At Your Word
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
In first century Judaism, a system of learning had been developed and had become the normal practice. There was a system set in place similar to our educational system today except it was a religious education system and not a secular one. Where as we have elementary school, middle school, and high school, the Jews had Beth Sefer, Beth Talmud, and Beth Midrash. Nearly all children—both boys and girls from age 5-10—went to Beth Sefer (House of the Book) and learned the Torah. After this most boys 10-12 went on to Beth Talmud (House of Learning) and learned oral traditions and basic skills in understanding the Torah. After that, only those who were wealthy or extremely intelligent went on to the Beth Midrash (House of Exposition). It was here that young men, 13 years or so, would move out of the house of their parents and live with rabbis and learn, not only what the rabbi believed and taught, but also how the rabbi lived. If a young man was fortunate enough to do this, he would also call his rabbi father. In the end, the disciple would imitate his rabbi in both his teaching and his living. When he was ready, he then would be sent out to find disciples of his own.
We even see these phases coming through in the gospel accounts. When Jesus was 12 years old, he was there with the teachers (Luke never used the word rabbi), asking questions and astounding them with his knowledge. This was the way of Beth Talmud. Later in Jesus’s, ministry, he would tell his disciples,
A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about his disciples not to be called rabbi, or taking another father, or even elevating themselves to instructor. And of course, the last thing Jesus does is send his disciples out to gain new disciples, teaching them to observe all that he has commanded. So, it seems that Jesus was familiar with and perhaps even followed this sort of custom, though maybe not to its fullest extent, as we see in the text today. Because what we see today is Jesus’s calling of his first disciples, except they weren’t 13 year olds. This story revolves around Jesus and Simon and really focuses on Simon in particular. So what we find today are five details that help us focus Simon Peter’s calling. The first detail was that Simon was weary. The second was that Simon was willing. The third detail was Simon’s windfall. Then his woefulness. Finally, we see the details of Simon’s work.
Simon’s Weariness
Simon’s Willingness
Simon’s Windfall
Simon’s Woefulness
Simon’s Work
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.
Simon’s Weariness
Simon’s Weariness
The first detail that we see of Simon’s calling is his weariness. Luke quickly gave the location and circumstance of this encounter that Jesus and Simon had. It was on Lake GennesaRET, which by the way is also called Lake of ChinneRETH, Sea of Galilee, and Sea of Tiberius in the Bible. And it happened because the crowds were pressing in on him. But this was not some unplanned, spontaneous event. This was the planned calling of Jesus’s first and foremost disciple. This was a providential encounter. As a good historian, Luke is only wanting to give the setting here and so he doesn’t want us to worry about what it was that Jesus was teaching the crowd or why they were pressing in on him. He wants us to focus in on Jesus’s intruding on Simon’s life. And I use that word intruding purposefully because Simon is weary.
In verse 2, we read that Jesus saw two boats and the fishermen from those boats were washing their nets and find out by verse 5 that the men had been fishing all night long. But here is Jesus coming up, choosing Simon’s boat, and calling upon Simon to stop washing his nets, to get in his boat, and to put out into the shallow part of the water. This is so that Jesus could teach the crowds. Who knows how long that took! If it was a short five minutes, Jesus could probably have done that on the shore. Why not have the crowds back up? Why have Simon stop what he was doing just so that Jesus could teach a pushy crowd? Instead, Jesus chose to interrupt this weary fisherman who had stayed up all night, who was trying to wash his nets, and then go home to get some sleep.
Have you ever had to stay up all night? Maybe you worked midnight shift for a while. Perhaps you spent your night in heated conversation with someone. Maybe you couldn’t sleep because something was on your mind. Maybe the baby kept you up all night. You’re tired. You just want to get some sleep. But the phone rings. You’ve run out of milk for the kids’ breakfast. The dog chewed up a pillow and there is stuffing everywhere. Something is keeping you from that cozy, warm bed of yours.
Jesus loves to interrupt us. Jesus is not shy about intruding into people’s lives. The funeral procession in Nain, the synagogues of Nazareth and Capernaum, the Samaritan woman at the well, and here Simon’s boat. But there is always a reason for Jesus’s intrusion. We only need to look. Stop and think for a moment. There were crowds flocking to Jesus. They wanted to hear the word of God. They wanted to be healed of their diseases and possessions. But Jesus flocked to Simon. It makes sense for us Christians to go after Jesus. He’s everything we need. But for him to come after us makes no sense. We have nothing he needs. So when Jesus interrupts our lives, let us count it a privilege even if it is inconvenient.
But it didn’t stop with asking Simon to go out a little from shore. He then told him to go into the deep part of the lake. And we finally hear from Simon. Everything he says is important! We cannot overlook his words in the least.
