And the fishermen will lament, and all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish. - Isaiah 19:8
A few weeks ago we began a new series titled “The Miracles of Jesus”. In fact, this morning’s message is just the 3rd sermon in this series thus far. Each week, we will be studying 1 or 2 occasions recorded in the gospels during which Jesus performed a miracle or miracles. By the end of this study, we will have read and discussed 46 such occurrences. So far, we have covered 3 - Turning Water into Wine, Performing Various Signs During Passover, and Healing the Royal Official’s Son.
This morning we will consider Jesus’ 4th miracle. It is found in all 3 synoptic gospels, but both Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20 give only an abbreviated account and do not include a description of the miracle that took place. For this reason, we will use Luke 5:1-11 as our primary text because it gives a full explanation of everything that happened on this occasion. Today’s sermon is called “Catching a Large Number of Fish”.
I. TEACHING THE CROWDS (Luke 5:1-3)
Jesus made His way to the Lake of Gennesaret, which is also known as the Sea of Galilee, where He stood on the shore and was teaching the word of God to a crowd of people. They were pressing in and around Him making it difficult to see and address them all. Jesus looked up and saw 2 boats lying on the beach. The fisherman, having gotten out of them, were washing their nets. Jesus got into 1 of the boats, which belonged to Simon, who is more commonly known as Peter, and asked him to put out a little way from land. Then Jesus sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat.
Though the text does not specifically say it, most scholars believe that this event took place in or near Capernaum. Capernaum was a fishing village on the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee. The royal official’s son, who we discussed last week, was healed there. Capernaum served as the headquarters or home base of Jesus’ ministry. Whenever He wasn’t travelling and ministering throughout Israel, He regularly returned to and resided in Capernaum.
Jesus had most likely met both Andrew and Peter sometime earlier, around the time of His baptism (John 1:35-42). Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, and had heard John identify Jesus and the Lamb of God. Andrew went and found his brother Peter, told him that they had found the Messiah, and took him to meet Jesus personally. Apparently, after this initial encounter, Jesus and the brothers parted ways. Now, a few months later, their paths cross once again - I don’t believe this was a coincidence.
II. FILLING THE NETS (Luke 5:4-7)
After He had finished teaching, Jesus asked Simon to take the boat out into deeper water and let the nets down for a catch. Simon answered that he and his colleagues had been out fishing all night long and had caught nothing. Simon addressed Jesus as “Master”, perhaps remembering Him from their initial encounter a few months earlier. Though he was surely tired and frustrated from their unsuccessful night, Simon consented to Jesus’ request. He (and Andrew presumably) took the further boat out, dropped the nets, and enclosed a great number of fish, so much so that the nets were breaking. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come help them and ended up filling both boats with so much fish that they were sinking!
This story is often conflated with another similar miracle that we will read about at the end of this series. On this occasion Jesus did not ask these fishermen to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. He simply told them to let the nets down. When they did so, the nets were filled with great quantities of fish.
III. FISHING FOR MEN (Luke 5:8-11)
When Peter saw what had happened, he fell down before Jesus’ knees and cried out, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Amazement had gripped both he and his companions because of the great catch of fish. In that moment, Peter expressed recognition of His sin and acknowledged Jesus as Lord. This miracle obviously had a profound impact on him and the other fishermen. Then Jesus turned to Peter (and Andrew) and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Peter’s fishing partners, were also amazed by what they had experienced. Jesus called them to follow Him as well. And so, when these 4 men brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus. I guess they just left the great haul of fish for others to have! Peter, John, and James would become Jesus’ closest apostles and are often referred to by theologians as “the inner circle”.
The emphasis of this story, once again, is not on the miracle that took place but instead on the calling of these fishermen to follow Jesus. The incredible catching of fish was simply a sign to confirm in these men’s hearts that Jesus was worthy of leaving everything behind. In fact, as stated in the introduction, the miracle is not even mentioned in 2 of the 3 renditions of this account, but the calling to “be fishers of men” is found in all 3.
CONCLUSION
The miracle we’ve discussed today is classified as a natural miracle. Jesus caught more fish in an instant than these professional fishermen were able to catch all night long. As for the manner of this miracle, Jesus told the fishermen what to do and as they obeyed He simply willed the fish to fill up their nets. His approach follows the same procedure as the turning of water to wine at Cana.
Something that strikes me about this particular story is that no one asked Jesus to perform this miracle. No one was sick and in need of healing and no immediate problem had presented itself that needed to be solved. Rather, Jesus did this of His own volition to reveal His glory and declare His divine nature to these would-be disciples. It was quite effective, too, as evidenced by the fact that all 4 of them left their old lives behind and became apostles.
I will close by reminding you that Peter and Andrew had met Jesus before. Although they were admirers of Him after their first meeting, still they’d returned home to resume their lives as fishermen. I believe Jesus went to Capernaum specifically to find and call these 2 brothers as His disciples. Beloved, there is a big difference between those who admire Jesus while still clinging to their past and those who forsake their old, sinful ways to follow Jesus. Which of these are you? Jesus may not be calling you to leave your job or abandon your family, but He is calling you to put Him first and to become a fisher of men!
In our upcoming message, we will consider 2 more miracles that Jesus performed while in Capernaum. In the meantime, don’t forget to fish. There are many lost people who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and be caught in the nets of His glorious salvation!
