Only the one who has come to realize before the Lord that he is a sinner can become the Lord’s fisherman who catches people.

Only the one who has come to realize

before the Lord that he is a sinner can become 

the Lord’s fisherman who catches people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“They signaled to 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.  When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’  For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.  Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’  So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:7–11).

 

 

 

As I meditate on this passage, I desire to receive the teaching that the Lord gives:

 

(1)   Simon Peter had worked hard all night trying to catch fish, but he did not catch a single one (Lk. 5:5).  When he obeyed Jesus’ word—“Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v.4)—and did as Jesus said (v.5), so many fish were caught that the nets began to tear (v.6).  So Simon Peter motioned to his partners in the other boat to come and help, and when they came and filled both boats with fish, the boats were on the verge of sinking (v.7).  Clearly, those two boats had not had a single fish in them, but now both boats were filled to the point of nearly sinking.

(a)    Simon Peter, whose professional occupation was that of a fisherman, had worked all night on the shore of Lake Gennesaret (v.1) but caught nothing.  Yet Jesus—who was a carpenter with little to no knowledge or experience of fishing—commanded him to lower the nets into deep water and catch fish at a time when fishing was not ideal.  For the best time to fish is night, and in the morning sunlight that glistens on the water, even a good depth for lowering nets is not favorable.  Nevertheless, Jesus told him to put out into the deep and cast the net. Instead of pointing out each unreasonable aspect of this command, or arguing, or objecting, Peter relied on Jesus’ word and obeyed.  As a result, he caught an unimaginably large number of fish—so many that the boats were filled to the point of sinking (Ref.: Hochma).

 

(i)               From the Hochma commentary: “Indeed, the experiences we acquire through direct involvement with the complexities of life—what we might call practical know-how—are certainly important for navigating reality.  However, sometimes these very experiences, and the principles or standards we set for ourselves, become obstacles that cause us to reject God’s grace.  The life of a believer does not unfold merely within the realm of natural law or rational common sense; rather, it strongly demands a paradoxical and miraculous dimension in which the power of God is revealed through the abandonment of oneself.  Especially for those called to be God’s workers, like Peter, it is essential to undergo spiritual training that requires endless self-emptying and total dependence on God’s guidance.  Human failure is, in fact, also God’s opportunity” (Hochma).

 

·        When I read and meditate on this passage from the Hochma commentary, I realize that although I repeatedly experience failure in the battles against myself, against sin, against the world, and against Satan as a worker called by the Lord, such failure becomes God’s opportunity for me.  In the midst of recognizing my own incompetence and helplessness, God trains and disciplines me in the practice of emptying myself.

 

-        This training and discipline of emptying means that the Holy Spirit makes me aware that the experiences or “know-how” I value, or the principles or standards that I have set for myself, are causing me to lose the opportunity to receive God’s grace and blessing.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit leads me to empty even those experiences, principles, and standards.

 

n  Let me share just one of those experiences.  Today in the church sanctuary, under the title “The Fragrance of Jesus Christ Flowing Amid the Stench of Dung,” I prayed that I would empty myself by counting as “dung” (excrement or waste, garbage) the things I must discard. And based on Philippians 3:8—“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”—I prayed that I would be emptied of myself and filled only with Jesus Christ (with the knowledge of Him).

 

-        The Lord, in leading me to empty the things within me that are like dung (“filth”), is training me to rely completely on the almighty God and on the Holy Spirit who helps me in my weakness (Rom. 8:26), and to follow His leading in faith and obedience.

 

n  In this process of training, the Lord is giving me even greater faith that His miraculous power can manifest beyond simple natural laws or rational common sense.

 

(2)   When Simon Peter saw that the two boats were filled to the point of sinking, he fell down before Jesus and said, “Lord, I am a sinner. Please leave me” (Lk. 5:8).  The reason was that not only he himself but also all who were with him—James and John, the sons of Zebedee, his partners (v.10)—were astonished at the catch of fish (vv.9–10).

 

(a)    In other words, because Simon Peter witnessed Jesus’ divine power (Hochma), he fell at Jesus’ knees in fear and said, “Lord, I am a sinner.  Please leave me” (v.8).  This revelation of Jesus’ divine authority caused Peter to recognize that he was a “sinner” before the Lord. I consider this far more astonishing than the great number of fish that were caught (v.6).

 

(i)               As I meditated on this passage, Isaiah 6:5 came to mind: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

 

·        Prophet Isaiah said this because he saw the Lord seated on the throne and the seraphim with six wings surrounding Him, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa 6:1–3).

 

(ii)             Simon Peter, having witnessed the divine power of Jesus that filled the two boats with fish to the point of sinking, experienced the presence of God and therefore said, “Lord, I am a sinner. Please leave me” (Lk. 5:8).  Through this miracle (the great catch of fish), he deeply realized his own sinfulness and weakness.  It was a confession that came forth when he was overwhelmed by the tremendous power and presence of Jesus, recognizing his own unworthiness and insufficiency before the holy and radiant Christ (Internet).

