The Great Catch of Fish

Introduction

This portion of scripture in Luke tells us about four fishermen and the day that Jesus visited their boat. What would you think if Jesus walked in the service today and sat down in a pew? One of my friends sent me a story of a new Catholic priest who had just started his first ministry in a large church. One day he walked into the sanctuary, and there kneeling and praying was Jesus. He didn’t know what to do, so he ran to the office and found the Monsignor. "Monsignor," he said, "Jesus is here and is kneeling and praying in our church." The two men walked back into the sanctuary and sure enough, Jesus was still there kneeling and praying. "What should we do?" asked the young priest. The older man replied, "Look busy."

The fact is that Jesus comes to visit every church and every Christian daily, but too many of us are just looking busy instead of really accomplishing something for God. In this section of scripture we are going to see how Jesus’ visit affected the life of four men. And hopefully we will also see how Jesus’ visit can affect our life.

Verses 1-2
While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.

And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

The crowd was pressing against Jesus and he needed to find a place to teach the word of God. He saw two fishing boats. The fishermen were done for the day for they were washing and probably mending their nets.

Gower tells us that the disciples used a seine net which "was about eight feet broad and hundreds of feet long. It was suspended in the water like a net fence, kept afloat by corks, and weighted down with stone weights to keep it vertical. Either a single boat would make a huge circle with the net, or two boats would suspend the net between them and make a sweep toward the shore. When the net was in a tight circle, it was possible to pull in the lower rope so that the net formed a huge bag from which the fish could not escape."

These fishermen were like many of us. They worked hard to earn a living. They were businessmen so the more fish they caught, the richer they would be. No doubt they hoped to build up their fishing business to the point that they could live a comfortable life. They worked diligently to be successful. They knew that nothing would be handed to them and financial success would not come easily. But they weren’t so busy that they couldn’t let Jesus use their boat.

Verse 3
Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Simon had to push the boat out a small distance from the shore. It probably was shallow enough that Simon could just wade in the water to push the boat. From this pulpit, Jesus was able to teach the Bible. No doubt the fishermen themselves benefited from this teaching as they washed and mended their nets.

McGee comments, "The Lord climbed into Simon Peter’s boat and asked him to push the boat out a little from the land. What a pulpit! I believe this illustration is both figurative and suggestive. Every pulpit is a ‘fishing boat,’ a place to give out the Word of God and attempt to catch fish."

Verses 4-5
And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."

After Jesus was finished teaching, he wanted to reward Simon for the use of his boat. There is nothing that we do for God that we are not rewarded in some way. So Jesus suggests that the fishermen bring their clean nets back into the boat and do some more fishing. Now Simon was an experienced fishermen. They had worked all night. They were probably tired. He and his partners certainly knew more about fishing than Jesus, the carpenter, did.

But there must have been something about Jesus and the words that he spoke that impressed upon Simon to make the statement "at your word I will let down the nets" – not because he expected to catch anything, but because he could not refuse the request of Jesus. Are you like Simon and not able to refuse the requests of Jesus – even when they don’t make any sense to you? Jesus wanted to bless Simon for the use of the boat. There is nothing that we sacrifice for Christ that he won’t return to us with abundant blessings. It was time for these fishermen to receive a tangible blessing for their obedience.

Verses 6-7
And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking,

they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

This is the way God blesses us – abundantly. Simon and Andrew began hauling in a great catch of fish. Verse 6 says it was so great that it was placing a strain on the net. They called to their partners, James and John, to come help them. With two boats they could spread the net out further and relieve some of the strain that fishing from one boat would cause. The second boat came out and they began filling both boats with fish. It was such a large catch that the weight of the fish began to lower the boats in the water too low for safety.

These men had been fishermen all their lives. They always dreamed of a mighty catch of fish. Now they were receiving it. Jesus was blessing them financially in a great way. They were being paid a blessing from God that they could never have imagined. How did they react to this blessing?

