That You May Know - Pt 4

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on 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. 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. And when he had finished 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.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. (Luke 5:1-6 ESV).

One day as Jesus was standing by the Sea of Gallilee, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 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. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 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.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 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. This miracle is known simply as “the great catch of fish.” Peter is not brimming with faith. "Master, we worked all night” (v. 4) was Peter’s response. He was telling Jesus that, though he was a great teacher, they were the great fishermen. And, they were tired. They had fished all night. Often we are like Peter, full of excuses why we failed and desire to quit, when we should simply look to the One who cannot fail and never tires. It is encouraging that the Lord does not pitch Peter overboard, but accepts his half-hearted obedience and does the miracle anyway. That is Jesus’ way. When we are tired and ready to quit, the great, never-weary Christ acts. Our hearts are never perfect. But Christ honors simple efforts to obey him. Notice Peter’s next reaction. When Peter and the others saw the blessing Jesus had given them – the way he had used them to gather the fish in spite of their half-hearted obedience: "Simon Peter … fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” (v. 8). That’s the real secret! This is the point at which we realize our inadequacy means nothing to the success of our venture. It is His power and will that brings “the great catch”. Trust Him!