Text: When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).
How many of you have ever gone fishing? I am one who likes to fish. As a little fellow, my father would take me fishing in the reservoirs between the hills of Southern Ohio. There weren’t any really big fish, or at least we never caught any, but it was fun to catch the small ones.
Then when we moved to Northern Ohio, we lived in a small village situated just about 30 miles East of Cleveland, Ohio, right on the banks of Lake Erie. The Village was really a peninsula which set above the lake so that you had to walk down a hill to reach the water edge.
There was a harbor with docks on one side for the lime stone boats, iron ore boats, and coal boats. There was a beautiful Coast Guard station right across the harbor and a nice sandy beach on the northern side facing the lake. I spent many hours sitting along the harbor side fishing. Northern Perch and Pike constituted most of the catch. These fish measured 6 to 12 inches in length. I usually fished with worms or minnows.
I remember sitting on the pier along the harbor many hours without even getting a bite. There were days when the fish were really biting so that it didn’t take long to fill up the stringer with 6 or 12 fish.
I like to fish here in Florida, but I like to go out in a boat. One of my sons had a bass fishing boat for a few years and we enjoyed bass fishing. Since the grandchildren came along, he had to give up fishing for the time being. There didn’t seem to be enough time for family, working, and fishing. We never caught many fish, but it was relaxing just to be out on the local lake. I must say that if I had to fish for a living, starvation would have been a sure thing.
In our Scripture Reading today, Peter, James, and John were fishermen who fished for a living. They had to catch fish because this was their livelihood. They fished on the Lake of Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias.
Our Scripture reading takes place after Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist. This baptism is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus was 12 years of age he sat in the synagogue with the teachers listening, discussing, and asking questions, those who heard him were amazed. When Mary and Joseph found him and Mary said, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Luke 2:48).
Jesus response was “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). This was the first indication that Jesus was aware of the fact he was the Son of God.
Jesus was not saying anything to hurt his earthly parents nor was he trying to disobey them. Verse 51 states that Jesus did go to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and he did live with them and was obedient to them. It appears that Jesus lived with them for the next 18 years.
Then God called John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert to travel throughout Jordan preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John came forth to preach as was written in the book of Isaiah the prophet. As John preached and baptized, his following became great in number.
People even wondered if he was the Christ or the Messiah. John said he was not the Messiah; furthermore, he was not even worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals. John told the crowds that he only baptized with water, but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
One day Jesus came upon all the people repenting of their sins and being baptized by John and Jesus showed his human nature by having John baptize him. He was not being baptized for his sins, for he had none, but he was being baptized for the sins of the nation. Jesus’ baptism also set an example symbolizing the washing away of the old and bringing forth the new. This act of baptism was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
After Jesus was baptized, he was tempted by Satan. After Satan realized he could not tempt Jesus, he left him and Jesus returned to Galilee where he taught in their synagogues. Jesus was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and wherever he went people followed him. He taught in the synagogue in Nazareth, but was rejected by the people in his own hometown.
Nevertheless, Jesus went to Capernaum, which is a town in Galilee, and continued to preach and teach. People listened because his message was preached with authority. Jesus cast out a demon from a possessed man. He healed Peter’s mother-in-law as well as many other sick people. It was through these acts of his ministry that more and more people began to follow him. They realized that he was special, he was different, and he had a message they needed.
Our Scripture states that on a particular day, Jesus was standing along the edge of the Lake of Gennesaret talking to the people. The more he talked, the closer people moved toward him. This same thing happens in this day and age. People want to get close to someone who is popular, be it a singer, actor, writer, well-known preacher, etc. As people crowed toward Jesus, he realized that soon he would be standing in the water.
He turned around and saw two boats belonging to the fishermen. The fishermen had been fishing all night and were now in the process of mending their nets, washing them, drying them, and preparing them for the next nights fishing. These fishermen were probably not in a good state of mind, because their catch was meager, in fact, they caught no fish.
