The God
Who Calls us to Depth – 5:2-4
Luke 5:2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had
gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 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.
Jesus chooses to get into
Peter’s boat here, revealing Jesus’ conscious choice of Peter on that day to learn what it is like to be a vessel for Him to use and work through.
Jesus could not stop ever
telling, teaching, proclaiming the Gospel.
He did it publicly and in small groups for both hold great value and
both have great effectiveness for the believer. The early church did the same
as they met publicly and in homes (small groups).
We gain some valuable
insight from Paul on this, so let’s look at it.
Romans 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not
believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never
heard? And how are they to hear without someone
preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it
is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good
news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah
says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from
us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the
word of Christ.
Note that both of these flow out of the speaking of Scripture
(1) Salvation – people don’t come to faith
without a messenger communicating the truth of Jesus.
(2) Sanctification – people
don’t grow in their faith without the teaching and application of Scripture.
The
Deeper Life
That day when Jesus stepped
into Peter’s boat, it was much more than the purpose of it being used as a
floating pulpit, but Jesus was actually taking a
step deeper into Peter’s life. He was going to call Peter to so much more than
his current life. The call to push off
from the shore would change everything for Him.
Jesus aim is
always Deeper Revelation!
Luke 5:4 And when he had finished speaking, he
said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Notice as well how Jesus is
going to use Peter’s business as a means to fully engage Peter to follow.
Jesus is calling Simon to
leave the comfort of the shore and do something that is against his experience,
knowledge, not practical at all – Go fishing in the middle of the day.
**Sometimes
Jesus calls us back to a place where we have been toiling in our own power and nothing happened so He can show His power.***
Peter did not want to go
back out and do the same thing again.
If we are not careful we can
think that Jesus does not have a perspective on our job, church, family,
circumstances. He always has the right
knowledge.
“at
your Word I will let down the nets”
If Simon Peter hadn’t obeyed what was to him a
seemingly foolish & unimportant command to put out the boat into deeper
water and lower the nets, he would have missed out seeing Jesus perform this
incredible miracle.
But Peter did submit to
Jesus’ authority even though he had no clue how things would turn out or what
the Lord was up to. This ought to encourage our hearts to simple obedience to the Lord
and His every command, even when we don’t understand what He is doing.
Peter knew the futility to try
and fish during the day, but he obeyed, not because it made sense to him, but
because Jesus asked him to do it.
However much faith he truly
had in that moment in the boat we don’t know, but we know his faith was far
from magnificent at the moment, but the great object of that faith – Jesus himself – produces a
transforming miracle in Peter’s life.
God will reward our
obedience if we will go ahead and do what He has told us to do.
How many things do we miss because we
think we know better than God?
A little faith in the might
of Christ has always seemed to bring about amazing things!
Do we obey Jesus only when
it makes sense to us, or we you obey him simply because he asks us to obey? The answer to that question reveals the condition
and understanding of our faith.
Maybe Jesus is calling you and I to something more, to get out into deeper water and we want to stay near the
shore. Peter was in danger of missing
out because he thought he knew more and nothing was going to be caught out on
the water.
Even in spite of his
objections Peter agrees to do so because Jesus is asking.
His Word must
always outweigh our objections or logic!
His Word must be enough to
foster our obedience even if it does not seem logical.
So, Peter does this...“let down the nets”
This is “chalao” and it
means to let go, loosen, relax, let down from a higher place. Even though this is referencing something
tangible, it also represents his obedience to let go of his objections and
obey.
“Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Simon’s
reaction is not surprising, but his reaction is not because he thought
Jesus had better fishing techniques and he was going to want to utilize them
more.
Peter
immediately in that moment is wholly focused on Jesus, and Simon has just seen
Jesus more clearly. In that moment everything shifts for Peter from seeing Jesus earlier as master, to now calling Him "Lord". Master underscores the understanding of someone in authority and Lord was a Messianic title.
Peter is
realizing in the moment exactly who Jesus really is. Note the irony that up until now Luke
has called him Simon, but when he falls on his knees, Luke calls him Simon
Peter. Peter in this moment is being the name Jesus gave him in John 1:42.
The Greatest Treasure – 5:11
Luke 5:11
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and
followed him.
We will not be able to fully follow Jesus in deep intimacy until
we are willing to forsake our own plans.
On the most successful
business day of their lives, they just walk away from it all.
Q: Why does someone just walk away from it all like this? You do this because you have found the greater treasure and Peter saw that walking with Jesus would be worth any worldly loss.
The word "followed" means to walk the same road, to accompany someone and that is exactly what Peter did for the rest of his life.
I just close this blog with this question...
Do we see Him as the greater treasure?
If we do see Him in this way, then there is no doubt that we will walk in the deeper life!
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