A few weeks ago we began a new series titled “The Miracles of Jesus”. In fact, this morning’s message is just the 3rd sermon in this series thus far. Each week, we will be studying 1 or 2 occasions recorded in the gospels during which Jesus performed a miracle or miracles. By the end of this study, we will have read and discussed 46 such occurrences. So far, we have covered 3 - Turning Water into Wine, Performing Various Signs During Passover, and Healing the Royal Official’s Son.
This morning we will consider Jesus’ 4th miracle. It is found in all 3 synoptic gospels, but both Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20 give only an abbreviated account and do not include a description of the miracle that took place. For this reason, we will use Luke 5:1-11 as our primary text because it gives a full explanation of everything that happened on this occasion. Today’s sermon is called “Catching a Large Number of Fish”.
I. TEACHING THE CROWDS (Luke 5:1-3)
Jesus made His way to the Lake of Gennesaret, which is also known as the Sea of Galilee, where He stood on the shore and was teaching the word of God to a crowd of people. They were pressing in and around Him making it difficult to see and address them all. Jesus looked up and saw 2 boats lying on the beach. The fisherman, having gotten out of them, were washing their nets. Jesus got into 1 of the boats, which belonged to Simon, who is more commonly known as Peter, and asked him to put out a little way from land. Then Jesus sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat.
Though the text does not specifically say it, most scholars believe that this event took place in or near Capernaum. Capernaum was a fishing village on the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee. The royal official’s son, who we discussed last week, was healed there. Capernaum served as the headquarters or home base of Jesus’ ministry. Whenever He wasn’t travelling and ministering throughout Israel, He regularly returned to and resided in Capernaum.
Jesus had most likely met both Andrew and Peter sometime earlier, around the time of His baptism (John 1:35-42). Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, and had heard John identify Jesus and the Lamb of God. Andrew went and found his brother Peter, told him that they had found the Messiah, and took him to meet Jesus personally. Apparently, after this initial encounter, Jesus and the brothers parted ways. Now, a few months later, their paths cross once again - I don’t believe this was a coincidence.
II. FILLING THE NETS (Luke 5:4-7)
After He had finished teaching, Jesus asked Simon to take the boat out into deeper water and let the nets down for a catch. Simon answered that he and his colleagues had been out fishing all night long and had caught nothing. Simon addressed Jesus as “Master”, perhaps remembering Him from their initial encounter a few months earlier. Though he was surely tired and frustrated from their unsuccessful night, Simon consented to Jesus’ request. He (and Andrew presumably) took the further boat out, dropped the nets, and enclosed a great number of fish, so much so that the nets were breaking. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come help them and ended up filling both boats with so much fish that they were sinking!
This story is often conflated with another similar miracle that we will read about at the end of this series. On this occasion Jesus did not ask these fishermen to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. He simply told them to let the nets down. When they did so, the nets were filled with great quantities of fish.
III. FISHING FOR MEN (Luke 5:8-11)
When Peter saw what had happened, he fell down before Jesus’ knees and cried out, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Amazement had gripped both he and his companions because of the great catch of fish. In that moment, Peter expressed recognition of His sin and acknowledged Jesus as Lord. This miracle obviously had a profound impact on him and the other fishermen. Then Jesus turned to Peter (and Andrew) and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Peter’s fishing partners, were also amazed by what they had experienced. Jesus called them to follow Him as well. And so, when these 4 men brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus. I guess they just left the great haul of fish for others to have! Peter, John, and James would become Jesus’ closest apostles and are often referred to by theologians as “the inner circle”.
The emphasis of this story, once again, is not on the miracle that took place but instead on the calling of these fishermen to follow Jesus. The incredible catching of fish was simply a sign to confirm in these men’s hearts that Jesus was worthy of leaving everything behind. In fact, as stated in the introduction, the miracle is not even mentioned in 2 of the 3 renditions of this account, but the calling to “be fishers of men” is found in all 3.
CONCLUSION
The miracle we’ve discussed today is classified as a natural miracle. Jesus caught more fish in an instant than these professional fishermen were able to catch all night long. As for the manner of this miracle, Jesus told the fishermen what to do and as they obeyed He simply willed the fish to fill up their nets. His approach follows the same procedure as the turning of water to wine at Cana.
Something that strikes me about this particular story is that no one asked Jesus to perform this miracle. No one was sick and in need of healing and no immediate problem had presented itself that needed to be solved. Rather, Jesus did this of His own volition to reveal His glory and declare His divine nature to these would-be disciples. It was quite effective, too, as evidenced by the fact that all 4 of them left their old lives behind and became apostles.
I will close by reminding you that Peter and Andrew had met Jesus before. Although they were admirers of Him after their first meeting, still they’d returned home to resume their lives as fishermen. I believe Jesus went to Capernaum specifically to find and call these 2 brothers as His disciples. Beloved, there is a big difference between those who admire Jesus while still clinging to their past and those who forsake their old, sinful ways to follow Jesus. Which of these are you? Jesus may not be calling you to leave your job or abandon your family, but He is calling you to put Him first and to become a fisher of men!
In our upcoming message, we will consider 2 more miracles that Jesus performed while in Capernaum. In the meantime, don’t forget to fish. There are many lost people who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and be caught in the nets of His glorious salvation!