Last Sunday, the lectionary invited us to ponder Luke 5:1-11. The English Standard Version supplies the passage with the heading “Jesus Calls the First Disciples.”
Christian speech can seem very strange to outsiders. The first time I attended a church service, I was horrified when the congregation sang “I really want to bless you, Lord.” I thought it was highly arrogant to try and bless God. I didn’t know bless can mean “praise.”
I was brought up as an Indian. I was told stories about gurus and disciples. I regarded Jesus as a guru. So, it was no surprise to me that Jesus had disciples. For years I was perplexed that his disciples claimed Jesus said he would make them “fishers of men.”
I thought “what?” When you pull fish out of the water, they die. So, are you saying you are training your disciples to be agents of death, to be people who go out and kill people, like agents of the KGB or CIA or MI5?
In the passage, we read that Jesus said to Peter and his associates, all of whom were fishermen, “I will make you fishers of men.” Luke’s purpose in writing is to present an account which explains Jesus and the social changes which came after he was killed.
Luke never met Jesus. What Luke wrote is based on his research. Based on interviews he conducted and documents he read. His purpose is to write an orderly account for the interested reader.
He used different accounts to produce a coherent, flowing account. One that has a beginning, middle, and end. One that has high points and low points. One that answers big questions.
Questions like, what is this thing called “church” which is turning society upside down? Who are these preachers who preach even after the authorities beat them, jail them, and order them to stop? Who are these people who call someone other than Caesar “Lord and Saviour”?
Luke wrote two volumes. The first volume is the gospel according to Luke. The second volume is the Acts of the Holy Spirit, often called the first recorded history of the church. The gospel has the background material needed for explaining the goals, methods, and acts of the agents of Jesus.
In today’s passage, Luke begins by alerting us that his story is a typical one in Jesus’ life. Where he goes, crowds gather. They press on him. For healing but also for words of wisdom, “the word of God.” He assembles them and teaches them. Some agree with him. Others don’t.
In this story, Luke tells of exemplary discipleship. The discipleship of Simon Peter and his business associates, all relatively wealthy members of a fishing cooperative.
The day before, Simon’s mother-in-law had been healed of a fever by Jesus and had begun to serve him.
Now, Simon and his associates were on the beach, repairing their nets. They’d been out on the lake all night, fishing. They’d caught nothing. Jesus needed a pulpit to address the crowd who wanted a sermon from him. He got into one boat and asked Simon to push it out. Simon did.
Jesus preached. The people listened. Simon listened. The sermon ended. Jesus said “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon expressed surprise. He was tired from last night. He knew there were no fish. But he obeyed. He put out into the deep. Let down the nets.
Luke wants us to see an echo of Mary’s response after the angel Gabriel told her she would have a child. She said, “how can that be, for I’m a virgin?” Gabriel gave her the incredible “virgin birth” answer and added “nothing is impossible with God.” She called herself a servant and obeyed.
Later, in his book of Acts, Luke will write about the church. About how members of the churches provided for each other’s needs. And when we read those accounts, we will hear an echo of what we read in today’s passage: “they left everything and followed [Jesus].”
But I jumped ahead of myself. Let me return to what I skipped.
When they put down the nets, they caught more fish than ever before. So much more that they had to call the other boat out to help. And when they loaded the catch onto the boats, the boats almost capsized. Peter, always the first one to speak, cried out, ““Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Luke wants us to hear an echo of the prophet Isaiah. The moment Isaiah realized whom he was called to speak for, he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, …”[1]
But look what happened. Peter and his associates “left everything and followed [Jesus].” They continued their association. Except that it was no more for the business of fishing in the Lake of Galilee. They moved on to the business of the church.
But what’s the business of the church? Luke continues the story in his book of Acts.
What do church members, agents of the church, do? Do they kill people like fishermen kill fish? No! Bible scholar Pablo Gadenz explains:
“… the verb that Luke uses emphasizes that Peter and the other fishermen will be catching people alive. Their mission will be to lead people to new life (see Acts 5:20; 11:18).”
Bible scholar Joel Green explains:
“Disciples will no longer catch dead fish in order to sell them in the marketplace, but will catch people, giving them liberty.”
Peter knew Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Peter obeyed Jesus and put out to sea so Jesus would have a place to preach from.
Peter heard Jesus’ sermon. He suspended disbelief. He obeyed Jesus’ commands to put out to the deep and drop his nets. He saw the catch. He responded with a sense that he could never be good enough for Jesus to keep company with him. Yet, he and his friends left all and followed Jesus.
What have we seen? What have we heard? What have we obeyed? What have we left? Where have we been brought to? Where are we going to?
Peace be with you.
Photo credit: Ferrel’s Travel Blog.
[1] Isaiah 6:5b.
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