Fishing For Men
Luke 5:1-11
Introduction
I’m not known as a great fisherman - although I do like to fish. Just the casting and catching part. I admit to being a jinx. Nobody usually catches any fish when I’m fishing with them. And then there was the time I left half of Danny Dodd tackle box lures in the trees because I’m not a good caster.
There are many great fish stories in the Bible (including one prophet who took a three night stay in the whale motel!)
In our text Dr. Luke leads us further into the revelation of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Peter, Andrew, James and John had spent the night fishing with dragnets. It was backbreaking work, casting and drawing in a 100 foot net over and over again. It was hard work that only strong men could perform. The group had sweat through the night without as much as a fish. So at dawn they beached their boats, ate breakfast, and under the warming sun engaged in the tedious and necessary process of washing, mending, and arranging their nets for drying. Once dry, they would be folded and placed back in the boats for the coming night. On this particular day, the monotony was broken by the presence of a large crowd pressing around Jesus. (Hughes)
That brings us to our text for today: Luke 5:1-11
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.
2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Jesus was the master of fishing for men, and he wanted his disciples to do the same. Here are four qualities of discipleship that will help us to grow in this area.
1. Hunger for the Word of God (Luke 5:1-3)
Can you imagine the teaching of Jesus on this day? What a privilege to hear the Son of God teaching Word of God! As people crowded Jesus, he became all the more determined to speak to them. He conscripted a nearby boat. These people were hungry for more of what Jesus had to say and teach. God make us hungry for the Word!
We have the privilege of owning a copy of the Word of God - how do we honor that privilege?
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
Are we spiritually hungry or starving our souls to death? Disciples of Jesus want more and more of Him. Because When we believe in Jesus we are able to …
2. Believe Beyond Belief (Luke 5:4-5)
Jesus’ request to go back out to fishing in the deep is met with a little resistance by Peter. Peter speaks from the voice of experience, he knows there are no fish … he is exasperated … but he obeys.
When we decide to follow Jesus we are deciding to believe beyond belief. We believe Beyond our experience. We believe Beyond our knowledge. We believe Beyond our expertise. His teachings do not always make sense to us. Never take the position to decide that what Jesus demands of us is too much, ineffective, of no use.
God is at work right now in our hearts - in our lives - answering prayers - reaching out through us to others - sanctifying us through the Spirit - there is never a time when God is still or inactive.
3. Lower Self and Exalt Jesus (Luke 5:6-10a)
Those tired fishermen began to realize that they were not just in the presence of a traveling Rabbi, but of the Son of God. Peter’s reaction reminds us of Isaiah 6 in the presence of a holy holy holy God!
When we see who Jesus really is, hear his call, and decide to follow - we will have to realize that He is to be exalted:
We do not deserve the promises He gives. We can easily think too highly of ourselves. We are intelligent, have wisdom, have resources. In the presence of Jesus we realize the truth.
Romans 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one.
Only when we humble ourselves before God can we know the saving power of Jesus Christ. This is our ongoing life-long position - we are humbled in the presence of Jesus.
Qualities of discipleship: Hunger for the word, Believe Beyond Belief, Lower Self and Exalt Jesus, then we must…
4. Launch into the Jesus Mission (Luke 5:10b-11)
With Jesus as our King, there’s a new assignment. He’s going to make us fishers of men. We adopt the perspective of Christ - seeking, reaching, loving other people in hopes that they also will follow Jesus.
Following Jesus means leaving behind things that keep us from being his disciples … and embracing things that make us fishers of men.
Cast Your Nets!
-Pray for God to put one person on your heart to reach in the coming months.
-Watch for Open Doors - the ideal setting may never come. The ideal moment may not announce itself. Remain aware of the opportunities!
-Cast again! Fishermen have to be tenacious. Too often, we are tempted to give up praying for people - we do not see immediate change. Cast your nets without exhaustion and defeat!
-Keep Positive! We are taught by our culture to be religious defeatists. "Nobody wants to hear the gospel." Are we casting our nets or our “nots"? I believe there are multitudes of people who will say yes. When someone obeys the Gospel, we do not know the thousands of ways that the net was cast throughout their lives.
Conclusion
Disciples of Jesus are Hungry for the Word, Live Beyond Belief, Exalt Jesus, and Launch into the Mission of Jesus.
I might not be the best fisherman, but Jesus Jesus tells us to fish for men … we are excited to cast our nets. How will you cast your nets this week?
Extra Material
Barclay: “The famous sheet of water in Galilee is called by three names - the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias, and the Lake of Gennesaret. It was 13 miles long by 8 miles wide. it lies in a dip in the earth’s surface and is 680 feet below sea level. That fact gives it its almost tropical climate … in the days of Jesus it had nine townships clustered round its shores, none of them with fewer than 15,000 people.”
Video of this message can be found on the Forsythe Church of Christ YouTube Channel.
Audio can be heard on our podcast hosted at podbean.com.
Thanks for reading and I hope it is of use to you in your ministry. - JED
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Barclay, William . The Daily Bible Study Series: The Gospel of Luke. Westminster, 1946.
Green, Joel B. The New International Commentary of the New Testament: the Gospel of Luke. Eerdmans: 1997
Hughes, R. Kent. Preaching the Word: Luke - That You May Know the Truth. Crossway, 2015
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary, Volume 1, Matthew - Galatians. David C. Cook, 1989.
