Treasuring Christ: At Christ's Word, Let Down the Nets

At Christ's Word, Let Down the Nets

Luke 5:1-11 K. Elijah Layfield

"On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him."

We live in very dangerous times. It is dangerous for faithful preachers of God's Word. No one wants to hear what God has to say. Faithful pastors are constantly plagued by the possibility that this sermon, or this truth, might be the one that causes his people to rebel. This might be the day when he and his family are told they no longer have a place to come to worship and the pastor no longer has a congregation to hear his preaching. It is dangerous for faithful believers. For many preachers, because of fear of rejection and termination, have compromised God's Word and preach only what the people want to hear. There is a famine in the land. One in which the believer seeks to find a word from the Lord, and in which the preacher seeks to find a people who want to hear from their God. This is why is extremely important to hear Jesus from this text teach on evangelism and the church.

First off, I want to sum up what I think this passage teaches. Then I want to show why I think that from the text itself. To help me understand this, I will be leaning heavily on Dr. Piper's outline from his sermon, "Breaking Nets, Sinking Boats, Saving Men." Here I quote Dr. Piper:

By Jesus’ power and authority
multitudes of people
will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings
by the followers of Jesus who
teach the word of God,
obey the commands of Jesus,
humble themselves, and
treasure Christ above all.

By Jesus’ power and authority multitudes of people will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings

A. You're a Carpenter (v.4)

Jesus reveals his very power and authority in verse 4. I can only imagine Peter's reaction to mutiny of Jesus. This was Peter's boat. Peter was the fisherman. After all, was not our Lord a carpenter (Mark 6.3)? Would he not be more capable of building a ship rather than fishing from one? "It was a well-known fact that, in the Sea of Galilee, you caught fish at night in the shallow water, not in the daytime in the deep water. What Jesus asked Peter to do was contrary to all of his training and experience (Luke 5:5).

This very situation brings to mind another time in Jesus' life where his origin, power, and authority was questioned earlier in this gospel. He had returned to his hometown and was given the honor of preaching at the local synagogue. He knew His text. He turned right to Isaiah 61 and read, " "“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”" (Luke 4:18-22 ESV)

I could hear Peter, "Is this not a carpenter? A bi-vocation rabbi?" What does he know about fishing? But he listened and obeyed.

B. Multitude (v.6)

And it says that they caught a large number of fish. Now before we get lost in what's going on in this story, let's make sure we don't carry this too far. This story's not about fish. The very words used show this. The word in Greek for "large number" is used throughout the New Testament and it's always used concerning people. (Acts 5:14 ESV)"And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women," And, "Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed." (Acts 14:1 ESV). Or if you just want to stay in the text, in verse 11 we read, "You will be catching men." Jesus' point here is that just like Peter had to trust Christ to bring the fish, we have to trust Jesus to bring the people to Himself. Which raises a question, at least in my mind.

We don’t need God to gather a crowd. Shannon and I were listening John Piper and he brought out this question wonderfully. It's really easy to grow a church without God, isn't it? All it takes is some catchy music, dim lights, and a few examples of personal pain and identification wrapped in humor and you've got your self a large church. What are we after? Because that's not fishing that depends on Jesus. That is blind leading the blind. That is processing for tuna fish—spiritual murder, and exercise for the ego. We're after the blessing of people by the power and authority of Jesus. The gathering of people is for rest (Matthew 11:28-30) and joy (John 15:11) and eternal life (John 3:36) and for God's own glory—not so that we can be known as great fishermen and women. So Yes to big churches. Yes to large gatherings of believers, but No to any other means of getting them there or keeping them there that is done apart from total trust in the power and authority which Jesus prescribes. And this is our job (v.11). So, what are we to look like in doing this in the power and authority of Christ?

by the followers of Jesus who

This parable is going to do a good bit to describe the follower of Jesus in 4 ways. One, they

teach the word of God, (v.3)

Now, we have to ask, If we are fishing, what is the bait? A cute jingle is no good, because it robs people of the reward of being caught. So the bait is the Word of God. I get this from verses 1-3. When the people clamor to Jesus, what does He give them? He commends truth to them and this honors the people. He appeals to them as rationale creatures who need a Word from God and about God. They need authority in their lives "For he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. " (Matthew 7:29 ESV) "The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”" (John 7:46 ESV) No one spoke like He did because no one else gave the people God in truth. Where are they going to find out about God today?

