Follow?

FOLLOW? Luke 5:1-11 January 17, 2021 Okay, let's jump right into this. The baptism of Jesus is a big deal, and all four Gospels mention the baptism. But, they all take different directions after that. One of the reasons I am so glad we have four Gospels, and not just one, is because they each share different information. Matthew, Mark, and Luke talk about Jesus' temptation in the wilderness for 40 days, or going to Nazareth to teach. Only the Gospel of John says that after the baptism Jesus spent the next six months in the southern part of Israel, near the city of Jerusalem, teaching and preaching. We call this his Judean ministry. During this six months Jesus is all by himself, no disciples. John the Baptist has disciples. He has all kinds of disciples. Every day several hundred pilgrims come to the River Jordan to be baptized, and John cannot get it done by himself. So, he has recruited and trained several disciples to help him. When Jesus comes on scene, John begins actively encouraging his disciples to leave, and join Jesus.1 John was dead serious when he said Jesus is much more important than I am. One of John the Baptist's disciples is a young man named Andrew. Andrew grew up in a commercial fishing family in Galilee. His father probably started the business. But, these days it is his older brother, Peter, who is in charge. Andrew left home in the north, and moved south looking for something. Apparently, he was a very spiritual young man. And, he needed more than the church was giving him. He found John the Baptist, embraced his mantra of repent and be baptized. And, he became a disciple. When John the Baptist tells his disciples - you guys really need to be taking a closer look at Jesus - Andrew responds. Older brother Peter comes south to get Andrew and bring him back home. Which is not unreasonable. If a member of your family ran away from home, and joined a brand-new religion, something like a cult, wouldn't you find him as soon as possible and bring him back home? Peter shows up, and Andrew tells him -we've found the Messiah! Peter says - that's great, that's wonderful, tell me all about it but keep walking back home. And, Jesus says, if you guys don't mind, I think I'll tag alone. So, after six months of solo ministry Jesus heads back north to Galilee. Jesus grew up in Nazareth. East of Nazareth is the Sea of Galilee. The largest city on the Sea of Galilee is Capernaum. Capernaum is the home of the Peter and Zebedee fishing company. Peter and his brother Andrew are part of the business. The other half of the business is a man named Zebedee. Zebedee isn't that active in the company anymore. For the most part he has turned it over to his two sons, James and John. Each of the two families has their own boat. And, they work together every night fishing. One morning, shortly after sunrise, Jesus comes down to the docks and begins preaching. The Greek in Luke tells us that he wasn't preaching to large crowds of enthusiastic believers who wanted to become his disciples.2 He hasn't received that kind of notoriety or fame yet. There is a large crowd at the docks. But it's mostly fishermen who have finished their nights work, and customers who want first pick of the fish before it goes to market. But, they are interested in what Jesus has to say. They begin to gather around, and the crowd gets larger and larger. The crowd assembles because of Jesus' message; his word from God. Which is much, much different than what they hear when they go to church. At church the message is completely negative. If you don't go to Synagogue every Sabbath, you are going to Hell. If you don't pay your tithe, you are going to Hell. If you don't do everything the Rabbis and Priests tell you to do, you are going to Hell. Here comes Jesus, and he is saying - God loves you. You are his most special creation, and the absolute last thing God wants is for anyone to go to Hell. You're so poor you have to work on the Sabbath, and you can't go to church? That's OK. Every day of the week is a creation of God. Worship when you can, wherever you are - doesn't have to be Sunday, and doesn't have to be church. You can't follow all the rules the priests keep shouting at you? That's OK. God doesn't judge your body, he judges your heart. If you are acting out of love, and good intentions, don't worry so much about the rules. Our God is a good God. This message is connecting with people. Including Andrew's brother, Peter. Let's talk for a moment about commercial fishing. It was a night job, for several reasons.3 First, the public markets opened up early morning. Not right at sunrise, but shortly after. So, if you want to sell fresh fish you must be there at the start of the day. That means catching fish at night. Secondly, most people, including fishermen, can't swim. So, you want to stay in as shallow-water as much as possible. During the day the bigger fish go deeper down to stay cool. If you want a shot at bigger fish you have to fish at night when the big ones come closer to shore. And, finally, it takes completely different equipment for shallow-water fishing, and deep-water fishing. It takes different nets. It takes different rigging on your boat. And, it takes a bigger boat and a bigger crew to fish deep-water. Most families just cannot afford that expense, so they are limited to shallow-water night fishing. As the Sun comes up, and the fish start to go deep, you bring your boat to shore. Whatever you caught is all you are going to get. The first order of business is to sort the fish into different categories, based on type and size. Put all the fish into buckets. Then, time to clean and fix your nets. The shallow-water bottom was full of plants. These would catch in the nets. It made the nets heavier to throw, less likely to catch fish, and more likely to break. So, cleaning and repairing is the morning's highest priority. Andrew and Peter have brought their boat in for the night, and are sitting nearby cleaning and repairing their nets. And, they are listening to every