Luke 5:1-11 – 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.
This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible; maybe its because this is my story, “Follow Me and I will make you a fisherman”. One of the first things that stands out to me in this passage is that the Lord comes to us in our day to day world and changes the normal into anything but normal. He brings miracles right into our everyday lives. One of the first things He does when He wants to do something great is He will ask you for something, in Peter’s case it was his source of livelihood, He asked for his boat. The next thing He does is asks you to do something that may make you uncomfortable. For Peter, launch out into the deep at the wrong time after a failed night of fishing. Of course, that’s when the miracle happens, a net ripping boat sinking harvest of fish. Then the story really gets interesting, Peter recruits his friends to help with the harvest. That’s what happens when miracles begin to take place, you recruit others to help.
In the middle of all of this supernatural activity the Lord gets to the real issue, the heart. The miracles and the revelation of Christ brought repentance. “Follow Me”. This is what Jesus was after all along, Peter’s heart. “I will make you a real fisherman’. So the results were quite amazing, these fishermen left their old lives and followed Jesus into a world of miracles. Maybe He is approaching you – listen carefully. If He asks you for something give it to Him quickly, you will leave with more than you came with.
