Called to be fishermen - Luke 5: 1 – 11
(Bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted)
 
My own translation from the Greek:
 
And while the crowd pressed upon him hard to hear the word of God, and he was standing beside the lake Gennesaret, he saw two boats at the shore of the lake; and the fishermen, having got out of them, were washing the fishing nets.  And getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put it out from the shore a little way, and sitting down in the boat he taught the crowd.  And after he ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  And replying Simon said, “Master, although we were working hard all the night we caught nothing, but upon your word, I will let down the nets.”  And so doing, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets were being broken through.
 
And they signalled to the partners in the other boat, the one coming to help them; and they came, and they filled all the boats, with the result that they were in danger of sinking.  Simon Peter seeing this, fell down on his knees before Jesus saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.”  For he and all those with him were overcome with amazement at the catch of fish which they had caught, 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 human beings.
 
And bringing the boats to the shore, leaving everything behind, they followed him.
v.1
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,
 
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he was followed around by crowds looking for the miracles he was performing and wanting to hear the amazing things he was saying. He was the latest wonder and they flocked around him.  He was finding it difficult even to get some time to himself [Luke 4: 42]  But he did not insist on time out, but looked for every opportunity to preach the good news he had come to tell.
 
We know that no matter how ‘busy’ God is, there is always time for each one of us.  God will take every opportunity to enter into a relationship with us.  It is God who initiates the relationship between himself and human beings, not us.  It is not we who decide to allow God into our lives, but God who draws us to himself, because of his love for us.  God cares for us and wants us to be in a relationship with him even before we have ever thought about it or wanted it for ourselves.  That is called ‘prevenient’ grace.
 
New Bible Commentary, p 989.  Gennesaret (Chinnereth in the Old Testament) is another name for Galilee, and refers specifically to the area just south of Capernaum.
v.2
he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
 
The fishermen were at the end of their night’s work and were cleaning out the rubbish from their nets.  They were going about their daily routine, minding their own business, probably not taking much notice of the people along the shore.  Maybe they wondered what all the people were doing there, or maybe it was not a great deal different than usual.  They probably thought it was nothing to do with them.
 
Jesus had his mind on his own job in hand: to proclaim the good news to all the people who had followed him.  He was looking for a place to stand so that everyone would be able to see and hear him and he spotted the boats.
 
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit [ Luke 4: 1, 14]  and the Holy Spirit is creative and innovative.  When we have a task to do for God and we can’t decide just how to go about it, or the task seems too difficult to achieve, the Spirit sometimes directs us to innovative and creative ways of doing things.  How many bright ideas seem to come just ‘out of the blue’?  Where do they come from?
v.3
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
 
For those of us who have grown up in the church, one of the familiar pictures from childhood is of Jesus standing in a boat preaching to a crowd of people on shore.  How many older churches have their pulpits shaped like the prow of a boat in recollection of this story?  Mark also describes Jesus preaching to crowds of people from a boat at the lakeside, but as part of a different story. [Mark 4: 1,2]  Perhaps Jesus used this means of preaching often.
 
Jesus sat down to teach, just as he and other teachers did in the synagogue.  This would have let the crowd know that what he had to say was important.  While I doubt that the story has been placed in the gospel for this purpose, it does suggest to me that teaching about the good news of Jesus is appropriate anywhere and should not be confined to a church building.  Conversation about God’s goodness and glory should be a natural part of our everyday activity.   For Jesus and the people who heard him, the lakeside became a synagogue.  Anywhere in God’s creation is a place of worship.
v.4
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
 
Often when Jesus finished preaching, teaching and healing, he needed to get away from the crowds for a while.  Putting the boat out into the deep may have been a good way of doing this.
 
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus performs miracles as a means of letting the disciples know of his power and to bring them to belief in him.  Here he is setting the scene for a miracle, as Simon and the fishermen with him – Andrew in his boat, and James and John in the other boat – would all know very well that there would be no fish to catch in the deep water in the daytime.  Daytime fishing was done in the shallow water.
 
Sometimes God asks us to ‘put out into deep water’ for a purpose; to do something we’re not comfortable with or that seems silly or unwise.  That really tests our trust in him.
v.5
Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."
 
Simon pointed out to Jesus the unlikelihood of their catching any fish.  They had slaved all night at the proper fishing time, he said, and hadn’t caught a thing.  If there were no fish around at nighttime, there was no chance of there being any now.  I am sure God doesn’t mind if we argue with him as Simon did.  Sometimes we need to look at all the reasons for and against an action before we can make up our minds whether to obey or not, even when we finally decide to trust and do what seems foolish, as Simon did.   We always have a choice, whatever God asks us to do.
 
Simon was willing to do what Jesus suggested even when it seemed foolish.  This suggests to me that Simon had met Jesus before this and had got to know him enough to like and trust him – maybe considered him a friend.  To please a friend we will sometimes put ourselves out.  Simon may have thought, ‘What’s the harm in it?  We’ve cleaned out nets and what else have we to do, seeing we have no fish to sell/clean?’ – or whatever they might have been doing if they’d come home with a catch after the night’s fishing. A cruise on the lake with a friend might have seemed not a bad idea.
vs.6, 7
When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.  So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
 
In my imagination I see three men, frantically trying to drag in nets overloaded with fish; two of the men with worried faces and the other wearing a big grin!  Simon signalled for James and John to come to help them land the fish, but when they came, they found that their boat, too, was filled with fish.  What a catch, when there shouldn’t have been any catch at all.
 
When Jesus brought about a miracle, he was never stingy.  When he turned the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, he produced the equivalent of 500 bottles of the finest vintage.  [John 2: 1-11]  When he produced food for 5000 men, plus women and children, there were twelve basketsful of food left over. [Luke 9: 10-17]  And here, there are so many fish that two boats could hardly contain them. 
 
Whether we are willing to believe in the literal truth of these stories or not, they remind us of God’s incredible generosity.  Human beings seem to be unable – or unwilling – to understand such generosity.  Is this because it challenges us to the same generosity, a challenge that few of us are willing to meet?   If we look around us at the world we live in with open eyes and an open mind, we can see God’s generosity all around us in creation.
 
Quest Study Bible note, p 1422.  This miracle, like many of Jesus’ miracles, was intended to demonstrate his power and to give a picture of a deeper reality. ‘Even though you do not believe me,’ Jesus said, ‘believe the miracles.’ [John 10:38]
v.8
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"
 
Simon may have thought of Jesus as a friend, but now he saw him in a completely different light.  He knew that a catch of fish like this one was not a natural occurrence.  He had no doubt who had caused this miracle.  He did not waste time, as we so often do, in trying to work out how it happened.  He looked at Jesus and understood his own inadequacy.
vs.9, 10
For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
 
It seems to be normal to be amazed and fearful when presented with the supernatural and Simon and his companions were no different.  Jesus told them not to be afraid.  When the ‘supernatural’ is an act of God, we do not need to be afraid.  It is right that we should be filled with ‘fear’ in the sense of awe and reverence for the God who can do wonderful things, but that God is not someone who wishes to inspire terror in us.  How could we trust and love someone we are afraid of?
v.11
When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
 
The four friends obviously were no longer afraid of Jesus, but must have been inspired and enthused at the possibilities his call presented to them.  What they had seen of Jesus left them in no doubt they could trust him and rely on him. They left their homes, their families, their livelihoods to follow him.
 
Jesus may not ask most of us to change our lives so completely in order to follow him, but he wants us to be willing to do so if he should ask it.