Nevertheless, Jesus got into one of their boats; this one belonged to Simon, and told Simon to move it out a little father into the lake. Simon obeyed and Jesus sat down in the boat and continued to teach from the boat.
I wonder what Simon was thinking about during this time. Remember, Simon was sitting in the boat cleaning, washing, mending, and preparing the nets for another night of fishing. Jesus interrupted him when he asked Simon to move the boat out a little father into the lake.
How do you take interruptions and detours in life? Do you find it easy to change course when you are doing something? When you are working on a project or doing something you really enjoy and someone interrupts you, how do you feel?
Remember the times your children demanded your attention at a time when you were busy doing what you enjoyed doing. How did you respond to their request? Do you remember sitting down to read the paper or watch your favorite TV program and being interrupted by your spouse or your children.
“Dear, we don’t have any bread for toast, would you run down to the store?”
“Dear, if you would help me get this messy kitchen cleaned up, we could both sit down and watch TV.”
“Daddy, this game doesn’t work, would you fix it?”
“Daddy, I don’t have anyone to play Barbie dolls with, would you play with me?”
“Dad, I need to get to the library because this report is due in the morning.”
What did Simon do? He moved the boat out a little father into the lake as Jesus requested and probably continued his work as Jesus taught the crowd standing on the shore. When Jesus finished teaching, he looked over at Simon and said, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4).
What was Simon’s response? Simon replied, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing (v. 5).
Simon probably wanted to say, “Look Jesus, I have been fishing for many years and I know from experience that the best time to fish on this lake is during the night hours. This lake is 680 feet below sea level which makes the climate tropical. Jesus, I know you mean well and I know you want to help us because we do not have anything to show for a long nights work, but it is morning and I know the fishing is not good during the daylight hours. When the sun is shining brightly on the surface of the water, the fish go very deep and try to find a place to hide. And you know what else Jesus, I just finished cleaning and mending the nets for another try tonight. Also, I have them folded up neatly and you want me to get them all wet and dirty. Come on Jesus, we are talking about fishing not preaching. Jesus, don’t you have any other good ideas?”
You and I would probably have thought the same way and we would have open our mouths and made a fool of ourselves. Simon Peter didn’t say these things and I don’t know that he even thought them, but I am putting myself in his place and I would have let Jesus know my feelings. I say this because I have put my foot in my own mouth too many times. Carol told me that’s why Jesus gave me two ears and one mouth so that I could listen twice as much as I talk.
After Simon Peter said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing…” he said, “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (v.5). Keep in mind that this was not the first meeting between Jesus and Simon Peter. They already knew each other and it appears that Simon Peter respected Jesus as someone with authority because he called Jesus, Master.
Simon Peter indicated his obedience to Jesus when he said, “I will let down the net.” We really don’t know if Simon Peter believed Jesus when Jesus said, “…Let down your nets for a catch.” Simon Peter might have thought in his mind this was a complete waste of time. Nevertheless, he obeyed Jesus and Scripture says they caught a great number of fish.
Is this just another fish story? No, this is a true story. There have been times when I, like most other people who have gone fishing, would talk about the big one that got away. Sometimes our imaginations take over, but I believe God allows for a little variance in our stories.
I heard a little story about a husband who took his wife out on a little lake to teach her how to fish. When they finished and got back home, the neighbor asked her how she did.
The wife replied, “Well, I am not sure. According to my husband, I did everything wrong. First, he said I was moving around too much in the boat. Then he said I was talking too much and chased the fish away. Next, he made fun of the way I baited the hook. Lastly, he said ugly words to me because I didn’t wait long enough before reeling in my line. I guess I am not a fisherman, but I did catch more fish than he did.”
There is a lesson on faith in this Scripture passage. Have you ever been asked to “launch out into the deep?”
