At Your Word I Will Let Down the Nets
I. God Provides for His Church
II. God Catches us for Life
Luke 5:1–11
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, [Jesus] was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, according to your goodness and mercy, you sent your only begotten Son to be our Savior so that we might be caught out of the sea of sin and death and brought in your kingdom of grace and blessing. You have sent preachers to preach so that we might hear this good news, that we might be made children of God and followers of Christ. O Lord, grant us humility to confess our sins, faith to believe in your forgiveness, and courage to cling to your Word, no matter the earthly consequences or how contrary it might appear to our human reason. Amen.
In Christ Jesus, who has graciously called us to be his followers, dear fellow redeemed,
Peter was an expert fisherman. He knew how and when to fish. We learn that he had toiled all night and caught nothing. They were now cleaning their nets. Jesus, who already knew Peter, asked if he could use his boat to preach to the great crowds that had come out to hear him preach. Peter obliged. After preaching for some time, Jesus told Simon Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter was likely exhausted from a long night of unsuccessful fishing. He had caught nothing, but now Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth tells him to try again at a time and place where fishing was not optimal. Peter had every reason to say no. But instead he replied, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.”
Peter may have not realized that Jesus’ command to let down the nets contained a great promise. But he would! Jesus performed a wonderful miracle—a catch so great that it started to tear the nets and cause his boat, along with his partners, to sink!
Yet, what does Peter do? He doesn’t do anything that you would expect. He didn’t jump for joy or act quickly to make his way back to shore. When Peter saw the great catch of fish and realized what Jesus had just done, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter knew Jesus. He had heard him preach, he had witnessed Jesus perform miracles, including healing his own mother-in-law, but this was different. This miracle was done directly for Peter, in his own boat, in his own profession, a miracle so phenomenal that it made him realize that he had the almighty and heavenly Lord in his boat, and that he was a wretched sinner. The presence of God brings fear. A sinner can’t stand in the presence of holiness. From Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden trying to hide from God, to this day, sinners run away from God. Peter was certainly not entertaining any ideas about preaching. All he could think about was his own unworthiness. He was afraid.
But Jesus takes our fear away. He said to Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” Do not be afraid means your sins are forgiven. You don’t have to be afraid of God. I have come to take your sins away. God is not angry with you. Not only can you stand in God’s presence, but you can speak for him. You can be his spokesman, preach his word, bringing this message of peace to others.
By this miracle Jesus shows himself to be true God who controls all things. He commanded the fish where to go that Peter might make this great catch. He is the ruler of wind and wave. In addition, Jesus provided for Peter. He blessed his earthly vocation as a fisherman. But miracles were not at the heart and center of Christ’s ministry. Jesus was a teacher, the preacher. And his task of ministry on earth is not finished. He has more to do.
To carry out this important task of preaching, Jesus calls preachers. Through his preaching, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church here on earth and keeps it with him in the one true faith. Jesus didn’t come into this world to teach us how to fish. He was a preacher. By this great miracle, Jesus showed Peter that he would use him to catch others through the Gospel.
Jesus became man to redeem us. He did exactly what he set out to do. From his temptation in the wilderness to his crucifixion, Jesus did battle against the devil, always honoring his Father, never saying, doing, or wanting to do any sin. He did this to save sinners. He offered up to God the perfect obedience God’s law required. He suffered the punishment our sins deserved. He set us free. He saved us. It is finished!
Our Savior’s work of redemption is complete, but he still wants his Gospel preached. He uses sinful men, whose sins have been paid for, to proclaim forgiveness to other sinful men. Preachers preach law and gospel. The law exposes our sins to our conscience and makes us afraid, just as Peter was, because sin brings punishment. The law applies to the preacher as well as those to whom he preaches. The law is not preached to drive us to despair, but so that we might listen to the gospel. The gospel is the good news, that for Jesus’ sake, your sins are forgiven, death has been defeated, and that heaven is your home.