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
The word “Master,” is not the same word as “Lord,” that we often think of. Instead, this word that Luke recorded is found only in Luke. It’s the Greek word for the Hebrew word “Rabbi.” Rabbi literally means, “My captain” or “My master.” We get a glimpse of frustration from Simon. We get a glimpse of his weariness. Not only has Jesus interrupted him from completing his work and made him wait while he was teaching others. But now he has ordered him out in to the deep and to lower the very nets that he and his crew were cleaning!
In the original, the words, “all night” come right after Master because the emphasis was on the length of time. “All through the night, we toiled.” But then the word used for “toiled” is the word in which we get our word copious—like someone took copious notes. They took exhaustive notes. That’s what Simon was indicating here to Jesus. “Master, all through the night we worked our fingers to the bone trying to catch something and we got nothing; we’re exhausted.”
Ever been there? You’ve labored. You’ve toiled. You’ve worked yourself until you conceded it was pointless. Nothing would come of all your efforts. There is a Psalm that says unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain. Simon and his men were out all night, but God did not grant them any fish. And we’ve read the text; we know why they labored in vain. But in this moment, they did not know. All they knew was they were tired. Beloved, I can’t guarantee you that when nothing comes of your efforts, you just need to hang on because a miracle is on the way. That’s not what this story is conveying at all. Instead, it is conveying that in the midst of weariness, Jesus is present calling us to press on.
Simon’s Willingness
Simon’s Willingness
Which takes us to the next detail in this passage. Though Simon was weary, he was also willing.
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
Part of being a disciple is trusting your Rabbi, your Master. What did a carpenter turned rabbi know about fishing? But it didn’t matter what Simon thought Jesus knew or didn’t know. He never told Jesus to stay in his lane. He never said to Jesus, “You know what, you stick to the teaching; I’ll stick to fishing. I don’t go around telling you what to teach; I don’t tell you how to do your job; don’t come telling me how to do mine.” Instead he said, “But at your word I will let down the nets.” Surrender to the Master. You can hear the song even now, can’t you?
All to Jesus, I surrender. All to him, I freely give. I will ever love and trust him. In his presence, daily live. I surrender all.
Can I ask you a question? Would you consider yourself a fully-willing-follower of Jesus or only a fair-weather-fan of Jesus? When times are good, the work isn’t as intense, the world is set right, I can sing I Surrender All and mean every word I say. But when I’m tired, weary, worn and my labor is in vain and I just want to go to bed, I know that singing that song would be gross hypocrisy! When I am weary, am I still willing? Are you?
Paul wrote the Corinthians
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
The promise is assured. This weariness that we are going through is preparing us for exponential glory that will last all of eternity.
Simon’s Windfall
Simon’s Windfall
And what happened to Simon was but a taste. It was a meeting of heaven and earth. It was a shadow of what was to come. Which is the third detail about Simon’s calling: Simon received a miracle—his windfall; that may or may not happen to us. But every miracle, as Pastor Matt said last week is but a taste of what awaits us in heaven. Simon and his partners caught nothing though they toiled all through the night. But in the light of day, when it would normally be impossible to catch anything, the tables were turned. They not only caught something in the daylight though they had caught nothing in the night; they caught enough so that their nets began to break. They caught so much that they had to signal to their partners to come help. They caught so many fish that it weighed down both boats—almost to the point of sinking.
Their light, momentary affliction of weariness and empty toil prepared them to receive more than they ever imagined was possible—two boatloads! The largest catch they’d probably ever seen! And totally unexpected; the very definition of a windfall!
Luke used two words to emphasize the amount of fish. One is where we get the prefix - poly from like polytheist (one who believes in many gods) or polyglot (one who speaks many languages). But the actual first word he used was a word in which we get our word “plethora.” The interesting thing is, that at the end of the passage, the men aren’t interested in the fish anymore. They’re interested in the one who gifted it to them.
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
No more boats. No more nets. No more fish. Only Jesus. Stop and think for a moment. Simon and his partners and companions walked away from the greatest money-maker-moment of their lives to follow a carpenter from Nazareth.
Brothers and sisters, some of you are weary. You’re tired. You believe that you have toiled deep into the night and now in the light you have come up empty and you just want to clean your nets and go home. You just want to finish the job in front of you and then be done. But we are promised more than a comfortable bed to ease our weary souls.
Paul wrote to the Philippians
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
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Compared to Jesus, everything is rubbish. Paul can forget all that he lost and look forward to what lies a head: the prize of the upward call. Now, we may not be there yet. Quite frankly, I don’t think Simon would identify with Paul’s thinking during this moment of his life either. It would take a few more years of growing before he would count all things as loss. But in this moment, in recognizing the reality of Jesus, Simon was able to leave behind the windfall Jesus had just blessed him with. Step by step, little by little, he trusted Jesus more and his stuff less. Let us pray that we would follow in his steps.
