Becoming Fishers of Men (Luke 5:1-11)

CFCW- 03/09/2014 Becoming Fishers of Men (Luke 5:1-11) Introduction If there is one word that can raise the blood pressure of Christians sitting quietly in church on Sunday morning, it is the word EVANGELISM. When we hear the word evangelism we often experience one of two emotions. Sometimes we experience guilt because while know we should be sharing the Gospel with non-christians, quite often we do not. We know we have let opportunities to speak for Jesus go by only to regret them later. Sometimes we experience fear because our minds rush ahead to all the bad things that can happen if we share our faith with our lost family member, neighbor, or co-worker. We have thoughts like They will reject me. They will think I am crazy. I don t really know my Bible well enough to share the Gospel and they will stump me and I will look dumb. Sometimes we experience both guilt and fear at the same time. Evangelism is not easy. There is no way around it. One person has defined evangelism this way: Evangelism is two uncomfortable people having a conversation about Jesus. If you have shared your faith recently then I am sure you can relate to the fact that it can be uncomfortable. On top of this, Satan is a master intimidator. I think Christians experience a particular spiritual intimidation when they try to share their faith with a lost person. Evangelism can really be a struggle. And added to all this, at times we struggle with evangelism because we really don t fully understand our part to play in evangelism. Sometimes our problem in evangelism is that we believe too little depends on us. At Christ Fellowship, we glory in the sovereignty of God in all things and all things includes the salvation of individuals. If the Holy Spirit isn t at work in a person s heart, he or she will NEVER put their trust in Christ. However, some Christians have bought into the lie that because salvation is of the Lord, then we have no part to play. It is a mindset which can be summarized in the rebuke an old man gave William Carey in the late 18 th century when Carey was pleading passionately with his fellowship Baptists to do something towards the work of world evangelization. The old man said, Young man, sit down. If God wants the heathen to be saved, then He will save them. It is a mindset that says because God ultimately saves, we have nothing to do. Such a viewpoint is unscriptural and fortunately isn t very common these days. But sometimes (and I think this is far more common) our problem in evangelism is that we believe too much depends on us. We love Jesus. We want other people to love Jesus. We see the commands of Scripture, but thoughts and fears crowd in. We think that it is somehow up to us to save the other person. We have to be compelling enough in our arguments. We have to be winsome enough in our approach. We have to have developed a deep enough relationship with the person. We have to have mastered all the responses to typical objections to Christianity. We feel like it is somehow up to us to convince the person to believe in Jesus. And then we look at ourselves and we feel inadequate. Thoughts come in like, I don t know my Bible well enough. I don t know the person well enough. I won t be able to answer his or her theological questions. And our fears silence us. Perhaps you are here this morning and you know exactly what I am talking about. You want to grow in your obedience to Jesus in the area of evangelism, but you aren t sure how. My prayer as we look at God s word this morning is that God will give us clarity on our role in evangelism so that we might be used of God to reach the lost. 1

Background As a church plant, we have been going through the Gospel of Matthew in order to grow in our love for Jesus Christ. Last week, we looked at the beginning of Jesus Galilean ministry. We saw that His essential message was: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). We also saw the power of Jesus ministry as He taught, proclaimed the Gospel, and healed the sick (4:23-25). Finally in 4:18-22, we looked at the calling of the first disciples: Peter, Andrew, James and John and noted that the call to discipleship is the call to abandon our old ways of life and to live for Jesus. As we looked at Matthew s account of the calling of the first disciples, we noted that Luke, in his gospel (The Gospel of Luke), also records the calling of these disciples, but gives us a fuller picture of the events surrounding the calling of these disciples. This morning, I want us to spend more time looking at Luke s account because in it, I think we can learn a lot about the task of evangelism. Ultimately, when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him, He let them know that He was calling them to a great work the task of winning others to Jesus. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19). This morning, I want us to look at Luke s account of the calling of Peter, Andrew, James and John and see in it a picture of what it means to be a fisher of men. As we do that, I hope we will understand our role in the salvation of others more clearly. Let s look together at Luke 5:1-11. Luke 5:1-11- 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, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. 5 And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 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. 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 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. 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Exposition of Luke 5:1-11 In 5:1, we see that Jesus s ministry in Galilee was very popular, the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God. Jesus was a wonderful preacher of God s word and the crowds so longed to hear from Him that they would, at times, get close to crushing him. Apparently, on this occasion Jesus sensed that He would not be able to effectively teach the multitudes while on the shore. So in 5:2-3, after seeing two boats by the lake (Sea) of Galilee and some fishermen caring for their fishing nets, he gets into the boat that belonged to Simon Peter and asked him to put out a little from the land. As we noted last week, Peter was already acquainted with Jesus. He had been a part of Jesus earlier ministry in Judea (John 1:40-42), but had returned to a life of fishing when Jesus returned north to Galilee. Jesus then sits down in the boat to teach (Jewish rabbis typically taught their disciples while sitting down). No doubt getting into the boat not only freed Jesus from the crush of the crowd, but the acoustics of the sound of His voice coming off the water probably aided the crowd in hearing His message. 2