Jesus could have chosen angels to preach if he had wanted to, but he chose men. He chose sinners who rely on the same forgiveness that they preach. He chooses fallible men. Since they are fallible, preachers must draw all their teaching from the infallible Word of God: the Bible. God chose men to be fishers of men.
Yet, God didn’t choose all men to be preachers, nor did he choose women to be preachers. He gave his church strict instructions that women may not be preachers. St. Paul teaches this in I Corinthians 14:24 and I Timothy 2:12 where he says it is forbidden. Any church which practices differently is going contrary to Scripture. Jesus does not send women to preach. Not because they are less than men, but rather because he has given men and women different roles in his kingdom. Yet, those who are not called to preach still have important roles in God’s kingdom to believe the Gospel, support the public preaching of his word, and to share with others the reason for the hope that is in them. This is the teaching of the Bible, which is why we respond with Peter, “At your word.”
Jesus calls men to be fishers of men. Preachers preach the Word of God. The net is the Gospel, which pulls us out of the sea of sin and despair, into the boat of Christ’s church. Sometimes people ask me, “What can we do to get more people in church?” This is a well-intended question. The church should be concerned about this question. We should seek to proclaim the word, be out in our community, and serve as a light to the world. However, it’s very tempting and easy to go too far—to think that we can make the Gospel more attractive, if we only do this and not that.
But consider our lesson. Casting a net into the sea and bringing up fish is not the same as baiting a hook on a lure and enticing fish to bite and then be hooked. The gospel doesn’t need bait. It needs no additives. It needs to be preached. Pastors must know God’s word and how to teach and preach it. Pastors can’t improve upon what Jesus has spoken through his apostles. Churches that attempt to make the Gospel more appealing by trying new measures or by changing the word of God will be swept away by the sea.
When Jesus spoke to Peter he was speaking to all preachers. We are to preach the gospel he taught. We are to administer the sacraments he instituted. This is how to catch men. We do what Jesus said to do. Go and make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching all things. Christ is with us in this endeavor, until the end of the age.
We preach the gospel because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus uses the gospel to catch men. The word that Jesus uses here is a beautiful word meaning catch to bring life. Fish are caught to be killed, but God catches us so that we might live. The net is the Gospel that pulls us out of the sea of sin and despair. It places value on our lives. The net of God’s graces catches us out of worthless lives and makes us children of God and heirs of heaven.
The same word which created all things, the same word which raised Lazarus from the grave, healed the paralytic and forgave his sins, and caused a great catch of fish, is the same word that that creates faith in our hearts, forgives us our sins, strengthens our faith, and brings us eternal life. The word looks so simple and unimpressive. But it is not just any word. It is God’s word. And that is why faith responds, “At your word.”
When the disciples brought their boats to land, we are told that they forsook all that they had and followed Jesus. This does not teach us that we or our pastors should take a vow of poverty to be faithful Christians. However, it does teach us that our Lord Jesus must be first. The gospel is more precious than all our earthly possessions. The gospel makes us spiritually wealthy, whether we are rich or poor in this world. Jesus has sent preachers to faithfully preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments so that we might receive and possess the treasures of heaven while living here on earth.
In a few minutes, you will come before this altar to receive the Lord’s Supper. We kneel because we bow before the almighty God. We stand in his presence, but we do not have to be afraid. The Lord will not turn away those who come to him confessing their sins. Instead, Jesus invites all those who are weary and heavy laden to come to him. Not only do we stand before Christ, but we receive him. We make the shape of a throne with our hands as we receive our King, take eat this is my body, take drink this is my blood, for the forgiveness of all your sins. You have peace because your sins are forgiven. You are strengthened in faith to continue to follow Jesus.
We are not all called to be preachers, but by the grace of God, we have all been called to be followers of Jesus. All of us have been called by the Holy Spirit to believe the message of forgiveness, and all of us have been called by God to serve in whatever vocation we might have to do good to our neighbors. By God’s grace, we can be counted among the faithful followers of Jesus. Thanks be to God! Amen.