SBC 2007
YOU WILL CATCH MEN
Luke 5:1-11
Key Verse: 5:10b
“Then Jesus said to Simon, „Don‟t be afraid, from now on you will
catch men.”‟
Welcome to Ganaraska Woods spring Bible conference! Thank God that
He prepared for us this beautiful and spacious place for the conference. At this
special conference place, let us mediate on Jesus who spoke wonderful word of
God at the Lake of Gennesaret. In the gospel accounts, we encounter two
groups of people among those who followed Jesus: the crowd and disciples. As
Jesus‟ messianic ministry progressed, Jesus chose a few men and began to
raise them as disciples. Luke chapter 5 is the ever fresh word of God because
Jesus called Simon Peter as his disciple in the lake of Galilee. After teaching the
crowd, Jesus focused on one person Simon personally. Through this passage,
let us respond to Jesus‟ invitation to the spiritual world and hold on to Jesus‟
vision “You will catch men” in our heart personally.
I. Put out into deep water (1-10a)
Look at verse 1. “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of
God.” Jesus‟ message was echoing through the fresh air of the morning
penetrating the heart of the crowd. Great crowds pressed in on him to get near
Jesus because they wanted to better hear the word of God. Jesus noticed two
empty boats at the water‟s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were
washing their nets.
Look at verse 3. “He 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.” When Jesus asked him a favor, saying, “Would you put
out a little from shore?” Simon responded, “Yes, Jesus.” Jesus stepped into
Simon‟s boat and taught the people from the boat. Jesus was safe from the
pressing crowds and Simon found something to do for Jesus. Offering his boat
as the podium for Jesus‟ message, Simon had an opportunity to listen to the
word of Jesus sitting next to Jesus. Through this short conversation Jesus began
to develop a lasting relationship with Simon.
Let‟s read verse 4. “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, „Put
out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”‟ As soon as Jesus had
finished his teaching, he turned his attention to Simon and challenged him
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through the word of life. “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a
catch.”
Maybe Simon‟s favourite fishing spot was shallow water since fish live near
continental shelf of the lake. From a fisherman‟s point of view, Jesus‟ instruction
did not make any sense. As far as fishing was concerned, Simon was a senior
level of excellent fisher and Jesus‟ former career was a junior carpenter. Night
was the time for fishing, and now it was bright morning. Jesus‟ command and
Simon‟s intention were completely opposite. Simon had already washed his nets
for the next fishing trip and was ready to go home and eat delicious breakfast
that Mrs. Simon prepared with fish and fries. His body was extremely tired
because of his whole night fishing work and broken bio-rhythm. Now Simon had
to make a decision either to go home or to launch out to deep water, either to
call it a day or to start all over again.
Why did Jesus instruct Simon to put out into deep water? According to
fisherman‟s common sense, what Jesus said did not make any sense. Then
what was Jesus‟ intention for that? Was Jesus really ignorant for fishing? No!
Jesus challenged Simon. What kind of challenge? Jesus challenged him to
experience the power of Jesus‟ word by obeying it. Jesus challenged him to
come out of the world of common sense to the world of spiritual dimension.
Jesus challenged him to come out of his sensible world into invisible world of
God. Jesus challenged him to experience the unlimited and deep ocean-like
spiritual world.
Truly, the word of Jesus is beyond our understanding like deep ocean.
Sometimes, we feel that Jesus‟ word is beyond our common sense as Peter
experienced. But once we experience it, it lifts up our spirits and enriches our
souls and changes our lives forever. Jesus asks each of us personally “Put out
into deep spiritual world, and experience the power of God‟s word.”
Look at verse 5a “Simon answered, „Master, we‟ve worked hard all night
and haven‟t caught anything.‟” It had been a disappointing night on the job.
Simon had spent the whole night for fishing. He had trolled the lake with his nets
to the best of his ability and knowledge, and on this occasion come up empty. He
couldn‟t catch even a minnow. His net was empty. His stomach was empty. He
was tired and sleepy. Look at verse 5b, “But because you say so, I will let down
the nets.” Simon called Jesus, “Master.” He knew it was not the time or the place
to let down the nets for a catch, but he did it because Jesus said so. That is what
it meant for Simon to listen to the word of God.
