The Miraculous Catch of Fish
In our daily devotionals over the next weeks, we want to focus on the miraculous acts of Jesus in the Gospel accounts. Let’s start with one that’s close to my fisherman heart (I used to be a commercial fisherman with my father in my younger days).
3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:3-5).
Imagine what it was like for Peter. He had been fishing all night (v. 5), and now after cleaning their nets of all weed, he was exhausted and wanted to go home. I suspect, also, that he was discouraged and disappointed with catching nothing, and that they were cleaning their nets because they were finished with them for that time.
When a fisherman comes back to port, it is a disappointment to have caught no fish and admit to a failed fishing expedition, but this was precisely the situation with Peter. The very last thing he wanted to do was to go out into the boat again! He probably was tired after fishing all night, but since Jesus had healed his mother-in-law, he had no option but to respond graciously and obediently. He got into the boat with Jesus and pushed out from the shore, threw down the anchor, and began to listen to Jesus' talk. They were about to witness a miracle. While living in Israel for a year and a half, I got the opportunity to go out with the local Galilee fishermen from Tiberius, and I asked them why they fished during the night. They replied that it was impossible to catch anything during the day due to the clear water, the fish would see and avoid their nets. During the night the fish couldn’t see the net and could be caught easier.
God has a way of getting our attention. With Peter, it was a tremendous amount of fish just when he began to think that they had overfished the Sea of Galilee to such an extent that now nothing could be caught at the best time of the night. There was a progression of things Peter witnessed. There was the demon cast out in the synagogue. Then his mother-in-law was healed in front of his eyes.
On top of that, there was a full evening of amazing healings and deliverances of many people from sicknesses and demons. Now before him, he witnessed an amazing, impossible event that showed him the reality that Jesus really can do remarkable things when people walk in obedience to Him. The Lord told Peter to go out into the deep water. The Sea of Galilee measures a depth of 200 feet. There’s no way, Peter probably thought, that his nets would go anywhere near down to those depths, and during the hot part of the day, that would be where the fish would be cool. Because Jesus had said so, though, he stepped out in obedience. Jesus was a builder/carpenter, what did He know about where the fish were and how to catch them? Peter was the expert when it came to fishing, and he was not expecting to find one fish. What would this carpenter-come-rabbi, know about fishing? It was a good thing Peter obeyed, despite his doubts.
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled 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. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. 11Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him (Luke 5:6-11).
That day Jesus was after catching more than fish. He wanted to catch men. The Lord caught Peter through a progression of events. First, He asked if He could sit in their boat and talk to the people. Next, He asked Peter to put out a little from shore. Finally, Christ asked them to row out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch (v. 4). He involved them in a miracle. Jesus didn't have to catch fish. He had much bigger things on His mind. I think He has you on His mind, too. Keith Thomas
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