The Lutheran Hour

"Who Says So?"

#71-22
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on February 8, 2004
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: Luke 5:1-11

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Those words of resurrection reality make no sense to an unbeliever. Their own reason and strength tells them, “death is permanent; death is final.” Nevertheless, to millions around the world, those same words provide happiness for each day’s living in this world and hope for the next. Through faith in a victorious Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit calls us to trust His wisdom and believe in His saving Son.

Many years ago, and I mean many years ago, when I was full of energy, I found myself serving my own congregation, Bethesda in Hot Springs, South Dakota, as well as three other congregations that had lost their pastors. Making the rounds proved to be quite a challenge, as well as quite a drive. On Wednesdays, I taught confirmation to the young people of those churches. One particular Wednesday I started late. My alarm failed to go off, which is just another way of confessing I turned it off and went back to sleep. In my haste to make up for lost time, I stubbed my toe on a kitchen chair. I couldn’t find my catechism or my keys. Then as I hobbled to my car, I noticed the right front tire was low. I had to stop at a gas station. Disgusted, and by this time thoroughly disconcerted, I put the pedal to the metal. In record time, I made it to my first stop, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Custer. Under full sail I blew into town failing to notice a stop sign posted at the city limits. I failed to notice the sign, but the policeman parked there was far more observant. Within a block there were flashing lights in my rearview mirror. He was kind enough not to use his siren.

I jumped out of the car, a practice that police frown on today, and stomped over to his vehicle. I was doubly displeased; displeased at the idea of a ticket; displeased at being made later than I already was. As I walked, I grabbed my license from of my wallet and handed it to him. As he took it, I mumbled something like, “Go ahead. Give me a ticket. You might as well. Everything else is going wrong today.” As the policeman tucked my license onto his clipboard, he said in the kind of calm voice that I think policepersons practice for use on hot heads such as me, “Sir, I know just what you mean. I used to have days like that before I became a Christian.” There have been times in my life when I have not been happy with myself. As I look back, that day rates in the top ten. It was a day I wish I could “do over.” Do over days. I remember when I congratulated the very-pregnant lady on the upcoming addition to her family. I remember her look as she coldly snapped: “I’m not pregnant.”

Do over days. Have you ever had one? You would be a most unusual person if you didn’t have a few do over days in your history. Think back. Come on. Be honest. I’m talking about those days when things did not go as you had planned. I’m talking about times when you knew things couldn’t possibly get worse, and they did. Parents, did you ever punish one of your children only to find out later on that the one you punished was innocent and his brother had been guilty? Don’t you wish you could do that over? How about things you never should have said. That’s a do over. But so are some of the things you should have said and didn’t. Maybe you let a friend or family member pass away, and you never spoke the words of love that were in your heart. Don’t you wish you could get that opportunity back? How about parties you should have skipped, or friendships that never should have started? Did you want a do over?

Here’s sort of an ultimate do over. A man was listening to his city’s road report when he heard about a car that was going the wrong direction on the freeway. Knowing his wife was on that freeway, the man became concerned and called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, “Dear, be careful there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway.” She exclaimed, “One car! There’s hundreds of them!” All of us have things we wish we could do over. Maybe that’s why every year, on January 1st, many of us commit ourselves to pledging that we will avoid sins of the past and make changes for the future.

Do overs. Which brings me to the Gospel lesson for today. Luke recorded an event which took place early in Jesus’ ministry. The Savior was just beginning to bring together a band of disciples. His preaching and teaching had attracted great crowds, and on this particular day, by the Sea of Galilee, those crowds had become so large, and so eager to be close to Him, they actually pressed Him near to the water’s edge. Deciding to use the gentle slope of the hillside as a natural amphitheater, Jesus got into the boat, and asked the owner to push out a bit. After His unrecorded message, Jesus told Peter, the boat’s owner, to go fishing. I wish I could have seen Peter’s face at that moment. His jaw had to drop open in shock and surprise. His face had to fall in dismay and disbelief.

