Luke 5:1–11

¹ 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.  (EHV)

Dear Friends in Christ,

Jesus’ preaching ministry was beginning to flourish. His reputation was spreading and the crowds coming to hear Him just kept growing—to the point that we see such a throng of people around Jesus that He’s backed up to the edge of the water. So that more than just those in front can hear Him, Jesus commandeers a boat on the shoreline and puts out a little bit into the water. That way everyone can see Him and the water can serve as something of an amplification system. It was no accident that the boat He was in happened to belong to Simon Peter. Back at the Jordan river down south where Peter and his brother Andrew had gone to hear John the Baptist, Jesus had already met them and called them to be His disciples. But Jesus had not yet called them into full-time training for the apostolic ministry that He would later confer on both Peter and Andrew. Peter had begun to believe in Jesus and begun to learn more about the Gospel, yet the brothers had returned home for the time being to their jobs as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.

Today, all that was going to change.

Peter Recognizes His Unworthiness

The change began as Jesus preached. There was a reason crowds came to listen to Jesus. It was because he taught the truth in a way they had never heard it before. “He taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law,” Matthew would later report (7:29). The Word of God, preached with authority stirs the hearts of those who truly listen. And Peter was listening. You know from the other Bible stories about Peter that he never liked to do anything half-way. As he paid close attention, he could feel a change happening in his heart. His faith was growing, intensifying!

The same thing ought to happen to us each week when we come to hear God’s Word. We need to remember that when God’s Word is being proclaimed, it’s Jesus Himself who’s talking, and He’s talking to me!

Jesus preached not just to the crowd, but personally to every individual in that crowd. He was preaching to Peter from His floating pulpit. And then Jesus took it a step farther. After His sermon, He gave Peter and His partners a one-on-one object lesson that made the truth sink in, in a way that Peter just couldn’t miss. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”

Now, Peter had spent his whole adult life as a professional fisherman. Peter thought he knew his fishing business. And he did, of course. All his fishing instincts, and his experience from the previous twelve hours would have told him that this was probably not the smartest suggestion. Fish that don’t bite before dawn, are probably not going to bite in the daylight, he thought—not to mention the fact that he was tired. Yet despite any mental reservations he might have had, with his newly strengthened faith, Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” ‘No, maybe it’s not the wisest suggestion from my professional fisherman’s perspective, but I’ve just heard Jesus preach. He seems to have a level of understanding about everything that’s way beyond my abilities. Sure, He grew up a carpenter, and it’s true that His adult career is as a preacher, but if any non-fisherman is worth listening to, this One is.’  

So off they went, back out onto the lake. How far out they went, whether they returned to their favorite spot, or exactly where they’d been trying all night, our text doesn’t say. But they went out and let down their nets again, just as Jesus had told them to. 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.

Imagine that! Just like at Cana, nobody saw a flash of light or heard any magic words or special sound. People just followed Jesus’ command to do an ordinary thing. When they filled the water jars in Cana, they simply found them miraculously filled with an ordinary, everyday, very much needed commodity—part of the daily bread Jesus asks us to pray for each day. Same thing here. These fishermen followed Jesus’ fairly ordinary command, did a very ordinary thing, dropped their ordinary nets into ordinary water, and lo and behold, they were miraculously filled to overflowing with lots of a very ordinary part of their daily bread: the fish they need to eat and to sell so they could buy the other things they needed.

The Lord’s actions made it clear that whether you’re a prize-winning winemaker or a famous fisherman, those skills and knowledge don’t come anywhere close to measuring up to the wisdom of the Creator and the power of His Providence. God made the fish and taught them to swim, and He knows at every moment where each of them is swimming, and which ones will serve that evening as someone’s dinner. That truly began to sink in for Peter when he was hauling in that amazing catch of fish.

As he began to think about it, it also started to truly sink in what a small, small person he was in comparison to the massive power and greatness of this holy Man he’d begun to follow and call Master. ‘How can I even dare to be in the presence of One who is so much greater than I am?’ Simon Peter … fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.”

