Our Great Occupation (Luke 5:1-11)

INTRO

1.    Like all able-bodied men in ancient Israel, Simon had an occupation.

2.    A fisherman by trade, Simon made his living, and supported his family, by catching and selling fish.

3.    He fished the waters of the Sea of Galilee, a body of fresh water approximately 8 miles wide by 14 miles long.

4.    His office was a rugged, wooden boat, roughly 8 feet wide by 25 feet in length if he followed the standard of the times.

5.    At least on occasion, if not routinely, he worked the graveyard shift.

6.    Commercial fishing was a strenuous occupation.

7.    Simon and his partners would drop hundreds of pounds of dragnet into the deep waters, then pull their nets back into the boat hand-over-hand.

8.    They would repeat this task over and over through the night, struggling with the weight of their waterlogged nets, along with any fish they might trap in them.

9.    In Luke ch. 5 Peter and his partners have fished all night and now stand in the shallow waters, swishing their nets clean of sand, pebbles, and sea weed.

10.Soon they will hang their nets to dry with anticipation of flopping their exhausted bodies in bed.

11.Now Simon has already become Jesus’ disciple—an unusual honor for a common fisherman.

12.Only the well-connected and most intellectually gifted Jewish boys were recruited to follow a rabbi as disciple.

13.For many reasons, Simon never made the cut as the cream of the cranium crop.

14.But to his joy the wildly popular rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, recently chose him as his disciple.

15.Yet at this early stage in Christ’s Galilean ministry, Simon continued in his occupation as fisherman.  //

16.Jesus knows where Simon lives in the village (4:38), knows where Simon works and beaches his fishing boat, and also knows the time has come for Peter to take on a new occupation.

17.So I don’t think it is right for us to draw the conclusion that Jesus just chances upon Simon here.

18.I think it is far more likely that Jesus sets out to spend time discipling Peter that memorable morning.

19.But as Jesus walks to the water’s edge, he encounters a logistical problem …

I.       PETER LENDS HIS BOAT TO JESUS (VV. 1-3)

A.   V. 1

                    1.  The enthusiasm of the crowd is great, but it compromises Jesus’ capacity to teach God’s word.

a.   And note that it is indeed nothing less than “God’s word” that Jesus taught.

b.  The content of his sermons was the message God above sovereignly and graciously reveals to his people here below.

                    2.  But he cannot teach effectively with people physically pressing in upon him.

                    3.  So Jesus devises a solution to his pedagogical predicament, soliciting Simon’s help.

B.   Vv. 2-3

                      1.  I assume Jesus sat in the front of the boat, facing a crowd that hangs on his every word.

                      2.  Peter likely sat behind Jesus, fighting sleep.

                      3.  Luke merely notes that Jesus “taught the people.”

a.   But taught the people what?

b.  Taught them the “word of God” (v. 1), yes; but that’s all we are given!

c.   Why? Because Luke’s purpose in recording this narrative is not about what Jesus taught the crowd that day, but about what Jesus will soon teach the guy seated in the boat with him.

                      4.  And by that instruction, Luke intends for this narrative to instruct all of Jesus’ disciples, then and now.

                      5.  Jesus starts with a strange command to his new disciple.

                      6.  And as the narrative unfolds, we will see Jesus act twice and Peter react twice, with lifelong consequences.

II.    JESUS CATCHES FISH FOR PETER (VV. 4-10A)

A.   Jesus Issues a Command to Peter (v. 4)

                      1.  Well! Simon was pleased enough to let Jesus use his boat for a floating pulpit.

                      2.  “No problem pushing out a few feet from shore to catch a morning sermon before bedtime. Happy to help.”

                      3.  “But what on earth?! Dump all our clean nets back in the boat and return to fishing? We’re done. For us, it’s bedtime!”

