The Proper Response
Luke 5:1-11
February 4, 2018
As you know, we are working through Luke’s gospel
In which he is revealing to us the “exact truth” about Jesus.
We’ve already learned about
• The holiness of Christ
• The deity of Christ
• The humanity of Christ
• That Christ was under the Law
• That Christ resisted temptation
• That Christ demonstrated divine power
• That Christ is the Messiah who came to save
As a conscientious historian, Luke has made sure to give us the facts
About who Jesus is and what He did.
Beyond that, Luke has also been very interested in revealing to us
The type of people who respond to Jesus,
And the necessary attitude that is required to do that.
As mentioned many times before,
• Only Luke shows us Zacharias and Elizabeth.
• Only Luke gives such detail about Mary.
• Only Luke introduces the shepherds present after His birth.
• Only Luke speaks of Simeon and Anna.
Luke is highlighting that ALL IMPORTANT ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY
That is required in order for one to follow Christ.
By contrast was that humility which the hometown of Jesus (Nazareth) clearly lacked and therefore tried to throw Him off a cliff.
SO LUKE’S POINTS ARE BECOMING CLEAR TO US.
• Who is Jesus?
• What did He come to do?
• And what does He require from us?
These are the questions that Luke is answering.
As I ponder these realities even during my time of study,
I am reminded actually of a statement John makes about Jesus
In the opening chapter of his gospel.
John 1:9-13 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John introduced a tragedy there that despite the glory of Christ,
There were so many who would not receive Him.
And of course after looking at Nazareth we know why.
• People weren’t interested in having spiritual light shined into their darkened hearts.
• They didn’t want to acknowledge spiritual poverty or spiritual guilt or spiritual blindness or spiritual exhaustion.
• When Jesus tried to expose that, they quickly rejected Him.
However, there were a few who did receive Him.
There were a few who did respond correctly.
And those who did respond correctly were given
“the right to become children of God”
Luke is making that same point, and he is doing it
Through various encounters that Jesus had with those around Him.
THIS MORNING we look at the day when Jesus encountered Peter.
Now it is important for you to understand that
Luke 5 is NOT THE FIRST TIME Peter was acquainted with Jesus, not by a long shot.
• Peter first met Jesus in John 1 when Andrew introduced them.
• By this point Peter would have been with Jesus to that wedding in Cana and seen Him turn water into wine.
• By this point Peter would have been with Jesus to Jerusalem and seen Jesus clear the temple.
• We actually saw Jesus in Peter’s home in Luke 4 healing his mother-in-law of her fever.
• Luke 5 doesn’t even record the first time Jesus approached Peter at the water front and asked him to follow.
The first time occurred in Matthew 4.
Matthew 4:18-20 “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”
That is obviously not the same incident that Luke records,
It would have been an earlier one.
And through all of those encounters it is clear that
Peter had already heard Jesus say many amazing things,
And he had already seen Jesus do many amazing things.
What is more, Peter should have been aware
Of what Jesus expected of His followers.
Peter was not ignorant of the person or expectation of Jesus.
BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL THIS DAY THAT PETER ACTUALLY MET JESUS.
This is the day when Peter’s eyes were finally opened to exactly who Jesus was, and we love the story because Peter responds properly.
Now that makes this story very pertinent and relevant to us.
I can relate to Peter here so easily.
• I grew up in church and I knew all the stories about Jesus.
• I grew up in a Christian environment and I was well acquainted with the way
Jesus had changed people’s lives.
• I was aware of the expectation Jesus had for us to follow Him and serve Him
• I even went on mission trips as a teenager and was involved in various
ministries.
But I didn’t really meet Jesus until that one fateful night in Abilene, TX.
How do I know that is when I really saw Him for the first time?
Because in seeing Him, for the first time I also saw me.
Jesus didn’t just show me who He was.
Jesus also showed me who I was.
And if you’re paying attention to Luke, this is the real point of contention.
That is what Nazareth didn’t like.
That is what Capernaum ignored.
But Peter gets it right.
So, as we work through this story,
• Let me just ask you if Jesus has ever confronted you?
• And let me also ask you how you responded?
Peter is a tremendous example of the proper response.
5 things we see here.
#1 THE CROWD
Luke 5:1-3
Now really here, we just see Jesus doing business as usual.
We read in:
Luke 4:14-15 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.”
When He came to Nazareth, more of the same:
Luke 4:16 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.”
