jennifer-roberts Luke 5: 1-11 has become one of my favorite passages of scripture to share, largely due to the illuminating teaching of Priscilla Shirer, Bible teacher extraordinaire (www.goingbeyond.com). I love how she takes this very familiar passage of scripture and presents it in fresh ways. I have been listening to her teachings on Luke 5 for many months as well as re-reading the passage for myself.
Luke 5:1-ll says, “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around Him and listening to the word of God, He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He 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. When He had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down our nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So 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. 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 catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
As I studied this passage, there were so many thoughts that came to my mind, one of which was to compare the position and experience of the spectators at the water’s edge to the position and experience of Simon who was in the boat with Jesus.
As the passage opens, we find a group of people who have gathered at the shoreline to hear Jesus speak. We know that these people are physically close to Jesus because He feels the need to get into Simon’s boat and speak to the crowd from there. We also know that the people in the crowd see Jesus and that they hear Him. What we don’t know is what happens to the crowd after Jesus speaks because scripture doesn’t tell us. This got me thinking about ways in which we, believers, might be like the crowd.
How often do we attend a church service, see, and hear the preacher? But then, what happens to us after Sunday service? Do we socialize with fellow parishioners? Do we make after-service lunch plans? Do we run errands? Or do we do we simply go back home?
Are we like the people in the crowd who saw and heard Jesus from the safety of the shoreline but did not have a personal encounter with Him?
By contrast, we see in the scripture that after Jesus finished speaking that Simon, a fisherman, is still in his boat with Jesus. Simon is not part of the crowd. In Luke 5: 4, Jesus tells Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” And despite his reluctance, Simon obeys. It is when Simon obeys that he has an intimate experience with Jesus that the people in the crowd did not have. Jesus told Simon to “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon gave Jesus some pushback, but he ultimately followed Jesus seemingly bizarre directions. And it was when Simon obeyed that he was able to be a participant in the miracle that Jesus performed.
Some Christians want to have a personal encounter with Jesus from the safety of the shoreline, but it is only when we spend time with our Savior, listen to Him and obey His instructions that we begin to experience Jesus in a more intimate way.
Jesus, who was near Simon, told him, “Put out into the deep water.” We all have deep water; areas of our lives that seem like they will consume us. Deep water can be battles for our mental or physical health, financial struggles, insecurity, parenting problems or impairments in our closest relationships.
The boat in Luke 5: 1-11 represents our lives, our circumstances, our situations. Even though Simon had just been in that very same boat the night before, now Jesus was in the boat with him and that changed everything. The water represents the world and its gradations. There are areas of our lives that might be shallow and easily navigated while other areas are deeper and more challenging. The net represents our resources, the tools that God has given us with which to manage our lives.
When Jesus stepped into Simon’s circumstance (boat) and told him to go out into the deep water (challenging aspects of the world), and let down his net (resource, tool), Simon got a very different result than he got the night before. Simon was fishing on the same lake, with the same boat and the same net but Jesus was in his boat and that made all the difference in Simon’s results.
Likewise, when Jesus steps into our lives (boat) it makes all the difference in the results that we get. In Simon’s case, when he chose to trust and obey Jesus in the deep water, not only did God bless his profession, Jesus gave Simon’s life purpose. “Then Jesus said to Simon, “…from now on you will catch men.”
Our Lord and Savior wants to take us deeper in Him not just to exist but to live a life of significance. He wants us to trust Him and experience Him in a way that we cannot from the safety of the seashore. He wants us to listen, trust Him and obey in the deep waters of our lives.
I dare you to trust Jesus with all of the areas of your life; to accept His invitation to put out into deep water. Ask yourself “What kind of Christian do I want to be? Someone who simply hears the teachings of God from the safety of the shoreline or a disciple who experiences God in deeply personal ways and is forever changed as of result of spending time with the risen Savior?” I pray you choose the latter.
