First Baptist Church of Meadville, MO

Introduction: Jesussaid, "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). Some people think that this literally means that it's going to cost them their life to follow Jesus. Thankfully, we have the blessing of being able to read eyewitness accounts of these very events today, as we look at Jesus calling His first disciples. How did it go? What was their response? Let's look at it together as we read and study Luke 5:1-11.

Let's look at what is happening in these verses:
First in verse 1: "As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God's word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret."
Lake Gennesaret is the term Luke uses for the Sea of Galilee, which Matthew and Mark call it, and John calls it the Sea of Tiberias. Today it is called Kinneret by those who live close to it. The name is not important, but it is important that we understand that this body of water dominates the region, and the city of Capernaum was a major fishing center, and the lake sets the story for the events that happen in the following verses.

Verses 2 & 3: "He (Jesus) saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat."
Jesus is beginning to teach, but the fishermen's day is almost over; they are done and cleaning up after. So Jesus gets into one of the boats and sits down in it to teach, using the shoreline as a natural amphitheater. Jesus is modeling the metaphor of "fishing for people," which we'll hear Him talk about in verse 10.

Verses 4 & 5: "When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.' 'Master," Simon replied, 'we've worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I'll let down the nets.'"
Wait, what's happening here? Does Jesus, a carpenter, have a better awareness of the habits of fish than Simon, Andrew, James and John - all experienced fishermen? No, Jesus is about to perform another miracle, this time one of nature. And Simon recognizes that Jesus has special authority because he obeys! And look at the result: Verses 6& 7 tell us that in the middle part of the day, in the deep water, they catch so many fish that their nets begin to tear. They have to call the other boat to come help, and both boats were filled so full they began to sink! Jesus performs this miracle of nature, showing that He has authority over and can even suspend the laws of physical nature, time, and space. Do you understand? Jesus even fishes better than career fishermen!

And their response is perfect!
Verses 8-10a: "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord!' For He and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took, and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's partners."
Simon's response is the correct one to the revelation of Jesus: Simon falls at the feet of Jesus while declaring his own unholiness. Just as the demons in last week's passage (Luke 4:31-44) instinctively knew who Jesus was, so did Simon. He displays the natural discomfort of an ordinary, common man in the presence of supreme omnipotence. And those with him were amazed and filled with the fear of God, too.

But remember from last week's message that the ultimate ministry which Jesus came to fulfill was not to perform miracles, and here Luke records it in Jesus' own words:
Verses 10b & 11: "'Don't be afraid,' Jesus told Simon, 'From now on you will be catching people!' Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him."
The Greek verb used for catching people is a shift from the Old Testament language, in which fishing meant to be caught for judgment, to this Greek word, zogreo, meaning "to capture" (alive). Do you see the wonderful truth here? The echoes Luke's theme that Jesus has ushered in a new age, and God now is interacting with mankind through Christ instead of only the Law. The Law can only show their need for salvation, while Christ actually brought salvation and delivered it directly to us!
And once again their response is correct: they left everything and followed Jesus. Another wonderful truth comes out of this: Jesus uses their occupation as a living illustration of His purpose and calling in their lives. Fishing is a skill that requires training, experience, and patience to do well - and so is catching people for the kingdom of God, which is now the purpose and calling of Simon, James, and John.

What lessons can we learn from these verses?
1. Jesus did not exercise His ministry alone, but with colleagues - men whom He called and taught, invested in and trained. Likewise, the ministry of the church cannot be done by any one person, but is best accomplished when we work together in unity, under the lordship of Jesus.
2. Jesus didn't call important leaders or powerful officials to be His first disciples. He called fishermen - ordinary workers, like you and me.
3. The miraculous power of Jesus over nature draws people to Him, for there is none like Him. Do you know Him? Let me be honest: to follow Jesus means to leave everything else behind. There is no middle ground - either we accept Him or we reject Him.
4. Their occupation as fishermen provides a model for us to follow - "catching people" (alive). When we've been caught by whoever introduced us to Jesus, we are then compelled to "catch" others, and introduce them to Jesus. This is the purpose and call of every follower of Jesus. Have you answered the call? Some may never hear if we don't answer God's call.
Here's the BIG TRUTH to take home today: When we truly understand the call of Jesus, and the joy and privilege it is to serve Him and to be His disciple, we'll embrace the adventure that being a disciple of Jesus actually is!
Is that what drives you, and your church? It should.
What is God saying to you today, and what is your response?

Thanks for studying with us today. If we can pray for you and help you in any way, just let us know. You can contact pastor Keith at the church at (660) 938-4501 (leave a message) or by email at ksisney47@yahoo.com. To see our calendar and learn more about ministry opportunities, click on www.fbcmeadville.com. Have a great week being a disciple of Jesus - it's an adventure like no other!