Go Fish!

2.6.22 Luke 5:1-11

One time, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats there along the lakeshore. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. 7 They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9 For Peter and all those with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.” 11 After they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Go Fish

Go fish. It’s a simple children’s game. You look for a match to your cards. When you hear the words, “go fish,” it means there is no match. You’d rather not, but you do, in hopes of a match.

Go fish. Peter had done it many times. Yet this time, fishing brought Peter to his knees. We hear it often in Scriptures, “he fell down at Jesus’ knees.” It’s really quite the statement if you think about it, for something to actually bring you to your knees. It’s happened to me once in my life that I can remember. Has it ever happened to you?

Why was Peter so awe-struck? The thing was that it was so unnatural. Peter KNEW fishing. He knew how it usually worked. The fish just weren’t biting. They had been trying all night. Now that it was daylight, it was time to give up. But when Jesus told them to go to the deep water, it was as if the fish were jumping into the net. They couldn’t wait to be caught, to the point of nearly sinking two boats. It wasn’t that Jesus knew where the fish would be, which would be miraculous enough. It was that He actually CAUSED it to happen, which would mean that Jesus had power to control fish! It brought Peter to his knees.

Later on Peter would be brought to his knees for a different reason, that Jesus knew Peter BETTER than Peter knew HIMSELF. He knew that Peter would deny Him three times, even though Peter thought it impossible.

We confess that God is almighty. Yet so often His power is hidden behind seemingly natural things. The sun is designed to rise and fall at a certain time of day. It’s predictable because of the ORDER of God’s creation. But do you ever think or pray that God would break beyond the borders of nature and do something supernatural for YOU, as He did when the sun stood still for Joshua? I think of the person who is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, or the married couple who is convinced that there is no way their relationship will work out, or the parent whose child is addicted to drugs. Do you pray to God and believe He can actually work a miracle?

Peter had a part in this miracle, but he sure wasn’t expecting it. He had been up all night fishing. He was washing the nets. They were almost done. You’ve been there. You’re ready to cash it in. Can’t wait to get home. Yet notice how Peter let Jesus use his boat to go and preach. Peter didn’t say to Jesus, “I’d love to stay, but I just pulled an all-nighter. I’m too tired. I just can’t. I’ll catch you next time.” Luke doesn’t tell us how long Jesus preached for. Was it an hour? Two hours? Peter didn’t complain. Jesus kept him captivated with His WORDS. But then the real test. “Go fish.” Notice how Peter responds. He is skeptical at best. He doesn’t really want to. The only reason he does so is out of respect for Jesus. “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.”