The Miracles of Jesus 3-"The Miracle Catch Of Fish”

Miracle # 3 “The Miracle Catch of Fish”

Summary: Third in series on the miracles of Jesus. The Miracle catch of Fish

series: The Miracles of Jesus

Text: Luke 5:1-11

Date: 9-9-18

Scripture Reading:

Let us rise to our feet and together read Luke 5.1-11

5 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text in our hearing this morning.... Amen! You may be seated in God's Presence.

Introduction:

We are dealing with the series called The miracles of Jesus. Before going to the third miracle in our series, I want to say something more about the miracles of Christ Jesus.

I. The miracles of Jesus were accompanied by three actions.

A. Jesus taught the people. Matthew 4:23a

B. Jesus preached to the people. Matthew 4:23b

C. Jesus prayed to the Father. Matthew 14:13, 15:29

II. The Miracles of Jesus where done for two reasons.

A. Jesus had compassion on the people. Matthew 14:14

B. Jesus saw the need of the people. Luke 9:11

III. The miracles of Jesus proved His power.

A. Jesus had the power over sickness. Matthew 4:23

NOTE: Jesus healed all manner of sickness.

B. Jesus had the power over demonic activity. Matthew 4:24

C. Jesus had power over death.

1. Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter to life right after she died. Matthew 9:18-29

2. Jesus raised the widow’s son during the funeral. Luke 7:11-17

3. Jesus raised Lazarus from the death after several days. John 11:1-44

D. Jesus had power of nature.

1. Jesus calmed storms. Matthew 8:23-27

2. Jesus called the fish to the net. Luke 5:1-11, John 22:1

3. Jesus walked on the water. John 6:15-21

4. Jesus cursed the fig tree. Mark 11:12-24

E. Jesus had power of the Super-natural

1. He fed thousands with almost nothing. (He created out of nothing)

a. 5,000 Matthew 14:15, Luke 6:35, Mark 9:12 John 6:1

NOTE: This is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.

b. 4,000 Matthew 15:32

2. He replaced a cut of ear. Luke 22:50

IV. Who were the recipients of the miracles Jesus preformed?

A. Those that Jesus went to.

B. Those who came to Jesus.

C. Those who reached out when Jesus came by. Mark 6:56

V. The results of the miracles that Jesus preformed.

A. Jesus became known. Matthew 4:24, Mark 6:54

B. Jesus was followed. Matthew 4:25, 14:13, Luke 9:11

C. People were amazed (wondered) Matthew 15:31

Each of the Synoptic Gospels gives an account of Jesus’ call of the disciples. Each writer portrays that a call of few fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee to be his disciples a little differently. Some were mending nets while others still trying to catch a few fish by casting their nets from the shore (Matt 5:18-21). Only Luke’s gospel went into detail about what happened that day and only Luke’s Gospel records the miracle catch of fish.

Jesus had three meetings with these men. He met with them the first time in Jerusalem. See John 1:35-42. He did not call them at that time. This is the record of the second meeting, and this time, He asks them to “follow Him”. They go with Him briefly at this time and then return to fishing. Mark and Luke provide more details of this meeting, than Matthew does. The third time that He calls them, it is to apostleship. That meeting is recorded in Luke 5:1-11. At that time, they leave their nets and follow Him as His apostles.

It is very comforting for me to know that He uses simple men like these. They were not super-duper saints and that gives me hope that He may even be able to use a person like me. The important thing is for us to give ourselves to Him. The body of Christ has many members, and their gifts vary; but all are important to Him.

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw two bretheren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. (Matthew 4:20-22)

Sermon

These are interesting men, and we will learn more about them as we proceed with our study.

