THE UNWORTHY CALLED TO A GLORIOUS SERVICE

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4 ESV

The widely taught idea, of the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5:1-11, is that if you obey and with some faith, at the word of Jesus, you will experience great success. The question is, is this historical event placed in the Bible to inspire the believer for some kind of financial or personal breakthrough from God? 

To be precise, is this the main point of the story, or can you insert this idea as a subsequent interpretation to this biblical narrative? The simple answer is NO.

May I kindly suggest to you that this interpretation and view is fundamentally wrong. However, the problem with this interpretation is that it overthrow the purpose and work of Christ but also what God, Luke and the New Testament writers were trying to communicate.

So, what is the core message of Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus? In summary, is to show that Jesus is no ordinary man, but the Son of Man who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He is the man who is truly God that should be worshipped.

Prior to the miraculous catch of fish. Luke revealed the account of Jesus supernatural birth, the shepherds were given a sign of this special Child in a manger (Luke 1:20). The genealogy of Jesus shows that He is the Man that is, the Son of God ( Luke 3:23-38). In His baptism, He was confirmed the Messiah, who is anointed with the Holy Spirit without measure (Luke 3:21-22). His perfect obedience in the desert revealed that He is the last Adam who overcame where the first Adam failed (Genesis 3:4-7, Luke 4:1-13). 

He then starts His ministry declaring that He is the fulfilment of Isaiah 61:1-2 (Luke 4:16-21). He confirmed this by His authority over sickness, Satan and his dark kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus continued to show His authority by preaching the gospel, but then as the last Adam who is the anointed of God. Also, He called people to follow Him, as He began to build a new people of redeemed humanity. With all that said, let’s pick up the account from Luke 5:1-11.

THE CATCH 

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. Luke 5:6-7 ESV

The miraculous catch of the fish clearly revealed that Jesus is the Son of God. In the mind of an Israelite a miracle or sign display divine power. This was the case of the time of Moses and Elijah. (Exodus 4:1-9, 1 Kings 17:20-24). The purpose of a miracle is to authenticate God’s Word proving that the Prophet is from God. Evidently, New Testament writers communicates why Jesus did miracles (Acts 2:22, Hebrews 2:4).

PETER’S CONFESSION 

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”Luke 5:8 ESV

Peter’s response shows that he knew the purpose of the sign and not for a financial or personal gain. Therefore, the miracle triggered Peter’s self awareness of his spiritual poverty.

Peter wasn’t joyful at the great catch of fish especially after working all night without any results.

His response was a feeling of unworthiness as he realised that he was in God’s presence. This was the same response of Moses and Isaiah when they found themselves in the presence of God (Exodus 3:11, Isaiah 6:5). Peter perceived the purpose of Christ’s glory. The One who preached the coming Kingdom revealed that He is the King.

CHRIST CALL 

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. Luke 5:10-11 ESV

The call of Peter was not random. Jesus initially befriended Peter as they became aware of Jesus through John the Baptist.  Nevertheless, Jesus called Peter to a different type of work. He used a language of Peter’s profession as a fisherman to communicate his new profession as Apostle. He showed Peter that He is the Creator of the natural world then called him to fish for the most treasured of all His creatures namely humans. Peter will go on to fulfil this prophecy ( Acts 2:14-41).

Ultimately, the purpose of the sign was not to help Peter’s business to flourish. If that was the case then Jesus would have been contradicting Himself. However, He was pointing Peter to Himself so that He could call him to a heavenly business. So what’s the point of this miracle? Well it was written so that we may know who Christ is and put our trust in Him. 

Finally, the prerequisite to enter the kingdom of Heaven is for one to have a true understanding of their unworthiness (Matthew 5:3). Amazingly, the unworthy sinner tends to be called by a gracious God.