"We live in a society that does not know the true nature of God and the gospel. They don’t know the God-centered nature of what sin is, and what God’s glory and law are, and who Christ is and what happened on the cross and what faith is and what love is and what heaven and hell are." We have a great responsibility to teach our culture truth. Paul spent five hours a day for two years reasoning and teaching the people about God, it says in Acts 19:9-10. Beloved, if we do not give them God, no one else will. People can get psychological pep-talks from anyone. But where are they going to learn about the holiness and majesty of God? Anyone can identify the problems, but only God can change the people. So not just teaching against addiction, but what does God say about addiction and how to overcome it. So not just teaching about abstinence, but why purity is so important to God—and how God tells us to become and remain pure in Jesus Christ. And why does Christ use this method? Because He has the power and authority to accomplish His Word.

Peter questioned Jesus but Peter obeyed. The key was his faith in the Word of God: “Nevertheless, at Your word.” Peter said, "Your Word is at stake here." Peter knew it was Christ's ability to accomplish the purpose of His Word that was at stake, not Peter's ability to fish. So beloved, dream a dream to teach and share and proclaim His Word. Take the example of Jesus. He invited Peter into His midst by asking to sit in His boat. Then He invaded His life by giving Peter His Word. Dream a dream Bithlo Baptist. For Christ is faithful to His Word to bring in multitudes by it.

obey the commands of Jesus, v.5

So it becomes a matter of our obedience. Jesus could have made the fish jump in the book. He can do fish. He can make them swallow a coin and jump on a hook, but he chose to do it another way. He chose to use sinful messengers. Peter is a perfect example of pitiful obedience that brings God's blessing. "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." Peter was not excited about the prospect of obeying Christ. Frankly, he was just tired. How much are we like Peter.

We must learn that there's never going to be the perfect time for giving the Word of God. Frankly, some of you have been trying all night and you're just tired of trying. You've been trying to convince someone at work, or your wife, or your child and no matter what you say, they just will not believe. Will you just drop your nets and trust Jesus to accomplish His Word? Will you just invite them to the Word? Will you just invade them with the Word? All you can do is pray, live a life that show you trust in Christ for all things, give the Word, and trust Him to be faithful to the Word. Can you do that? What about this church? Are you tired? Have you been fishing all night with nothing to show? Let's drop the nets and obey Christ. He honors our simple, childlike trust and obedience. Remember, the catch was reward for obedience, not the result of skill or technique.

humble themselves, v.8

So, what do we look like when the blessing comes? And it will if you obediently teach the Word. We could market it as Tried and True Ways to Build Your Church. We can get more money, bigger houses, more renown. What is Peter's response in verse 8? He acknowledges that he is unworthy of it. “It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for You.” (Compare Is 6:5.) This is the Goal of blessing, beloved—our humility, not our numerical growth. This church is not worthy of being here, but it is. Does it draw you to wonder why He's blessed you with it? It should. That's the goal of all of God's blessing. To quote Jonathan Edwards, "A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires: their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable, and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior. (Religious Affections, Yale, 1959, pp. 339f.) The faithful followers of Jesus teach the Word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble themselves and lastly…

treasure Christ above all. v.11

Why didn't Christ blast Peter with a holy or righteous judgment because of his doubt and half-hearted obedience? He should have dunked Peter, but He didn't. Why doesn't he judge all of us like he should. Christ knew that His death on the Christ would remove Peter's sin. He tells Peter, "Do not fear. You're going to be fishers of men" Christ shows that the promises of God are for encouragement and rejuvenation. And they are also to show what really matters. The text, in verse 11, says that they left everything and followed Him. Jesus is what matters to the true follower of Jesus. He is the treasure for which he sells all that he has to obtain. Paul says it like this, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8 ESV).

Now, I'm sure some of you are a bit mad at me because I dared to preach this message on Mother's day of all days. Why couldn't I have preached a mother's day message? But mothers, what reward will keep you faithful to your husband and children, if not the eternal joy and happiness at Christ's right hand? Mothers, what encouragement will you use after you toiled with your family and job all night and no one appreciates it? Mothers, where are you going to get the strength to do all you need to do? Mothers what are you going to do when Christ calls Your child to go fishing for believers in Africa, or India, or Egypt? Mothers, the fish are in your lap. Show them how the power and authority of Jesus Christ will move multitudes of people into eternal kingdom blessings by means of his disciples at Bithlo who teach the word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble ourselves, and treasure Christ above all.


