Casting Out to Catch the Outcast
Jesus tells Simon to put the boat out and cast down his nets, it is a carpenter’s son and teacher telling a fisherman how to fish. It is a little like a pastor telling a CEO how to run technical aspects of his business! Not only that, but Simon’s response makes it clear that conditions for fishing are not right, since a major effort the night before had totally failed. Yet despite appearances and against his professional judgment, he follows the teacher’s command to let down the nets. Simon Peter is responsive to God’s messenger and thus an example of faith.
The effort is both success and a near disaster at the same time, a blessing and a burden. The nets are filled to overflowing, and so is the boat! The fisherman is desperate for help to bring in all the fish. The boat is so full it begins to sink. Jesus has guided Simon to a great catch, but that catch is a picture of how he will guide the disciples in other, more spiritual affairs.
This signifies that, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.
Simon Peter realizes he has been brought into more than a thriving project. As nice as it would be to have Jesus as a permanent fishing guide, God’s messenger is in their midst, and the fisherman knows enough about God’s holiness to know he is at risk. So Simon falls to his knees and confessing his unworthiness, asking Jesus to Go. He understands that sin produces distance between himself and God.
Surely God wants nothing to do with a simple, sinful fisherman. It is best that Jesus go. In fact, Jesus is addressed as "Lord," but not because Peter understands that Jesus is God.
The size of the catch tells Simon and his companions that this event has been no accident but yet divine appointment. The greatest moment in their fishing career causes them to stop and ponder what God is doing. Jesus has taken Peter’s humble faith and scared him to death with God’s presence. His humility and awareness of his sin do not disqualify him from service; they are the prerequisite for service. Simon’s response recalls the reaction of earlier great servants of God like Isaiah and Jeremiah, who also bowed low in humility when they caught a glimpse of God’s presence. Jesus does not call those who think they can help God do his work. God does not need or want servants who think they are doing God a favor. Jesus calls those who know they need to be humble before his power and his presence.
The mission was to:
1) Catch people alive
2) Rescue them from danger
Fisherman’s Goal: Catch the fish before he cleans the Fish.
1) Use the correct Bait
2) Cast out his line
3) Patiently wait for someone to bite
4) Draw it slowly out of its’ own environment
5) Leave it out to die
Now your fishing expedition has brought in its first catch. Sinners are transformed. This is how great God’s holiness and grace can be.
9 Represents the perfect movement of God
