MADE INTO A FISHER OF MEN

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 18, 2019 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: December 18, 2019 from Luke 5:1-11

Theme: The experience of Peter teaches us how the Lord prepares someone for use in His service.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

So far in our study of Luke’s Gospel, we’ve considered Jesus’ earthly ministry as He ministered alone. But now we see that, in His ministry, He invites others to join Him. Luke 5 tells us the story of Peter—and of how the Lord Jesus began to turn him from a fisher of fish into a fisher of men for His kingdom.

Luke 5:1-11 tells us;

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled 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. 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 and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him (Luke 5:1-11).

Simon Peter will forever be known to us as the ‘fisher of men’. But he wasn’t always one. And this passage teaches us some of the stages that the Lord Jesus took him through in order to bring him into his Master’s service. It teaches us how we too are brought into the place were the Lord Jesus can use us in His ‘great commission’ work of winning souls for Him.

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Before getting into the details of this passage in Luke, let’s stop and consider the ways that Peter had already been brought into a relationship with Jesus. The first occasion is told to us in the Gospel of John. John the Baptist had pointed Jesus out to some of his disciples; and they left John to follow Jesus. One of them was Peter’s brother Andrew. John 1:41-42 says;

He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone) (John 1:41-42).

Obviously, Jesus had a profound knowledge of this man Simon. He had future plans for him—and a new name. But Peter only knew Jesus as the teacher that his brother Andrew had found—that Man that many were saying was the Christ. In Matthew’s Gospel, we’re told how—later on—Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets into the sea. Since Jesus had already been ministering in the area, they would have known about Him. He called out to them and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”; and we’re told, “They immediately left their nets and followed Him” (Matthew 4:19-20). Then, in Luke’s Gospel, we saw how the Lord Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law; and then how He healed all the sick people in Capernaum, and released those who had been tormented by evil spirits (Luke 4:38-44). Many of the people in the town tried to persuade Him to stay; but He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). Jesus established Himself to Peter and the others as a teacher from God.

And so, when we come to this morning’s passage, it seems then that Peter had already experienced several remarkable encounters with Jesus—and had even been called upon to become a ‘fisher of men’. But he was still not yet where he needed to be in his commitment to the Lord’s service. One of the fascinating things that this morning’s passage teaches us is that the Lord Jesus works in many of us in many different stages to help move us from our old ways of life and thought and into a whole-hearted commitment to His call for us.

Praise Him that He is so patient with us—and so careful to work upon us in the unique and individual ways that we need! We don’t ever have to be afraid of that work; because it is done by someone who loves us infinitely—and who invites us into the greatest work that anyone could ever do.

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Look at this morning’s passage. The first stage that we see Peter in is one that might characterizes many of us who are ‘marginal followers’ of Jesus. It’s a stage that we might call …

1. AN ACQUAINTANCE WITH JESUS AS TEACHER (vv. 1-3).

Peter was becoming more and more acquainted with Jesus and His divine power—but he still knew Him as only a teacher. And we’re told that as the multitudes pressed about Him to hear the word of God, He stood along the shore of “the Lake of Gennesaret” (which is the Sea of Galilee), and saw two boats standing by the lake. One of those boats belonged to Peter. But Peter and the other fishermen had left the boats on the shore to go and wash their nets.

With the crowds pressing in on Jesus—and with the narrowness of the shore of the sea—Jesus stepped into one of the boats and asked Peter to put out from the land. “And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat” (v. 3). We can suppose that Peter was with Him in the boat—perhaps doing a bit of work on the nets while Jesus was teaching, listening to His words.

This may be the stage that many people—even sincere people who love Jesus—are at in their relationship with Him. They only know Him as ‘teacher’. But they do not yet know Him as fully as they ought to. They need to be moved on to a deeper level with Him before they can be brought into His service for the kingdom’s work.

Another stage that we see Peter being brought to is one that is characterized by …

2. AN OBEDIENCE TO JESUS AS MASTER (vv. 4-5).

Peter was brought to this new stage through a kind of ‘test’ of his will. After the Lord had finished teaching, He told Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4). Now; Peter knew his work. He was a professional fisherman; and he knew that you don’t try fishing in the deep water, but in the shallower water. You must go where fish go. And besides that, it was later in the day—the time for mending the nets for the next day’s work; and it didn’t make sense to try fishing when fishing-time was over. And what’s more, Peter—who may have been somewhat frustrated by the previous night’s work—had already worked all night and caught nothing. Perhaps he thought that it was good that Jesus could teach from his boat—since it hadn’t been much good for anything else that day. But to try fishing again? At that time of day? In that place on the lake?

