Lost and Found: The Fisherman
Luke 5:1-11
We are in a
series entitled “Lost and Found: Stories of Redemption from the Gospel of
Luke”. We are learning about Jesus
Christ, God in the flesh who came to seek and to save the lost. We are learning about him through the power
of story, particularly, true accounts of his interactions with folks like you
and me. This week we are looking at
Jesus’ interaction with the fisherman – Peter.
Peter is one
of my favorite people in the bible. He
is just so human and so raw yet so appealing.
Peter was capable of great devotion and passion yet also capable of
great blunders. He was not someone who
was hard to read – you knew what Peter thought, he wore his heart on his sleeve. The only problem is that sometimes what Peter
thought or felt wasn’t too good. He was
the one who wasn’t afraid to answer the Savior who, after he had asked who
others thought he was asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God!” That was excellent
and bold of Peter and divinely inspired.
The only problem is that a short time after that , when Jesus reveals
that he will be put to death by the authorities and then be raised on the third
day, Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him, saying “Far be it from you, Lord!
This shall never happen to you.” Can you
imagine – rebuking the Lord? “Ah Jesus,
I got some ideas about how we should work this messiah thing. I really think we should rent the hippodrome
in Jerusalem and set up healing crusades, then we’ll confront Herod right there
on the palace steps. I’ll call down fire
and brimstone and then you’ll take his throne – I know this will work, why
don’t we…” Can you imagine this? I might
have thought that but I think fear of man would have kept me quiet – not
Peter. Later on, when Jesus, Moses and
Elijah appear in glory on the mount of transfiguration, it is Peter who speaks
up and says, “Lord, it’s good to be here, why don’t we set up some tents for
you guys.” His thinking was a little off
but he apparently had no problem speaking his mind. I think a better response might have been
just to keep quiet and try to figure out what was going on – at least it seems
to be the street smart thing to do. Now
for all Peters extroverted blunders, he was passionate for the Lord and Jesus
installed him as chief apostle. It was
he who spoke up on Pentecost and he who steadfastly and effectively served the
early church. There is much about Peter
to admire!
I think Peter
would be the type of person I would like to be around. While I am a little more reserved and careful
personally, I like people who speak their mind, even when its wrong. It is a good thing if they are humble and
shapeable. I think that is what Peter is
like. And I imagine we can see a lot of
ourselves in him.
So let’s
enter into the story of Jesus’ interaction with Peter the fisherman as we learn
more about what it means that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Let’s pray.
Luke 5:1-11 (ESV) 1
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.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to
land, they left everything and followed him.
What a
wonderful and poignant story. Let’s walk
through it together.
Jesus has
been teaching all around about the good news of the kingdom of God now in their
midst. The crowds are so large that he
decides to get in a boat to create a little distance and a better way to
communicate with everybody. Now at this point, he has already met Peter and
Peter and his friends have already begun to follow Jesus. They have seen his miracles, they have heard
his teaching. Peter even has seen Jesus
heal his mother-in-law, though you don’t see much of a reaction from him over
this. He might have preferred her absent
– just kidding. Anyhow, Jesus recruits Simon,
not yet called Peter, and his boat to serve as a pulpit for his message by the
lake of Gennesaret, also called the sea of Galilee. It seems that initially the boats were
inactive, for the text says the fisherman were out of them washing their nets,
getting them ready for the next day.
Jesus gets into one of the boats, Simon’s that is, and has him put out
from the land. It doesn’t say anything
about what Jesus taught on at this point, probably the kingdom of God and
something similar to the sermon on the mount.
Maybe he rehashes his message from Isaiah 61. Regardless, it would have been another riveting
message from the Son of god. Simon is
there the whole time listening and tending the boat. After Jesus finishes
preaching he says to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your
nets for a catch.”
Now we have
to realize what it is to be Simon at this point. Your Rabbi friend Jesus is growing in
popularity, you have seen him perform miracles, you have heard some excellent
teaching from him, overall you are impressed.
