Introduction
Okay, so far we have Jesus fishing at the synagogue and at the disciple Peter’s house. Where will He go next? One outreach was well planned, the other spontaneous. What kind of event will follow? When we left Jesus yesterday, under the direction of His Father, He had departed with His disciples (or at least most of them) for the surrounding villages to train His young team and go fishing for men. Fishing in the marketplace is where we will find the Master today. Check it out.
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
Luke 5:1-11
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- Where is Jesus fishing?
- What are some of the various emotions Jesus’ disciples were feeling?
- Verse 8 says that “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees …” What was “this”?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
Jesus begins to make His way around the Sea of Galilee, more of a large lake than an actual sea. He continues to provide His young team on-the-job training to become fishers of men. Jesus and His disciples arrive in the early morning on the shores of the port town of Gennesaret, on the western banks of the Sea of Galilee, just southwest of Capernaum. The people begin to arrive as well to buy the fish for the day. Remember that there were no refrigerators in that time and people bought their food fresh each day at the water’s edge as the fishermen arrived from a full night of fishing. Jesus takes advantage of the opportunity and begins the next training session, an “open air” outreach event. Notice Jesus’ strategy — He doesn’t try to assemble a huge number of people. He just goes where the people are. He knew there would be a crowd of people gathered to buy fish in the morning. He uses an already existing event and turns it into an opportunity to do some of His own fishing and training with His disciples.
As Jesus is teaching the crowd, the people start to press in on Him to touch Him. As the people press in on Him, He continues to back up and ends up knee-deep in water and still moving out. Jesus realizes that He needs some help and begins to look around. Who of all people does He see? It’s Peter. Now wait a minute — you would’ve thought Peter was already with Jesus, but evidently not. Peter must have gone back to fishing for fish at some point. Maybe Peter never left with the group, after Jesus shut down His outreach event in His hometown that he had planned. Maybe Peter was struggling with leaving everything to follow after Jesus. After all, he had a wife, maybe children, a mother-in-law, a house and a business. Peter was older in life and definitely had accumulated more things that he would have to give up. We gain insight into this as the outreach unfolds.
After getting in Peter’s boat, the two of them head a little ways out as Jesus continues to teach the people. Remember, the people had come to buy fish this morning and it seems that there was nothing to buy as we read Peter’s response, “We’ve worked hard and been out here all night, but haven’t caught anything!” Peter must have been thinking, “Hey, I’m the fisherman here and you’re a carpenter, Jesus. If I fished all night and didn’t catch anything, so there are probably no fish to be caught.” However, Peter obeys and pushes a little further out and drops his nets — maybe to prove to Jesus that he, Peter, knows what he is talking about. Can you imagine the scene on the beach as everyone watches in amazement as Peter drops his nets in daylight and fish start jumping everywhere? People must have certainly started saying, “I can’t believe it — Jesus really must be the Messiah.” Meanwhile, on the boat, Peter falls at Jesus’ knees (Luke 5:8). Yes, His knees, because there were so many fish in the boat that they were both knee-deep in fish. Peter cries out, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (v. 8). Jesus responds by telling Peter not to be afraid but to become a fisher of men from now on. Jesus gives Peter a second chance, and Peter takes it and leaves behind everything to follow Jesus. I wonder what happened to all the fish they caught and left behind (Luke 5:11)? Could it be that Jesus was showing Peter that He is fully capable of meeting all his family’s needs? Could this miracle be for Peter — that Jesus truly is Jehovah-Jireh (The Great Provider)?
What does it mean to leave everything to follow Jesus? Later, in John 21, after Jesus rises from the dead, we see Peter back fishing. This will be the last time. Jesus meets him again and repeats this same miracle to remind Peter that He is Lord. He can take care of providing for you and your family. I think Peter was struggling with believing that Jesus was Lord of all. Jesus spoke to Him in terms Peter could understand, showing Peter that He was capable of doing what Peter could not. He could catch fish when Peter was unable to and He was more than able to provide for him and anyone else if he would only step out in faith and believe. Peter took a step of faith this day that changed his life. Find a friend today and talk about what keeps people from leaving everything to follow after Jesus.
With your small group of friends, continue praying and planning your fishing expedition. Nail down a date and a place to go fishing. Remember, you can go fishing for men in the market place, in a home or at a church. The key is not where but that you actually enter the harvest field and start working. This weekend could be the perfect time. You do not need a lot of preparation time. This is not the Big Event, but a small first step.
What are some of the various emotions Jesus’ disciples were feeling?
– They were probably feeling doubt and with commitment issues at the beginning. They probably weren’t fully letting go of everything they had – especially their job as Peter was still out fishing after Jesus called them to follow Him. They also have some doubts in Jesus when He said to put the net into the deep side. But all the doubts and commitment issues that they had were left behind when they caught all the fish. They saw the power of Jesus and turned all of that into trusting in Him. In order to become a fisher of men, we have to take the next step of obedience like what Peter did. For me when taking those steps, it’s hard not to doubt. But seeing the results of what Jesus can do when you obey Him really turn all my doubts into more faith in Christ as I walk with Him everyday.
Ok so Jesus is finally fishing at the sea. He calls to Simon where he works as a fisherman, and caters the question to him. He’s essentially saying that what he’s talking Simon to do he already knows or has the skill set for. But before he makes this call he shows proof of his calling with a miracle. And to us it seems impressive, but Simon knew how impossible it really was, being a fisherman and experiencing firsthand a bad fishing day. Honestly the first thing I’d think would be someone along the lines of “man if this guy was a fisherman we’d make bank” but then Jesus calls him to leave his job. And after seeing what Jesus could do it makes sense why he’d be willing to shake his life up so much.
“What are some of the various emotions Jesus’ disciples were feeling?”
I can only imagine that they were feeling uncertain, confused and hopeless. Their responses seemed very hesitant, but nonetheless they listened to Jesus anyway. Once they let go & saw Jesus’ truth, all their worries seemed to fade and it was replaced with complete admiration. It’s crazy that sometimes we are so afraid of letting go, but this passage reassures me that Jesus always provides and keeps His promises. When we obey Jesus & align our hearts and plans with His, our doubts will fade and He reveals His glory and goodness!
I’m reminded of how much we gain from a life with Jesus. This passage emphasizes how following Jesus will be so much fuller and more abundant than a life on our own accord. I think this translates in so many areas of our life, and when we live like Jesus, we are set apart and it attracts others and makes them wonder what makes us different! It can open opportunities and conversation to share God’s love and light and allow us to fish for other people.