B.   Peter Responds

                      1.  V. 5a

a.   The Greek word for “net” refers to a deepwater dragnet which were only used at nighttime when the fish could not very well see them in the water.

b.  But more significantly than that: “Jesus, our shift is over. Our nets are clean. We fished all night, but caught not a single fish.”

c.   We could expect this weary fisherman to say: “No, Jesus, I know what I’m doing here and what you’ve asked is just not a good idea.”

d.  In fact it really was not a good idea—given everything Peter had ever experienced in his occupation as a fisherman.

e.   But to our surprise Peter says …

                      2.  V. 5b

a.   By the grace of God, in that critical moment, Peter chose the opposite path to that of Adam and Eve in the Garden.

b.  Adam found the command of God restrictive, unreasonable, and took upon himself the decision to disobey God’s command and to eat the forbidden fruit.

c.   Similarly, Jesus’ command here runs contrary to Peter’s instincts, his feelings, his opinion based on experience.

d.  But Peter sets all these natural considerations aside and chooses to honor Christ’s strange and disruptive command.

e.   Why did Peter do this? Perhaps at this early stage in his discipleship he acted merely out of respect for Jesus.

f.    But Peter’s response was a pivotal moment that shaped the rest of his life for good.

g.  Why did Peter obey Jesus? Because Jesus is Lord!

h.  APP

1)     Peter is in the early stages of learning this truth, but we must know that Jesus will never, ever, ever issue a bad command.

2)     He will never command you to do anything immoral, unwise, irrational, trivial, arbitrary, or ultimately harmful.

3)     Always, Christ’s commands are for our highest good and ultimate joy. Always.

4)     Like Peter, we will find some of God’s commands difficult to swallow—grating against everything we believe is best for us, everything that makes sense.

5)     And yet, if you are a genuine believer in Christ, you know what it means to obey anyway.

6)     Jesus’ commands are not suggestion. His counsel is not subject to validation by human reason.

7)     ILL – Brandon F. – a career he wanted to pursue, but one verse of God’s Word made it clear he should not pursue that occupation  he obeyed

8)     ILL – Mary M. – desperate fear of water due to abuse in her childhood – never put her head under water, ever – came to Christ + encountered his command for believers’ baptism = obeyed

9)     It might be something far simpler and more routine of you, but let us think clearly on this point: What God says is always right, and what he commands is always to be trusted and obeyed because he is Lord!

10)  In the most horrifying sense, this is the lesson Israel failed to learn time after time, but as a son of Israel, Peter was learning this vital lesson.

C.   Jesus Fills Peter’s Boat with Fish (vv. 6-7)

                      1.  “They” – the focus of the narrative is Peter, but his partners also witnessed the miraculous catch.

                      2.  How Jesus did this is not revealed. We only know that this catch of fish also caught Simon’s attention.

                      3.  The nets are breaking. The boats are sinking. It is certainly the best catch of their lives.

D.   Peter Responds (vv. 8-10a)

                      1.  Again, this is not how we expect Peter to respond.

                      2.  We expect Peter to say: “Jesus, would you please consider being my permanent fishing guide? I’ll pay you really well, or we could go into business together. You find ‘em, I haul ‘em in, we sell ‘em and profit. What do you say?”

a.   APP = Christians in name who use Jesus’ name for profit – they see Christ’s church, and more horrifyingly Christ name as a means of gain. [2 Pet 2:3: (“greed”); 1 Tim 6:3-5: (“Imagining that godliness is a means of gain”)]

                      3.  Or, we might expect Peter to say “Jesus, let’s do this again, and we’ll gather an even larger crowd and you show them your powers.”

a.   APP: Many Christians who in the name of Christ labor to entertain the masses

                      4.  Simon Peter may not yet possess a full-orbed sense of Jesus’ divine nature, but what he did know is that Jesus wielded the power of God.

                      5.  And how did Peter react to this realization? It shook Peter to the core of his being!

                      6.  He was not thrilled. He was scared.

                      7.  With honesty and humility Peter falls with his head at Jesus’ knees in the boat and solicits not partnership, but a parting of the ways.

                      8.  “I am a sinner who has no business being in your presence. Depart from me Lord!”

                      9.  “Let me row you back to shore and you go on. It has been an honor to know you, Jesus, but I am not worthy to be your disciple.”

                   10.  Peter vividly sensed that he was as spiritually empty as his nets had been the preceding night.

                   11.  He realized that he was spiritually poor and blind and naked before Christ, with utterly nothing to commend him to the Lord’s service.