But now he is going a little too far.
Not only does he want a little ride in the boat so he can preach to the
people but now he wants to pretend to be a fisherman. He doesn’t even know what is involved in all
this. You just finished washing all
those nets and he wants you to load them back onto the boats. Not only that,
but you all just spent the whole night fishing and didn’t catch a single fish,
not even a minnow. And now this rabbi
wants you to reload the nets and go out fishing in the middle of the day. Who does he think he is? Fishing in the
middle of the day? No fish in its right
mind is going to be anywhere near fishing depth during the daytime. What is he thinking. Why doesn’t he just stick to his area of
expertise and I’ll stick to mine. I’ll
leave the preaching to you and you leave the fishing to me.
Now I don’t
know if Simon thought all those things but I think he did. Like other times, he failed to see who Jesus
really is. At the transfiguration he
thought Jesus was on par with Moses and Elijah, at the revelation of Jesus
mission to die he failed to see the nature of the Messiah and here, at the
beginning, he failed to see that this Rabbi is Lord of heaven and earth. Peter is a lot like me, Peter is a lot like
you.
Aren’t a lot
of our struggles in life because we fail to see who Jesus really is. We fail to see that Jesus is Lord of everything. Take worry for one – isn’t that the thought
that Jesus can’t control circumstances, that he is in control during Sunday
morning or when situations are calm but somehow he loses his grip when the kids
are whining and the house is a mess, or when the boss or authority figure is
unfair or when the company is going out of business. Don’t we act just like Peter and think that
Jesus is Lord only of part of life – the nice religious part, but not in the
home, or over the children or at work or over disappointments? How about worry’s sister, stress. Isn’t that really the same thing as worry but
with the addition of being focused not only on the challenge of the situation
but the half-truth that the solution depends on us. I think that is what was going on with Peter
too. We are just like him. We are more aware that we have toiled all
night and we are more aware that we have been working hard to clean the nets
than we are that God incarnate is standing before us! You and I are a lot like Peter. I think if you or I were fisherman like Peter
we would be thinking and maybe saying the same things.
So Peter
says, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets for
a catch.” Peter expresses his
misgivings about catching fish according to a landlubber’s guidance but he
knows enough to do what the miracle-working rabbi says, calling him
master. What happens next changes
Peter’s life forever. It should also
change ours.
“And when they had done
this, they enclosed a large number of fish and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners [John and
James] in the other boat to come and help them.
And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at
Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he
and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had
taken.”
Put yourself
in Peter’s place at this point. You probably have just rehearsed all the
reasons why you’ll never take a rabbi fishing again. You are frustrated and tired. Yet you are willing to submit to this unique
Rabbi that you hope is the Messiah. You’ve
let him into your realm of expertise and now you are pulling up the catch of a
lifetime – so full that your nets are starting to break. You are immersed in a pile of shimmering
flipping fish unlike anything you have ever seen. And Jesus the Rabbi is sitting there
watching you struggle to bring in all these fish, probably with a glimmer in
his eye and a smirk on his face. And it is at that moment that you realize that
this isn’t any ordinary rabbi, this isn’t any ordinary man. This isn’t the Jesus you thought you knew. This Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. He is Lord over every inch of this sea you
have known since a boy, he is Lord over every fish in the sea, he is Lord over
the sun and the air, Lord over time itself – for he speaks and there is. He speaks a harvest of fish into existence
where there was only barrenness and empty toil.
This is the Lord of Lords. This
is God himself. You see folks, point
number one from Luke 5 is this, : To
encounter Jesus is to encounter true Power!
Peter encountered true power in the person of Jesus and he was
overwhelmed. I’m sure the realization of
who was in his boat sent shockwaves up and down his nervous system. I imagine his hair stood on end. Notice there is no talk about a future
partnership in the fishing business here.
There is no thank you Jesus for the delicious fish. There is realization that he was in the
presence of infinite glory. Notice what
he does and says.