When He returned to Capernaum, He’s still preaching:
Luke 4:31 “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;”
And even when Capernaum tried to detain Him:
Luke 4:43-44 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
So at this point the fact that we find Him preaching to a crowd
IS NOT SURPRISING AT ALL.
He’s just doing what He came to do.
He is proclaiming the kingdom of God.
He is revealing to people that He is the One who can
• Offer grace to beggars
• Offer forgiveness to criminals
• Offer sight to the blind
• Offer rest to the weary
• Offer salvation to sinners
He can grant you access into God’s kingdom right now.
That’s what He came to do and that’s what He’s doing
…relentlessly.
It’s also not surprising when we see the response of the crowd.
“Not it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God…”
Luke speaks of Jesus preaching “the word of God” (i.e His own words)
And Luke speaks of the crowd pressing in on Him.
Now you know why.
• These people will more than readily endure a sermon if they think it’s going to
end in a healing display.
• The whole time He is preaching you have the crowd jockeying for position.
• They all want to be up there at the front to make sure they get their miracle
when they start.
I still remember a picture of Ken Gilcrease on mission in Guatemala
Backed up to a wall with kids pressing all around him
Because he had candy he was giving out.
That’s what they are doing to Jesus,
And they’ve literally backed Him up to the edge of the water.
There is a crowd, but I’m not yet ready to yield to the fact that
They are all there because they want to hear the gospel.
And because of the crowd we read:
(2-3) “and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.”
This was no accident, nor was it merely a contingency plan.
As you’ll see in a minute,
Jesus has been setting the stage for this all night long.
• But by the edge of the water you “two boats” and “fishermen”
• And the fishermen had gotten out of the boats “and were washing their nets.”
This was the Sea of Galilee and we see in a minute that
The fishermen where Peter and James and John.
That indicates that
• While they had spent time with Jesus,
• And had even followed Him on some isolated ventures,
• They had yet to fully become devoted to Him,
• Because here they are still fishing.
• Fishing in Galilee was done at night,
• And the type of fishing here was a large fishing net dropped from the boat
• Which worked as a sane where the fish were gathered and dragged in to the
boat.
These men had fished all night.
Now it was time to clean up and then catch some rest
Before they went back out again.
Jesus gets into Simon’s boat “and asked him to put out a little way form the land.”
Even though Simon must have been tired,
He was certainly more than willing
To accommodate the ministry of Jesus.
Some of us may have seen it as an INCONVENIENCE,
Apparently Peter did not.
Based on His previous dealings with Jesus,
He was more than willing to lend a hand.
So they move the boat out and “He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.”
SO JESUS IS BACK TO PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
Now, Luke doesn’t go into detail here,
But the previous preaching encounters have taught us a thing or two.
• By pulling away from the crowd, Jesus has just forced the crowd to quit
focusing on getting close to Him and to start listening to the message.
• And we’ve also seen that any time people listen to the message of Jesus it
isn’t long before they start clamoring for some proof, because after all
Jesus does make some pretty amazing claims about Himself.
• Well, again Jesus is about to substantiate those claims.
Only this time, the miracle is not for the crowd,
It is for Peter, James, and John.
The Crowd
#2 THE CATCH
Luke 5:4-7
So Jesus finishes the sermon, and again you are aware about the anticipation of the crowd. They want to see proof.
“He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
If we didn’t know anything else about the circumstances of the story, this would still be a pretty remarkable request.
• For one thing, these men didn’t fish during the day, fishing was done at night. This is not the way it’s done.
• For another thing, they just finished fishing and cleaning their nets. If they put the out again, they’re just going to have to clean them again.
That alone makes this request a difficult one.
Peter’s answer tells us what makes this request even more remarkable.
(5) “Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”
I think that is a remarkable response from Peter there.
I think it is a response filled with
Love and Submission and Willingness and Obedience.
Some see Peter’s response as sort of a complaint,
But I don’t think that’s it at all.
What Peter says is true.
“we worked hard all night and caught nothing”
Peter doesn’t think this will work.
What he doesn’t know is that the reason he caught nothing is because Jesus had re-routed all the fish in the sea and made sure they caught nothing.
Peter is skeptical, but Peter is NOT RULED BY SKEPTICISM.
Peter is still willing to submit to Christ.
He calls Him “Master”
And despite the circumstances says, “but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”
That is what we call meekness.
That is what we call submission.
Peter here goes out in faith, not logic.
(6-7) “When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.”
While the Lord had driven the fish away all night,
Suddenly He brought them all back…and then some.