Home Universal World News Holy Communion Library Bible Study Manuscript Archive Audio Sermons Quotable Quotes Featured Article Discussion Favorite Links About Treasuring Christ Supporting Treasuring Christ Disclaimer Contact Information	At Christ's Word, Let Down the Nets Luke 5:1-11 K. Elijah Layfield "On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him." We live in very dangerous times. It is dangerous for faithful preachers of God's Word. No one wants to hear what God has to say. Faithful pastors are constantly plagued by the possibility that this sermon, or this truth, might be the one that causes his people to rebel. This might be the day when he and his family are told they no longer have a place to come to worship and the pastor no longer has a congregation to hear his preaching. It is dangerous for faithful believers. For many preachers, because of fear of rejection and termination, have compromised God's Word and preach only what the people want to hear. There is a famine in the land. One in which the believer seeks to find a word from the Lord, and in which the preacher seeks to find a people who want to hear from their God. This is why is extremely important to hear Jesus from this text teach on evangelism and the church. First off, I want to sum up what I think this passage teaches. Then I want to show why I think that from the text itself. To help me understand this, I will be leaning heavily on Dr. Piper's outline from his sermon, "Breaking Nets, Sinking Boats, Saving Men." Here I quote Dr. Piper: By Jesus’ power and authority multitudes of people will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings by the followers of Jesus who teach the word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble themselves, and treasure Christ above all. By Jesus’ power and authority multitudes of people will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings A. You're a Carpenter (v.4) Jesus reveals his very power and authority in verse 4. I can only imagine Peter's reaction to mutiny of Jesus. This was Peter's boat. Peter was the fisherman. After all, was not our Lord a carpenter (Mark 6.3)? Would he not be more capable of building a ship rather than fishing from one? "It was a well-known fact that, in the Sea of Galilee, you caught fish at night in the shallow water, not in the daytime in the deep water. What Jesus asked Peter to do was contrary to all of his training and experience (Luke 5:5). This very situation brings to mind another time in Jesus' life where his origin, power, and authority was questioned earlier in this gospel. He had returned to his hometown and was given the honor of preaching at the local synagogue. He knew His text. He turned right to Isaiah 61 and read, " "“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”" (Luke 4:18-22 ESV) I could hear Peter, "Is this not a carpenter? A bi-vocation rabbi?" What does he know about fishing? But he listened and obeyed. B. Multitude (v.6) And it says that they caught a large number of fish. Now before we get lost in what's going on in this story, let's make sure we don't carry this too far. This story's not about fish. The very words used show this. The word in Greek for "large number" is used throughout the New Testament and it's always used concerning people. (Acts 5:14 ESV)"And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women," And, "Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed." (Acts 14:1 ESV). Or if you just want to stay in the text, in verse 11 we read, "You will be catching men." Jesus' point here is that just like Peter had to trust Christ to bring the fish, we have to trust Jesus to bring the people to Himself. Which raises a question, at least in my mind. We don’t need God to gather a crowd. Shannon and I were listening John Piper and he brought out this question wonderfully. It's really easy to grow a church without God, isn't it? All it takes is some catchy music, dim lights, and a few examples of personal pain and identification wrapped in humor and you've got your self a large church. What are we after? Because that's not fishing that depends on Jesus. That is blind leading the blind. That is processing for tuna fish—spiritual murder, and exercise for the ego. We're after the blessing of people by the power and authority of Jesus. The gathering of people is for rest (Matthew 11:28-30) and joy (John 15:11) and eternal life (John 3:36) and for God's own glory—not so that we can be known as great fishermen and women. So Yes to big churches. Yes to large gatherings of believers, but No to any other means of getting them there or keeping them there that is done apart from total trust in the power and authority which Jesus prescribes. And this is our job (v.11). So, what are we to look like in doing this in the power and authority of Christ? by the followers of Jesus who This parable is going to do a good bit to describe the follower of Jesus in 4 ways. One, they teach the word of God, (v.3) Now, we have to ask, If we are fishing, what is the bait? A cute jingle is no good, because it robs people of the reward of being caught. So the bait is the Word of God. I get this from verses 1-3. When the people clamor to Jesus, what does He give them? He commends truth to them and this honors the people. He appeals to them as rationale creatures who need a Word from God and about God. They need authority in their lives "For he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. " (Matthew 7:29 ESV) "The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”" (John 7:46 ESV) No one spoke like He did because no one else gave the people God in truth. Where are they going to find out about God today? "We live