He falls at
Jesus knees and he says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man O
Lord.” Isn’t that interesting?! Notice, he doesn’t say, “I am so glad you did
this for us, thank you for your great love and kindness Lord!” or “Wow, that
was cool, what else can you do?” He
says, “depart from me, for I am a sinful man O Lord.” Folks, when you encounter Christ, not only do
you encounter true power, you also
encounter true holiness. Peter
knew to the depths of his soul he stood before true holiness at that
moment. When you stand before true
holiness, you are not overwhelmed by feelings of warm fuzzies and self-worth –
you despise yourself and cry, woe is me!
Which means – I am doomed! You
know that’s what Isaiah cried in Isaiah 6.
Listen to what he said after encountering God : “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a
man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for
my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”" (Isaiah 6:5, ESV). Job said, " I despise myself, and repent in dust
and ashes.” " (Job 42:6, ESV) . The apostle John, upon seeing Jesus
in heaven fell at his feet as though dead.
R.C. Sproul says about Isaiah’s experience, “In that
single moment, all of his self-esteem was shattered. In a brief second he was exposed, made naked
beneath the gaze of the absolute standard of holiness. As long as Isaiah could compare himself to
other mortals , he was able to sustain a lofty opinion of his own
character. The instant he measured
himself by the ultimate standard, he was destroyed – morally and spiritually
annihilated. He was undone. He came apart. His sense of integrity
collapsed…Every nerve fiber in his body was trembling. He was naked and alone
before God. …His was in pure moral anguish, the kind that rips out the heart of
a man and tears his soul to pieces.
Guilt, guilt, guilt. Relentless
guilt screamed from his every pore.” [2] You see folks, to come face to face with God is to
come face to face with perfect holiness.
Goodness and greatness beyond human experience, holiness and grandeur
that makes the hair stand up on end.
Jesus didn’t have to say a single word about Peter’s sin. Peter, like all of us, knew he was a sinner
and when in the presence of God even the best this world has to offer trembles
and shakes in the knowledge of our sin and depravity. Peter probably felt in the gazing eyes of
Jesus a holy penetrating glare that searched every recess of his soul and
perceived every single sin hidden from so many – even Peter himself. Every angry thought, every lustful fantasy,
every prideful assertion, every scandalous desire, every unfaithful action,
every plot of revenge and flight of fury lay exposed before this holy Rabbi,
this God-man who commands all time and space.
When I was in
my early teens I wanted to plant a watermelon patch. We lived right on the Charles River and the
soil along the river was very fertile. I
probably had been watching too much, “Deputy Dawg” cartoons. Anyhow, I wanted a watermelon patch and one
evening I was at the mall with my Dad and I decided to steal some seed
packets. It seemed like I could pull it off
except that the seed packets kinda rattled and slipped out of my shallow pocket. I still remember what it felt like to be
caught stealing by my dad. I felt
exposed, ashamed, low. I believe that
was only a taste of what Peter felt at this moment and what we all would feel
if we truly grasped that we stand, even this morning, before an infinitely holy
and glorious God. Peter knew what it was
like.
So he says, depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He is not asking Jesus to jump in the lake
and swim away. He is asking Jesus to
stop pursuing him and befriending him– for he knows he is thoroughly sinful and
totally unworthy of his presence. Folks,
may we never take for granted that the Savior befriends us. If we caught a glimpse of what Peter saw we
too would say “depart from me” – for we would realize how unworthy we are
before the holy infinite God. Peter knew
that day. We are also to know this. To
encounter Jesus is to encounter true holiness.
At that point
Jesus could have brought holy vengeance on Peter for his willful and active
sin. God could have dealt with Isaiah by
banishing him forever from his holy and glorious presence. Job would have been rightly condemned for his
pride and bitterness. But all these
encountered the living God, who is gracious.
For, to encounter Jesus is
also to encounter true grace.