It is called “a great quantity”
• So great that “their nets began to break”
• So great that “they signaled to their partners…to help them”
• So great that “they…filled both of the boats”
• So great that the boats “began to sink”
Let’s just say that this is a lot of fish.
And again Jesus has put His power and authority on display.
• This is the man who can command DEMONS and they obey.
• This is the man who can command SICKNESS and it obeys.
• This is the man who can command CREATION and it obeys.
We are dealing here with no ordinary man.
This particular miracle demonstrates His OMNISCIENCE
(Who else knows where the fish are in the lake?)
This miracle demonstrates His OMNIPOTENCE
(Who else can command fish to jump in a net?)
This miracle demonstrates His SOVEREIGN CONTROL
(Who else can do it exactly when He wants it done?)
Jesus has again confirmed His authority.
And again we realize that His amazing claims may be amazing,
But they are not crazy.
He can do the things He says.
If He says He can offer grace to beggars…He can do it.
If He says He can offer forgiveness to criminals…He can do it.
If He says He can offer sight to the spiritually blind…He can do it.
If He says He can relieve the burden of the oppressed…He can do it.
If He says He can usher in the kingdom of God…He can do it.
RIGHT?
This is really just another day in the life of Jesus.
But on this day Luke presses the story further
To reveal the impact it had on Peter
And Luke even highlights Peter’s proper response.
The Crowd, The Catch
#3 THE CONFRONTATION
Luke 5:8-10a
“But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.”
Peter’s reaction is so very telling.
“he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Now first just let me contrast that with the other reactions we have seen.
When Jesus revealed Himself to Nazareth:
Luke 4:28-29 “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.”
So Nazareth said, “Go away from us, for we are NOT sinful men.”
They had heard just about enough of His confronting message.
Then He went to Capernaum:
Luke 4:42 “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.”
Capernaum said, “Don’t go away from us”
(They obviously were not concerned about their own sinfulness)
(Remember Matthew’s gospel reveals that they never repented)
Nazareth didn’t want Him around confronting their sin.
Capernaum wasn’t worried about it so long as He kept on healing them.
But Peter’s reaction was very different.
“Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
This was not Peter saying He didn’t want Jesus around.
This was Peter saying He didn’t deserve Jesus around.
And incidentally, James and John are said to have had the same mentality
As they were all struck with “amazement”.
WHAT HAPPENED?
These men didn’t just see a carnival show, these men just saw God.
• They saw His omniscience
• They saw His omnipotence
• They saw His sovereignty
• They saw His holiness
And when they saw Him, they saw themselves.
And in the presence of the Holy One
They were overcome with their own sinfulness.
I love the reality that with two boats filled to the max with fish,
All Peter could smell was the stench of his own sin.
And let me just put it to you straight.
• If you have never come to the awareness of your own wretched sinfulness…
• If you have never been overwhelmed by the extent of your filth…
• If you have never been crushed under the weight of your own guilt…
THEN I PROMISE YOU, YOU HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED JESUS.
To further illustrate this, let me take you to another encounter with Jesus and show you what happened.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 6:1-8
Do you see the parallel?
Isaiah saw the Holy One
(and by the way John 12:41 reveals that Isaiah saw Jesus)
And when Isaiah saw Jesus, Isaiah saw Isaiah
And had the same reaction as Peter.
And that’s not the only one.
In Ezekiel 1-3 Ezekiel had the same encounter.
Ezekiel 1:28 “As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”
The same thing happened to John again on the Island of Patmos.
Revelation 1:17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,”
My point is simply this.
A true encounter with Christ is first and foremost
An extreme awareness of your own sin and guilt.
(I don’t care if you went out to a “shack” and saw a vision of God or not)
If you’ve never had that awareness then I promise you,
You’ve never encountered Christ.
PETER JUST DID.
Now, that’s NOT yet Peter’s response. (we haven’t seen a request yet)
All we see there is that Peter just came under intense conviction of his own sin.
It’s important to see that
Peter did humble himself and acknowledge his sin,
But Peter’s ultimate response is what Luke is going to show in a moment.
The Crowd, The Catch, The Confrontation
#4 THE CALLING
Luke 5:10b
“And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching me.”
As I told you earlier,
This is not the first time Jesus revealed that calling to Peter.
Jesus had already told him that once in Matthew 4.
It’s just that Peter didn’t quite fully grasp it back then.
But here Jesus has Peter’s attention and once again reveals the calling.
You’re no longer a fishermen.
• From now on you are going to be a messenger of the kingdom of God.
• From now on you are going to be a preacher of the gospel.