in a society that does not know the true nature of God and the gospel. They don’t know the God-centered nature of what sin is, and what God’s glory and law are, and who Christ is and what happened on the cross and what faith is and what love is and what heaven and hell are." We have a great responsibility to teach our culture truth. Paul spent five hours a day for two years reasoning and teaching the people about God, it says in Acts 19:9-10. Beloved, if we do not give them God, no one else will. People can get psychological pep-talks from anyone. But where are they going to learn about the holiness and majesty of God? Anyone can identify the problems, but only God can change the people. So not just teaching against addiction, but what does God say about addiction and how to overcome it. So not just teaching about abstinence, but why purity is so important to God—and how God tells us to become and remain pure in Jesus Christ. And why does Christ use this method? Because He has the power and authority to accomplish His Word. Peter questioned Jesus but Peter obeyed. The key was his faith in the Word of God: “Nevertheless, at Your word.” Peter said, "Your Word is at stake here." Peter knew it was Christ's ability to accomplish the purpose of His Word that was at stake, not Peter's ability to fish. So beloved, dream a dream to teach and share and proclaim His Word. Take the example of Jesus. He invited Peter into His midst by asking to sit in His boat. Then He invaded His life by giving Peter His Word. Dream a dream Bithlo Baptist. For Christ is faithful to His Word to bring in multitudes by it. obey the commands of Jesus, v.5 So it becomes a matter of our obedience. Jesus could have made the fish jump in the book. He can do fish. He can make them swallow a coin and jump on a hook, but he chose to do it another way. He chose to use sinful messengers. Peter is a perfect example of pitiful obedience that brings God's blessing. "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." Peter was not excited about the prospect of obeying Christ. Frankly, he was just tired. How much are we like Peter. We must learn that there's never going to be the perfect time for giving the Word of God. Frankly, some of you have been trying all night and you're just tired of trying. You've been trying to convince someone at work, or your wife, or your child and no matter what you say, they just will not believe. Will you just drop your nets and trust Jesus to accomplish His Word? Will you just invite them to the Word? Will you just invade them with the Word? All you can do is pray, live a life that show you trust in Christ for all things, give the Word, and trust Him to be faithful to the Word. Can you do that? What about this church? Are you tired? Have you been fishing all night with nothing to show? Let's drop the nets and obey Christ. He honors our simple, childlike trust and obedience. Remember, the catch was reward for obedience, not the result of skill or technique. humble themselves, v.8 So, what do we look like when the blessing comes? And it will if you obediently teach the Word. We could market it as Tried and True Ways to Build Your Church. We can get more money, bigger houses, more renown. What is Peter's response in verse 8? He acknowledges that he is unworthy of it. “It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for You.” (Compare Is 6:5.) This is the Goal of blessing, beloved—our humility, not our numerical growth. This church is not worthy of being here, but it is. Does it draw you to wonder why He's blessed you with it? It should. That's the goal of all of God's blessing. To quote Jonathan Edwards, "A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires: their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable, and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior. (Religious Affections, Yale, 1959, pp. 339f.) The faithful followers of Jesus teach the Word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble themselves and lastly… treasure Christ above all. v.11 Why didn't Christ blast Peter with a holy or righteous judgment because of his doubt and half-hearted obedience? He should have dunked Peter, but He didn't. Why doesn't he judge all of us like he should. Christ knew that His death on the Christ would remove Peter's sin. He tells Peter, "Do not fear. You're going to be fishers of men" Christ shows that the promises of God are for encouragement and rejuvenation. And they are also to show what really matters. The text, in verse 11, says that they left everything and followed Him. Jesus is what matters to the true follower of Jesus. He is the treasure for which he sells all that he has to obtain. Paul says it like this, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8 ESV). Now, I'm sure some of you are a bit mad at me because I dared to preach this message on Mother's day of all days. Why couldn't I have preached a mother's day message? But mothers, what reward will keep you faithful to your husband and children, if not the eternal joy and happiness at Christ's right hand? Mothers, what encouragement will you use after you toiled with your family and job all night and no one appreciates it? Mothers, where are you going to get the strength to do all you need to do? Mothers what are you going to do when Christ calls Your child to go fishing for believers in Africa, or India, or Egypt? Mothers, the fish are in your lap. Show them how the power and authority of Jesus Christ will move multitudes of people into eternal kingdom blessings by means of his disciples at Bithlo who teach the word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble ourselves, and treasure Christ above all.