The call to follow

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 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.”[a] 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

I love fishing. I have spent many hours in the early cold morning, just sitting on my little chair, with my fishing rod rested on one hand, and a cup of coffee close by. Some mornings you can see the mist floating across the waters, everything is so slow, everything is so quiet, the sun gently starts to come around. There is something so peaceful about it, but when you feel the little nibble, your heart starts pumping and once that fish takes that hook, your adrenaline goes with it bang! and its game time. The sound of the drag on the reels is music to my ears, the pull from the fish it just exciting. And once you’ve caught the fish, what a feeling!

And Luke 5 basically revolves around fishing, but it also tells us the story of the calling of the first disciples. We’ll go through this passage together and see what it means to be in the presence of Jesus, and the calling that follows.

Gennesaret was another name for Galilee and it’s possible that this takes place close to Capernaum, which is the hometown of Simon Peter. A huge crowd has turned into this gathering, and they were coming to Jesus all for the right reasons. Luke tells us that the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God. The only issue was that it may have been hard for people to hear. So, what will Jesus do?

Now Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and his partners James and John had just spent the entire night fishing. It was tough and physically demanding job, as it requires laying the massive net in the sea, and then hand pulling it back into the boat. It was hard work that only the fittest men could endure.

So, the group had worked tirelessly throughout the night and caught no fish at all. It was a dawn where they decided to call it quits and beached their boats, have some breakfast, there was no maccas back then so no sausage and egg mcmuffins, maybe they had some bread? So, they ate under the warm and inviting sun. And during this time, they would have been washing their nets, mending them and leaving them to dry. Once dried, they would fold it back neatly for the next trip.

This day would have been a bit different for the group. Instead, they saw a crowd forming. Jesus was preaching. And Jesus comes up to Peter and asks to borrow his boat. He takes him out a little into the sea and uses the boat as a floating pulpit where the voice of Jesus carries across the sea to the crowd of people.

The request

Luke 5:4-5

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.” 

This was a demanding request. Simon Peter literally fished all night, and he didn’t catch a single thing, he was already packing his nets before Jesus asked to use his boat that day, and now Jesus is asking Simon to let down his nets again. And let’s not forget who the fisherman was, Jesus was a carpenter from Nazareth, what right did he have to tell a person, who’s who life revolved around fishing, on how to fish? If Peter wanted help with carpentry, like how to make a shelf, maybe he could have reached out to Jesus!

I don’t know about you, but if someone offered to give their advice on topic that I am very familiar with, I would be like “what? I mean I appreciate it, but what do you know?”. I know there a lot of Manchester United fans here, but can you imagine, if Edrick was invited to a training session and he goes up to the coach and players, and says “Look, I’ve never played a professional game of football once in my life, but listen to me, I have spent countless hours on fifa on PlayStation, if you listen to what I say, you will win. Are you interested?”

Peter says, “Master we worked all night and caught nothing.” We can see why Peter is reluctant to listen to Jesus. But because he knows who Jesus is, he has seen his miracles, he had heard Jesus speak in synagogues, Peter says after a brief pause, “But at your word I will let down the nets.” How many of us have ever doubted? How many of us in our heart have doubted but we still decided to obey anyway? I want you to think of a time in your life where you have doubted yet continued to trust and obey in the Lord. Even though Peter was a bit reluctant, he continued to obey Jesus anyway. This is a beautiful encouragement for us who are struggling with doubt. The first disciples were sceptics and they had their doubts. But what happened to Peter is what Luke hopes will happen to all of us who read his Gospel, that is to know him more and trust in his word.

There is a pause of faith that will lead to an eternal difference.

The breaking of nets and sinking of boats

Luke 5:6-7

 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.

