On Line Bible Study - For the Week March 22-28, 2010

Lesson 432

Luke 5: ¹One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people 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 catch men." ¹¹So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

We have spent quite a bit of time looking at Luke 4. Perhaps that chapter can best be summarized with these words from Darrell Bock: Jesus is presented as one with authority to defeat the evil forces that can dominate humanity. His teaching is the indication that the kingdom of God is at hand - and that he is not just talking about it; he is demonstrating it with authority and power. As we move into the next chapter the theme is expanded.
In Chapter 5 Jesus' teaching is not only for the benefit of the crowd; it is also for the purpose of recruiting disciples. (Parenthetically, it is interesting to note the similarities between this story in Luke and stories in Mark 1:16-20 and John 21:1-14.)
Several points are of interest. First, the people are hungry for the "word of God". We aren't told explicitly what that means, but another way to translate the phrase would be to say that the people were listening to the word from God. This is an important phrase for Luke, for it suggests that divine revelation is coming through the teachings of Jesus - and later, through his disciples.
Note that Jesus, though not a fisherman, seems to know more about when and where to fish than the professionals. Is this to suggest that Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves?
Notice Peter's disclaimer - I am a sinful man! Perhaps; but that is now a lame excuse and no longer a valid reason for not doing the work of God. God not only forgives sinners; God calls them to be involved with kingdom work.
The fact that Jesus gets into Peter's boat and addresses him may be Luke's way of justifying Peter's status in the church.
A final observation: from Peter's boat Jesus casts the net, fishing for disciples. He manages to land three big ones - Peter, James and John.