• From now on you are going to offer salvation to people in My name.
And I also point out that this was not a request, it was a command.
Jesus didn’t offer Peter a job here,
Jesus commanded Peter to change course.
The sovereign God of the universe… The supreme King of heaven…
Just gave Peter new marching orders.
Now for purposes of continuity, I hope you are thinking of John 21.
Because in John 21 we find Peter disillusioned,
After he had denied Jesus 3 times and Jesus had been crucified,
And Jesus had risen from the dead.
And after his monumental failure
Peter thinks he has blown it beyond repair and tells the disciples:
John 21:3 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.”
That is to say “I’m going back to fishing”
Peter thought he had blown it too big.
Then if you will remember Jesus reenacts this very miracle a second time.
He once again reroutes all the fish in the sea and once again commands him to throw his nets again and once again gives a great catch of fish.
And when Peter recognizes the Lord Jesus once again reiterates
To Peter that he is no longer a fisherman, he is a shepherd.
Remember the infamous “Peter do you love Me?”… “Feed My sheep…”
The point is that the calling of Jesus on Peter’s life
Is NOT OPTIONAL, NOR is it TEMPORARY.
Jesus is calling for sole and total and final control
Of Peter’s life from here on out.
The calling Jesus places here
Is a calling that Jesus will never relinquish until the day of Peter’s death (Which Jesus will remind Peter of in John 21)
John 21:18-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
THAT IS THE CALL.
• Jesus has just confronted the sinful nature of Peter,
• And is now asking Peter to forsake that sinful life and follow Him all the way until death.
Do you see that?
Now, as we said
• Nazareth didn’t want to hear that so they tried to kill Jesus.
• Capernaum didn’t want to hear that either.
They didn’t want to forsake their life to follow Jesus,
They wanted Jesus to forsake His calling and stay with them.
That is the wrong response.
Jesus is asking Peter here
• To totally and finally forsake all that he is and all that he knows
• And to be a follower of Jesus and a messenger of His kingdom for the rest of his life.
Do you see that?
Well there’s the question, what is the response?
The Crowd, The Catch, The Confrontation, The Calling
#5 THE COMMITMENT
Luke 5:11
It wasn’t just Peter, but James and John as well.
“When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
Bear in mind that
They not only left their boats and their nets and their way of life,
But they also just left the biggest catch of fish they had ever secured.
They had a virtual fortune in those boats.
The biggest score their business had ever landed.
And Jesus asked them to leave it all to that greedy crowd on the beach.
He wanted them to forsake it all and follow Him.
And the response?
(11) “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
John MacArthur said it like this:
“Those who recognize their sinful unworthiness and embrace Jesus as the truthful, omniscient, omnipotent, holy, and merciful God are the ones He reconciles to Himself. He forgives their sin, takes away their fear of judgment that sin causes, and commissions them to the great task of evangelization, of catching men alive for the kingdom of God.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Luke 1-5; Moody Publishing, Chicago, IL; 2009] pg. 309)
THE CONTRAST COULD NOT BE CLEARER.
• Everyone is enamored with Jesus. (Even Nazareth)
• Everyone is flocking to hear Jesus. (Even Capernaum)
• Everyone wants Jesus to fix their problems.
Those desires do not reveal true believers.
Those realities are common place.
The true believers are those that in the midst of Jesus preaching and miracles
• Become convinced of their sin,
• Humble themselves under that conviction,
• Run to Jesus for the forgiveness of that sin,
• Then submit to His sovereign lordship for the rest of their lives.
And that distinction is so clearly defined throughout Luke’s gospel.
Peter here joins the list of the genuinely redeemed.
He joins with Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, Anna, and the shepherds.
EVERYONE ELSE simply represents those
Who are willing to use Jesus for their own selfish ends,
But who are otherwise unwilling to own their guilt
And submit to His leadership.
Now, let me ask you, WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
• Have you ever met Jesus?
• Have you ever come face to face with your own sin?
• Have you ever been crushed under the weight of your guilt?
• Did you own that sin, or did you argue about it?
• Did you run to Jesus for forgiveness, or did you determine just to ignore it?
• Are you presently in His service, or are you still running full speed in the kingdom of this world?
The unmistakable point of Luke is that
Upon learning that Jesus is the rightful King,
That you and I would forsake this kingdom and run to His.
That we would also leave everything and follow Him.
Don’t suppose that admiration of Jesus
Is the same thing as submission to Him.
Everyone Jesus confronted was amazed,
But only a few were obedient.
