Dare we to be the only ones who are eavesdropping? Jesus is saying unto Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishing for my people.” Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11 New Living Translation

The First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,^[a] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. ² He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,^[b] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” ⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

I like to think of fishing as something that is to be relaxing.

I want a folding chair and a book when I fish.

Cast out the line, sit down, and read a book until something bites.

When I was a child, I liked placing the red and white bobbers on the fishing line.

Then, when I saw the bobber go under the water, I knew to pull the line.

Most of us today also view fishing as something to do recreationally.

But being that fisherman in the first century was a tough life and required hard labor.

Casting out their boats into the Sea of Galilee, 1st century fisherman had to stand on the edge of the boat and cast large nets into the water and then haul the nets back in.

For hours and hours a fisherman would continue to cast nets into the water.

This was not a one-man job for the work was laborious. With a catch of fish, a few men would be required to lift and pull the weight of the fish into the boat.

One thing I hated about fishing is the prospect of catching nothing. Spending hours fishing only to come home empty-handed is a great disappointment.

Even worse is when you look around and see others catching fish.

So you decide to move to that spot and it dries up. So you keep moving, hoping to catch fish, but to no avail.

But a fisherman in the 1st century, a lack of fish was not only a disappointment but was the loss of a paycheck.

Working as a fisherman is what put money in their pockets, food on the table.

So, Do you still think you like fishing?

I do, although I would often return home with an empty bucket, a sunburn and far too many mosquito bites to count and scratch at. Unlike me, Simon Peter didn’t fish for fun; his life depended on it. In this dramatic story, Peter not only catches a boatload of fish, but he is called by Jesus the Messiah to follow him.

After an exhausting, unsuccessful night of fishing, Simon and his crew were washing out their nets when Jesus came by.

He asked if he could use their boat for speaking to the people by the lakeshore, and then later he told the fishermen to take their boat out for a big catch of fish.

Simon wearily complied.

He was soon overwhelmed, however, with hauling in a catch of so many fish that his nets nearly broke. Simon fell at Jesus’ feet. He knew he was in the presence of the Lord, whose authority over creation was overwhelmingly clear.

Simon’s encounter with Jesus that day echoed the call of prophets like Moses, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, who knew they were in the presence of the living God.

And, like the prophets, Simon Peter was called by the Lord to serve him.

And what would that service be?

Jesus told Peter that from now on he would “fish for people” by drawing people around him to the love of Jesus.

When we meet Jesus, the living God, we do well to fall to our knees too.

Jesus calls each of us to obediently follow him and to share, without any conditions or excuses, in the glorious task of drawing others to his love.

The real authentic message here are in the last few words:

‘without thinking about success or failure, life or death, sacrifice or reward, consequences, vast riches or abject poverty, salaries, contracts, labor unions or anything associated, they silently stopped, left everything and followed him’.

They left everything behind them; the money from their great catch, business responsibilities because they had been captivated instead by the person of Jesus.

It dos not look like they asked or consulted their families or their attorney’s!

They just walked away from everything – looking for the Kingdom of God.

We too are to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ – to live in God’s world, carrying the message of the Good News of Savior Jesus Christ from that vantage point.

So, how much do you authentically think you would still love laboring for God?

Psalm 107:23-32 The Message

^23-32 Some of you set sail in big ships;
    you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
Out at sea you saw God in action,
    saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word he called up the wind—
    an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;
    your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
    you didn’t know which end was up.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
    he got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
    put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
    and he led you safely back to harbor.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
Lift high your praises when the people assemble,
    shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!

Fisherman’s Prayer

God grant that I may live to fish until my dying day, and when it comes to my last cast I then must humbly pray. When in the Lord’s safe landing net I’m peacefully asleep. That in His mercy, I be judged good enough to keep.

The Fisherman with His Savior

Surely Jesus loves fishermen for He chose them for His own, To be with Him and learn from Him and someday share His home. It must have been their trust in God and patience He found rare, That keeps them very near His heart and forever in His care.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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