In 5:4, we see that after He had finished teaching the crowds, Jesus commanded Peter to take the boat out into deeper water and to let down his nets in order to catch fish. Now Peter was an experienced fisherman who had just spent the whole night fishing and had come up completely emptyhanded. In addition, this wasn t the time to fish. The best deep water fishing was done at night. 1 Peter knew that humanly speaking he was very unlikely catch any fish and so in 5:5 he says, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. In 5:6, we see that Peter s reluctant obedience was rewarded, And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish and their nets were breaking. In fact, in 5:7, we see that this catch was so great that Peter and Andrew had to call over James and John who were their partners in fishing. Even then, the nets were breaking and the catch was filling both boats to the point of sinking. They had never seen a catch of fish like this and recognized it was a supernatural miracle. Jesus was demonstrating the truthfulness of His teaching and giving Peter, Andrew, James and John a glimpse of His omniscience and power. In 5:8, we see Peter s response: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Before in 5:5, Peter called Jesus Master which recognized Jesus authority. But after the miracle, Peter refers to Jesus as O Lord. This indicates an even greater respect. 2 Having seen the power of Jesus on display, Peter recognizes his own sinfulness and unworthiness to even be in the presence of Jesus (cf. Isaiah 6:5). In 5:9, we see that Peter is not alone. [A]ll who were with him were astonished. They recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man. Then in 5:10 we see Jesus comfort these awestruck fishermen, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. Jesus was saying to Peter and the others, Your lives to this point have been about catching fish. But from now on, you have a new task. Just as you have caught these fish, so you will be catching men. Jesus was calling these men to follow Him as His disciples. He was going to prepare them for the work of saving men and women from their sins. This is really the same task that Jesus calls all His disciples to in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20: 3 Matthew 28:18-20- And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. In 5:11, we see the response of the disciples, they left everything and followed him. 1 I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: a Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 203. 2 J. Reiling and J. L. Swellengrebel, A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 231. 3 John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7 in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 115. 3

The passage has a special word for the American church. Because the church is relatively strong and visible, we could wait for men and women to come to us. But Jesus tells us to go fishing. He would send us as his fishers and hunters, to search for the lost. Fishermen draw men and women out of the abyss, catching them in God s net. 4 -Daniel Doriani MIM: Just as Jesus called Peter and the others to be fishers of men, so He calls all believers to the task of winning souls for Jesus. Note: As we study this passage this morning, I am not arguing that Luke s main purpose in giving us this account of the calling of Jesus disciples is to teach us about evangelism. Luke s main purpose is to demonstrate the power of Jesus as He calls his disciples to follow Him and become fishers of men. However, in this passage we do see the Master Fisher of Men catching men for the sake of the Gospel. And I want us to use this passage as a picture that will help us understand our role in evangelism. I. The powerlessness of man in the salvation of a sinner (5:5) Luke 5:5- And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. A. Here we have Peter and the others. They were professional fishermen. They knew the Sea of Galilee. They had grown up fishing upon it as part of their family business. They knew where the fish were likely to be and they knew the best time to fish in the deep water. Still, they fished all night long and caught nothing. I do not think it was a coincidence that they caught nothing after laboring all that previous night. God was preparing them for the miraculous catch and showing them their utter inability to do anything apart from Him. When they saw the power of Jesus, they recognized the hand of God. They were professional fishermen, but could do nothing. But Jesus possessed the power of God and when he went fishing, the catch was so great it should sink two ships. B. Now using this as a picture, the first thing we need to learn about ourselves in regards to the salvation of others is our own powerlessness. The Bible is filled with this truth. By nature men and women are dead in their trespasses and sins and we are powerless to rouse them. Spiritually speaking, men and women apart from Christ are very much like physical corpses. You can try to argue with a corpse. You can try to reason with a corpse. You can yell at a corpse. But in and of your own power, you cannot make a corpse live. In the same way, you and I have no power to save anyone. We cannot reason anyone into heaven. We cannot argue anyone into believing in Jesus. We cannot scare anyone into heaven. We cannot manipulate a person s emotions to the point that they will put their trust in Christ. Apart from the power of God, we can do nothing. 2008), 101. 4 Daniel Doriani, Matthew, vol. 1 in Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 4

