Peter in Process (Luke 5:1-11)

This incident is not an account of Peter’s conversion, nor is it the same incident when Jesus called Andrew, Peter, James, and John (Matt. 4:18-22) because it had taken place before the first tour of Galilee occurred, and a while had passed since then. The tour had been a short one and after it the disciples resumed their trade as fishermen.

We can learn two lessons from this pair of incidents. One is that preparation of a disciple by Jesus can be intermittent and the second is that there is no reason someone cannot go back and work awhile at a job during this period of preparation.

 

It is intriguing to note who is not mentioned in this incident – Peter’s brother Andrew. Maybe he was there, and if he was, we can ask ourselves if we do not mind not being mentioned in an incident. Or maybe he had gone home to get some tools or even something for them to eat.

 

What is happening here with Peter? Jesus is turning him into a rock. Simon is in the process of becoming Peter. This will not be the final stage in the process. Yet he is in the heavenly Sculptor’s workshop! What does the Sculptor do on this occasion?

 

Jesus uses what Peter has

There was more than one boat there, but Jesus chose to use Peter’s boat for the sermon. This was an announcement to others in Peter’s community that Peter was his disciple, but it was not a hard task for Peter to do. Peter was willing to allow it. Jesus always wants local people to know who his followers are. He even gave Peter a little task to do, one that was within his grasp, easily done, when he asked him to move his boat out a little from the shore. No doubt, Peter was happy for his boat to be used by Jesus in this way.

 

Then Jesus asked Peter to do something with his boat that was much more difficult. He commanded Peter to go out further into the sea and put down his nets for a catch. Here we see Jesus stretching the faith of Peter, especially since Peter had spent the previous night fishing and had caught nothing. Jesus asked Peter to repeat an action in which we could say that he had failed.

 

One might say here that Jesus used providence to show Peter that he had another calling, although I don’t know what the connection is between catching nothing and going off to serve Jesus. Instead of that idea, how about seeing the incident as a test of faith in the instructions of Jesus?

 

Peter’s response was not wholehearted. He reminded Jesus that he had fished all night, no doubt in areas where he had expected to find fish. Yet he says that once they are out in the deep, he will follow Jesus’ orders at whatever spot Jesus chooses. He does not sound confident, but at least he is willing to obey what Jesus demands.

 

Jesus must have given the instruction, and the outcome was that Peter received a great catch of fish, enough to fill his boat and the other boat that belonged to James and John. So we can see that blessings come when we follow the difficult commands of Jesus as well as when we engage in easy ones.

 

The response of Peter

What would you do if you were in a boat that was sinking because of the catch of fish? I would either jump out or throw the catch out! Peter did neither. Instead, right there in the sinking boat he falls at the knees of Jesus confessing that he had sinned. ‘Can you not wait until you get ashore, Peter, before you start praying, especially since the boat is sinking?’ Peter was more concerned about his soul than he was about his sinking boat.

 

 

Peter’s response tells us several things. The first is that we should not be ashamed of confessing Jesus before other believers. After all, Peter was on his knees in front of Jesus in full view of James and John, and maybe Andrew (others may have seen it as well from the shore). Their presence did not prevent him confessing who Jesus was, and we should do so as well.

 

Second, we see from Peter’s response the value of spontaneity. What would have happened if Peter had decided to wait until he got ashore before making his profound comments? He would have lost the moment, and a moment lost cannot be recovered, even if other opportunities come along. Speaking to Jesus in a sinking boat full of the fish that he had provided was a moment that would not happen again in Peter’s experience. He would be in a sinking boat later on when Jesus was asleep, but that was not the same circumstances has here. We learn from Peter here to value the moments, the opportunities that God gives us to respond to his grace.

 

Third, we see from the sculpting of Peter by Jesus the importance of realising that we are sinful. From one point of view, it is an easy thing to say that we are sinful because we know that we are not perfect. Yet there is a notable difference between that idea and the experience of Peter here.

 

We can also recognise that we are sinners through conviction of sin that comes through the law of God being applied to our consciences by the Holy Spirit, and when that happens we are appalled at our sinfulness and, like the tax collector, call out to God for mercy. Often this happens before conversion or at conversion.

 

Of course, believers sin after conversion, and we have an example of that in the case of David and the penitential psalms he wrote afterwards (Psalms 32 and 51). He had realised that it was a bitter thing to sin against the Lord and he had to plead for mercy. It is no doubt true that Peter may have had sins to confess about his discipleship before, but that is not the cause of his confession here.

 

Instead, he sees himself as sinful in light of the incredible miracle performed by Jesus. He saw that Jesus was capable, yet caring, that he could control the creation, which meant that he was divine, and control it in such a way that blessings came to wherever he wished. It is in the light of the beauty of Jesus that we have the profoundest awareness of our own sin. There, in his presence, we realise that our sin, whatever it is, makes us ugly, that it demeans us, that it prevents us living for God’s glory.

 

Fourth, we see that Peter has grown in how to address Jesus. The first recorded words of Peter are in verse 5, and there he called Jesus by the title ‘Master’. That was the title that any follower would give to his teacher. For example, the followers of John the Baptist could have used it when speaking to him. But in verse 8, Peter calls Jesus by the title ‘Lord’, which in Peter’s confession is linked to the creatorial powers of Jesus that he has seen. The word could be used merely to express respect, but it is obviously much more than respect that is expressed by Peter.

 

Fifth, Peter made a wrong deduction when he discovered his sinfulness in the light of the beauty of Jesus. Peter assumed that someone has perfect as Jesus would never use someone as imperfect as Peter and he asked Jesus to go away. Thankfully, he discovered that this was not the case, that having seen himself in the light of the glory of Jesus, he was ready to be used by Jesus in ways beyond his ability to grasp at that moment.

 

The comfort of Jesus (v. 10)

Jesus then said to Peter that he did not need to be afraid because Jesus was not going to use his power to destroy him but to enable him to catch men, a task more difficult than catching fish (the word that Jesus uses for catching means to catch alive, which is very different from what a fisherman usually aims for).

 

It may have been the case that what Peter was afraid of was going out to evangelise in his own strength because he knew what kind of man he was. If that was the case, then he received reassurance of success despite his sinfulness. The Lord would enable him to catch people through the gospel, and we see how that happened in the records in the Book of Acts where he caught thousands of people.

 

It is also the case that Jesus here is informing Peter, and us, that the ones who catch sinners are the one who know themselves to be sinners. Knowing that we are sinners creates sympathy in our hearts for those who don’t know that they are sinners. Is this not what drove Paul, when in one of his closing letters of his life he described himself as the chief of sinners in a context in which he mentioned that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. A Christian only makes spiritual progress in circumstances that reveal he is a sinner.

 

For Peter, and indeed for Andrew, James, and John, this incident seems to have been a defining moment because Luke tells us that they left all and followed Jesus. To fulfil their calling, they needed a sight of the power of Jesus. And we need to see a similar sight so that we will understand his own words that without him we can do nothing. He did not mean that we should do nothing, but that we should experience what it is like to have Jesus with us.

 

We all have defining moments in our spiritual journeys.