Luk 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luk 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Luk 5:6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.
Luk 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
Luk 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luk 5:9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
Luk 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Luk 5:11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. KJV
I love this passage of Scripture because it is so typical of Jesus – He always does the unexpected! Have you ever gone through a dry spell in your life, a time where you worked so hard for little reward? I have gone through this. I felt that I should write three course books for creative writing and received so little response from my mail outs and ads in the paper, I just felt like giving up. Simon Peter experienced similar. He had “toiled” all night and was able to catch nothing. Then Jesus said something totally unexpected and profound (as He always does) – Launch out into the deep … I love that. Probably if you are a fisherman, you would move to another location where the fish would bite – it seems logical, but Jesus asked him to stay put and launch out into the deep.
I interpret this in several ways. First, launch out into the deep means, in modern terms, Take a chance… Give your best … Don’t give up … Look beyond the 5 senses – launch out into the area of the supernatural – the deep things of God that defy human logic. It means, literally, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). Real faith means launching out into the deep. Launching is an action verb. It means that you don’t just sit there – you do something. Faith always requires an action. It goes beyond human reasoning.
Perhaps Peter was looking for an easy way out -- what can Jesus know? He’s not a fisherman. But when he obeys the Lord and launches his net as told, Jesus gives him a harvest of fish so great, he has another ship come and help him. Both ships start sinking there are so many fish. What is the secret here? I believe that the lesson is to look beyond the natural means and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). It also says that when Jesus performs a miracle in your life, it will affect many people, and all the more will share in the joy. Jesus often does things in a big way. He loves showing us His wonder-working powers.
There is another lesson here – did you ever notice that just before something really significant, wonderful and big is about to happen in your life, that everything goes wrong, and you feel like giving up? Peter must have, because after he saw the Lord’s miracle, he saw something else too – he saw his own sinful self – full of doubt and unbelief, fear, pride, and his own limitations. Peter came unglued in the presence of Jesus – God revealed Himself in Jesus, in the form of a man. What happens after he has this revelation and falls down at Jesus feet? Notice how a person of pride and self-sufficient means always falls down before the feet of Jesus when they see their real sinful selves in the light of His glory? Jesus gave a word of prophecy to Peter – “Fear not – you will catch men.” Why would He say “Fear not?” Because when the Lord brings in the harvest, man ceases to strive to bring it about in his own sinful way. Did you know that your way and my way are sinful before God? There can be no reward – no fish – no harvest. Why? Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Simple. Is it our glory or God’s glory? When it’s to God’s glory, there is always a huge harvest.
So Peter falls down at Jesus feet, then, and only then, does Jesus give him the call – you will be fishers of men. He doesn’t say it before, because Peter wouldn’t have seen his own self-will and pride. He had to see the glory and power of the Lord, and then he got the call. After he got the call, what did he do? Go back to fishing? No. He FORSOOK ALL and followed Jesus. That’s the kind of effect Jesus has on all He calls. He gives you a distaste for the selfish things in this world, and gives you a heavenly feast of His glory so that you always desire Him and want more of Him:
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8
Today, if you find yourself working hard for little reward, ask the Lord what He wants you to do. He knows where the harvest is even if we don’t. We don’t have to know the results of the work that we do, we just need to obey and do what He says.
NOTE: I wrote this article about 10 years ago. I didn’t find out until much later that the Lord had a distinct purpose in me writing the three course books for creative writing. It was to reach a very dear man who wanted to learn how to write his life story. He was also searching for the Lord, and has more recently, been at death’s door. He has become our friend. We are still praying for him to accept the Lord, and we believe that one day He will be ready. We believe the “harvest” is the impact it will have on his family and all the people he knows. Sometimes the Lord asks us to work hard with something just so that one soul can be reached. I thank God that the people who prayed for me when I was a backslidden Christian did not give up on me. So please, never give up on the task(s) you feel the Lord is asking you to do, or to complete. He knows the final result, and in the end, we will understand that it has been worth it all.
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