                   12.  Everything hangs in the balance for the fisherman from Galilee at this moment.

                   13.  But the words Christ speaks brim with hope and draw Peter in … “Do not be afraid.”

III. PETER WILL CATCH FISH FOR JESUS (VV. 10B-11)

A.   Jesus Calls the Disciples (v. 10b)

                      1.  “Do not be afraid”

a.   Peter sees himself for who he truly is and his sin for what it truly is … and he is in despair.

b.  What he deserves is Christ’s rejection and judgment and he knows it.

c.   Peter is Adam hiding in the Garden in fear.

d.  Peter is Isaiah: “Woe is me, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips.”

e.   Peter is the shepherds trembling on the night angels appeared in the night sky to announce Christ’s birth.

f.    Peter is the tax collector of Jesus’ parable, beating his chest in guilt-ridden confession.

g.  Q = Have you come to a place in life where you sensed the horror of your sin and feared God for having every right to send you to hell?

h.  APP

1)     If you are a genuine believer in Christ, you have indeed come to that place—to the end of yourself in awe of God’s holiness and justice.

2)     Like the Apostle Paul you have no problem confessing that you are the foremost of sinners (1 Tim 1:15).

i.    Schooled by our culture, we might expect Jesus to say, “No, no, no, Peter, you are not all that bad of a guy. You’re a good man at heart. That’s why I chose you as a disciple.”

j.    No, Jesus silently accepts Peter’s confession as quite accurate.

k.  Peter asked Jesus to depart from him; but Jesus does not command Peter to depart from him.

l.    Rather, Jesus says: “Do not fear.”

m.This command is the echo of God’s grace through the corridors of salvation history.

n.  With the sinner standing head bowed in shame before a holy God, “Do not fear” echoes:

1)     “Adam, where are you?”

2)     The angel cauterizing Isaiah’s mouth with sacrificial coals from the alter

3)     The Bethlehem shepherds, quaking with fear, but hearing the reassuring words: “Fear not, for today is born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.”

4)     This is Paul saying I am the foremost of sinners “but I received mercy”

o.  There is only one reason sinners who break God’s law need not fear the judgment we deserve = God extending grace to rescue us as sinners from the doom we deserve.

p.  If you imagine that you are adequate in yourself to stand before God in eternity, you need to be very afraid God’s wrath.

q.  But those who fall in abject spiritual poverty before the Lord with nothing to boast are met with mercy by the God who justifies the wicked (Rom 4:5).

r.    And this through faith in Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.

s.   Eph 2:8-9. So it is those who sense a terrified need to run from God’s holy presence who find soul rest and satisfaction by falling into the arms of a merciful God.

t.    “Yes, Peter, you are a sinner … but do not fear, you are also my servant and I have a task for you”...

                      2.  “From now on you will be catching men.”

a.   “From now on” = Simon’s new occupation would become the heralding of salvation in the name of Jesus.

b.  “From now on” Peter’s occupation would involve dropping the gospel dragnet into the sea of humanity and pulling out every soul he could rescue for Christ.

c.   Jesus “You have fished for fish. Now your occupation will be to fish for people.”

d.  “I have fished for you this morning, now I want you to fish for me for life.”

e.   Never again was Peter just a fisherman. A new occupation now influenced everything he ever did and the man he was, and was to become.

f.    John ch. 21 = switching the metaphor – “feed my sheep” = Peter’s occupation

g.  And of course Peter and his friends obeyed this call to a new occupation …

B.   The Disciples Follow (v. 11)

                      1.  We do not know if they sold the fish and placed their boats, nets, and supplies in the care of others.

                      2.  V. 11 reads more naturally to say they abandoned everything right there on the shore.

                      3.  But in any event, they were off to a new occupation in the service of their Lord and in the interest of lost souls.

                      4.  An as was true of their days as fishermen, so in this new occupation:

a.   They would work as partners in a collaborative effort.

b.  They would work long, hard, exhausting hours.

c.   They would work at considerable risk to their lives.

d.  They would face days with little or nothing to show for their efforts.

e.   And the miracle of the great catch would always remind them that any catch of souls would have to come from God’s power working in and through them.

CONCL

1.    We find in this narrative and encapsulation of the gospel:

a.    God is Lord over all.

b.    We are fallen sinners who do not deserve to stand in his presence.

c.    Christ comes to us in our need, meeting us with grace (rest of the book of Luke describes the means of this rescue).

d.    We are called to a new occupation, disseminating the good news of Christ’s saving grace (Matt 28:19-20)

2.    And this is indeed OUR occupation, in utter dependence on the power of God to grant success.

3.    Our Master has left us on this planet for a short time to influence others for Christ.

4.    And so we have no more business minding our own business than Peter had to disobey Jesus’ command to launch out and fish.

5.    Our God-assigned occupation is to draw lost souls into the dragnet of Christ’s saving grace.