Simon had a humble learning mind. Simon honored the word of Jesus more
than his human thinking by saying, “Because you say so.” Simon respected the
word of Jesus. Simon honored Jesus‟ word by folding his own reasons not to do.
Simon obeyed Jesus‟ word personally. Later, his personal obedience made him
understand vital spiritual lessons that he was a sinner and Jesus is the Savior.
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Look at verses 6,7 “When they had done so, they caught such a large
number of fish that their nets began to break. So 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.” A huge haul of fish strained the nets past capacity.
When Simon obeyed personally, the result was an awesome miracle. From
verses 1-3 we see no fish but after Simon‟s obedience from verses 4-7 we see
many fish. What a contrast it was! Without Jesus, there was no fish in his net.
With Jesus, there was more than the boat full of fish. Luke the author described
the abundance of blessing by the words such as “their nets began to break and
they began to sink.” Jesus‟ word produced abundant fruit in the man who
honored Jesus‟ command in spite of his good reasons not to. Obedience to
Jesus‟ word is the channel of receiving God‟s blessings.
The remarkable catch of fish was not the only miracle. Look at verse 8.
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus‟ knees and said, „Go away from me,
Lord; I am a sinful man!‟” Peter‟s action here is very strange. He should have
said “Thank you Jesus, I really appreciate your help”, instead he said, “Go
away!” Why? It was because he found that he was too much of a sinner to be
around Jesus. Instead of trying to deal with the haul of fish that threatened to
sink their boats, he fell at Jesus‟ knees, convicted that he was a sinful man.
According to NLT version, Peter exclaimed “Lord, leave. I‟m a sinner and I can‟t
handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.”
At the moment he met Jesus, he saw God in Jesus. He saw that even
those super slippery fish in the sea jumped into Simon‟s nets at Jesus‟ command.
At this miracle, Simon‟s spiritual eyes were opened to see who Jesus really was.
He also realized that he was a sinful man. In the past, he thought he was a good
man, good son in law, good husband and hard-working man. His life direction
was to make money, pay his mortgage, bills and student loans, and buy foods.
He toiled to solve his bread problem and would die like others. Compared to
others, he was not much sinful man. But when he viewed himself before holy
God, he found himself as a sinner. He found himself living a selfish life to
survive in the tough world. He realized that he did not live for the glory of God.
Like Simon, most people compare themselves with others in regard to
righteousness, goodness and moral standards. Usually, people compare
themselves with others worse than themselves. “I‟m not that bad. I‟m OK. Look
at him!” Likewise, we cannot truly find ourselves when we are among people.
Only when we stand before Jesus, do we truly find ourselves as sinners. Before
meeting Jesus, Paul thought that he was the greatest. Among his
contemporaries, he was truly the greatest. But when he met Jesus personally, he
confessed that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am
the worst.”(1Ti 1:15b) He truly found himself when we stood before Christ.
Salvation begins when we recognize that we are sinners before God. Salvation
for Paul began after he deeply realized that he was a sinner. In the same way,
Simon‟s first confession of sin was a bold step to come to God.
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II. From now on you will catch men (10b-11)
In part 1, Simon asked Jesus to go away from him - a sinful man. Did Jesus
go away from Simon? No! He didn‟t. Instead he gave him a new life direction.
Look at verse 10b. “Then Jesus said to Simon, „Don‟t be afraid, from now on you
will catch men.‟” Outwardly, Simon looked bold as a man of sea. But inwardly he
was fearful when his sin was revealed. Jesus alleviated Simon‟s fear by saying,
“Don‟t be afraid”. Jesus also said “From now on you will catch men.” The phrase
“from now on” indicates new life direction for Simon. Jesus did not count Peter‟s
past life much by saying “From now on”. In Jesus, “from now on” is important. In
Jesus, failure means a new beginning. In Jesus, we can start new life always by
accepting Jesus‟ word “from now on”. As Jesus restored Peter from failure, he
would make Peter‟s future life to be fruitful and abundant. From that time on,
what would Peter do? Jesus said “You will catch men”.
