Lord gives all of us the same two-fold command. First, He commands us to put out into the deep. In other words He commands us to go to where the fish are. Then He commands us to let down our nets. Leave your church. Leave your home. This means intentionally putting yourself in places where lost people are. Once you are where the fish are, let down the gospel net. No fish will ever be caught unless you go where they are, and then let down a net. So too, no people will ever be saved, unless we go to them and then let down the net of the gospel. Many Christians don’t want to go where lost people are because they find that they are very uncomfortable in those places. When God saved them, He gave them a hatred of sin and love of holiness. So, they would rather not be in places where people are swearing and taking the Lord’s name in vain, or using drugs, or getting drunk. However, we are going to discover in our study of Luke that Jesus loved sinners and hung out with them on their turf. Do you ever intentionally just hang out with lost people? Maybe it is your neighbor, or somebody you work with, or extended family. If we just live in our holy huddle with other believers, we will never have an impact on anyone.
However, it’s not enough to hang out with lost people. We need to let down the gospel net. It is said that St. Francis once said, “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary use words.” Folks, that’s nonsense! That’s like saying, “feed the poor at all times; if necessary use food.” I hear people say, “I’m not going to say anything about Jesus. I’m just going to live the Christian life in front of them.” I’m glad you want to live the Christian life in front of them, but what lost people need most is not a good example of a Christian life, but someone to explain to them how they can be reconciled to God! Let down your nets! This was a command of Jesus to Peter. We have another command of Jesus in Mk.16:15-16. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” It’s not enough to live a good clean life around lost people. You might succeed in having others admire your life. But so what? They are still dead in their sins. At some point, we need to tell them of Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. Someone once said that preaching the gospel is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. Oh, friends, pray that God will give you boldness to bring the message of salvation to people lost in their sin.
2. A Disciple’s Excitement (5:6-7,9)
Notice the result. “And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken.”
Imagine Peter’s excitement. He would have never imagined in his wildest dreams what took place. In all likelihood he had never caught so many fish at one time in his life. This was every fisherman’s dream! They enclosed so many fish that the nets started to break. In fact, they had to signal to their partners to come and help them, and even then, when they hauled all the fish on the boats, the boats began to sink!
The Lord designed this whole situation to teach an object lesson. Jesus was illustrating the fact that God has determined that there is going to be a great catch of fish. Multitudes of souls are going to be swept into the kingdom of God, and they will be brought in through us! We have the privilege of being used by God in the greatest enterprise this side of eternity. This object lesson was something of a prophecy, which was fulfilled in the book of Acts. Jesus told Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (5:10). How true that statement was! On the Day of Pentecost Peter was used to catch 3,000 souls. After preaching on the temple grounds in Acts 3, he caught 5,000 more men. Acts 5:14 says, “And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.” The word for “multitude” is the exact same Greek word for “large number” of fish in Luke 5. The same author, Luke, is using the same word in Acts to show the fulfillment of Jesus’ words to Peter.
Friends, there is nothing more exciting than for Lord to use you to save souls! God has determined to save a vast multitude of sinners that no many can number, but has allowed us the privilege of being used in that process. Nothing is more exciting than to see a person transformed by Jesus Christ first-hand. I remember a time when I was pastoring Milpitas Bible Fellowship in the 1990’s. One day a young couple that lived just down the road from the church popped in. It appears that God had already begun to work in this couple, and it wasn’t long before Tom and Rebecca were saved. Rebecca invited her younger sister, Liz, to come to church. She invited her boyfriend, Sven to come with her. He made a deal with her saying, that if she would come to a concert with him, he would go to church with her. Well, God’s lightning struck again, and both Liz and Sven were soon converted. Well, Sven told his younger brother Sean about what had happened to him, and soon Sean was attending the church services, and within a few months he had also come to Christ. Later Sven and Sean’s mother and father, Dennis and Dagmar had come to Christ as well. Later Dennis and Dagmar brought Dani, a foreign exchange student, over to live with them for a time, and Sean had the privilege of leading her to Christ. Oh, what exciting times those were! And the most wonderful part is that all of these folks are living committed fruitful lives for Jesus Christ, 20 years later, bringing their own children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Bridge folks, there is nothing more exciting than to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ!
3. A Disciple’s Humility (5:8)
So, how did Peter react to this amazing catch of fish? Verse 8 says, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” What caused this amazing reaction? Peter recognized Christ’s glory. After this miracle of the catch of fish, it hits home with so much power and force – Jesus truly is the Son of God. There is no other explanation for what just happened!