The Background of the Miracle (vv. 1-4)

“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, (2) and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. (3) Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. (4) When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

According to Matthew and Mark the call of the disciples came after the miracles that Jesus performed at Peter’s house in Capernaum. This is important to realize or we might have the impression that Jesus just happened to be by the Sea of Galilee (Luke calls it Lake Gennesaret) where he invited four strangers to become his disciples. But that is not how it happened at all. According to  our Spiritual father Dr. Brain J . Bailey

In New Testament times, this vast expanse of water was some thirteen miles in length, and at its widest point its width was eight miles. It was 680 feet below sea level, having almost a tropical climate. It was called by four different names in Scripture:• The Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth (Num. 34:11; Josh. 11:2; 12:3) - It is now known as Yam Kinnert because it is harp-shaped. “Kinnor” is the Hebrew word for harp.• The Sea of Galilee - It received this name because of the region in which it was located. • The Lake of Gennesaret - It received this name because of the plain on the west side of the lake, which was very fertile and beautiful, named Gennesaret. The name means “prince of gardens.” (Gan means “a garden”; sar means “a prince”). Certainly, Christ “the Prince of Gardens” performed most of His works here in the garden of the hearts of His people.• The Sea of Tiberias (Jn. 6:1) - It was named after the town founded by Herod Antipas, A.D 20. Herod named it in honor of the Roman emperor, Tiberius. It is the only town around the Sea of Galilee from the time of Jesus that remains until this day.

[Bailey Brian. J. "The Gospel of Luke" . Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1999. Pages 66-67]

It is highly likely that these men had been witnesses of the miracles that Jesus performed in Jerusalem prior to returning to Galilee. They would have no doubt been in the synagogue in Capernaum. So Jesus’ call to discipleship is no spontaneous invitation to strangers, but a reasoned response to a well timed invitation. Jesus had already invested significant time in to building a relationship with these men prior to their call to service.

These men understood well what the life of a disciple entailed; the disciple would live with the teacher for a period of a few years in an effort to master all that the teacher knew and to be like him as much as possible. It was to just such a rigorous life that Jesus’ was inviting these four fishermen to enter into.

According to Dr. Bailey:

Jesus had already met Peter; so this was not an act of presumption but a request of a friend to a friend. This is a lesson for us not to presume as ministers when requesting others to help. The setting here is a beautiful picture that has been captured on many a canvas. Jesus is now sitting in the bow of the boat a few yards from shore. The multitude is held in rapt attention by the priceless words that issue forth from His lips. His words were heard easily by the listeners as the winds blowing inland from the waters would have carried them to those on the shore.

[Bailey Brian. J. "The Gospel of Luke" . Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1999. Page 66-67]

The Elements of the Miracle (vv. 4-5)

Simon had been washing and mending his nets, while keeping one ear listening to what Jesus was teaching. After all he had other responsibilities and duties to perform. He had to fish to make a living for his family. It is so like our Lord, that having been granted the use of Simon Peter’s boat, He then recompenses Peter. Likewise, we should be no man’s debtor. Perhaps Paul explains this truth best in his words from 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.  In other words, he is saying that those who labor in spiritual things should be recompensed with temporal things by the congregations. Likewise, when we are blessed by someone in the natural, we should recompense them by a spiritual blessing. The Lord Himself said, “The laborer is worthy of his hire” (Lk. 10:7).

Jesus’ call for Simon to launch out into deeper water is an analogy of what He wants to do in Simon’s life. Jesus is going to take Simon Peter to deeper, more personal commitment to Himself. For a miracle to be manifested it takes the following steps:

1. The Will of God—Jesus wanted to repay Peter.

2. The Spoken Word—Jesus spoke the Word.

3. The Believing Heart—Peter believed.

4. An Act of Faith—Peter let down the net.

The Command of Jesus (vv. 4-5a)

“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. (5) “But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing;…”

It seems that in almost every conversation involving Jesus and the disciples, Peter is the first to speak, to voice an opinion, he however is not always right. (Matt 16:22-23, 26:33-34). On this occasion Peter seems to say out loud what all of the disciples are probably thinking.

The Obstacles to Obedience

Peter is clearly reluctant to do as Jesus as commanded. In fairness to Peter, he was an experienced fisherman he had several serious obstacles to overcome in order to respond in faith to the request of Jesus.

