Fishing is an activity that tends to invite superstition. When you are fishing there are so many factors that are outside your control. What will the weather be like? Will it stay good or turn bad? Are the fish biting today or aren’t they? And there’s a lot that you can’t see. Are there even any fish down there? Are they they big ones that we’re looking for? It’s an activity full of traditions: My favorite fishing shirt. My favorite lures. My favorite spot on the lake. And then the superstitions come in. Kiss the fish before you throw it back, or you’ll have bad luck. Don’t ever whistle while you’re on the boat. No bananas allowed. If you catch a fish on your first cast that’s bad news for the rest of the day.
When Jesus told Simon Peter to let down his nets in a way that defied all conventional wisdom it didn’t seem to Peter like superstition, just bad advice. Yet Peter listened and Jesus opened his eyes to see that he is the one who is in control of all the forces of nature, and much more than fish, his mission was that of catching people.
Our gospel for today is found in Luke 5 and takes place early in Jesus’ ministry, when Jesus was first calling his disciples. John’s gospel makes it clear that this was not the first time that Peter had met Jesus. In fact, the two pairs of fisherman brothers Peter & Andrew and James & John had spent time with Jesus learning from him in the region of the Jordan where John the Baptist was working, and then they must have returned sometime after to the family fishing businesses.
Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching near the Lake of Gennesaret, which is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was teaching there and people were crowding around to hear the word of God. In those early days Jesus was not yet so widely known. People weren’t coming to stir up trouble. The ones who were there were there to hear the word of God. That’s a good reminder for us if we ever think our church is too small. What a beautiful thing it was in those small days when people came to listen to the Word of God! How sad it is that when those small numbers grew into large crowds they started looking for other things, asking for bread and miraculous signs, and complaining that Jesus’ teaching is too hard.
This crowd had grown large enough though that it was difficult for them all to hear from where Jesus was standing, so Jesus got into a boat, which happened to belong to Simon Peter. Peter and the other fisherman had pulled their boats to shore and were cleaning their nets. Their night of fishing was over. But now Jesus asked Peter to row out a little ways and from there, that unique pulpit, he could easily teach the whole crowd of people who spread out along the shore.
I said it happened to belong to Peter, but from Jesus’ perspective this was certainly no accident. Jesus was here with a dual purpose. He had come to teach the crowd, but he had also come for Peter. It was not superstition or chance that put Jesus in Peter’s boat.
When Jesus had finished talking to the crowd he told Peter, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” This was a strange thing for Jesus to tell Peter for a number of reasons. Peter was the fisherman here, not Jesus. He might have said, “Why don’t you stay in your lane. I won’t tell you how to teach. You don’t tell me how to fish.” And the advice Jesus was giving was all wrong. It wasn’t the right time for fishing. They had been cleaning their nets because they were all done. They went fishing at night. And they didn’t fish in the deep water. They fished in the shallows where their nets would reach down to the bottom and the fish would be trapped. In the deep water the fish could just swim under the net. And on top of all that, it was clearly a bad day for fishing. They had been fishing all night long and their work was completely fruitless. They caught nothing.
So with all this in mind it is truly a wonderful expression of faith that Simon Peter said, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” What Jesus was telling him didn’t make any sense. It seemed pretty foolish to anyone who fished for a living. But Peter told him, “At your word I will do it.”
Every one of us ought to have this kind of humble and obedient attitude toward God’s Word. Let that be a motto for your life, “But at your word, I will.” Pray those words. And study what he says so that you will know what he desires for you. His word isn’t going to come to you in a whisper in your heart. It’s proclaimed to you openly in his Holy Scriptures. So when my heart is tempted to sin, saying things like, “I don’t want to humble myself. I don’t want to practice self-control. I don’t want to sacrifice for others,” I can pray and ask for God’s help and say, “My sinful heart doesn’t want to, but at your word I will.” Or when my reason says, “I can’t understand how these things can be true. I can’t accept that a good God would allow such suffering,” I can say, “But at your word, I will.”
And what happened when Peter listened to the reason-defying instruction of Jesus was a miraculous catch of fish, so many that they had to call the other boat to help bring up the net, so many that both boats were full to the point of sinking. “We’re barely floating. One more fish in here and it’s going under!”
This catch of fish was a great gift. You might think of it a little like a tip. “Hey, thanks for letting me use your boat, Peter. Here’s some fish!” Who knows how much profit they’d make from selling such a great catch. These fishermen had never seen anything like it in all their years of fishing.
But what Peter saw here was not just a great catch of fish. You might think he’d be jumping up and down for joy, carefully, so that the boat wouldn’t sink, but no, what he did was fall down at Jesus’ knees and say “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” Peter knew who Jesus was, but this miracle had made it all the more clear to him that he did not deserve to be in the same boat. This wasn’t just a great teacher sitting here in Peter’s little boat. This man was God. He was the one who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, created all things. The lake they were sailing on. The fish they had caught. He commanded them, together with all of nature, and they obeyed. He knows all things.
And sinful man cannot stand in God’s presence. Moses had asked that on Mt Sinai, “Show me your face” and there the Lord had told him “I’ll pass by you and proclaim my name, but you can’t see my face. No one can see me and live.” God is too great. He is too holy and too righteous and we, no matter how hard we work at being good people, are too sinful.
Peter was right. He didn’t deserve to be in the same boat with Jesus. But Jesus knew that too. And that is why Jesus was there. He had come for a catch. He had come to catch people. He had come to catch Peter. Without Jesus, Peter truly had no hope. How could Peter ever rid himself of his sins? How could Peter make himself worthy to stand in God’s presence? He couldn’t. But with this miracle Jesus had shown who he is. He is true God, who has all power over creation, who is mighty and holy and before whom no sinner can stand. But he wasn’t in Peter’s boat to bring wrathful judgment. He was there in mercy. This catch of fish was a gift of his grace. His generosity, even to sinners, is abundant and overflowing. And his mercy is no less generous with forgiveness. Peter had said, “Go away from me, Lord” but Jesus had come to say, “Come, and follow me, Peter.”
And Jesus had work for Peter to do. “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.”
Simon Peter did follow Jesus. He learned from him. He witnessed Jesus’ grace time and time again. He heard Jesus’ teaching, saw his miracles, and was there with Jesus after he rose from the dead. He went out catching people with the good news of a merciful Savior crucified and risen for you.
That Gospel net has caught us too. Like with Peter, we don’t deserve to be in the same boat with Jesus, but he came to catch us in his grace. It is not by chance that you know who Jesus is. It is not by accident that you know what he has done for you. He came for you and caught you with Word and Sacrament. He makes your boat overflow with the gifts of his grace. And he makes you a part of his work of catching people, too.
Catching people for God’s kingdom means sharing the gospel with them. This happens both in the public ministry and in your private life, as you make the love of Jesus known to friends and neighbors and to the members of your house. And there are other ways to be a part of catching people. Jesus tells us “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Our offerings support the work of the church here and around the world. And you can pray. Every time we pray, “Thy kingdom come” we are asking for the Holy Spirit to continue in his work of catching people.
Superstitions won’t help you catch fish, and it isn’t luck that has brought you to know your Savior. From eternity Jesus knew you. He loved you. He fills your nets with forgiveness and life and salvation. Thanks be to God. In his mercy, you have been caught by Jesus. Amen.
— Pastor Seth Georgson