Not everyone was like Simon and his companions. We see the story of the rich young ruler who could not depart from his money; the religious men who would not leave their status. The cost was too great for them. And some people here might get that completely. To follow Jesus means giving up things on this world that you aren’t willing to forego. You know what that is; it’s different for everyone. But that call to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him is too great a call. But you know what? It’s worth it in the end. The momentary affliction, when compared to the glory that awaits, cannot help but be considered light.
Simon’s Woefulness
Simon’s Woefulness
But this takes us to the fourth detail in Simon’s calling. Simon not only had to see and trust the Master, but he had to take a good look at himself as well. John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Institutes of the Christian Religion Chapter 1: Knowledge and Nature of Connection between God and Ourselves
OUR wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.
He would go on to say that when confronted with God, all of our ignorance and shame and vanity and disgraces… in essence, all of our depravity, comes shining through. And this is what happened with Simon.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Simon had an Isaiah moment!
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Like Isaiah, there was a woefulness, but Simon wasn’t seeking for Jesus to flee literally (they were still in the middle of the lake), but to treat him with mercy for the sinful man he was. It was a confession, not a rejection. There was Jesus still sitting in the boat, surrounded by smelly, floppy fish, knees up in the air, and Simon falls before him calling him Lord. No longer just Master/Rabbi, but Lord—the God who healed his mother-in-law, the God who intruded upon his weariness. In light of Jesus’s true identity, Simon’s own had come bursting forth with a vengeance.
Simon came to understand Jesus because Simon took Jesus at his word. “But at your word I will let down the nets.” Jesus’s command made no sense, but it didn’t need to. It only needed to be followed. Only after it was, did Peter see himself because he saw him.
How often do we miss out on developing a deeper, more intimate understanding of our Lord because we won’t simply take him at his word? How many issues lie deep within us that need to be seen, understood, confessed and dealt with but we will not do any of it because we will not take him at his word?
Simon’s Work
Simon’s Work
And I wonder if we are scared that coming to that place, that understanding of our own woeful sinfulness, would make us unworthy of the work of Christ. I wonder if Simon was concerned about the same thing. But this takes us to the last of the five details about Simon’s call. It details Simon’s work.
Notice that it was only after Simon’s confession of his sinfulness that Jesus called him to kingdom work. It was only after he realized his own unworthiness while simultaneously realizing Jesus’s holiness.
Luke recorded that Simon and his partners were literally, “seized with awe, amazement, fear” to the point that he fell before Jesus. And Jesus told him not to be afraid. He would be leaving the old life of fishing for fish and start a new life of fishing for men. You see, all this that Jesus did, from the intrusion into Simon’s weariness to the command to go further into the lake to the call to let down those newly cleaned nets to the catching of the largest catch Simon had ever known, was to prepare this man to know himself and to know his Lord so he would be ready to work for the kingdom.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been going through 2 Thessalonians. I noticed that Paul almost immediately went into writing about the persecutions and trials that the Thessalonians were enduring. And he stated this:
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—
This—the endurance through persecutions due to their faith, and trials due to the fallenness of this universe—is evidence of God’s righteous judgment. What then is going to be the result? That they would be worthy of the kingdom of God. That kingdom for which they suffer. Suffering for the kingdom does not only include persecutions due to the faith. It is also enduring any trial because in every trial, Satan is tempting us to quit the kingdom, while God is purifying us—making us worthy of the kingdom. Simon would have his low moments, but he endured them all showing the evidence of God’s work in him.
This was such a moment—not only the weariness of catching no fish, but also the woefulness of seeing his own depravity. God was at work in him. And in the same way, he is at work in you. He is at work in you and me working through afflictions to prepare us for glory, to make us worthy of the kingdom, and to bring us to a place of willingness and a place of a work to be done.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we close up this passage, we’ve seen five different details of Simon’s call: his weariness and yet willingness to surrender. His windfall giving him a taste of eternity. And his woefulness that led to him being ready to work for and with Jesus catching men.
Let me ask, where are you this morning? Are you in one of those areas of your life? Maybe you’re weary, feeling the vanity of your toils. Perhaps you’re weary but still willing to follow wherever the Lord leads. Maybe you’re past the point of weariness altogether; you’ve seen the windfall; your eyes are focused on the glory that is to come—glory greater than all afflictions put together. Some might be seeing your sinfulness now as you get a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what he is doing in your life. Still others may be ready to go to work. That might mean in your day to day job, working for the kingdom catching men, women, or children, or that might mean vocational ministry.
Whatever it is that the Spirit has pressed upon you at this moment, do not toss it away as if it means nothing. Give yourself over to prayer and meditation. Let God speak to you through his word and Spirit. Talk with someone—a friend or Pastor Matt or myself. Let the work of the Spirit continue on and do not quench his movement.