 

·        Here we learn: Before God’s great power and miracles, human beings ought to recognize their true condition (Isa. 6:5) and In such a situation, the only path to salvation is repentance of one’s sin (Hochma).

 

-        From hymn “Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide,” verse 1 and refrain: (Verse 1) Holy Spirit, come upon me, move my heart and stir my soul; grant me a heart that mourns and repents.  (Refrain) Jesus, hear my earnest prayer; fill me with a heart that mourns and repents. Amen.

 

n  From the gospel song “Vision (We Have Come Before the Throne)”: “We have gathered before the throne, praising the Lord together.  God showed His love by giving His Son.  By His blood we have been saved.  The love poured out on the cross flows across the earth like a river.  From every tribe and tongue, people are saved and worship the Lord: ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb’ (3x).”

 

(3)   When Simon Peter said, “Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man,” Jesus replied, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people” (v.10).  And “they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed Jesus” (v.11).

 

(a)    In the phrase “Do not be afraid,” the Greek word for “afraid,” φοβοῦ, also appears in Luke 8:25 and 35: “‘Where is your faith?’ He asked His disciples.  In fear (φοβηθέντες) and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him’” (v.25).  “People went out to see what had happened.  When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had come out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid (ἐφοβήθησαν)” (v.35).

 

(i)               In both passages, we see people struck with amazement because they witnessed Jesus’ divine power.  In verse 25, the disciples witnessed Jesus rebuking the wind and raging waves, after which the storm stopped and the sea became calm.  In verse 35, the people saw that the man possessed by demons in the region of the Gerasenes (vv.26–27) was now clothed and in his right mind after Jesus cast out the demons.

 

(b)   Jesus' words to Simon in Luke 5:10, “From now on you will fish for people” mean that Jesus was calling Simon Peter.  He was promising that Peter would leave his physical occupation of catching fish and instead become a disciple who proclaims God’s Word, leading people to hear the gospel and be born again—that is, engaging in the spiritual work of “catching people” (Internet).

 

(i)               The Greek word for “catch” here, ζωγρῶν, refers to capturing someone alive, not killing them.  In Scripture this term moves from the battlefield and fishing boats into the spiritual realm, emphasizing two contrasting kinds of captives: those saved (brought to life) and those enslaved (brought into bondage) (Internet).

 

·        In Luke 5:10, the meaning is saving—Jesus will use Simon Peter to draw people up not to die like fish caught in nets but to bring them into life.  But in 2 Timothy 2:26—“Then they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will”—the devil is portrayed as enslaving people, capturing them as “living prisoners” (Internet).

 

-        When I think of the devil’s enslaving work, John 13:2 comes to mind: “The devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the idea of betraying Jesus.”

 

·        Though the devil enslaved the Israelites in Egypt, God saved them from Egypt (Jude 1:5).

 

-        The devil made us slaves to sin, but God set us free from sin so that we might become servants of righteousness (Rom. 6:17–18).

 

n  “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.  What benefit did you gain at that time?  Things you are now ashamed of! Those things result in eternal death.  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv. 20–23).

 

(c)    When Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people” (Lk. 5:10), and “they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed Jesus” (v.11), we must notice that not only “Simon Peter” (v.8) but also “James and John, sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners” (v.10) left everything (v.11) and followed Jesus (v.11).  As fishermen, they left their “boats” (v.2, Mt. 4:22), their “nets” (Lk. 5:2; Mt. 4:20; Mk. 1:18), and even the “fish”—the extremely large catch (Lk. 5:6)—and followed Jesus (v. 11), even leaving behind their “father” (Mt. 4:22).

 

(i)               Mark 10:28–30: “Then Peter spoke up, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will receive a hundred times as much in this present age—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.’”

 

·        Those who leave everything for Jesus and the gospel—Jesus’ disciples—will receive eternal life!

[Reference Explanation:

 

“‘The Lord’s fisherman’ means that Jesus Christ gave His disciples the mission of catching people—that is, proclaiming the gospel and saving souls. They were originally fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, but when they heard Jesus’ call and left their nets and boats, the purpose of their lives changed from catching fish for a living to rescuing and giving life to people—‘catching people.’

 

Main meanings:

• Jesus’ commission: Jesus told Peter, Andrew, James, and John, ‘I will make you fishers of men.’

• Proclaiming the gospel and saving souls: Just as fishermen catch fish, believers lead people from sin and destruction to the path of salvation.

• A change of life’s purpose: Their lives shifted from pursuing fish to respecting human value and saving lives.

• Obedience and dedication: They obeyed Jesus immediately, leaving their livelihood to follow Him—symbolizing wholehearted devotion to the Lord’s will” (Internet).]