From Sinful Man to Fisher of Men

In Luke 5:1-11, Peter has an interaction with Jesus that leaves him in awe and wonder as he sees his own sin. However, Jesus does not leave Peter alone in his sin. Instead, He calls Peter to follow Him so that he can catch something greater than fish—devoted followers of Jesus. Jesus does the same thing with us today.

Peter’s Story

In order to understand this passage clearly, we should take time and read it. Luke 5:1-11 reads:

1 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 (Luke 5:1-11, ESV).

Notice what takes place in verse 1: the crowds want to hear the word of God from Jesus. So what does Jesus do? Verse 3 tells us that He gets into a boat and teaches the people. Then, in verse 4, Jesus tells Peter to put down the nets into the deep. Peter’s response is one of hesitancy. They fished all night and were unable to catch anything. And then comes Jesus, the son of a carpenter, telling these fishermen how to do their jobs. Though reluctant, Peter and his men listen to Jesus and their obedience is rewarded. There are so many fish that the nets begin to break. Then, we see Peter’s response. Peter falls down at Jesus’ knees, saying to Him, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” As Peter hears the words of Jesus and sees Him perform a miracle, he sees his own heart, full of sin. Peter sees a glimpse of the holiness and power of Christ.

This encounter is similar to Isaiah’s encounter with God in Isaiah 6. There it says:

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5)

Isaiah sees the Lord, the One who is holy, holy, holy. He is in awe, leading him to declare that he is an unclean man in the midst of the holy God. Peter sees the Lord, the One who is holy. He can’t help but fall down and declare that he is an unclean man in the midst of the Holy Son of God.

However, the interaction between Peter and Jesus does not end there. Jesus graciously responds and tells him and the others that they will go from catching fish to catching men. The one who is in control of the fish, who caused the multitudes of fish to nearly sink the boats when they didn’t catch anything all night, is calling them to follow Him. Their response is really the only appropriate response when one sees their sin in the midst of the holiness of God: to drop everything and follow Him.

Going back to Isaiah 6, after Isaiah catches a glimpse of the holiness of God, he responds, “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8). This encounter is no different. An encounter with the Holy One leads to commission by the Holy One.

Here, we see the gospel: Peter sees his sin when he encounters Jesus. Jesus does not run from Peter, a sinful man, but rather invites him to follow Him. Peter goes from broken to redeemed. Here, we also see the call to discipleship: Peter would then catch other sinful men to come follow Jesus. The gospel and the call to discipleship cannot be separated.

Our Story

Our story is no different. We encounter a miraculous work of Jesus in our hearts. We see ourselves for who we are, sinners in need of a Savior. Thankfully, it does not end here. As we go from broken to redeemed, we go from fishing for ourselves to fishing for others to come to Christ. We go from being called to Christ as a sinner to being commissioned by Christ to proclaim Him to other sinners. This is the story of redemption.

Maybe you first need to repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus as Savior. Maybe you are like Peter when Jesus tells him to let down the nets again. You tell Jesus, “You don’t understand what I’ve been through. You don’t know what it’s like to be me.” He knows your heart, your life, better than you do. And though Peter, the professional fisherman, was reluctant to take orders from Jesus, a man who supposedly did not know much about fishing, he listened anyway. He heard the words of Jesus and believed that He was different from any other person. Peter saw Jesus for who He is, the Holy Son of God. Maybe you need to take a step of faith, like Peter, and obey Christ’s words when he says, “Follow Me.”

Maybe you recognize your sin, how you are living for yourself, running away from Christ. You tell Him to get away from you because of your misdeeds, wrongdoings, past mistakes. You think, “How can a holy God want anything to do with a wretched person like me?” When Peter sees his sin, he tells Jesus to depart from him. Yet, Jesus doesn’t run away, He steps towards him, telling Peter to follow Him. Jesus doesn’t run from sinners, but towards them. The religious leaders repeatedly scoffed at Him, for He ate with sinners and tax collectors. This is who He came to save. Jesus came for sinners like you and me.

Or maybe you are a born-again believer and you need to take the call of discipleship more seriously, prioritizing making the name of Christ known to those around you and dropping everything to follow Him.

Again, the call to the gospel and the call to discipleship cannot be separated. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” He then says this, “18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Our encounter with Jesus leads to being commissioned by Him. He is surely worthy of our devotion and our lives.