But it should be remembered that the people who heard Jesus preach probably also heard Jesus command to Peter to launch out into the deep and try again. So how Peter responds to the command of Jesus is not just a private statement but also a public demonstration of faith.

• The obstacle of fatigue.

Peter readily admits that he is tired and so are all of the disciples. It’s hard to obey God when your body is crying out for rest. I realize that many of you are tired today; you are here in the service by a shire act of will. It is certainly possible to be so busy with our lives that we have no time left for God. The sad thing is that some busy people end up giving God the leftovers; of their time, their talents and their resources. But to Peter credit he refused to give in to his fatigue, but rather said, “but because you said so.”

• The obstacle of his own past experiences

We are tempted to be guided by our experiences instead of what God says. The Lord asks Peter to do something contrary to his own expertise in fishing. According to everything that he knows about fishing, and he is a professional, he can’t see anyway at all that what Jesus asks is going to work. The best fishing on the Sea of Galilee was at night close to shore. But Jesus had asked him to launch out into the deep in the middle of the day. This was asking a great deal of Peter. He was asking him to trust His Word. He was in effect asking Simon to try again even though he had failed in the past. This of course would be an important lesson for Peter in the future, not to allow past failure to keep him from serving the Lord. God may ask you to try again even if you have failed in the past. Will you allow past failure to keep you from following the Lord?

• The obstacle of his current circumstances.

We are tempted to be guided by our by our circumstances instead of what God says. Verse five reveals that Simon’s answer “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” By his reply he communicates that he and his partners are dog tired, the word translated “toiled” indicates very hard work, they had not slept all night and they had worked hard all night. The circumstances of the past evening have indicated that further fishing will be fruitless. But Jesus was asking them to take the freshly cleaned nets and row out to the deep water and go through strenuous process of letting out and taking in the nets all over again. But they needed to learn that obedience to Jesus should not hinge upon favorable circumstances. Will you allow circumstances to dictate your obedience?

• The obstacle of our fears. 

Sometimes the greatest obstacle that we face in being obedience to God our own fear - the fear of being inadequate, or the fear of failure. Ultimately it will probably mean very little if you do not overcome fear and go sky-diving, but it is a tremendous loss if you do not overcome the fear of following Christ. What is fear keeping you from doing for God?

It is probably impossible to estimate how many blessings in life have been lost because where too tired, too discouraged or even too lazy to try again.

In Peter’s reply he reveals his respect when he calls Jesus, “Master” (epistata). Underline the word master. This word means master or teacher and is the Greek equivalent of “rabbi,” but would have the favor of the word “boss” to us today. Peter showed his love and respect for Christ by not letting his better judgment hinder his obedience.

How does Jesus take us from where we are to where he wants us to be? By pushing us, that’s how.

Perhaps doing thing your own way has left you empty, and it’s time to give God’s way a try. Maybe your own knowledge and skills have failed you and you need God’s power, God’s knowledge and God’s skill. You need to do things God’s way. Maybe its time for you today to obey God and try things His way, even it you don’t understand where, why or how it’s all going to work out. I realize that launching out into the deeper water is scary and it is less familiar but it where God’s blessings are to be found.

The results of obedience. (vv. 5b-7)

“…nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." (6) And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. (7) So 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.”

Peter knew in his own mind that there was no reason to expect fish where Jesus had told him to let down the nets, yet even so Peter’s respect for Jesus caused him to obey. But note that Peter let down “a” net but Jesus had said “nets” – plural. This seems to be only a partial obedience.

But even Peter’s partial obedience was rewarded overwhelmingly. The result of the lowered net was staggering. There was such an immense catch that it was straining the capacity of the net and Peter had to seek the help his fishing partners in the other boat to help him. It is also worthy of note that Peter shared his abundance with others. If we are a receptacle of blessing then we are called on to be a channel of blessing to others.The Lord does not do things in a corner, nor are His miracles questionable. Certainly, this was something they talked about all of their lives.

