Luke 5
Read: Luke 5
At the beginning of Luke 5, Jesus recruited his first disciples. Out of the three accounts of this event (see Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20), this one is the most detailed. The other two give a brief summary that seems like Jesus just came up to some random guys and said, “Follow me!” and then they miraculously left everything to follow him. Luke 5 puts their reaction into context. The reality is that these men had already heard of Jesus before this event. John 1:35-42 records that before this, John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” Andrew who was listening, followed Jesus and went to find Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!”
When we put this all together, we see a much more accurate picture of Jesus calling these disciples. John the Baptist, who was revered and respected had proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah that the people of Israel had been waiting for. And then Jesus proved he had power over the fish of the sea and the provision of these fishermen through the miracle he performed here. One can only speculate what Simon did in the time in between these two occurrences. Maybe he just went back to fishing like the first encounter never happened or maybe he had been thinking about it and wrestling with whether or not Jesus really was the Messiah. Or maybe he was ashamed of his sin and fearful that God could never forgive him and thus unwilling to go to Jesus for that forgiveness.
Whatever the case, we see Simon’s resistance in verse 8. After the miraculous catch of fish, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” He knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but he didn’t feel worthy to be in front of him. Jesus gracefully said, “Don’t be afraid.” This reminds me of all the times God or angels appeared before people in the Bible and said, “Fear Not!” Jesus had a plan and a purpose for Simon’s life if only Simon would be willing to follow. From that day forward, Simon left everything and followed Jesus; he then became the “rock” (Greek word “petros” or Peter) on which Jesus built his church (Matthew 16:18).
Sometimes when we share Christ with someone, it is easy to give up if they do not automatically leave everything and follow Jesus. Most of the time when we read these stories, the Bible doesn’t give us all the details of what people thought or how long it took them to come around. If there is someone in your life that you have shared Jesus with and prayed for, be patient and don’t give up on them. You never know when Jesus will show up and reveal himself to them, and you never know what God could do through their life once he does.
