Luke 5:1-11
Jesus charged His apostles to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them upon His authority - Mt 28:18-19 “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”. Teaching them to observe what He commanded - Mt 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."’ -- Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?
The mindset of a disciple was displayed when Jesus called Peter when Jesus was teaching at the Sea of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee) - Lk 5:1-3 “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.” When Jesus called on Peter to let down the net - Lk 5:4-5 “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."’ When Jesus called on Peter to lay down his net - Lk 5:10-11 “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.” -- Did you notice the mindset of a disciple of Jesus?
We see the mindset of a disciple as we note Peter’s willingness to do the Lord’s word in letting down the net. Jesus instructed Peter to let down his net - Lk 5:4. Peter did not think it would do any good - Lk 5:5a. They had been fishing all night, they had caught nothing. Wouldn’t a fisherman know more about fishing than a carpenter? Yet Peter said, “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” - Lk 5:5b. Though he did not think it would work. Though it defied common sense, yet note the result of doing the Lord’s word - Lk 5:6-8 “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."’ The catch was overwhelming for one net, even for two boats. Peter was made aware of his own sinfulness. -- Here we see the mindset of a disciple: “Nevertheless at Your word I will...”
In laying down the net he and his coworkers were astonished at their success - Lk 5:9-10a. Jesus reassured Peter, and then called him and his partners to follow Him - Lk 5:10b-11. Though he did not think he could be any good (“I am a sinful man, O Lord!”). Though it meant leaving behind a successful business and family:
1) Peter left his wife (for the time being) - Lk 4:38 “And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf.”; Lk 18:28 “And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you."’; 1 Co 9:5 “Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”
2) James and John left their father - Mt 4:21-22 “And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
Yet they left all and followed Him! The result of doing the Lord’s word the Lord called them to even greater service - Lk 6:13-14 “And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,” They would receive even greater rewards - Lk 22:28-30 ‘"You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” -- Such is the mindset of a disciple: “Nevertheless at Your word I will...” Peter, together with James and John, illustrate the attitude that must characterize a disciple of Jesus: a willingness to do whatever the Lord says, no matter the cost, even when we don’t understand why...
What is our willingness to do the Lord’s will in becoming His disciple? We may not think we can do any good. We might think we are too sinful, but Jesus calls sinners - Lk 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."’, 32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."’ Even the rankest of sinners can serve Him - 1 Co 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” We are to follow Him above all (family, work, self). Jesus must come before family, even self - Lk 14:26 ‘"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”; Mt 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”; Lk 9:23-26 “And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Jesus must come before work as well - Lk 14:16-24 “But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'" For those willing to follow Him, the rewards are great. In this present time, much more! - Lk 18:28-30a “And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time,” In the age to come, eternal life! - Lk 18:30b “and in the age to come eternal life."’ -- Do we have the mindset to become a disciple (“Nevertheless at Your word I will )? What is our willingness to do the Lord’s will in being His disciple?
We will examine the answer to this question further when we continue the lesson next week.