The phrase “You will catch men” sounds somewhat odd. It sounds like
policemen trying to catch criminals or catching people with nets. But
Contemporary English version says “From now on you will bring in people
instead of fish.” Until now, Simon had been catching fish diligently – salmon,
trout, carp, catfish, cod, gold fish, angel fish, butterfly fish and so on. But from
now on, Simon would catch all kinds of people diligently. Simon‟s life direction
would be changed from fish to men.
There are differences in fishing fish and fishing men. It was not good for the
fish to be caught by Simon. The day of being caught for fish is gloomy day
because it will be dead or cooked on that day. But catching men is different.
Then what is the meaning of catching men? To catch men is to save souls. It
was Jesus‟ vision for Simon to become a shepherd and Bible teacher for God‟s
flock of sheep. Jesus calls Simon as a gospel worker following Jesus‟ example.
Until now, catching fishing was Simon‟s life. He struggled with slippery fish with
great effort risking his life in the lake at numerous nights. He meditated on fish
and studied fish how to catch more fish. Fish was the purpose of Simon‟s life.
Fish was the symbol of his self-centered life.
In the same way, from now on, Simon would catch men. He would struggle
with men who are sinners. He would struggle hard with sinners in order to lead
them to God. He would grow as a shepherd who takes care of sheep. Simon
would teach the Bible to his sheep until they know God personally. Simon would
pray for sheep with tears until they repent of their sins. Simon would have true
happiness when he wins lost souls to Jesus with the word of God. He would
spend numerous sleepless night remembering lost souls. The primary concern of
his life would be shepherding God‟s flock. As Jesus promised him “You will catch
men”, Simon indeed became a willing shepherd for the early churches. He urged
early Christian church leaders to be shepherds saying “Be shepherds of God‟s
flock that is under your care, serving them as overseers- not because you must,
but because you are willing as God wants you to be.”(1Pe 5:2a)
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God calls his servants in each generation throughout history for his divine
purpose. God is still calling his people in order to use them for soul saving work.
We pay honor to Dr.Schweitzer, Abraham Lincoln, or Mother Theresa because
they sacrificed their lives to serve others. These people lived as shepherds.
Through their service, many people came to know Jesus and escaped from
eternal destruction. We all know that this kind of life is beautiful and valuable.
Some people think that they cannot live this kind of beautiful life because they
think they lack ability, past life, circumstances or personal character and so on.
But when we accept Jesus‟ promise “You will catch men”, we can also
become shepherds like Peter, or Dr. Schweitzer. Do you want to live a petty and
self-centered life or a life that saves others from perishing? Do you think it is
impossible to like that? It is possible when we accept Jesus‟ calling. When an
uneducated country man Simon Peter accepted it, he was changed forever.
When shoe repair boy William Carey accepted Jesus‟ calling, he became a great
shepherd for people in India. Jesus is calling each of us for soul saving work in
our generation by his grace. May we accept Jesus‟ calling “You will catch men
today and live as disciples of Jesus and shepherds for the perishing.
Before meeting Jesus, my life goal was to be a good son to my parents. But
Jesus called me as his disciple who would catch men. I chose to live this
meaningful life and served sheep from my heart. When one of my sheep
accepted Jesus through Bible study with me and became a missionary for Japan,
I was filled with joy and happiness. Now God called me to Canada to be a
shepherd for Canadian students. My life is truly beautiful and meaningful. May I
never give up this privilege to live as a shepherd for perishing souls.
What was Peter‟s response to Jesus‟ calling? Look at verse 11. “So they
pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” This does not
mean that we must quit our jobs or school studies. This means that we must quit
our lives of sin or sinful entanglement in the world and commit our hearts and
lives to Jesus. Peter was a man of decision. In order to follow Jesus, Simon left
everything including a large number of fish he just caught. Until that time, Peter
followed fish wherever it went either shallow or deep water. Now Peter follows
Jesus wherever he goes.
Conclusion: This time, Jesus calls each of us with the words “put out into
deep water and let down the nets for a catch”. Let us stand before Jesus and
confess that „I am a sinful man!‟ Let us hear Jesus‟ promise “from now on you
will catch men.” May we accept Jesus‟ direction personally and be used as
shepherds for God‟s flock.