“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Luke 5:4b NKJV
Have you ever gone fishing? Today we have fishing poles, but in Jesus’s day, fisherman used nets. As their main income and food source, a bulging net of wiggling beauties was every fisherman’s hope. Let’s see how Jesus used this industry to teach a kingdom principle we can apply to our lives today.
In the beginning…
Jesus began His ministry by speaking to crowds even before He had called His disciples. One day at the Lake of Gennesaret, the people pressed around Him, yearning to hear the word of God. Jesus saw two fishing boats tied up at the shore, so He got into one and asked a fisherman, Simon, to push the boat out a little from the land. This became a pulpit from where He taught the multitudes.
Obedience became the catalyst for a miracle…
After Jesus had finished speaking, He made a strange request of Simon, who sat in the adjoining boat. “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4b). Simon, along with other fishermen, had toiled all night without catching a single fish. Although weary, he agreed to do so at the Lord’s bidding.
“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.“
Luke 5:6-7 NKJV
The astounding result…
When both boats began to sink under the weight of hundreds of fish, Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (v.8). Jesus replied, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men” (v.10).
The two brothers, James and John, were amazed at such a miracle. As soon as their boats reached land, they left everything behind and followed the Lord. Thus, Jesus had tapped three men to become His first disciples.
How does this same principle apply to us?
When Jesus enters our lives, everything changes! God performed a miracle at the cross where He took our sin and placed it on Jesus, the only One who could pay the price with His sinless blood. May we fall on our knees and thank Him for offering us His righteousness and the priceless gift of salvation.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
But it doesn’t stop there–He also makes us fishers of men and gives us power through the Holy Spirit to witness to the lost.
“‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'”
Acts 1:8 NKJV
As we are living in the last days before Jesus’s return, how important it is to witness to the lost! These are crucial days, and the time is short. As Jesus said, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest‘ (Luke 10:2 NKJV). Many people are still waiting to hear the good news of the gospel. As believers, we are called to to spread the gospel in our own spheres, wherever we are planted.
Today Jesus is calling us to launch out into the deep. Are you willing to let down your net for a catch?
Dear Heavenly Father, let us not fear, but give us boldness to take the good news of the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. May our nets overflow with saved souls for Your kingdom. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