Notice what
Jesus says next. “Do not be afraid.” Does that sound familiar? It is what the angel Gabriel said to
Zechariah in Luke 1 and to Mary, Jesus’ mother later on. It’s what the angels said to the shepherds in
Luke 2. Folks, when you encounter holiness
and greatness and you are aware of your sin, “do not be afraid” are great words
to hear. They are certainly great to
hear should you meet a mighty angel. You
know, biblical angels are not cutesy and pudgy or petite blondes like the angels
we hang on our Christmas trees. They are
mighty glorious angels that are so incredible that those who encounter them
tremble and faint. As the great
theologian Al Moehler said, “Real angels make
you wet your pants.”[3]
And they don’t always come to announce good news – sometimes, like in the book
of revelation, they are sent to bring judgment.
But do you remember last week’s
message, how when Jesus read Isaiah 61 he pronounced the year of the Lord’s
favor, stopping before the part about the day of vengeance of God? You see, Jesus could have judged Peter in his
sin right at that moment. But he has
come to bring the year of the Lord’s favor.
He has come to bring release from captivity to sin and death. He has come for people like Peter, people
full of doubt and worry and pride.
People who know that their sins are many, not little. People who shake and tremble in the presence
of a holy God. People who know they have
not any hope save the Son of God himself says “do not be afraid.”
And folks, I have good news for you
today – the Son of God has promised to never cast away any who come to him – as
he said in John 6:37. He says in Matthew
11, “come
to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He says to Peter, “do not be afraid.” And he says to all of us, even as we are
aware of our sin and our unworthiness, “do not be afraid.” You see, God has determined to pour out mercy
on people like Peter, like you, like me.
He so loves the world that he sent his one and only Son that whosoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He sent his Son, this powerful, holy,
gracious eternal one to live a life of love and kindness, and then to die on
the cross, bearing the sin and holy punishment from God for all people like
Peter, who come to Him saying – I am a sinful man! And who gladly receive the words, “be not
afraid.”
You know, it is ultimately only Jesus
pronunciation of “be not afraid” that really matters. To hear God himself say to us, “be not
afraid” is peace and life. Jesus said in
Matthew 10, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and
body in hell.” We need not fear
even the worst circumstances of this world, for although men and catastrophes
can kill our body but they can not touch the soul. But there is One who can destroy the soul and
the body. And the bible teaches us that
in our natural state, as sinners before him, like Peter, we are in danger of
eternal destruction in hell. Folks, this
is not a popular topic these days. Our
humanistic relativistic culture doesn’t like to talk about this – the thought
of God sending people to hell seems cruel and malevolent. This is not how the bible portrays it. It is called justice and goodness. And we only will fully realize how good and
just it is when we fully see the perfection and goodness and glory of God. Then all relativistic, humanistic and
cultural perspectives will seem empty and deceptive. When we encounter God like Peter did on that
day, there will be nothing for us to say but, “depart from me, for I am a
sinful man!” And if you wait for the final day of judgement to realize
that you will have missed the day of favor.
You will be at the day of vengeance and it will be too late. He begs you today, come to him, encounter him
and find a willing and loving Savior for your sins. Then he will say, “do not be afraid” and it
will be sweet to your soul!
You see, this grace only comes to the
humble, to those who know they need a Savior.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
If you don’t think you are lost, you don’t need Jesus. But if you know you are lost, his favor and
presence are better than life itself.
Listen to what David Powlison says about this: “The
change and the redemption that we all long for requires self knowledge. Diagnosis precedes cure. But we humankind
have a hard time with self knowledge, our pride spins webs of self delusion we
usually put the best spin on ourselves, my opinions, my perspectives and my way
of doing things seems intuitive plausible if not the sum of all
righteousness. Even when we get down on
ourselves we reserve the right of judgment.
Have you ever noticed how a person with low self esteem reacts when
someone else does the criticizing, have you noticed how self hatred so often
correlates to failure to measure up to pride generate standards for one self? Self
pity is then a most delicious narcotic.