You can almost hear the reluctance in Peter’s voice when he said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing …” (v. 5). In the original language, he didn’t use the normal word for ‘master’ (kurios). Instead he used a different word (epistatās) which means something more along the lines of ‘a superintendent’ or ‘a commander’—someone who exercises authority over another. Jesus, of course, was not Peter’s ‘superintendent’ in the fishing business; so Peter was probably using this word in an informal and familiar sort of way—as if he had been saying, “Now listen, boss; we’ve toiled all night and caught nothing …” It was a way of recognizing Jesus’ uniqueness … but not necessarily in a heart-felt manner of submission.

But perhaps it was a knowing smile from Jesus that changed Simon’s manner. He said, “… nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net” (v. 5). This is true progress. It’s always a step forward when we consider Jesus to be authoritative; and when we do what He says—even when it doesn’t make any human sense to do so, or when it might make us look foolish before others. That’s when our awareness of Him becomes much more personal—when it becomes an obedient and submissive relationship.

Jesus Himself once said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” (John 7:16-17). One sure way to discover the truth about Jesus’ authority is by stepping forward in faith and obeying Him.

Simon was invited to do something that would require him to exercise faith in Jesus. Frankly, if Peter did what Jesus was telling him to do—with all the other fishermen watching along the shore—he might look silly and unprofessional. And yet Peter obeyed. And this led him to a third stage in his progress …

3. A BROKENNESS BEFORE JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD (vv. 6-10a).

Against all reason and professional experience, he went out into the deeper waters and cast his net into the lake. And then, a miracle happened. Peter—and perhaps another fisherman in the boat with him—caught so many fish that the net was breaking. Peter had to call out for reinforcements from James and John—who where his business partners. And they filled both boats to the point that they were beginning to sink. And when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down before Jesus’ knees and said, “’Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken …” (vv. 8-9).

There would have been no other way to explain this but that Jesus was the Son of God; and that, as the Son of God, He can control fish. And just think of how that was tailor-made to impact Peter’s heart. Jesus had already proven His authority over demons to Peter; but that didn’t seem to impress Peter in a life-changing way. He had proven that He had authority over illness, and even healed Peter’s mother-in-law; but that didn’t seem to move him either. But when Jesus demonstrated that He had authority over fish, well … this spoke in Peter’s love language! Suddenly, Peter had come to a realization of who Jesus truly was. And at the same time, Peter had come to a realization of who he himself was in the presence of the Son of God—that is, a sinful man who was unworthy of being in His holy presence. The fish no longer mattered.

Before the Lord Jesus can call us into His service in the way that He wants to, we need to come to a crisis point in our recognition of the truth about Jesus. There needs to be, as an act of God’s grace, a personal revelation to us of the truth about Jesus—a revelation that hits us with such intensity that it breaks us of our pride and brings us to His knees in repentance and worship.

This led to a final stage for Peter …

4. A DEVOTION TO JESUS AS THE SAVIOR (vv. 10b-11).

Jesus is a gracious Savior who never turns away those that come to Him. He takes that broken, humbled, repentant sinner unto Himself, forgives their sin, and puts them to work.

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him (vv. 10-11).

You and I cannot be the instruments of the Lord Jesus that He wants us to be until we have come to terms with who He is in the truth of His majesty holiness. And along with it, we must ourselves come to terms with our own sinfulness and neediness before Him. We must become broken of our self-sufficiency; and fall before Him with a genuine bankruptcy of soul; and sincerely say, “Depart from me, O Lord; for I am a sinner!”

Then, having been broken from all our self-sufficiency, we can say, “I place my faith in Your cross, Lord Jesus—and in nothing else. I present myself to You as helpless and needy. Please, accept me by Your grace. Please wash me clean of all my sins by Your precious blood. Please make me Your servant in whatever way You wish. I trust in all that You have done for me; and I now give my all to You.”

Then, we’re ready to be put into His service in a way that is truly useful to Him.

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Now; later on, as we all know, Peter would fail. After he denied the Lord Jesus three times, he reverted back to his old work. John 21 tells us that he told the others, “I am going fishing” (John 21:3). But that didn’t change the fact that Jesus had called Him to be a fisher of men. The resurrected Lord Jesus met Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee again, reminded him of His call, and put him back into His service. Jesus did indeed make him a great fisher of men—in spite of himself. He will do the same for you and me—even if we, at times, fail Him.

It’s a great privilege to be invited into the work of our Lord. But He must be the one who makes us ready for it and who calls us into His service. Not even Simon Peter—the professional fisherman—could make himself into the ‘fisher of men’ that Jesus wanted him to be. Jesus had to do that for him; and He must also do that for us. And it really is a matter of our willingness. Are we willing to ask Him to make us ‘service-ready’ to Him? Are we willing to let Him bring us through the stages of growth with Himself until we have come to know Him as we should?

Let’s, without fear, become willing to let Him make us ‘ready to fish’ in His service.

EA