Luke 5 begins with Jesus ministering by the Lake of Gennesaret(Galilee) with the people crowding around Him. He saw two boats at the water’s edge and got into the one belonging to Simon(was that a coincidence or a God incidence?) and asked him to put out from the shore. Then He taught the people from Simon’s boat.
When he’d finished speaking, He said to Simon(not yet renamed Peter), “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch”. Jesus was about to reward Simon and some of his friends, but he had to leave the shore and go into deep water. We talk about getting into deep water as getting beyond our ability to cope. The Christian life will inevitably take us beyond our comfort zones and that’s where we find the Lord’s blessings.
Master, we’ve worked hard all night(working throughout the darkness) and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so(Simon, though tired and disappointed, was willing to go where Jesus told him), I’ll let down the nets. Sometimes our best efforts yield nothing and maybe at times God wants to get our attention and show us what He can do. When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners to help and both boats were so full they began to sink. Superabundance, beyond their greatest expectations, with just a word from Jesus.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus knees and said, “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man”. Simon felt something beyond the ordinary had happened and he was touched by it.
The miraculous sign wasn’t just about the fish! Jesus told Simon, come and follow Me and from now on you will catch men. We know someone who says, the main thing, fish, isn’t the main thing. Jesus was calling out disciples of His own, to follow Him into the deep waters and catch men for the Kingdom. Those destined to be His disciples called Him the Messiah.
In John 21, after the resurrection, there is another story about a large catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee. Early in the morning(fishing before the light had come) Jesus tells His disciples to let down the net on the right side of the boat. They were again unable to haul in the net, because of the large number of 153 fish. This time the net did not break, ‘ but even with so many the net was not torn’. Some believe that this refers to the final harvest where the net will hold and the people will be brought safely, in great numbers, into the Kingdom. Hallelujah
Take courage and follow the Lord into the deep waters, His greatest blessings for your life await you there.
God bless you.