As they harvested their catch, the two boats, each probably over seven and half feet wide and over twenty-seven feet long, were filled to overflowing and began sinking. Several tons of fish were hauled ashore that day in the midst of roar of a delighted crowd.

The Effect of the Miracle (vv. 8-11)

Its Effect On Peter

“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"

At first his request seems strange, if we take it at face value, that he was asking Jesus to leave. But we have to understand the scene in the light of what has happened. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Peter reaction is that Peter’s eyes were not on the miracle. The miracle had forced Peter to look at Jesus in a new way.

It was one thing for Peter to witness Jesus perform a miracle for others, perhaps he had seen at numerous times already. But it was another thing entire to experience this miracle personally. He had literally felt the ropes burn into his hands, he had struggled to wrestle the nets into the boat. Peter had felt and tasted and smelled this miracle for himself and it left him a changed man.

This miracle forever changed the way he looked at Jesus. Such a manifestation of the miraculous power of God was accompanied by a sense of His holy presence which convicted Peter. Earlier as we noted Peter had addressed Jesus as “master” but here Peter uses the word (kurie) which has the force of “supreme Lord” and is word reserved by the Jews for a description of God.

Peter was not really trying to get rid of Jesus; he was simply overcome with a sense of his own unworthiness. It is good to recognize Jesus as master and even as friend, but it should never forget that at all times he is LORD of the Universe! 

We too cannot stand in the presence of Jesus and see Him clearly as the Holy One of Israel and fail to be sensitive to the fact that we are sinners. May God likewise grant us such power of conviction that men will see their sins and repent.

Peter’s reaction is what we often see in the Bible as man’s reaction to a face-to-face confrontation with God. 

When the prophet Isaiah “… saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” he declared, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:1,5). Job had much the same experience; “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor ( despise) myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6). And John would write of his experience in Revelation 1:17), “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead….”

When first introduced to the power and majesty of the Lord we are immensely aware of our own sin, and do not know what to do but try to escape from his presence. Simon asked Jesus to leave him, not because he does not want to be in his presence but because he feels unworthy of being there. But as our experience deepens, and we gain the knowledge that only in Him can we experience the forgiveness of our sins, then a consciousness of our sin drives us to him. This new revelation of the power and glory of Jesus has given Peter an acute sense of his own sinfulness. Let me illustrate from Peter’s own life.

According to John 21 - after the Resurrection Peter, deeply anguished over his denials of Christ, ‘went back to Galilee and in the calm of his old haunts decided to go fishing – perhaps to clear his head and sort things out. He and his old friends fished the night away without success. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water (vv. 4-7). Peter stood before Jesus, beard dripping, breathless from his plunge and charge to shore. Peter dashed to Jesus because he knew himself for what he was (all fleshly presumption is gone – he knew he was a weak, frail sinner) and also because he knew so much better now who Jesus was.”

 [R. Kent Hughes. Luke: That You May Know the Truth. Vol. One. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1998) pp. 162-163]

The story ended with the partners pulling their boats and their catch on shore and leaving everything behind – boats as well as fish – to set out following Jesus.

The Astonishment of the Disciples (vv.9-10)

“For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; (10) and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.”

The word translated “astonished” is the word (thambeo) which literally refers to fright resulting from an amazing event. (Same word is used in Luke 4:36). Thus, the three apostles of the Lamb who were on the Mount of Transfiguration were also witnesses of this miracle of the abundant ingathering of fish.

Their Decision of Commitment (vv. 10-11)

“…And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." (11) So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

Jesus told Peter that his future business would not be catching fish, bringing them from life to death, but catching men, bringing them from death to life. The word translated “catch” in verse ten is literally “to catch alive” as taking animals alive for a circus or a zoo. Sometimes it seems that we think that there are two kinds of Christians: those who catch the animals for the zoo and those who come to look at them. But this is not the way it is suppose to be. The church is not a spectator society in which we go to the zoo, to see what is happening we all suppose to be involved in the process.

