I love the way this passage in the Gospel of Luke combines the call of the first disciples with the story of a miraculous catch of fish. There is so much evocative symbolism in this account. For some reason this time, my mind is drawn to that image: launch out into the deep. It is an image which is distinctive to Luke’s Gospel.

The parallel synoptic accounts are: Mark 1:16-20 and Matthew 4:18-22. They are both shorter and contain less detail. So, that makes Luke 5:1-11 distinctive enough that it’s a great text for preachers.

Luke 5:1-3
Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἑστὼς παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρὲτ καὶ εἶδεν δύο πλοῖα ἑστῶτα παρὰ τὴν λίμνην· οἱ δὲ ἁλιεῖς ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀποβάντες ἔπλυνον τὰ δίκτυα. ἐμβὰς δὲ εἰς ἓν τῶν πλοίων, ὃ ἦν Σίμωνος, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπαναγαγεῖν ὀλίγον· καθίσας δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου ἐδίδασκεν τοὺς ὄχλους.

“Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 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.” (NRSV).

At this point, it already appears that Jesus is at the forefront of a popular movement. He has already become a phenomenon. The people want to hear what he has to say: “the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God….” So, while it is no doubt true, that Jesus has attracted interest as a “wonder-worker,” it is primarily his teaching that they want to hear. The reputed miracles of Jesus are prophetic credentials. But, the role of the prophet is to speak the mind of God to their generation.

John Nolland says: ““The word of God” is a comprehensive designation of the Christian message applied both to Jesus’ preaching and to Christian evangelism in Acts. It is God’s message which is spoken by Jesus (as in Christian evangelism).”¹

The focus of the ministry of a prophet is their message. The message of Jesus is succinctly summarized in the Gospel according to Mark as: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” — Mark 1:15 NRSV. Jesus was preaching a message of fulfillment, repentance and faith.

Jesus popularity has become a problem. The crowd is pressing in on him, and this makes it difficult for him to address them. So, seeing the two unused nearby boats, Jesus gets into Simon’s boat. The lake provides a type of sound system, as he addresses the crowd from the lake.

Luke 5:4-7
Ὡς δὲ ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν, εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν εἰς ἄγραν. καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς Σίμων εἶπεν· ἐπιστάτα, δι’ ὅλης νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ῥήματί σου χαλάσω τὰ δίκτυα. καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες συνέκλεισαν πλῆθος ἰχθύων πολύ, διερρήσσετο δὲ τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν. καὶ κατένευσαν τοῖς μετόχοις ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ τοῦ ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἦλθον καὶ ἔπλησαν ἀμφότερα τὰ πλοῖα ὥστε βυθίζεσθαι αὐτά.

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.” (NRSV.)

Now we come to the part that is distinctive to the Gospel of Luke. Jesus finishes teaching, and he directs them to launch out into the deep water and lower their fishing nets. The miracle that follows will be an illustration of the purpose of his teaching ministry — and an invitation to his disciples. Jesus’ preaching and teaching mission is a way of recruiting people into the cause of the kingdom. The miracles of Jesus had a symbolic function. They say something about Jesus or about what Jesus has come to do.

The challenge of Jesus is: “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” There is significance in this, certainly — the bigger fish are likely to be further out. Jesus is asking them to make an effort, to take a risk.

And the reply is quick, from Simon: ““Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.” As is often the case in the Gospels, Peter speaks for them all. His is the voice of the experienced fisherman. We already tried fishing here. We are having no luck.

The term “Master” is distinctive to the Gospel of Luke and is always used by Jesus’ disciples (Luke 8:24, 45; 9:33, 49; 17:13). It represents their personal recognition of his leadership over them. To the world he had the role of teacher — to them especially he had the role of Master.

Then he adds: “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” On the basis of his experience, Simon is not inclined to do this, yet, because Jesus has requested it, he will. In spite of everything — in spite of the fisherman’s earlier disappointment — at Jesus’ word, he launches out.

