Cast Your Net Into Deeper Water

Let’s read Luke 5: 1-11

Pray

Ill. Jake and the rain.

I. Background

A. This is the description of the first disciples being chosen by Jesus by the Lake of Gennesaret—Christians commonly refer to this lake as the Sea of Galilee.

B. Some believe that this may have been a first encounter of Jesus and Simon Peter

1. I do not

a. One reason because there were crowds, Jesus was already drawing crowds.

b. Too this was Jesus’ second year of ministry (referred to by some scholars as the “year of popularity”). Surely a hometown guy like Simon knew of Jesus.

c. Simon Peter calls Jesus “Master” in the passage before Simon Peter placed the nets back in the water. To me that definitely suggests previous relationship.

II. So let’s look at the specific circumstances of Simon Peter that day?

A. You can tell that Simon Peter was at least a little perturbed because Peter said: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and we haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5: 5b NIV)

1. Definitely a little reluctance here

B. Peter was perturbed too because of his situation. He had not caught anything!

1. They had cast the nets over and over again and returned with nothing

2. Nothing-- just lake trash and dirt

3. He had been fishing all night

4. He and his crew were finishing up—they were cleaning their nets and getting ready to pack it in

a. Cleaning nets is very tedious boring work.

b. The nets have to be very clean or they will not last.

c. The have to be cleaned right away or the job is harder if it is allowed to dry

d. If the nets are not clean then the fish see them

C. Then Jesus took him away from his task to let him use his boat as a pulpit

D. Jesus sat down to teach which was common in that day.

1. But can you imaging Peter when Jesus sat down?

2. Jesus was taking up more of Peter’s time

3. He was cutting into Peter’s sleep time—possibly his time off or family time

E. . So then the topper

1. Jesus asks peter to throw some clean nets back out in the fishless lake!

2. It is as if Jesus where saying to Simon, “Come on Simon let’s go fishing”! (Coffman Commentary)

3. Jesus did this even though He saw them when they were already using the nets before they were clean(Matt 4:18)

4. Where was Jesus in our passage

F. Some people though are hard on Simon Peter for responding to Jesus by saying, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and we haven’t caught anything….” But I think that most people would have done much worse.

G. If I would have been Simon Peter I would have thought one thing, “Momma told me there would be days like this.”

III. Am I alone? How would the average Christian respond to such a request today?

A. Jesus you just asked me to take you out here, and I have waited patiently for you to finish speaking to the crowd, isn’t that enough?

B. My guys have been cleaning the nets without me, and I am sure the are very mad at me now

C. You are a carpenter turned public speaker

D. I am the fisherman

1. My grandpapy was a fisherman

2. My great grandpapy was a fisherman

E. Because I am 15th generation fisherman, I surely know that the heat of the day is not when to fish

IV. But Jesus understood these circumstances just like he understands your circumstances too.

A. Why does God work like this a lot? Why does God let us get tired and then do some of His best work? Why does He wait until we are exhausted sometimes?

1. One reason He wants to build our perseverance

2. Sometimes we have to get to a point where we can’t do it to see the great things of God.

3. Let me explain what I mean…When we finally have exhausted all of our effort, all of our knowledge, and all of our power to do the things God wants from us…that is when—and only when—we will not take the credit for something God has done in our lives

4. Peter didn’t expect to catch anything except more trash from the lake, but when he reluctantly obeyed and persevered by casting the nets, he caught so many fish it almost sank his and his partners’ boats

B. A big point here in the passage…The Lord cannot test our perseverance when we are in ideal circumstances.

1. Just think if Jesus would have come up in the early morning

2. Would not have had the same effect