Fishing for Faith
St. Luke 5:1-11
July 4, 2021 anno Domini
Jesus didn’t need to use Peter’s boat. He could have walked on water. He didn’t need Peter to cast out his nets. He could have made those fish jump into the boat like Asian carp. When you get right down to it, God did not need to send His Son. Nor did Jesus have to go to the cross. God could have simply said, “You’re forgiven” and everyone who believed that would be saved.
But God is God and we are not, so He does everything His way. He uses a boat to float and net to catch a fish. He sends a man as our Savior and He puts Him on a cross to win forgiveness for us. He sends preachers to preach so you can hear God’s Word with your own ears.
This fishing story from Saint Luke teaches us that God is not a distant, hands off God. He uses boats and nets. He uses His creation – wood and cords, flesh and blood, water and words so your faith has something solid to hold.
Read vs. 1. We might miss the obvious in this first verse, but Jesus is using creation. Words and language are created by God. Even though we cannot see the spoken word, every spoken word is very physical. Words are formed by air passing over your vocal cords, combined with movement of your mouth and tongue and lips. Then the amazing creation of your ear picks up all those sound waves which are transported to your brain where you hear and understand.
When Saint John the Apostle says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” we ought to react like Peter did in the text, (Read vs. 8). God became a man and lived on earth so you could hear Him and see Him. You do not need to wonder who God is, what He is up to, or what He thinks of you. If you want to know God look at Jesus, listen to Jesus, cling to Jesus. He wears the flesh and blood of creation so God could be seen and touched and heard and known by you.
That is what the crowd did. They couldn’t get close enough. They kept pushing forward. They wanted what Jesus had. Their ears itched – not for Fox News or the latest stats on COVID, but for God’s Word, for Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus used Peter’s boat for a pulpit, likely to calm the crowd. Creating that little bit of distance meant the people would relax. They couldn’t grab Him, question Him, or interrupt Him. Once off the shore the pressing stopped. The crowd had to be quiet to hear. Perhaps they even sat down. Jesus used Peter’s boat for their faith, so they could all hear Him, so everyone had access to Him. Had He walked on the water – which He certainly could have done, the pressing would have continued. Everyone would have wanted to see the miracle. But Jesus does no miracle for the crowd, just a sermon from a boat. Isn’t that exciting? No, it isn’t, because you don’t need excitement. You need Jesus.
When I want to catch fish, I force one of you to tell me where they are biting. Peter knew where the fish were biting. They weren’t. He had fished all night, casting his nets into the shallows where the fish came when it was cool and dark. Peter caught what I catch most of the time – nothing. Instead of fish for breakfast his family was having skunk. Jesus needs Peter not only to believe, but to be an apostle. The Gentiles need a missionary and Jesus has chosen Peter. So, for Peter’s faith Jesus speaks His Word.
(Read vs. 4) Now, to Peter, fishing in the deep during the day made as much sense as casting your nets on shore or fishing in a parking lot. But faith holds to Jesus and His Word – even if it makes no sense, even it appears to be a waste of time, even if you are certain it will not work.
With Peter’s boat, with His sermon, with His command to cast the nets into the deep, Jesus gave Peter faith and gave his faith a solid anchor to hold in the storms to come. How many times as he was arrested, threatened with death, and finally killed for the Gospel would Peter’s faith need the confidence of Jesus’ Word and work?
Our faith is grounded in the God who works in, with, and under His creation. Jesus of Nazareth was born in the city of Bethlehem, in the days of Caesar Augustus and Herod the Great. He came from a long line of Hebrew men and women who traced their way back to Abraham and Sarah. He lived in Judea during the great Roman Empire. You know more about Jesus of Nazareth than any other historical figure of that time because His apostles recorded His life and wrote His Word under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You know that Jesus was crucified on Friday of Passover weekend outside Jerusalem. On the first day after the Passover His tomb was empty. You also know the Romans were guarding that body and the Jews lied about how the tomb became empty. Women were the first witnesses to the resurrection, but men also saw Him. Cowardly Peter who denied he knew Jesus soon preached Jesus as the risen Christ under threat of jail and death.
But it isn’t just the facts. The facts are for your faith. Jesus died on that cross for your sin. In this evil world you need something good. As you look at your own sin and impending death you need the comfort that God loves you and the hope of a bright and glorious future. All you would have is despair if you could not hear, see, and cling to Jesus. God does love you – in this particular way – Jesus died for your sins. Forgiveness isn’t an excuse to sin. It is the result of God’s payment for sin. Forgiveness isn’t God’s permission to do whatever you want. Forgiveness is God’s love in putting His Son to death.
The resurrection puts the stamp on God’s love – where sin is forgiven there is life. Where sin is forgiven your body won’t / can’t stay in the grave. You want to know your future? Look at the empty tomb. Jesus walked around alive for 40 days. He let Mary Magdalene hug him (but only for a moment) and Thomas touch him. He ate fish and broke bread with His disciples. Now there is no reason to fear God. You don’t have to join Peter in praying for Lord to depart. Now you can entreat Him, “Draw near to me Jesus for I am a sinful man.”
I could preach at least another full sermon on what happens to a man after he believes in Jesus, but that might be too much for you to bear. So I’ll give you a third of a sermon. Once Jesus enters into you by faith, He redeems you, He sanctifies you. He changes you like He changed a boat into a pulpit and a sinner like Peter into an apostle. Faith in Jesus will make you humble. Peter didn’t brag about that great load of fish. He didn’t go out and buy a new Ranger boat. He confessed that he didn’t deserve anything from the Lord, not a 2-inch perch, certainly not his greatest catch. Faith hears the Word of God and does it. Peter let his nets down contrary to every bit of knowledge he had and every desire to go home for a shower and his bed. He left his greatest catch in the nets. Does your faith take Jesus at His Word? What if it went against everything you felt, or something you wanted with your whole heart? What if he asked for your fishing boat, or your retirement account, or your child’s happiness or your life? What if He asked you to suffer for His name so that He could be glorified?
Peter, James and John left everything and followed Jesus. That’s what faith does because faith knows what Jesus did. You have Jesus. You have seen God and you know Him. You can follow Him wherever He takes you, leave whatever He asks of you, and do whatever He commands you because you have faith in the name of Jesus. Amen.