Daily Devotions
Luke 5:1-2a, 3-9, 10b-11 – On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats by the lake …. 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 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.
I have to laugh at this story. Jesus is going fishing in a boat—but the fish He is trying to catch are standing on the shore, listening to Him! These are people who badly need to hear the Good News of God—and Jesus knows that if He doesn’t get some water between Him and them, they will probably crowd Him right off the shore! Therefore the boat. That was a sensible idea!
I doubt that Simon thought Jesus’ next idea about catching ordinary fish was very sensible, though. But of course Jesus is right. The boats are so full of fish they start sinking, and Simon is terrified at the power of God. He kneels down right in the flopping fish to beg Jesus to back off from him—”for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
But Jesus won’t do it. He has already caught Simon, and He intends to keep him. So He comforts him, saying, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they get to shore, all four of them leave their boats-and the huge catch of fish, which probably supported their families for a long time—and go after Jesus as His disciples, the first of His own great catch.
But not the last. For Jesus takes the fish He catches—the human beings He teaches and baptizes and turns into disciples—and He uses them to catch more people, and more and more, with the nets of the Gospel. You and I are among the people Jesus has caught. And we know that being caught by Jesus doesn’t mean dying; because here, it is Jesus our Fisherman who did the suffering and dying for us. We have the benefit—everlasting life with our Lord and Savior, who rose from the dead, never to die again.
WE PRAY: Thank You, Lord, for catching me! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you like going fishing? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think Jesus compares His work to going fishing?
3. What are the “nets” Jesus used to catch you with? (How did you become a Christian?)