Luke 5:7-11

Luke 5:7-11

And they motioned to their partners in the other boat who came to take hold with them.  And they came and filled both boats so that they were being plunged into the deep.  But after Simon Peter saw, he fell down to worship at the knees of Jesus while saying, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.”  For he and all the ones with him were having amazement at the great catch of fish that they were taking together.  And in the same way were even James and John the sons of Zebedee; they were the partners of Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear. From now on you are catching people.”  And after bringing their boats upon the land, after letting go of everything, they followed Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The catch is awesome. Remember, Peter had just been out fishing and got nothing.  The only reason that this is happening at all is because Peter is willing to trust.  Jesus delivers on his promise.  A few things happen because of the display of the power of God.  First, notice that it doesn’t just affect Peter.  God’s bounty in the life of one person often spills into the life of another.  Peter gets the blessing, but so do James and John.  Second, notice that suddenly Peter doesn’t seem to care about the fish anymore.  When God’s power comes upon us, God gets the praise and glory.  Peter turns to worship Jesus when God’s power is put on display.

Have you ever been blessed because God blessed someone around you?  Has God ever used you to bless people around you?  How good are you at remembering God in those moments?

Second Thought:

Jesus’ words to Peter are classic.  “From now on, you are catching people.”  In fact, if we look at Greek word order, this is what we hear: “From now on, people you are catching.”  Do you hear the Yoda-speak?  Jesus take the object of the participle and throws it before the verb.  Jesus’ emphasis is that Peter will be dealing with people, not fish.  Jesus is going to change Peter’s focus.  Peter’s focus will be about changing the lives of the people around him.  However, Jesus uses a word with which Peter would be familiar: catching.  Jesus may be changing Peter’s focus, but He isn’t changing tactics.  Peter will still go through the world, casting nets (his words), and seeing what gets caught.  Peter never knew what the catch would be when he cast his fishing nets.  He simply had to go through the process and see what happened.  The same is true for Peter now, too.  He won’t know the effect of his discipleship until he goes through the motions and sees what God puts in his path.

How does God use your current skills in proclaiming His grace to the world?  How does God change your focus onto the people around you as you grow closer to Him?

Third Thought:

I think Luke 5:11 is one of my favorite expressions of discipleship.  The disciples bring their boats to land.  They need to get back to normal.  But they aren’t getting back to normal to get on with their life.  They are returning to normal so that they can leave it behind.  They bring the boats back to land and walk away.  The leave everything.  They follow Jesus.  Hidden in this description is the fact that they go from being masters of their own time to be a disciple under Jesus.  They are absolutely giving up freedom.  They are choosing to do so.  That’s why this verse is so powerful.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer talks about the cost of discipleship.  This passage is a great case study in discipleship.  The cost of discipleship is giving up our control and freedom and submitting to Christ in our submission to the Father.

What symbolic boats in your life do you need to leave in order to submit to God?  What cost are you willing to pay?  What cost are you hesitant to pay?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 5:12-13