WWJD Day 12 Milk - “Depart from me, I am a sinful man”

“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, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 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. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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.  But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 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.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:1-11 ESV Does this sound more like the “Peter being called” story you are used to? Remember, we are looking at Jesus as the actual man who lived here and we are following His life and watching it unfold in chronological order.  So…. What happened since He called Peter, Andrew, James and John? A lot!!!!!!!!! Quick recap: He casts out a demon in the synagogue He’s teaching at in Capernaum on the Sabboth day, His fame spreads throughout all Galilee, He heals Simon’s Mother in law, He heals the entire city of illnesses and casts out demons all night at Peter’s house, He goes away to pray and then preaches and heals throughout all the cities of Galilee, His fame spread and He gained a huge following from Syria, Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan - and He healed them all and took away illnesses and cast out demons and  raised paralytics and removed seizures - He laid hands on them and healed them all while proclaiming the Gospel (good news) of the Kingdom of God! Jesus got busy! So, why is this call to Simon different? Why is Peter’s response different? Philip, Nathanael, Peter, Andrew, James, and John have been watching Jesus perform incredible miracles all over the place! What made this different? Jesus allowed Peter to do what he thought he was best at Catching fish He fished all night and caught nothing He is most likely tired and frustrated because he is human He probably wants to do good for Jesus but feels like a failure Jesus allows this to happen Jesus asks Peter to put out for a catch Peter explains fishing really quickly to Jesus But calls Him Master and obeys Then amazing happens and Peter realizes  He can do nothing on his own  Not even fish which he thought he was good at  But he can do amazing unexplainable things with Jesus Even things he doesn’t feel equipped to do Everything has always been because God blesses us and always will be But, even despite all the amazing things we witness in this life, we still get “caught up” in a lot of moments and forget who He is and who we are… Jesus tells them to not be afraid - this is interesting  Then He tells him that he will catch men But there’s the lesson He’s only asking us to cast our nets He will provide the catch Keep casting that net regardless of what happens He will provide the catch when the fish are ready Don’t be afraid Go and cast the net of incredible love in every place you go Don’t be focused on the catch Don’t be focused on what it looks like to anyone but God Don’t be afraid to look completely different than everyone else Be focused on the God who provides the catch Be focused on what He asked you to do Just Cast that net Why? Because the Son of God has a great use for you even when you say  “Depart from me, for I am a sinner” Jesus provides the catch regardless of the person throwing the net Just believe and go fish Side note: Peter was the only recorded disciple who was married. This may have played a role in how special he was to Jesus Additional Side Note: Notice how things tend to happen in 3’s with Peter… Last note: Once possible fisherman rivals for business, now Simon and James and John were associates! This is working together despite possible differences or difficulties because of the love you have for Jesus