Peter could hardly hold on to his nets; there was so many fish that even the nets were breaking! So, he looks to the other boat and yells for help, the other boat comes along and now both boats start to sink! What a day. From catching no fish, to catching literally, a ton of fish. This was probably the catch of a lifetime. If you ask any fisherman, I guarantee you they will never forget that one fish they caught, or that time they caught so many fish – it is something that will be talked about for the rest of their days. For me, I remember this one time we went fishing out on a boat in Botany Bay on a hot summer’s day. We spent like 4 hours going to different spots and not getting any bites. So, we thought to ourselves, maybe its time to just head back in. I was praying, Lord let your will be done. And as we were heading back in, we decided to give it one more go. So, we anchored up, I remember the setting was starting to set, and lo and behold, we came across a school of mackerel, and I kid you not, we caught like 40 fish in that last hour or something. I’m not lying, I promise you.

Being a fisherman, he knew that this was no ordinary occurrence. This was a miracle. And I believe at that moment, he knew that Jesus was lord over the sea, over creation and over Peter himself.

There are two other things that happened that day, Peter encountered the holiness of Jesus, and secondly, we see what it means to be a Christian.

1.        Encountering the Holiness of Jesus

Let’s continue to read what happens in verse 8-10.

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.

Do you think that Peter did not know Jesus? I am sure that Peter knew who Jesus was, Peter must have heard Jesus preached at the synagogues, he had witnessed Jesus heal the sick, he knew who Jesus was, but what is it about this event that makes it different for Peter?

Have you ever been in the presence of someone great? Someone who was maybe incredibly smart, or so beautiful, or someone that was so talented. You admire that person but also, at the same time, deep down you may not like that person. Why don’t you like that person? Well, because being in the presence of greatness will show you what you lack, your flaws, your shortcomings. So, you may admire this person but at the same time, you do not like this person, you want to avoid this person. You are attracted to people of greatness but also want to run away from them! And this is what happened to Peter. Peter encountered the holiness of God.

Peter became so overwhelmed with his awareness of sin, that he fell at the knees of Jesus, and cried out “go away, for I am sinful man, O Lord,”.  Why did Peter respond this way? As we know, this wasn’t the first time Peter was exposed to Jesus and his authority, but what we see here is that Jesus personally ministered to the life of Peter – the sea, the boats, the nets, the fish – this was the life of Peter, and through this, he experienced something so significant that he has never experienced before.

You may not know but in the bible, Peter’s encounter is not so different to other encounters with God.

Look at the case of Isaiah, in Isaiah 6. Isaiah was a prophet. And I’m sure at that time, Isaiah was probably one of the most holy men around. And yet we see this similar response, that when he encounters God in his vision, he cries out “Woe is me! For I am lost,” in other translations it says, I am ruined, or I am undone, I am unravelled. Isaiah’s response was not adoration but fear. He felt the anguish of his own sin and cried out in confession before God. And then we see the beauty of grace being applied in Isaiah. His sin was atoned for. God then asks the question, who shall I send, and who will go before us? And listen to Isaiah’s response, “Here I am! Send me.”

When you truly encounter Jesus, you will experience a holiness that not only reveals your sin but will transform you.

Every sin, every small detail, everything you try to hide will be revealed. Seeing God in his holiness makes us aware of our sins. But it does not leave us there, it transforms us.

And because Peter knew that he shouldn’t be in the presence of a holy God, he feels exposed, he feels small, and he cries out “depart from me”. But look at the way Jesus responds, it’s just beautiful.

2.        Fisher of Men

Luke 5:10-11

“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”[a] 

Jesus tells Peter, “Do not be afraid,” what a beautiful assurance. Two things happened in the statement, firstly, Jesus reassures Peter there is nothing to fear, and secondly, Peter’s sin does not disqualify him from what God has planned for him. “From now on you will be catching men,” mic drop. In that phrase, there is a combination of two Greek words, which means alive and catch. So, the meaning is more like to “CATCH ALIVE” – “from now on you will catch men alive”. And this becomes true of Peter, catching men alive was his mission. You can find a record of Peter preaching at the Pentecost in Acts 2:41 where 3000 souls were added. Wherever Peter went, the number of men kept growing. This miracle of catching fish is a picture of what Peter will do in his life.

Sometimes as Christians, we think that evangelism is probably best left to people who are extroverted or really good in communicating. Did you know that 90% of the leadership team can be classified as introverted? That last 10% is just Ko Martin, and you and I know that he loves to talk. It’s a great skill to have. It is true that some people are more gifted in evangelism than others. But the calling to catch men was not exclusive to Peter but to everyone who follows Jesus. The call to tell people about Jesus Christ is for everyone, it is part of being a disciple.