Every miracle had its purpose and this one is no exception. As we have already noted Peter now sees Jesus in an entirely new light. Jesus is Lord and he is a sinful man. Peter saw his own reluctance to obey the Lord’s command to let down the nets as sin. Peter had just confessed to being a sinner and testified to the greatness of His Lord.

Jesus responds in the second half of verse ten by a command not to fear and promise that he is to be a fisher of men; “….And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”

This denotes not only Peter’s apostolic calling, but also his calling of an evangelist. It is not unusual at all for a person’s secular work to be a preparation for his spiritual ministry.  “Fear not” was also pronounced by the angels to Mary and also to the shepherds. Jesus Himself spoke to the ruler of the synagogue whose daughter was dead, saying, “Fear not.” He said to the disciples, “Fear not,” because they were of more value than many sparrows. He said, “Fear not”, to his little flock of believers, “Fear not”, to the Apostle Paul when he was on the boat coming to Malta, and “Fear not” to the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos in Revelation 1:17. God has to continually tell man not to fear because by nature, we are very fearful.

[Bailey Brian. J. "The Gospel of Luke" . Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1999. Page 69-70]

The story ended with the partners pulling their boats and their catch on shore and leaving every-thing behind – boats as well as fish – to set out following Jesus. So they pulled their boats to shore and by every indication they turned their backs on the biggest catch of their lives and followed him. Verse eleven says, “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.” The word “followed” is a word which signifies the deepest inward attachment.

“The response of leaving everything, implies a question. Must all disciples leave their vocations to serve Jesus? How is the call of believers like and unlike this call to Peter? The answer to that question emerges in the history of the church. As the New Testament letters show, not everyone is called into full-time ministry. In fact, Paul kept right on working as a tentmaker as he ministered. The important element is that the call to walk with Jesus takes a priority, so that we are prepared to be whatever or wherever God calls us to be. For some, like the healed Gerasene demonic, it means staying home to testify to Jesus (8:38-39). For some, it may mean the mission field; for others it may mean the mission field at their daily job or in a parachurch ministry. The mission is ‘catching men.’ Sometimes one’s work is the best place to find the fish….”

 [Darrell L Bock. The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). p. 161.]

Application for Today

Just one word of warning in closing, this text is not teaching that those who are in full time service are more committed to Christ than those who are in other full-time occupations. Jesus did not call everyone he met to leave their jobs and become his full-time disciples, he choose a few. This text is not teaching that those who are really committed to Christ must leave their secular jobs to be his disciples. God calls everyone to be a full-time Christian but He still only calls a few to make Christian service their vocation for life. you can not equate others to the full-time servant of God. Rev. Dr. Brian J Bailey says

At the height of their greatest success as fishermen, they left their trade to follow Jesus. This is an important truth. It required a very high degree of consecration for these dedicated tradesman. They were leaving their occupation at a time when all was going well, therefore, this action represents a plunge from the heights of financial attainment to the depths. It is a situation that repeats itself in the lives of many of those who are called of God.For myself, in order to follow the Lord and prepare for the ministry, I had to leave my job on the verge of a promotion and a fresh business opportunity. I had to leave everything to go to Bible College. It required a great step of faith. It many cases, Satan holds out tempting career opportunities as an inducement for some not to follow their calling. This obviously was not the case with the disciples as the miracle of fish was performed by the Lord.

[Bailey Brian. J. "The Gospel of Luke" . Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1999. Page 70]

These fishermen had never seen such a catch. Miracles certainly can be described as “out of the ordinary,” hence, the term “miraculous” that has entered into the everyday vocabulary of mankind. In the last days, “the abundance of the sea” will be converted (Isa. 60:5). We are looking for the greatest revival the world has ever seen, and it is prefigured by this miraculous draught of fish. Also, it prefigured Peter’s successful ministry at Pentecost, and later the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles.

[Bailey Brian. J. "The Gospel of Luke" . Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1999. Page 70]