No sooner did Peter recognize who Jesus was, but he recognized his own unworthiness. As he came to understand who Jesus was, he saw Himself in that light. Most people think they are good persons. Just ask them – they’ll tell you. They see no need for Jesus Christ in their life. A skunk doesn’t know how badly he smells. A sinner doesn’t know how filthy he is in the sight of God. If we want to know the truth about ourselves, we shouldn’t look at ourselves in the light of other sinners. We should look at ourselves in the light of the God of matchless holiness. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up with the train of His robe filling the temple, then he said, “Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
What about you? Have you ever really seen yourself as compared to God almighty in His spotless holiness and perfect righteousness? If so, you’ll feel the same way Peter felt. You’ll feel unworthy to even be in the presence of Christ. You’ll own your sin, and feel it deeply. This also is the life of a disciple. Not only is his life characterized by obedience and excitement, but also humility. He’s not puffed up, arrogant, and boastful. He takes a lowly place, just like His Lord. Paul writes in Phil. 2:3-5, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Does that describe you? Oh, the ugly things that take place in the church when we allow our pride to surface. It is so wrong for petty divisions to take place in the church over people demanding to have things their way! Or, when people look down their noses at some in the church who they feel are beneath them. If we only knew the filth of our sin, and the blackness of our hearts before our all holy God, we could never look down our noses at anyone again. We would say with Paul, “I am the chief of sinners.” Jesus taught His disciples that when they had done everything He commanded them, they should say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”
Brothers and sisters, we will never be worthy of Christ. Never! It is good for us to always remember our place. He is the great Savior, and we are the great sinners.
4. A Disciple’s Treasure (5:11)
Verse 11 captures a disciple’s treasure, “And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” They left everything. That would include their boats, their nets, and all of their other fishing equipment. Basically, they were giving up their businesses, and their means of making a living. They were giving up their source of earthly security. Now, why would they do this? As soon as Peter hauled in the catch of a lifetime, he laid it all down and left it all to follow Jesus. Why would he do that? Was it because he felt he must do it? Was he leaving everything begrudgingly? Did he leave everything because he knew he had to in order to obey Jesus, but didn’t really want to? No, a thousand times No! He left everything because he had caught a glimpse of His glory! Once he saw Him for who He was, nothing else mattered. Nothing in this world even came close to comparing with Him.
Jesus once said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Peter was the man who found the treasure in the field. Jesus is the treasure! So, why did this man sell all that he had to buy the field? Was it under compulsion? Did he feel he had to, but really didn’t want to? Of course not! He did it from joy over it! He knew that he wasn’t the loser in this transaction. He was the winner! The treasure was far more valuable than anything he possessed. He gladly sold it all to have the far more valuable treasure. Folks, that’s what happens in a person’s life when they are converted. They finally see the exceeding greatness of Christ. Once we see His value and worth, nothing else that we possess in this life even comes close. Nothing is more important than Him and following Him.
Well, how does this happen? Look with me at 2 Corinthians 4:6. “For God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” This happens when God shines in the heart. Well, what does that light that He shines in our heart reveal to us? It reveals the glory of God in the face of Christ. It reveals the very same thing that was revealed to Peter. Peter saw Jesus’ glory, and nothing else mattered. If you are truly saved, God shone in your heart, and revealed to you the glory of Jesus, and at that moment nothing was more important than for you to have Him and follow Him.
Has this happened to you? Has God opened your eyes to behold Jesus as altogether glorious? Do you see Him as the infinite treasure that He really is? Only that will enable you to count everything else as manure in comparison with Him.
Life Application
Folks, this is the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. His life is characterized by obedience, excitement, humility, and treasuring Christ above all.
Do you obey Jesus in spreading the gospel and speaking to others of Him, even when it doesn’t make sense to you?
Have you experienced the excitement of having the Lord use you to see another person’s life completely transformed? Are you laboring to launch out into the deep and let down the gospel net? Are you sharing your faith with others boldly and regularly?
Have you ever seen yourself in light of God and His holiness? If so, has it caused you to feel a keen sense of personal unworthiness to be in His presence?
Have you come to value Jesus as your great Treasure worth giving up everything and anything in this world joyfully?
As we labor to make disciples who make disciples here at The Bridge, this is the kind of life we are longing to see reproduced. Nothing short of this is true Christianity. May God be pleased to use this little church body to bring in a great catch of souls!
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