We all have different vocations but there is one vocation that is required for every Christian – that is to be fishers of men.

This is our calling as an individual but also as a church congregation. Evangelism is part of being a disciple of Christ.

It is also important to remember to trust in the sovereignty of God. Will we catch everything we fish? Nope. But keep trying, inviting your friends to church, talking about Jesus to people in school or at work, preach the gospel. If you ever feel disappointed when you try to evangelise, remember that God is sovereign and he can do things beyond what our mind can comprehend. Whatever the season, keep on fishing because it’s not you who saves but God who brings salvation.

3.        Leaving it all behind

Luke 5:11

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

As we read through Luke 5, each step seems to get more difficult. We see Jesus ask Peter to row the boat out a bit, and then he tells Peter to cast his net, and then Jesus calls him to be a fisher of men, and lastly, we see that not only Peter, but James and John, leave everything to follow Jesus. This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

There are many people that love the idea of following Jesus, but instead of leaving it all behind, they still cling on to things. It could be their own selfish agendas, their hidden sins, a grudge against someone, maybe the pleasures of this world, or comfort, or just wanting to live the life they want to live. Can you imagine if Peter decided to follow Christ but continued to haul his net full of fish everywhere he went? It would be difficult for Peter to follow Jesus that way. You need to let it go. Total surrender.

The cost of discipleship is to leave everything behind, it will cost you your life, but there is grace where you will have new life.

Jesus demands all of us. But when we willingly submit to Christ and choose to follow him, the yoke is easy and burden is light.

I know that some of us, even myself after preparing this sermon, will ask the question, how do we leave it all behind? How do we leave everything and follow Christ? I can’t ask you to leave everything behind and be a Christian, I might be able to give you some advice here and there, be a good friend to you, love you guys as much as I can, but really, you wouldn’t leave everything behind for me. But if Jesus calls you to leave it all behind, then that is a different story.

Like Peter, my hope is there will be a day when you truly encounter Jesus, in such a way that you find in yourself, what we all find in ourselves: sin, it is his grace when he shows us our selfishness, our pride and our sin, but the beauty of the gospel is that he does not leave us there. It is that grace that calls you to leave everything behind for Christ. It gives a sinner a new purpose, a new direction and a new calling. Jesus left everything behind when he went to the Cross, he was cut off from the favour and fellowship of the Father because he was bearing the sins of you and I, and the wrath of God. And that is why you and I can be here today. He will never leave the repentant person.

And I want to finish with this; I want us to read a similar story found in John 21.

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards[a] off.

9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

Peter was in agony after the death of Jesus, do you remember that he denied Jesus? I am sure he was wrestling with all sorts of emotions. So, Peter decided to go fishing, maybe to clear his mind, he’s like why don’t we go fishing? And as usual, he seems to be unsuccessful. Here are two stories from Luke 5 and John 21, that are quite similar. In both stories, Peter goes out fishing, Jesus commands to cast the net, and then there’s an abundance of fish caught. In Luke 5, overwhelmed Peter says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, o Lord,” but in John 21, overwhelmed Peter removes his clothing and immediately jumps from the boat and swims to Jesus. What a beautiful moment. What was the difference? In Luke 5, Peter did not know Jesus but in John 21, Peter knew Jesus and wanted more of him. True recognition of Jesus’ grace moves believers from shame to eager relationship and commitment.

When we recognise the weight of our sin we realise, we need Jesus more, so we run to him!

Only Jesus can forgive you of your sins. It is only Jesus who was sacrificed for our inequities, removing the debt that we could not pay. It is only Jesus who can give life. So run to him. God shows his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What is it you need to leave behind? Answer his call. Choose to follow Christ. The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. Encounter with Jesus' holiness made Peter realise his sinfulness. Does this reflect your personal encounter with God? What happened?
3. What does it mean to be fishers of men in your context? Give concrete lists.
4. What do you need to leave behind to follow Jesus? How does the gospel compel you to do so?