Gone Fishing

Today we look at Luke Chapter 5. It contains one of the astounding sayings of Jesus, “I will make you Fishers of men.”

You see fishing was how Simon Peter and his brother Andrew made their living. As a matter of fact, fishing is one of the oldest professions in the world. Men learned very early the rewards of time spent luring fish to the shore. I know, growing up in a river town like Catlettsburg, I spent many an hour on the riverbank. And of course, we had our legions. And I know fishermen are famous for stories of the one that got away.

Here in Catlettsburg, there is a legion of a fish that could not be caught. Old Scrap Iron Jack. He was one of the biggest, strongest, meanest Shovel-head Catfish to ever swim in these parts. No one could catch him, absolutely no one. Oh, he had been hooked many times, but never landed. That’s how he got the name “Scrap Iron Jack”, because he had so many hooks in his mouth. Legion has it that he was never caught and still swims the waters of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers today. His legion is so big in the he is immortalized in Billy C. Clark’s book, “Song of the River”. Scrap Iron Jack is also featured on the Flood Wall Murals on Oakland Avenue; you can see a picture of Ole Scrap Iron in the waters below the dam.

Luke’s fish story involved a lot more fish than Ole Scrap Iron Jack. It happens on the Sea of Galilee, not the Big Sandy River. The Sea is a beautiful body of water and is still full of fish today. It is really a fresh-water lake, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. Because it is 680 feet below sea level, it has almost a tropical climate. Nowadays the area around the sea is sparsely populated, but in Jesus’ day, there were nine towns clustered around the Sea, none with less than 15,000 population. Jesus noticed two boats down by the shore, one owned by Simon Peter. Jesus asked if he could use a boat as a speaker’s platform from which to teach the crowds of people. Verse 4 tells us that when Jesus finished teaching and pronounced the benediction, he said to Simon, "Let’s go fishing." Jesus fished in the same clothes he preached in. From Jesus’ example one can see an eleventh commandment: Never go fishing on Sunday unless you have been in a worship service first. Look at verse five. Simon Peter protests, "Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing!" What he really wants to say is, "Look, Jesus, everybody knows that night-time is the best time for fishing. The morning is a terrible time. Besides, we just finished cleaning the nets and we’re dog-tired.

Notice that Simon refers to Jesus as "Master." That was a term denoting someone in authority. But what does a carpenter turned preacher know about fishing? After all, Peter has been a professional fisherman all of his life. Verse 5 includes a great word of faith. In the King James Version the word is "nevertheless." "But because you say so, I will let down the nets." That’s a victory of obedience over preference. Simon Peter was really saying, "Master, I don’t believe there’s a fish within a half-mile of here, but if you say, ‘Let’s go fishing,’ Let’s go."

Verses 6 and 7 tell us what happened. The results were astounding. They caught so many fish that another boat had to be sent out to help gather them. This is one of the great fish stories of all time, and it really happened, which is more than I can say for many fish stories I have heard. That is the way it is with the Lord. When we put our faith in him, nothing is impossible.

Simon Peter finds out that Jesus knows more about fishing than he could ever imagine. In verse 8, he falls to his knees before Jesus and addresses him with a different title. No longer does he call Jesus "Master." Now he is "Lord." This was the term used consistently in the first five books of the Bible as a reference to God. Simon Peter could see clearly that this Jesus was so close to God that he-Simon- felt unworthy to even be around him. In verse 10 Jesus says in effect, "Get on your feet, Simon. I’ve got much bigger plans for you than catching fish. From now on you’re going to be working for God, fishing for people."

Now Simon Peter and his friends sense how great and capable Jesus is. They turn over their fishing business to friends and relatives, confident that Jesus will see that the business is viable enough to support their families. They "left everything and followed him." (Luke 5:11)