Jesus and Peter
Luke 5:1-11 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 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 was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
Peter knew Jesus
When we come to this passage in Luke 5 Jesus and Peter had already had some encounters. In John’s gospel it tells of Andrew being with John the Baptist and then going to find Peter (Jn 1:35-42). Peter was probably with Jesus at the wedding in Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine. In Luke 4 we see that Jesus began His ministry by reading from Isaiah and then being nearly killed by the people. He then healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever in Peter’s house. After returning from a night of prayer Jesus was surrounded by people and later went to Capernaum to preach and it was here that He preached from a boat belonging to Peter. Whether or not Peter had made his total commitment to Jesus by now is not clear, but after the encounter in the boat and catch of fish, it is clear of Peter’s commitment to Jesus.
In 1937 Dietrich Bonhoeffer published his book The Cost of Discipleship because of what he saw in the church that he termed “cheap grace”. He saw so many declaring to be Christians who would not stand up for the Scriptural truth and right. He said, “The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets at the beginning of our communion with Christ.”
Lesson in faith
Jesus sat in a boat owned by Peter and taught the people. After He was finished He requested that Peter launch out into deeper water and let down his nets. How intent Peter was listening to Jesus we are not sure – he had just finished fishing all night w/o success and he may have been tired. When Jesus asked him to do this, Peter responded, “Master, we have toiled all night and taken nothing. .” Here is a preacher and former carpenter telling a professional fisherman how to catch fish. Peter said, “. . . nevertheless, at Thy word, I will let down the net.” Peter was not totally convinced that Jesus knew what He was doing because he let down only a net not nets and because of that the net began to break with the abundant catch of fish.
Jesus was teaching Peter a lesson in faith – trusting Him for the things of life. This miracle shows the supernatural knowledge of Jesus – His divine nature. It is a lesson for all of us. Jesus does not tell us what to do to our detriment, but to trust Him for all provisions of life. When we obey in difficult circumstances we often think we will lose out on something, but God will take care of us as we obey.
An application of grace
Upon seeing the miracle of the fish, even though the boat was full and taking in water, Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter had come before the holiness of Jesus just as Isaiah had seen (Isa 6:1-5). When Martin Luther was to officiate his first mass uttering those supposed miracle words to transpose the elements into the body and blood of Christ, he froze in terror. “I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. I thought to myself, ‘With what tongue shall I address such majesty, seeing that all men ought to tremble in the presence of even an earthly prince? Who am I, that I should lift up mine eyes or raise my hands to the Divine Majesty? . . . I am speaking to the living and eternal God.”
When Isaiah had his experience an angel place a coal off the altar and purged his lips so he would become God’s spokesman. Jesus said to Peter, “Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Both received the application of grace in their lives.
The call
The application of grace was followed by the call to be fishers of men. Our inabilities or sin are no longer a barrier because Christ has forgiven us and He will empower us to be His disciple as we walk in obedience. In Matthew, Jesus said, “Follow Me and will make you fishers of men.” What God calls us to do; He enables and empowers us to do.