I don’t think the old Baptist preacher Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) was going too far when he said:

…I do not think that I am unduly reading too much meaning into this story, if I ask you to put emphasis upon one word, ‘Launch out into the deep.’ As long as you keep pottering along, a boat’s length from the shore, you will only catch little fishes. The big ones, and the heavy takes are away out yonder. Go out there, if you want to get them. Which, being translated, is this—The same spirit of daring enterprise, which is a condition of success in secular matters, is no less potent a factor in the success of Christian men in their enterprises for Jesus Christ. As long as we keep Him down, within the limits of use and wont, and are horribly afraid of anything that our great-grandfathers did not use to do, there will be very few fish in the bottom of the boat.²

And because of this obedience, there is a miracle: a huge catch of fish. This is generally called: The Miraculous Catch of Fish, thought the word “miracle” does not explicitly appear. What is a miracle anyway? I don’t think there is any common definition: it’s something unexpected that occurs as the result of faith in Christ. It is often thought to be “a violation of the laws of nature” though that assumes there are inflexible “laws of nature” in the first place — and I don’t see how catching a huge haul of fish would be a violation of any such law anyway (even if there really were any). But, the disciples think something special has happened here. It is a miracle in that sense: its a sign of who Christ is. It is a prophetic sign — pointing to Jesus as a prophet.

Luke 5:8-11
Ἰδὼν δὲ Σίμων Πέτρος προσέπεσεν τοῖς γόνασιν Ἰησοῦ λέγων· ἔξελθε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, κύριε. θάμβος γὰρ περιέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ τῶν ἰχθύων ὧν συνέλαβον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν. καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀφέντες πάντα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.

“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 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.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” (NRSV.)

Simon sees this event as a “miracle” in the sense that it points to Jesus as a prophet — a special emissary of God. And, he immediately feels uncomfortable in the presence of such a person. “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” The phrase “sinful man” (ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός) is an expression of his personal guilt — but also the natural, selfish proneness to sin that is characteristic of human nature. Overwhelmed by a vision of God’s greatness the prophet Isaiah cried out: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5 NRSV.) So, here. Simon is overwhelmed — he is in the presence of (at the very least) God’s representative. He feels out of place.

Guilt — and then repentance — are natural reactions to the presence of God. It is in the light of God’s presence that out selfishness stands out. Our belief in God as the Higher Power (using the language of AA for a moment) is a trust in a power of Love and Justice beyond anything we see in this world. It is a basis for hope of in a better world — and a better self. But, standing in the presence of such a God puts our own selfishness and egotism in sharp relief. Our conscience is awakened, and it speaks against us. We may remember some specific thing we’ve done. Or we may just feel uncomfortable. ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person!‘

But, this is a first step toward that higher vision of Love and Justice and Hope. We recognize our sin so that we can turn from it. Repentance is the necessary first step on the way to faith.

But, notice: Jesus does not try to make Simon feel guilty. Jesus’ actions awaken Simon’s conscience — both his sense of guilt and his desire to be a better person. The miracle awakened the beginnings of faith — a life of discipleship and spiritual growth. It appears in the vision of Isaiah that the Lord God does not pronounce on the guilt of Isaiah or Israel — Isaiah himself recognizes it. Don’t be surprised if worship — however welcoming and accessible — creates guilt even when you weren’t intending or expecting that.

And, this causes them to launch out into the deep in their personal lives — they enroll themselves as Jesus’ disciples. “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.“

The mission they are given is the mission to “catch” people. They are enrolled in the task of expanding Jesus’ Kingdom cause and message. It is an evangelistic mission. They not only hear and learn from Jesus; they not only see Jesus’ example and way of life. They are to be actively engaged in spreading the message and making new converts.

Even thinking about “evangelism” is scary to a lot of us. We really do feel like we are launching out into the deep to do such a thing. We may feel like we are barely struggling to hold onto our faith ourselves. We know our selfishness and proneness to sin — but we hear the voice of Jesus: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” Trust Christ to make this a reality — through our lives and our words. May our lives be a living recommendation of the way of Christ.

If we trust and launch out amazing things can happen.

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1. WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY NT
   Word Biblical Commentary (New Testament) (WBC-NT)
   Copyright © 2006 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
   P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
   The Nelson Reference & Electronic logo is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
   Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc.
   Version 2.4 ↩︎
2. MACLAREN’S EXPOSITIONS
   Expositions of Holy Scripture (Maclaren’s Expositions)
   by Alexander Maclaren
   Public Domain
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   Version 1.3 ↩︎

A FREE GIFT TO PREACHERS: Here is a PPTX file for a sermon based on this passage. You can use this, edit this, change this however you wish — it is free for you to use (or not). Click this link: Launch Out Into the Deep.