Peter was right about one thing at that moment, something all of us would do well to thoroughly ponder: We are truly unworthy to be anywhere near this holy Man named Jesus. We have no right to stand in the presence of the Creator and Preserver of All. For all our boastful words and proud thoughts, we should know that truth and pray, “Help me recognize my unworthiness, like Peter!”

Peter Is Reminded of the Lord’s Mercy

Yes, Peter was right about that one thing. But he was very wrong about something else. Coming into Jesus’ presence has absolutely nothing at all to do with our own personal worthiness! Just ask the thief on the cross who humbly asked “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Being Jesus’ friend, or even His servant, is all about His mercy toward us. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17).

Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear.” What wonderful words! —the perfect answer to trembling, kneeling Peter. Can you relate to Peter’s awkward angst being there with Jesus at that moment in time? Because we’re sinners with a conscience, we often—rightly—feel dirty and unworthy. Aren’t there times when you shudder at the thought that Jesus is looking over your shoulder, listening to you shoot off your mouth, or listening to your thoughts when you manage to keep your mouth shut? Frankly, we should feel ashamed of how we cloud Jesus’ holy vision with our murky, dastardly, self-centered thoughts and ways!

But the fact is, Jesus knew all of Peter’s thoughts, all his deeds, all his shortcomings. He knew every detail of Peter’s past and present, and still, he said to him, “Have no fear.” There’s nothing you can do to hide your utter unworthiness from Jesus’ all-seeing eyes and all-hearing ears. But despite that, Jesus says to you too: “Have no fear.” He doesn’t say it to minimize our sinfulness. He doesn’t say it because He doesn’t really care about the sins we’ve committed and continue to do. Rather, He says, “Have no fear” because of what He’s done and continues to do for you. He paid a heavy price for those sins. He was already punished for them—each individual one of them. And through His Holy Absolution and His Holy Supper, He continues to “daily and fully forgive all sins to me and all believers” in Christ, as we recite in the explanation to the 3^rd Article of the Creed in our catechism. “Have no fear.” Do not ever be afraid to be around Jesus, because He is merciful and forgives you!

The Lord Calls Peter to Share His Mercy

Jesus knew well all of Simon Peter’s weaknesses and his foibles. He knew in advance the dumb things he would say. He knew the time would come when He’d have to rebuke Peter (“Get behind me, Satan!”). He knew Peter would deny Him that night in the Temple courtyard, just as the rooster crowed, and how Peter would run away ashamed and bitterly weep over his failure.

And yet, despite all that foreknowledge, Jesus invites Peter to not run away, or to send his Savior away. Quite the opposite! He even invites this flawed man, this sinner, to join Him full time in the work of sharing the Gospel of forgiveness with others. 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. Jesus’ word of forgiveness and courage, His personal one-on-one Gospel message for Peter, His words “Have no fear,” took Peter’s fear away, and started him on the road of his new lifetime calling. With each passing moment that he spent with Jesus from then on, each sermon he heard, each personal instruction he received, each time he sinned and heard Jesus forgive him, it would sink in deeper and deeper what the heart and center of our faith is, namely the forgiveness of sins, freely given to all who know their sins, yet trust in Jesus for salvation.

And that’s just the way it is in our lives, too, fellow Christians. Time and again, our sins come up in our memories and haunt us, and we add to the pile of trespasses and transgressions every day—both by what we do wrong, and the good we fail to do. And our consciences tell us we have no business being anywhere near the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ, so that we want to say with Peter, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.”

But then our dear Savior comes to us and says once again, “Have no fear.” “I forgive you, now join me in fishing for others. Join me in sharing my love and forgiveness with the countless souls who tell me to go away because they’re ashamed of themselves like Peter.” For ourselves, may we ever pray “Don’t go away from Me, Lord, precisely because I am a sinful man.” Rather, Abide, O Dearest Jesus. Keep forgiving and loving me! Help me off my knees and use me, Lord, in your kingdom! Amen.