Luke 5:1

Luke 5:1

The Bible says in Luke 5:1-3, "And it came to pass that as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship." Jesus was a teacher. During the three years of His public work, the thing that Jesus did the most was teach people. He taught great multitudes of people. He taught small groups of people, and He taught individuals. If God has called you to teach, wherever you are: teach. If you are in front of a group, teach them. If you are talking to individuals, teach them. Just like Paul said to Timothy, "Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." When you teach, make sure that you teach the same things that Jesus did. Luke 4:43 said that Jesus taught "the kingdom of God," and Luke 5:1 it says that the people came to Jesus to hear "the word of God."

These people were smart enough to recognize that the words that Jesus spoke were the words of God. The greatest teachings ever taught came from Jesus. All the truth that came before Jesus led up to Him, and all the things that were taught by the apostles were based upon the things that Jesus had taught them. Jesus lived quietly in the household of Mary and Joseph until He was thirty-something, and then He taught. In Luke chapter five we are told that He taught the multitudes. In this incident we are not told what He taught them, but we are told what He taught Peter. Jesus had a very important lesson to teach Peter, and because it’s recorded for us in the Bible, it’s a very important lesson for us to learn also.

The Bible says in Luke 5:4-7, "Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink."

If you looked at this passage from Peter’s point of view, what he said seemed to make sense. After all Peter was an experienced fisherman. Also, he had just been fishing all night and had caught nothing. Be careful of human logic. That which seems to be logical to you may keep you from doing the will of God. "Your thoughts are not my thoughts, saith the Lord." The mistake that Peter made was fairly common for believers especially in the first years of following the Lord.

The lesson that Jesus wanted Peter to learn, and that He wants us all to learn is to never question God’s leading. If He wants you to go in a certain direction, then by all means go His way. It will turn out much better if you do. When Peter fished his way in his time, he caught nothing. When he fished according to the direction of the Lord, they caught a vast number of fish. Your worst enemy in following the Lord will always be your own will. Be careful of your stubborn and selfish will. It can cause you to miss God’s blessings. Learn very early in your walk on this earth to always go God’s way, or there will be some hard lessons until you do learn it. Peter did the right thing. He was very wise to put aside his own will and his own way of thinking and to say to the Lord, "nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net."

After catching all those fish the Bible says in Luke 5:8-11, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him."

It’s easy to interpret this passage as being a spiritual awakening in the hearts of Peter, and James, and John. We can certainly see the basic elements that must always be present for someone to experience a spiritual awakening. It centers around a contact with Jesus. From the time that Jesus began His public ministry up to our very day, if anyone on the earth is going to have a genuine spiritual awakening it must center around the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus visited Peter and James and John. He sought them out. Eventually by the Spirit, Christ visits everyone in the world in order to draw them to Himself and offer them salvation. That’s what is meant by John 1:9 that says of Jesus, "That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world."

When Jesus came to these men, they responded in the way that everyone ought to respond. They certainly recognized that they needed a Savior. Peter was touched in his conscience, and he said to Jesus in Luke 5:8, "I am a sinful man, O Lord." You need Jesus because of the sin problem. If you listen to it, your own conscience will tell you that you need a Savior because you are a sinner. A true Christian is not someone who is better than others. A true Christian is someone who has admitted their sinfulness to Christ, and is a sinner like all other humans, but is a sinner saved by grace. The reason to become a Christian is because you need a Savior and Jesus is the Savior.

In the lives of Peter and James and John, there was an initial contact with Jesus that was a spiritual experience for them, but that was not all. There were practical results in their lives that demonstrated that they had a genuine conversion experience. "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature: old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new." Luke 5:11 says that "they forsook all and followed Him." On the day of salvation when a person gives themselves to Christ, if they had a genuine experience, they came to Christ not only to receive salvation and forgiveness, but also to give themselves in submission and in service. If a person has really been saved, then at the time of salvation that person came to Christ in order to follow Him. If your life was not changed by coming to Christ, then you should seriously question if you ever came to Him at all.

