Luke 5:1-11
1 NOW IT occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). 2 And He saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and were washing their nets. 3 And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul. 5 And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [ exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]. 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [ at the point of] breaking, 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made; 10 And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon (Peter). And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men! 11 And after they had run their boats on shore, they left everything and joined Him as His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.
Food for thought!
We are here confronted with a turning point in the career of Jesus. Last time we heard him preach he was in the synagogue; now he is at the lakeside. True, he will be back in the synagogue again; but the time is coming when the door of the synagogue will be shut to him and his church will be the lakeside and the open road, and his pulpit a boat. He would go anywhere where men would listen to him. When the synagogue was shut Jesus took to the open road.
There is in this story what we might call a list of the conditions of a miracle.
**(i) There is the eye that sees.** Jesus's eyes saw what the disciples couldn't. We need the eye that really sees the many opportunities around us. Many people saw steam raise the lid of a kettle; only James Watt went on to think of a steam engine. Many people saw an apple fall; only Isaac Newton went on to think out the law of gravity. The earth is full of opportunities for the eye that sees. We need to see through the eyes of Jesus.
**(ii) There is the spirit that will make an effort.** If Jesus said it, tired as he was Peter was prepared to try again. For most people the disaster of life is that they give up just one effort too soon. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. It is the last step in the race that counts the most. That's where the winner is determined. That's where the rewards come. If you run every step of the race well except the last one and you stop before the finish line, then the end result will be the same as if you never ran a step.
**(iii) There is the spirit which will attempt what seems hopeless.** The night was past and that was the time for fishing. All the circumstances were unfavourable, but Peter said, "Let circumstances be what they may, if you say so, we will try again." Too often we wait because the time is not opportune. If we wait for a perfect set of circumstances, we will never begin at all. If we want a miracle, we must take Jesus at his word when he bids us attempt the impossible.
**(iv) There is the teachability attitude.** This is the willingness to listen, learn, and apply. It is the willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn. Many people think they know it all. And this makes it difficult for them to continually expand what they know. Peter was much older than Jesus. He could have despised Jesus and what he was being told to do, but he did not. He was teachable. Learning is a life long pursuit.
One of the paradoxes of life is that the things that initially make you successful are rarely the things that keep you successful. You have to remain open to new ideas and be willing to learn new skills. Remain teachable! There's a reason we have one mouth but two ears.
1 NOW IT occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). 2 And He saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and were washing their nets. 3 And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul. 5 And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [ exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]. 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [ at the point of] breaking, 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made; 10 And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon (Peter). And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men! 11 And after they had run their boats on shore, they left everything and joined Him as His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.
Food for thought!
We are here confronted with a turning point in the career of Jesus. Last time we heard him preach he was in the synagogue; now he is at the lakeside. True, he will be back in the synagogue again; but the time is coming when the door of the synagogue will be shut to him and his church will be the lakeside and the open road, and his pulpit a boat. He would go anywhere where men would listen to him. When the synagogue was shut Jesus took to the open road.
There is in this story what we might call a list of the conditions of a miracle.
**(i) There is the eye that sees.** Jesus's eyes saw what the disciples couldn't. We need the eye that really sees the many opportunities around us. Many people saw steam raise the lid of a kettle; only James Watt went on to think of a steam engine. Many people saw an apple fall; only Isaac Newton went on to think out the law of gravity. The earth is full of opportunities for the eye that sees. We need to see through the eyes of Jesus.
**(ii) There is the spirit that will make an effort.** If Jesus said it, tired as he was Peter was prepared to try again. For most people the disaster of life is that they give up just one effort too soon. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. It is the last step in the race that counts the most. That's where the winner is determined. That's where the rewards come. If you run every step of the race well except the last one and you stop before the finish line, then the end result will be the same as if you never ran a step.
**(iii) There is the spirit which will attempt what seems hopeless.** The night was past and that was the time for fishing. All the circumstances were unfavourable, but Peter said, "Let circumstances be what they may, if you say so, we will try again." Too often we wait because the time is not opportune. If we wait for a perfect set of circumstances, we will never begin at all. If we want a miracle, we must take Jesus at his word when he bids us attempt the impossible.
**(iv) There is the teachability attitude.** This is the willingness to listen, learn, and apply. It is the willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn. Many people think they know it all. And this makes it difficult for them to continually expand what they know. Peter was much older than Jesus. He could have despised Jesus and what he was being told to do, but he did not. He was teachable. Learning is a life long pursuit.
One of the paradoxes of life is that the things that initially make you successful are rarely the things that keep you successful. You have to remain open to new ideas and be willing to learn new skills. Remain teachable! There's a reason we have one mouth but two ears.
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