Fishermen Catching People

Fishermen Catching People

[Luke's Gospel 5:1~11]

Jesus calls disciples who will become the foundation of the kingdom of God. They were not powerful figures in Jewish society, but ordinary, humble people who knew that they were sinners.

 

Many people followed Jesus, but they were still onlookers on the border of God's kingdom. Jesus separately calls disciples who will fully devote themselves to the kingdom of God. Jesus' first disciples were fishermen who fished in the Lake of Gennesaret (Lake of Galilee). Jesus gets into Simon Peter's boat, which has been struggling all night, and says, "Go out into the deep and cast your net." Simon Peter, who did not claim the expertise of a sailor but obeyed God's words, caught so many fish that his nets began to tear.

Simon Peter's first reaction after experiencing an amazing miracle was to tremble with fear and turn down his face, requesting, 'Please leave me, I am a sinner.' Simon Peter's companions, brothers James and John, were also there. Jesus calls Simon Peter as a disciple and says, “From now on you will be fishing for people.” They leave everything and follow Jesus.

 

Jesus calls Simon, an ordinary fisherman, to be his disciple, not a knowledgeable scholar or a devout religious person (8-10). He saw the humble appearance of obedience to the Word without insisting on one's own knowledge, and the poor heart that looked back on oneself as a sinner before Jesus. The world is looking for capable leaders, but the kingdom of God (church) needs disciples who know how to serve people with poor hearts.

 

Peter reaches a major turning point in his awareness of Jesus and his self-awareness through the miracle of the ship being full (verses 5, 8). As a result of his obedience to Jesus' words, he harvests enough fish to fill two boats. However, an even greater gain is the change in perception from thinking of Jesus as a ‘teacher’ who was excellent at teaching and healing the sick to accepting him as the ‘Lord’ who even controls nature.A new awareness of Jesus naturally leads to a change in self-awareness, realizing that one is a sinner before His holiness. When I meet Jesus personally, I cannot help but acknowledge Him as Lord and realize that I am unclean before Him.

 

In the face of Jesus’ words, “From now on you will be catching men,” Peter chooses to ‘leave everything’ and follow Him (verses 10, 11). This is because they recognized that the person speaking to them now is ‘the Lord.’ A disciple does not decide whether to obey or not based on circumstances. No matter what the circumstances, we learn the secret of being self-sufficient in Jesus alone, and thanks to the power of that self-sufficiency, we boldly move to a place of obedience. Also, disciples do not base their motivation for obedience on success. Even if the path is far from success, if the Lord has commanded us, we walk that path with a pure heart because it is only ‘the word of the Lord.’

 

God, help us readjust our priorities in life and live as true disciples who completely follow Jesus! Help us humbly repent, obey, leave everything and follow Jesus!

 

www.su.or.kr