The Bible says concerning Peter and James and John that they "forsook all." You should always be willing to forsake whatever God wants you to. If and when you do so depends upon the calling of God and the will of God. Your calling may change as time goes by. God may put you in a normal human profession or occupation for a while, but the time may come when He will call you to something else. Peter and James and John were fishermen for many years, but the time came when God asked them to leave their fishing business and do something else for Him. Even Jesus worked in a carpenter shop for many years before He had His public ministry. The only way that you will know if God has a change in store for you is if you are willing to forsake all for Him. Many people have been led astray by the deceitfulness of riches. Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and mammon. You will either hate the one or love the other."

These men became the apostles of Christ because they were willing to go wherever God wanted them to go and to give up whatever God wanted them to give up. If God wants you to give something up, it’s only because He is going to replace it with something better. These men gave up a fishing business, but in return they received the priceless souls of men and women and an important part in the history of the human race. Throughout eternity they will no doubt forever praise God for giving them the wisdom to forsake all and follow Him.

Jesus said to Simon Peter in Luke 5:10, "Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Of course, God does the catching of men; or what we might call the converting of the hearts of human beings. But God does it using His servants as His instruments. God gives us the privilege of being laborers with Him in His harvest field. There is God working by the Spirit, desiring to touch the hearts of everyone in the world. Then there are the servants of God, if they are led by the Spirit, doing things that involve the spreading of the gospel and being a light for Christ in a dark world.

If you are a believer, in order to have a part in the spread of the gospel and in the catching of men, you must remember what Jesus said to Peter. Jesus said in Luke 5:10, "Fear not." Some Christians do not get involved in the spread of the gospel because of fear. Fear will paralyze you. When you think of the weakness of human beings and the many fears that can so easily plague us all, it’s no wonder that one of the first things that Jesus said to the disciples when He met them was, "Fear not."

What is there for a believer to fear anyway? We certainly should not fear death since we have the promise of eternal life. We shouldn’t fear difficult circumstances since we have a God who can do anything. There is nothing too hard for God. We need not fear our enemies, because God told us to love our enemies. He will find a way to take care of us in those kinds of situations because He said, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay." We do not need to fear the unknown future, because the future is securely in God’s hands. He has it all planned out. How about the opinions of others? Should we fear what others think of us? Not if we believe the teachings of Jesus. The preaching of the cross may be foolishness to them that perish, but to us who are saved, it is the power of God.

If you are centered on Christ and focused on Him as your Savior and companion, then and only then will you have the right basis to "fear not." If you lose your focus of trusting in Him, then somehow somewhere you will start fearing again. You will fear your enemies, or you will fear your competition, or you will fear the unknown; and your fear will manifest itself in some kind of selfish way: by anger or stinginess or failure to act. "Perfect love casts out fear." "God is love."

The Bible says in Luke 5:11 that the disciples "followed him." They followed Jesus. Too many Christians have become followers of men. If you copy some man, then you will also copy their mistakes, and somehow you will be even worse than they were. You must learn to be a follower of Christ above all else, if you are to take the same journey that the disciples took. The traditions of man can cause the truth of God to be set aside, and such traditions only take effect when men begin following men instead of following Christ.

In this incident where Jesus told Peter where to fish, and then such a great bounty of fish were caught, Jesus is also teaching us that when God decides, a great harvest of souls can be taken. If you go God’s way and do His will, you never know how great the results may be. There is an old hymn that puts it very well:

It is no secret what God can do.

What He has done for others, He will do for you.

It may just be that the world has yet to see what God will do through one person who is willing to forsake all and follow Him. Jesus said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures, where rust and moth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal."

Here in Luke Chapter 5 we are told about a day 2000 years ago when Jesus stopped along the sea of Galilee to talk to a crowd of people who came to hear Him speak forth the Word of God. But we know that Jesus came to the Sea of Galilee for another reason also. He came to call Peter and James and John to follow Him. Jesus is still doing that. He is still visiting people by His Spirit and inviting them to be willing to forsake all and follow Him. Has Jesus passed your way? Perhaps He is speaking to you today. Don’t delay. Give your heart to Christ. Leave your nets and your boats and follow Him while there is still time.

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