word Jesus has to say. The problem is people are beginning to crowd around Jesus, and so it's getting more difficult to hear what he is saying. Suddenly, Jesus steps into Peter's empty boat and says - hey Peter! Push me out. I don't know if Peter did it without any questions (sure, you bet), or if he hesitated (umm, we're done for the day), or if there was an awkward moment (dude, you're in my boat). All I know is Peter and Andrew push the boat out, and jump in. They don't go very far. Just far enough to get Jesus out of the crowd, so he can preach to everyone on shore, and everyone can hear. And, it works! The shore by the docks in Capernaum forms a natural amphitheater. Jesus' voice carries quite nicely. The people can hear words of encouragement and affirmation. The new Rabbi scores a home run. By the way, the other Gospels always have the disciples calling Jesus Rabbi. Luke is written to Gentiles; they don't have clue one what a Rabbi is. So, in Luke they always call Jesus 'Master'.4 The Master nails it. And, you would think it would be time to come back to shore. Peter and Andrew didn't have a very good night fishing. And, they need to get what few fish they have caught to the market. Great message Master, let's head in. Instead, Jesus says - nope. Let's head out into the deep water; do a little more fishing. And, you can just see Peter (who is older than Jesus) shaking his head. I'm not going to deep water because I can't swim. I'm not going to deep water because even if we catch something there won't be time to get it to market. And, I'm not going to deep water because my boat, my nets, and my crew are not equipped for that kind of fishing. I will bet you a million dollars Peter is thinking, this is why carpenters don't fish.5 How about you stick to making chairs? Has God ever asked you to do something you just know is wrong? It might be right for other people. But, clearly God has made a mistake because this is just not right for you? Have you ever been there? In 2000 God said to me, stop preaching in church, and start preaching in prison. And, we had some very long, very heated discussions on what a serious mistake God was making. I gave him many, many reasons why I could not go to deep water. God is very old, and apparently he is a little hard of hearing - because he did not hear anything I said. Has that ever happened to you? Jesus persists, and Peter concedes. They head to deep water and let down their nets. Immediately, the nets become full of large numbers of large fish. There is frequent debate about this miracle.6 Is it a miracle of knowledge - Jesus knew exactly where the big fish were? Or, was it a miracle of will - Jesus commanded the fish to come where he was? We don't know. What we do know, is Peter's worst fears were suddenly confirmed. There are so many fish his nets begin to tear. Peter is on the verge of economic disaster. If the nets are destroyed, or lost, he doesn't have a business anymore. Fishing nets are expensive. It will require a substantial loan to replace them. Probably someone else will end up owning his company, and Peter will become an in-debt employee to his own firm. He screams for help. James and John, the sons of Zebedee - Peter's partners - jump in their boat and come out as fast as they can. They grab the nets from the other side. And now, it goes from bad to worse. Luke tells us both boats begin to sink. Peter isn't going to just lose his nets. He's going to lose the boats as well. In fact, he and Andrew and James and John may all drown. Why did he listen to Jesus? Why in the world did he let that silly carpenter talk him into doing something he knew full well was wrong? Peter must have been convinced there is no way this ends well. Peter turns to Jesus and he says - get out of the boat. Have you ever said that to God? Look what you did to me Lord. Look where it got me following you. Get out of the boat. We don't see with God's eyes. We don't have God's perspective. We are so limited in our vision and our understanding. It is not uncommon for us to follow Jesus a little bit, part way, just a few steps, and then yell - get out of the boat. Here's some good news. Jesus still loves Peter. Jesus still has big plans for Peter. Jesus smiles and says - Peter, these are just fish. When we get to shore I'm going to teach you how to fish for men. Now, that's exciting! They make it back to shore. They don't lose any life. They don't lose a boat. Their nets remain intact. Suddenly, it goes from worst day ever, to best day ever. Largest catch in the history of the company. And, Peter gets it. He finally understands why Andrew is so enamored with Jesus.7 In Matthew, Mark, and John, miracles are proof Jesus is the Messiah. Proof of prophecy fulfilled. In Luke, miracles justify why you should follow Jesus - even when it looks so, so wrong.8 They reach shore, and right then right there, Peter, Andrew, James, and John leave fishing behind to become Jesus' first disciples. I don't know what God is calling you to do. But, based on my own experience and the Bible, I'm guessing it will make you uncomfortable. There's a good chance you will argue with God. I don't have the skill, the education, the money. You are making a big mistake. Maybe you should stick to carpentry. Get out of my boat. Here's what I do know. The best move Peter ever made was to say yes, and follow Jesus. Saying yes to following will be the best move you will ever make as well. 1 R. C. Sproul, general editor, New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1612. 2 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 453. 3 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 1751. 4 Bock, 454. 5 John L. Berquist, "Luke 5:1-11," Interpretation, 58 no. 1 (January 1, 2004), 62-64. 6 Bock, 457. 7 Joel B. Green, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1862. 8 J. J. Flower, "The Calling of Peter and the Restoration of Peter," Anglican Theological Review, 5 no. 3 (December 1922), 235-239. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2