Verse 8
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

Simon realized that this could not have happened naturally. These men had just completed fishing all night and they were experienced fishermen. Simon knew this was a miracle and that he was in the presence of someone special. He fell to his knees and became painfully aware of his own sinfulness. When we are faced with the divine, our reaction is always humility. We realize how unworthy we truly are. Simon knew he was in the presence of someone used of God. Perhaps he realized that Jesus was the son of God at this point. We don’t know. But he did realize how sinful and corrupt his own nature was. When Jesus blesses us so greatly that we realize a miracle has occurred, we too will be overcome with humility as Simon was. Who are we that God should bless us?

Verse 9-10a
For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken. And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

Here we see the depth of this miracle. All these experienced fishermen were astonished. As they started hauling in the fish perhaps they were rejoicing. But as they hauled in more and more fish, the magnitude of this miracle began to sink in. Instead of rejoicing over their new-found financial blessing, they were silenced into reverence and awe. Instead of jumping up and down for joy, Simon knelt and acknowledged his sins. These fish had taken on a new meaning. Fish would never seem the same again to these fishermen. In these fish, they saw the symbol of Christ’s miracle working power.

It is really not surprising that we see many Christians today use the fish symbol. You have seen them on cars, bumper stickers, pins, and in magazines. Did you know that they got the idea from the early Christians? Gray and Adams relates, "A fish was a symbol often used by the Primitive Christians being found on many of the tombs in the catacombs of Rome." The reason they give is that the Greek word for fish – ICHTHUS – contains the initial of the following sentence:

Iesous – Jesus

Christos – Christ

Theou – of God

Uios – the Son

Soter – and Savior

Perhaps these Christians in Rome got this idea from Peter who was supposed to have preached in Rome

Verse 10b
And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men."

Simon’s emotions had gone the full gamut. From arguing to obeying to rejoicing to confessing to fear, and now Jesus assures Simon. Simon understood what it meant to be a successful fisherman in this material world. He would now become a successful fisherman in the spiritual world. He would be casting a different net and using different bait, but he would be taking in great catches nevertheless. And his catches of spiritual fish would be greater than any catch he had ever made on the Sea of Galilee, including this one today. Simon’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost would net 3000 souls. Simon’s next sermon would bring in thousands more. Simon would preach to the house of Cornelius and the whole household would be saved.

Verse 11
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

These fishermen had been working all their lives for the kind of catch they received that day. But when they received it, what did they do? Suddenly their life of seeking material possessions was placed in stark contrast to the spiritual life which Jesus was calling them to. Verse 11 tells us they left everything to follow him. They left their boats, their business, their financial success. They left everything of value in this world and traded it for poverty, humility, and persecution. Why would they do such a thing? It is because they heard the voice of the Savior speaking to their soul. They suddenly realized what was really important in this life. And they made that their priority. If you are seeking riches and material possessions, listen to the voice of Jesus calling you. What are your priorities?

On May 15 of this year as gunfire broke out at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, 17 year-old Cassie Bernall closed her eyes and prayed. On her wrist was a bracelet which read WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? One of the killers pointed a shotgun at her and asked if she believed in God. One of her closest friends said that Cassie knew if she answered yes, she would die. She looked at the shotgun and said Yes, I believe. And the gunman killed her. At that moment in her young life she was faced with the question of what was really important in life. While other students cried and begged for mercy, Cassie chose what she knew was the most important thing to her. She chose Christ. I wonder how many of us would have had the same courage of that 17 year-old high school student.

We may not have a gun pointing at our heads, but each day we are choosing what is important in our life. How important is God to you? Are you willing, like the fishermen were, to forsake all of Christ? Are you willing, as Cassie was, to give your life for Christ? What are your priorities? What are you willing to give? The greatest things that this world has to offer are nothing compared to what Christ offers us.

Footnotes:

Gray and Adams Bible Commentary, vol. 4, pg. 321, Zondervan Publishing House



	A Study of Luke 5:1-11