It feels so good to feel so bad because it’s all about me. Self
absorption erects an impenetrable barrier to self knowledge. To know myself as I truly am I must come to
know myself through the eyes of someone outside of myself, the God who searched
and weighs every heart.” And
when we come with such self-knowledge he gladly responds to this humility with
His gracious words of “do not be afraid, for my son has died for you and his
life and blood has atoned for all your sins.”
There are no better words to hear folks!
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. After saying to Peter, “be no
afraid”. He says to him, “from now on
you will be catching men.” You see, to encounter Jesus is also to encounter
our true calling. Jesus receives
those who call out to him from their weakness and sin, his grace transforms
them and joins them to his saving mission. Peter and his partners, James and
John, left everything and followed him. Encountering
Jesus is not just about encountering a Savior from sin but also about
encountering a Lord for life. These two
qualities are inextricably bound up in this one person, Jesus Christ, whose
very names means Savior and Lord. And it
is not drudgery to follow Jesus. Peter
and James and John were not following Jesus merely because that was what one
ought to do, though it certainly is, and this motivation is in itself
sufficient. No, I believe there was a lot
else going on here. They had encountered
the Lord of the universe, the creator of all things, the sustainor of all
things, the one who could command all the fish in the lake and so overwhelm
three humble fisherman with so much fish that their net were breaking and their
boats were sinking. Certainly if he
could do all this than he could take care of them and their families and their
futures. Certainly, if he could do this
than he could do anything. Peter called
Jesus Lord in his confession. This was
not merely a term of respect, it was an acknowledgment of deity, an
acknowledgement of absolute sovereignty.
So to encounter Jesus is to encounter the Lord of the universe and
therefore to gladly submit to his plan for our lives. For Peter that meant leaving his fishing
business and even his family, temporarily, to follow the Savior. It meant traveling all about Palestine and
later, throughout the rough miles of the Roman empire. It meant imprisonment, persecution and
eventual death at the hands of Nero.
Although you and I are no Peter and never will be, we follow the same
Savior. Although we may not have to
leave our family and business, we are called to follow him supremely. And he is
supremely worthy and supremely trustworthy folks. To encounter Jesus is to encounter our true
calling, to follow him, obey him and serve him – be it as a great fisher of
men, like Peter, or a lesser fisher of men, as we are all called. To encounter Jesus is to see that he is more
precious than anything on earth and to gladly lay aside whatever pleases him,
be it finances, job, homes or even family.
He offers himself freely to us but requires all who follow him to lay
aside anything that hinders or distracts, even good things, to follow him wholeheartedly. He will have no half-hearted disciples – such
a thing is a contradiction. For he is
worthy of our whole heart – it is the only appropriate response to this Savior
and Lord. And he has promised to take
care or us and even reward us as well follow him. But we must know to encounter Jesus is to
encounter our true calling to leave everything to follow him. Peter knew it, James and John knew it,
millions of Christians throughout the ages have known it. Do you know it? He calls you today to do the same. Is there anything that you are counting as
more precious than Jesus? What is the
most trustworthy thing or person in your life?
Whatever you consider most trustworthy is the same thing or person you
will follow. What is it for you? Is it your personal philosophy? Is it a drug?
Is it a human relationship? Is it
a feeling or an experience? Or is it the
Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ? I pray it
is nothing less trustworthy than Jesus.
I pray that through his word, even today, you encounter him. Jesus receives those who call out to him from
their weakness and sin, his grace transforms them and joins them to his saving
mission.
To encounter him is to encounter true
power. To encounter him is to encounter
true holiness. To encounter him is to
encounter true grace. To encounter him
is to encounter our true calling.
Encounter him and follow him today!
Let’s pray.
[1] Much of this series is from the same series given at Covenant Life Church, Jan-Jun 2006, see www.covlife.org .
[2] R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, Tyndale, 1998, p.29-30.
[3] As heard first hand at “Together for the Gospel”, 2006.