Most of us get into a comfortable position or zone of life and we want to stay there. For example, you have a job that provides a living, certain benefits, and reasonably nice people to work with. Another opportunity comes along that looks better than you have, but you are reluctant to make a change. You try to weigh the “pros and cons” but are afraid to make a change. You pray about the situation, but decide you know your situation better than God. You are afraid to step out of the boat and walk upon the water. You know what God’s Word says, but you don’t think it applies in the situation. Could this indicate a lack of faith?
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). When Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net” (v. 5) he was hoping for something not seen and that something was fish. If Simon had not lowered the nets, it would have indicated a lack of faith on his part. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (11:6).
When Simon Peter said, “nevertheless” he was willing to do what Jesus told him to do. He couldn’t see the fish and he couldn’t visualize the catch, but Simon Peter exhibited his faith. I believe Jesus was testing his faith. Simon Peter passed the test of faith. He followed through. Jesus does the same to us. At times he tests our faith by placing roadblocks and detours in our lives.
For example, I know a young lady, sixty years of age, who was diagnosed with cancer 4 months ago. This was a shock to her at first, but then her attitude was upbeat. She did what the doctor told her to do. She took her chemo treatments. During this time, there was a smile on her face and positive words flowed from her lips. Last week she had such terrible pains that she went to the emergency room. Her doctor told her there was no more that could be done, gave her some morphine, and sent her home to be comfortable. She is a Christian woman and responded with these words: “Nevertheless, I will cast my burden on you and you shall sustain me. I will launch out into the deep with you.” She exercised her faith.
Dr. Bill Bouknight gives this example: A middle-aged couple is heartbroken. Their 19-year-old son is hooked on drugs. He even steals items from the home in order to pawn them and buy drugs. These distraught parents cry out to God in all honesty, saying, “Lord, we don’t deserve this misery. We gave the boy every advantage. He grew up in the lap of luxury. Sure, we made some mistakes, perhaps we were over indulgent. But, who doesn’t make mistakes? We are tempted not only to kick him out of the house, but also to kick him out of our hearts. He no longer deserves to be called our son.”
Listen to what the parents say next. “Nevertheless, if you want us to persevere with that boy, we will try. If you will help us demonstrate tough love, we will. If you can break into his hard, cold, addicted heart, we will keep up our vigil of love and prayer. We will launch out into the deep with you.”
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Simon Peter said, “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (v.5). The result of Simon Peter letting down the net was a large catch of fish that almost sank the boat. In fact, Simon Peter had to call the fishermen in the other boat to help bring in the catch. Simon Peter could not believe his eyes. He was so ashamed of such little faith that “He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (v.7). He knew Jesus healed the sick and drove out demons, but he didn’t realize that Jesus cared about his work and that Jesus understood his personal needs.
Some people are like Simon Peter in that they fail to understand that a great God is concerned about their meager daily needs. People need to know they cannot take care of their own needs. Everything people have is provided by Almighty God. Every opportunity that comes along is made available by God because he is concerned about us and wants us to have what is best in his eyes.
People are sinful and they must recognize their sinfulness just a Simon Peter recognized his sinfulness. Simon Peter and the other fishermen knew they needed help this day and they were surprised that help came from Jesus through this great miracle.
Conclusion:
Man was created perfect and placed in a perfect setting. However, man disobeyed God and through Adam, sin entered the world. When sin entered the world, there was a void or a gulf between sinful man and Almighty God. God had the option to destroy or to redeem. He chose to launch out into the deep and give man an opportunity to form a personal relationship with Him. God launched out into the deep when he sent his Son to pay our sin debt.
Jesus knew he was carrying a heavy load of hate and sin of the world when he entered the Garden to pray. Scripture states, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus knew what was coming. He could see the agony of the Cross. Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
Are you and I willing to launch out into the deep and follow in the footsteps of Jesus? Do we have the faith to accept His word as it stands? Are we going to follow the ways of the world or the ways of His Word? Are we willing to open our mouths and tell others that what Jesus has done for us He will do for them? Are we wiling to declare, “Nevertheless, Lord, at your word I will launch out into the deep?”
Amen.