In the course of human history God has given His followers some pretty strange requests. That was true that day. For a lot of reasons, Jesus’ request must have sounded strange to Peter. Think about it. Jesus was the Son of a Carpenter; Peter was the fishing pro. Experts don’t generally like to take advice from amateurs, do they? Peter probably had been raised on the Sea of Galilee. He knew those waters as well as any man. He knew fish. He knew their habits, their feeding places and where they could be caught. Peter knew that you don’t catch fish out in the middle of the lake. Your best chances of bringing in a haul are going to be found near shore.

Here’s another reason why Jesus’ request must have sounded strange. Peter’s expertise said that you don’t go fishing in the middle of the day. Peter was fully aware that fishing should be done at night. There were are all kinds of reasons for that, not the least of which was Peter’s nets were not made up of almost invisible monofilament line. They were constructed of heavy cording, visible to all but the most myopic of fish. In the daytime, fish would see the nets and simply swim away. But under the cover of darkness, Peter and his pals could lower their nets into a school of fish, and swoop them into the boat before they knew what had happened.

According to everything Peter knows about fishing, there’s no way, none at all, that Jesus’ suggestion was going to work. Peter must have thought, “If I follow Jesus’ request, I’m just going to end up making more work for myself. After all, the nets have been cleaned and stored. If we get them out and get skunked again, we’ll have wasted some pretty precious sleep time. Then we have to stow all the stuff all over again.” You can hardly blame Peter for offering back a most reluctant reply, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.” (Luke 5:5)

At the end of Peter’s life, as he looked back on everything he had done and said, I imagine he would have been able to identify quite a few do over occasions. No doubt, Peter would have flushed with embarrassment when he recalled the time he tried walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. That night, when faith deserted him, and fears grabbed hold of him, he had sunk like a stone, and had to be rescued by the Savior. In Peter’s thoughts, that would have been a do over.

Then there was the time he had tried to talk Jesus out of going to Jerusalem to die. What a terrible memory that must have been. Peter would have mused, “What if Jesus had listened to me? What if Jesus had not died on the cross? Sure, He would have kept His life, but also sure, the world would have lost a Savior.” The thought of not having a Redeemer would have sent a shudder up the ex-fisherman’s spine. Yes, Peter would have liked to have done that over and taken back his words.

Peter would have had his do over moments and memories. He would have recalled his boastful words the night Jesus was arrested. That evening he promised that even if everybody else fell away from the Savior, he would remain faithful. How sad those sorry words must have seemed as Peter recalled how he had fallen asleep when Jesus had asked him to pray; had fought when Jesus wanted him to refrain; had run away when he should have stood firm. Accessing his life, Peter might well have felt small as he recalled his threefold denial of his Savior in the high priest’s courtyard; his oath in which he swore he didn’t know Jesus. Do overs. All of us have them. Fishermen, disciples, apostles, you and me.

Thankfully, that day when Jesus told the fisherman to “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch,” wasn’t a do over day. Peter didn’t say, “Oh, yeah, who says so?” He didn’t reply, “Look Jesus, we’re dog tired; we’ve worked all night; we haven’t been to sleep; You’re asking us to do something really silly, something that’s going to cost us a lot of backbreaking work.” No, Peter said none of those things. True, he shows a little reluctance in his reply: “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing”; but Peter doesn’t stop there. He continues, and to the end of his life, I imagine he gave thanks that the Holy Spirit told him to continue: “nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” The second part of that sentence changed Peter’s life. Peter, by God’s grace, set aside his better judgment, his will, his way, his knowledge, and simply trusted the Christ. No, that day could never have been considered a do over day. Peter, by God’s grace, was saved.

So how is your life doing? Does it seem to be filled with one do over day after another? I remember a lady like that. She was living in a situation that was most stressful. She was dissatisfied. Her discontent showed itself in her face, her behavior, her relationships, even her voice. Little things bugged her, and if it had been within her power, she would have taken a job in the Antarctic to bring about a change in her situation. A desperate soul with a life filled with do overs. That was the way I remembered her. Quite by accident, when I ran into her years later, she seemed somehow different. Picking my words carefully, I broached the subject, “How are things going for you at home?” Her reply was an important one. She said, “Things are just the same, but in Jesus I’m different.” Did you get that? In Jesus, you can be different. Your life may be filled with all kinds of nasties and negatives. Your days may be just jam-packed with dread and drudgery. You may have a million days of do overs, but in Jesus, you can be different.