Application: If you are with us this morning and you are not a Christian, we want you to understand that this is what Christians believe about ourselves as well. Before God saved us, we were lost in sins and dead to God. We didn t live for God and we didn t want to live for God. We were dead in our sins and living for this passing world. But God rescued us! He made us alive to Him spiritually! And we are so glad He did! Ephesians 2:1-5- And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved. Application: Christians, I want this to be encouraging to you. If you are unable to argue a lost person into heaven because he or she is spiritually dead, then that must not be your task in evangelism. So when you have an opportunity to share the Gospel, you don t need to worry if you don t feel like you know your Bible well enough or if you don t feel like you are equipped to answer every objection to the faith. We do want to know our Bibles well. We do want to learn more about apologetics and defending the Faith. But we also need to remember that, ultimately, the conversion of another person is NOT up to us. Only God saves. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7- What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Let s look then at II. God s Part in the salvation of a sinner (5:4; 6) Luke 5:4; 6- And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. A. I think we see a clear picture of God s part in the salvation in these verses Luke 5. a. God prepares and assembles the fish. The fish were not in one particular part of the lake on accident. They were gathered and assembled by God purposely for the sake of being caught in Peter and the other s net. In the same way, God prepares and brings the people he is going to save to the appointed place so they can hear the Gospel. b. God sends his fishermen to the fish. You see that here as well. Jesus directed Peter and the disciples to the place out into the deep so that they could make the catch of fish. In the same way, God sends his people with the message of the Gospel to just the right place at just the right time in order to share the Gospel with the lost person. 5

c. God causes the fish to be caught. When they let down their nets at Jesus commands, their nets are suddenly filled with fish. In the same way, when the gospel is preached, God blesses the word and saves those that He intends to save. God grants faith to those He is going to save so that they believe. Illustration: We get a very clear picture of God s work in salvation in Acts 2, where Luke records the events of the Day of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost, God brought together the people He wanted to hear the Gospel. Acts 2:5- Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. By God s design, many had travelled from other nations to live in Jerusalem because they believed the OT Scriptures. In addition to these, the population of the city likely had swelled with foreign proselytes (Gentile converts to Judaism) and Jews from other countries who were in the city for the Day of Pentecost. Then, at just the right moment, God sends the Holy Spirit and the disciples are transformed and they begin proclaiming the mighty works of God in the languages of all the peoples (Acts 2:11). At the sound of this, the people in Jerusalem rush together (2:6-8) and seeing the multitude Peter preaches the Gospel boldly (2:14-36). And at the preaching of the Gospel, the multitude is cut to the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit and 3,000 repent and believe (2:37-40). Illustration: Or consider the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8. In 8:26, an angel comes to Philip and tells him to go toward the south to a certain road and when he arrives, he just happens to encounter the Ethiopian Eunuch who just happens to be in his chariot reading about the Messiah from Isaiah 53. Philip walks over and asks if he understands what he is reading and then explains the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Eunuch believes. God had prepared the Ethiopian Eunuch, then sent Philip to him, and then the Eunuch believed. Illustration: Or look at Paul preaching the Gospel in Psidian Antioch in Acts 13. He teaches in a synagogue on the first Sabbath (13:14), and they beg him to come back the next Sabbath. By then the almost the whole city is gathered together to hear Paul. He shares the Gospel of Jesus. The Jews reject Paul (13:45) and so Paul turns to the Gentiles who had also gathered together and gives us this amazing word in Acts 13:46-48: Acts 13:46-48 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. d. In each of these instances, God prepares the lost to hear the Gospel. He sends a believer to share the Gospel and then He gives faith to those He is going to save. From beginning to end, salvation is of God. Application: While the events recorded in Acts often contain the miraculous, we need to understand that God is ultimately the One who saves every person who trusts in Jesus. God prepares the heart of every person who hears the Gospel. Perhaps they are brought up in a Christian home and so hear the truth from an early age. Perhaps they meet a Christian for the first time at college and hear the Gospel. 6

