Luke 5:1-11, “Put out into the deep water”
Today’s scripture comes from Luke 5:1-11, a well-known text, calling Peter to be a fisherman of people. It starts with Jesus borrowing a boat from Peter to put space between Him and the people on the shore to teach as the crowd pressed in on him. After he preached, he commanded Peter to “put out into the deep water.” It was after Peter and others tried fishing all night but could not catch anything. To the man who was very tired, disappointed, and frustrated, Jesus commanded him to “put out into the deep water.”
Let us pause here for a minute and think further on this command. What does it mean to “put out into the deep water”? It was common sense to fish at night at the lake of Gennesaret because it is clear, fresh water where shoals of fish can easily avoid fishing nets. Also, fishermen at the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee, used to fish in the shallow water since they sometimes had to dive into it and drag the net to the shore. In this context, Jesus commended them to do things any professional fisherman of his time would avoid doing: fishing in full daylight and deep water.
What does it tell us? Like most other fishermen, Peter ran his business in shallow waters of familiarity, convention, and mediocrity. He was going around in circles in the shallow waters, satisfied with meager catches every now and then, like other fishermen around him. He was used to the disappointment and frustrations of catching nothing, so this day when Jesus commanded him to “put out into the deep water” was no different from most days of frustration; it was normal for him.
At this point, we should pay attention to the Greek word “deep water,” which does not simply refer to the deep water of the open sea; it connotes the profound meaning of things, their ‘depths,’ and the core of their being. To Peter, Jesus commanded, ‘Peter, get out of your shallow waters of conventional and mediocrity; why don’t you move farther and deeper, taking your business to a new level!’
Jesus was telling him to move beyond his present human experiences and conventions, his knowledge and skills, to move towards the world of deeper faith, hope, and fullness instead of the world of disappointment and frustration of having nothing. “Put out into the deep water!” ‘You will experience something you never have, having full as opposed to having nothing.’
In our Christian life, like most other people, we tend to stay in shallow water, our comfort zone, in our conventional practices that lead us to occasional meager fish catches, not experiencing overwhelmingly full catches at the net breaking point. Although we say we believe in God, our faith remains shallow, doing ordinary and familiar things like others in the world and rarely experiencing extraordinary, having full. In our Christian life, it is customary to be disappointed and frustrated from not having full in terms of having full joy, happiness, and fullness of salvation and deliverance. We dare not try anything that goes beyond or against our common sense and knowledge. We tend to stay where we are, not knowing what else we can do other than just endure our pitiful state of being trapped in a miserable life situation, sitting in frustration and disappointment and occasionally experiencing relief enough to get by like Peter, who was tired, worn out, frustrated, and disappointed with not catching any fish, though he tried all night.
Are you tired and frustrated? What is the source of your frustration and disappointment? Unhappy marriage? Troublesome children or health? Financial situations? What fateful state do you feel trapped in? Drug, alcohol, or some other forms of addiction? Chronic depression and anxiety? What if we face the unfortunate, if not miserable, reality because we stay in the shallow water of worldly conventional ways and practices, not experiencing the deep water of God?
To Peter and those of us experiencing disappointment, frustration, and desolation in life, Jesus commands us to put out into the deep water and let down our net, away from the worldly conventional thoughts and practices that only lead us to “having nothing” in the morning.
Coming out of shallow water and going farther into the deep water takes faith and obedience to Jesus, who stands by and commands us to go deeper. Vs. 5, “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.” At Jesus’ word, Peter followed His instructions against his knowledge and life experiences. Because it was Jesus’ word, he obeyed.
Do we know that Jesus’s word has power? At His word, there was light. At His word, the sun, moon, stars, and planets were created. At His word, all things were created, including our lives. At His word, devils tremble and depart, and sicknesses are gone. At His word, nations rise and fall. Do we truly believe in Jesus and that His word has power?
When I visit people, I sometimes ask them to claim the healing power of Jesus, claiming the name of Jesus. I sometimes ask them to read Psalms out loud because Psalms are prayers. I sometimes ask them to pray out loud at the top of their lungs. How often do we come across “I cry out to you, Lord!” when we read Psalms? I wonder whether they listen to my advice when I give them. Do you know God speaks to you through servants of God? When you are in and out of the hospital so many times, and doctors do not know the cause of your illness, do you think that God knows the cause and can heal you? Not all sicknesses are meant to be healed physically; sometimes, that is a part of the aging process, or sometimes, God allows us to have sickness for purposes only God knows. Other than that, God wants to heal us. Wasn’t that what Jesus did? Heal and drive out demons? When I pray for people, God sometimes tells me what they need to do. But the question is whether they will obey God’s instruction: put out into the deep water and let their net down against their conventional practices and knowledge.
What resulted when Peter obeyed Jesus against his conventional practices and knowledge? His net broke because of the great number of fish. He had to signal other fishermen to help him get fish. Other boats were sinking as well because of the great number of fish. Peter experienced an extraordinary thing he had never experienced before. His net was full at the breaking point. He could not contain them within his net; he had to share them with others.
Lastly, when we experience divine power and His presence, knowing the difference between human and divine power, we come to realize how sinful and feeble we are in His presence. Something he couldn’t do or experience all his life with his own skills and knowledge, but the next moment, when he obeyed Jesus at His word, he experienced something he never even dreamed of experiencing. At that moment, Peter became thoroughly aware of absolute human finitude as opposed to God’s infinite power, something so beyond, so powerful, and so holy. That was when he uttered, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” in vs. 8.
Only when we know our reality as opposed to God’s reality and power can we confess Jesus as our Lord and be called to be fishermen of people. Only after Peter fell at Jesus’ feet, crying out his unworthiness in His presence, did Jesus call him to be a fisherman of people.
Are we Christians? We need to put out into the deep water of God to experience Him and His power. Then, we can have abundantly and share what we have in Christ with people around us who do not have much and struggle out in the world. Amen!