Only a few minutes ago I talked about Peter thinking back on all the things he might have regretted. I mentioned the time he slipped into the Sea of Galilee; the time he tried to convince the Christ not to die; his sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane and his denials. Looking back, no doubt Peter wished he hadn’t done those things, wished he could do them over. But Peter, looking back, never had to be suicidal; never had to live as a man whose life was run and ruled by regrets. That’s because in Jesus, Peter was different. A crucified and risen Lord Jesus had taken Peter, looked him in the eye and said, “I forgive you.” Forgiven. Free. Filled with hope. That was Peter.

Jesus makes people different. To make people different is why Jesus was born into this world. Jesus came and lived a perfect life so that sinners like you and I, people who could never keep God’s laws, might have a Divine heaven-sent Substitute. He lived so our lives might be different, not filled with do overs. Jesus resisted all the temptations that trip us up, so that God might declare us holy. Jesus carried every sin we have committed, every wrong we have done, every ungodly do over and took them to the cross. There in the most wonderful act of love this world has ever seen, He, the perfect sinless Son of God was nailed to the cross and died. As He shouted His victorious words of triumph, our sins were erased. At that moment, we who were spiritual orphans became adoptable. At that second, Jesus made it possible for us to escape from hell and enter heaven. So complete was the Christ’s conquest that three days later, a living Lord Jesus came out of a borrowed tomb, and showed to all the world that even death had been defeated. The angels’ announcement that “He is risen” gives notice to every nation, in every place, in every time, that Jesus has done over all that we had ever done wrong. Now, for those who are called by the Gospel of the Lord, there is salvation, and like the lady said, “although life stays the same, you can be different.”

In 1983 Apple computer went public, and quickly found itself in the Fortune 500’s list of top American companies. It didn’t take too long before Apple’s young and visionary founder, Steve Jobs, realized the company needed a CEO. His first pick was John Sculley. John Sculley was at that time president of the giant company, Pepsi Cola. To sell Sculley on the position, Jobs set up a meeting. In his presentation, Jobs talked about the advantages of a product that attracted so much attention and had so much potential. Sculley figured even though Apple was OK, he was currently working for an international corporation that had an established brand name and a guaranteed future. Sculley turned down the offer. That’s when the Apple representative asked, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to change the world?” Sculley thought that one over for a while and took the job. Sculley didn’t want, at the end of his life, a long list of do overs.

How about you? How is your list of do overs?” All of us have things we would like, if we were given the chance, to do over? Some of those do overs are pretty inconsequential. The color that looked so fashionable and fantastic in the paint store doesn’t look so hot in the hallway. That kind of do over is no big deal. When you’re stuck in traffic you might wish you could go back and take an alternate route. That’s the kind of do over you have to live with. But there are other do overs that are serious, and have lasting, even eternal consequences. When it comes to those kinds of things, you need to learn a lesson from Sculley. You don’t want, when your time on earth is ended and you appear before God’s judgment seat to reluctantly say, “God, can I have a do over.”

It’s not going to happen. Judgment Day is too late for a do over. This day is the day the Lord is calling you. This day the Lord is saying, “Listen to my words; follow the example of Peter.” Yes, I know you want to have control of your life. So did Peter. I understand that you think you know what is best for yourself. So did Peter. Certainly, I realize that you think you’ve got all the answers. So did Peter. But you don’t. On your own, by your own power, using your own wisdom, you will be lost. Without Jesus, you will end up having the biggest regret, the greatest loss, the saddest eternity that can come to a human soul. And there won’t be any do overs.

Today is the day the Lord is calling you. This is the day the Holy Spirit asks you, like Peter, to set aside your better judgment, your wise will, your misdirected way, your incomplete knowledge, and let Him lead you to faith in the Savior. How tragic it would be if this day, which is filled with the potential of hope, happiness and the promise of heaven were to remain a regret for all eternity. If you want to know more about the Lord Who changes souls; Who can bring an end to the great do overs of life, please call us at “The Lutheran Hour.” We want to help. We don’t want you or anyone to spend their eternity asking God for a do over which can never come. Amen.

Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for February 8, 2004
Topic: Believing in Jesus Versus Just Knowing Jesus

ANNOUNCER: Stay with us now for questions and answers with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer.

KLAUS: Hi Mark. I received a letter from a mother recently, who’s concerned about her daughter. The daughter is in her late 20s, doesn’t attend church. The mother writes this: “As far as I can tell, she doesn’t do anything a Christian is supposed to do. She doesn’t pray at meals, gives nothing to charity, and doesn’t care to discuss religion. When I try to talk to her about Jesus, she says, ‘Mother, I don’t have to do anything to be saved. I know what I believe and that’s enough.’ What I want to know is, ‘is it enough?’”

ANNOUNCER: Well first, do we have to do anything to get into heaven?

KLAUS: We can answer that question in two ways, Mark. When it comes to fulfilling the law, that Jesus has done for us. For us He lived a perfect life; for us He died our death; for us He rose. All those who believe on Jesus as their Savior are saved. When it comes to getting faith, we can’t do anything there, either. The Holy Spirit calls us by the power of the Gospel and enlightens us with His gifts. From start to finish, the work of salvation is God’s work. So in short, the daughter is right – she doesn’t have to do anything to be saved. Although I wish it wasn’t so, there are a fair number of young people who were raised in the church and who, in their late teens and twenties, do some serious wandering. There can be a lot of reasons why somebody might wander. Even so, many of these young people do end up returning to the Church, albeit not on mom and dad’s timetable.

ANNOUNCER: What about that comment, ”I know what I believe, and that’s enough.”

KLAUS: And that’s getting to the heart of the matter here. While it’s true that we can’t do anything to earn salvation, we also have to say that when true faith in Jesus is present, an individual will somehow, in some way, reflect that love of Jesus in their lives. The Gospel is good news – the best of news. My experience is people just naturally want to share good news. I don’t have to tell a newly engaged girl to share the news. Try to keep her from talking. I remember a few years back in one of the towns I was living in, the big freezer unit at the food store broke down. The store owners didn’t discover it until the next morning when the food was on the verge of thawing. The owner decided to give everything away. You have no idea how quickly that news got around. The phones in that town heated up like you wouldn’t believe. The news had to get out and it did. The freezer was empty in less than an hour. Now, if that’s true for the thawing of ice cream, shouldn’t it be equally true about sharing the good news of salvation?

ANNOUNCER: But you’re not saying you have to go to church to be a Christian?

KLAUS: No. I’m saying you should want to go to church if you’re a Christian. You should want to receive the Sacraments; sing the praises of your Savior; be with fellow forgiven sinners. I shouldn’t be able to keep you from your Savior.

ANNOUNCER: And what does the Bible say about all of this?

KLAUS: Well, Jesus says a number of things. One of the things that he said was this: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21) “And the work God requires is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:29)

ANNOUNCER: So Jesus is saying there’s a big different between knowing Him and believing in Him?

KLAUS: Exactly. And that’s the part of the daughter’s answer to her mother that bothers me. She says, “I know what I believe and that’s enough.” Not exactly. Which is the second part of my answer. It’s not enough to “know” Jesus. When Jesus walked the earth, the devils were able to recognize Him. They knew Jesus. That doesn’t mean that Jesus was their Savior. No, if you’re going to have a saving faith, you have to know Jesus, but you also have to accept and trust in Him; rely on Him as your Lord. If you do that, your faith won’t be contained.

ANNOUNCER: How would you sum this up?

KLAUS: I’d say to the mother, “Pray for your child. If the faith is there in her heart, just smoldering, ask the Lord to fan the flames. If faith is extinguished, pray the Lord will rekindle it.” And Mark, I’d say to the daughter, “Don’t take your faith for granted. A living faith lives. The good news needs to be shared. If your faith is there, talk about it with your mom, put her concerns to rest.”

ANNOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.