Perhaps they simply pick up a Bible at a hotel and begin to read it. In many Muslim countries, God sends dreams to Muslims directing them to find a particular house or person who then shares the Gospel with them. Whatever the circumstances, God is providentially at work in drawing His elect to Himself. Then at the appointed time, He causes them to hear the Gospel. And when they hear the Gospel, God gives them faith to believe the Gospel. In every instance, God is ultimately the one who prepares the sinner, sends the messenger with the Gospel, and grants faith to those who are saved. Philippians 1:29- For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. But if it is true that God is at work from the beginning to the end in salvation. What is our role in the salvation of others? Do we have a part to play? III. Our part in the salvation of a sinner (5:5-6) Luke 5:5-6- And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. A. Jesus commands Peter to let down the nets and when he obeys and actually lets the nets into the water, they enclose a large number of fish. I don t want to belabor the point, but do you notice that the fish don t simply jump into the boat? Jesus is God. He could certainly have caused the fish to jump into the boat while the disciples sat on their hands. But instead, He commands the disciples to let down the nets and when they obey they catch the fish. Now who really caught the fish? God s divine power brought the fish together. Jesus, who is God, directs the disciples out to where the fish are and then commands them to let down the net. When the nets are let down, the fish pile in in a miraculous manner. God was behind this great catch and the disciples realize it and they are astonished (5:9). B. Then Jesus says, from now on you will be catching men. What a clear picture of the work of evangelism! What is our task in evangelism? It is to let down the nets. What does it mean to let down the nets? It simply means that we are to preach the Gospel to the lost. That is our responsibility before God. That is our task. The best definition I have ever heard for evangelism was given by J.I. Packer: [G]oing out in love, as Christ s agent in the world, to teach sinners the truth of the gospel with a view to converting them and saving them. 5 What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the Good News that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. You can memorize the essential elements of the Gospel in only four words: God, Man, Christ, Response. God is the good and holy Creator who made men and women to love and worship and serve him. But Man rejected God s 5 J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Downers Grove: IVP books, 2008 reprint), 56. 7

good rule in the Garden of Eden. Now all men and women are born sinful and in rebellion against God. Left to themselves they cannot be saved. But God sent Christ Jesus to live a perfect life and to die in the place of sinners. Jesus bore the sins of sinful men and women on the cross and then rose from the dead. Now God demands a response. He commands all people everywhere to turn from their sins and to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. All who trust in Jesus will be saved. Application: If you are with us and you are not a Christian, we Christians understand this to be the most important message you will ever hear. If you are willing to turn from your sin and trust in Christ alone to save you, you will be saved. If you have questions, we would love to talk to you about this after the service this morning. Application: Christians, what will help you as you seek to share the Gospel this week? Let me share two things that will help you as you seek to obey God s command to share the Gospel: 1. Prayer- Listen to how Paul encourages the Colossians in Colossians 4:2-4 Colossians 4:2-4- Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Paul knows that God is ultimately the One who saves and he prays that God would open a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ. He wants them to pray that God would give him opportunities to share the Gospel. And then he asks them to pray that he might make it clear. Paul wanted God s help to speak the message of the Gospel clearly. Application: Do you pray for opportunities to share Christ? Do you pray for the ability to clearly communicate the truth of the Gospel? I had an evangelism professor in seminary who taught our class this prayer for evangelism and I have used it in my personal life: Father, please give me opportunities to share the Gospel this week. Give me eyes to see those opportunities. And give me courage to take those opportunities. Amen. 2. Friendship- The other thing that will help you share your faith is to really love lost people and desire to be their friends. The lost are not targets for our personal evangelism. They are people made in the image of God, whom God s loves and whom God wants us to love. But if we are afraid of lost people and the negative influence that they might bring into our lives or into our children s lives, we will have no desire to be with them and love them. People are not stupid. They know if we truly love them. J.I. Packer gives great advice here as well: If you wish to do personal evangelism, then and I hope you do; you ought to-pray for the gift of friendship. A genuine friendliness is in any case a prime mark of the man who is learning to love his neighbor as himself. 6 If we are going to love the lost, we need to be willing to befriend them and love them, even as we seek opportunities to share Christ with them. They are not targets. They are our mission. 6 J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, 82. 8

Conclusion Yes, salvation is all of God. And yet, here is the staggering reality. God has seen fit to give us both the privilege and the responsibility to go out and tell others about Jesus to become fishers of men. Even though salvation is completely of the Lord, God has ordained that no one will be saved unless they hear the Gospel. Here s how Paul put that in Romans 10:13-14: Romans 10:13-14- For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? God doesn t need us to save anyone, and yet in His wisdom He has given us a vital role to play. As we plant Christ Fellowship, we need to remember that every single one of us that the responsibility to become better fishers of men. But the good news for us this morning is that salvation is of the Lord. We don t have to argue people into the Kingdom. We don t have to have all the right answers and offer the perfect apologetic to every objection to the faith. We simply need to let down the nets. That is why Paul says what he does in Romans 1:16: Romans 1:16- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. May God help us to boldly proclaim the Gospel in this coming week knowing that it (and it alone!) is the power of God unto salvation! Let s pray 9