January 4, 2016
Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Questions for Reflection:
Over the next couple of months, we are going to study together the letters 1-3 John. Those three books contain an extensive amount of teaching around our Sunday morning topic, love. In order to fully appreciate the books, it is important to know a bit about the author. Colin Kruse in his commentary on the books gives significant evidence that the early church fathers “ascribe the authorship of the Fourth Gospel and 1 John unequivocally to John the disciple and the apostle of the Lord.”
Today’s Bible reading is Luke’s account of the call of John (as well as his brother James and Simon). Where does the story take place? What was Jesus doing at the start of the story? What were Peter, James and John doing? Fishermen at the end of the day would clean their nets of debris, looking over the nets to make sure no tears had occurred. The men were wrapping up their day of fishing. How does Jesus first ask for their help? What do you think may have been Peter’s response when at the end of the day (after cleaning his nets already), Jesus, the son of a carpenter and a rabbi, asks him to put down his nets? How would you be tempted to respond if a pastor showed up at your job at the end of the shift and suggested that there might be a better way of doing it? What happened when Peter put the nets out again? How does Peter respond to the catch? What does Jesus invite them to do?
This passage is rich with implications for us today. Jesus was inviting the fishermen to become disciples. As disciples, they would follow Jesus around, learn deeply from him and allow His teaching to transform their life. As a disciple today, we are called to follow Jesus, be transformed by Jesus and be on mission with Jesus. How are you following Jesus in your life? How is He transforming your life? How are you acting on mission with Him? Finally, how are you helping others trust and follow Jesus? In one short phrase “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” Jesus changed Peter, James and John’s life. They “left everything and followed him.” When you realize that the rabbi loves and cares for you, you too will be willing to leave everything to follow Him.
For Further Study:
Do you want to study the call of the disciples more in-depth? I’d highly recommend this video (it’s nearly 30 minutes) from Ray Vanderlaan on discipleship. Ray will walk you through the villages that Peter and John grew up and teach you about the powerful call of discipleship.