Psalms 8:1 and 16:2

My Shepherd directed me into His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 5. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind at verse 4:

Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught*.

Jesus was teaching along Gennesaret, the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee,** and the people “pressed upon him to hear the word of God.” The common name of this lake is the Sea of Galilee; Gennesaret is an older name for this sea and identifies it with the famously fertile plains off the northwest shore of the lake. This passage speaks of fruitfulness, and maybe that’s why the Spirit chose to use this name for the Sea in this story.

The disciples had toiled all night and caught nothing. They were cleaning their nets when Jesus said to Simon (Peter), “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Peter informed the Master (an honorific term for teacher), “We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). Peter expressed doubt that the exercise would be productive, but agreed to launch out and wait for Jesus to give the word on when to throw out their nets. They took so many fish, their net broke, and they had to call on their partners to join them. The boats were so overloaded with fish that they began to sink.

Simon felt ashamed (Luke 5:8). He could see that the Master was a popular Bible teacher, but did not expect Him to understand the fishing trade. In deference to His position, however, he decided to humor Him. Simon was humbled!

Along the still waters, I reflected on the fact that, even in his pride, Simon demonstrated important qualities. First, he was honest in his sentiments, even if incorrect and naive. Second, he deferred to the “Master” and accommodated His wishes. And third, he gave the decision regarding where and when to cast his net to Jesus. To do this, he had to demonstrate another critical characteristic needed by every disciple: Peter had to keep his eye on Jesus to watch for the signal.

Finally, Simon demonstrated another vital quality of a good disciple: he loaned his boat to Jesus. He surrendered his boat for Christ’s use to teach and preach the Gospel. Loan your boat to Jesus!

In the valley, I understood that all of these qualities are present in a proper response to Jesus’ call to discipleship: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). He saw Simon’s (from Simeon, meaning to hear intelligently) potential to become Cephas, which is Peter (Petros: a piece of a rock, a stone) (John 1:42). He appealed to his characteristic of hearing intelligently when Peter came under the influence of Satan and tried to get Jesus to “put down His cross” (Matthew 16:21-23). He immediately followed this by declaring to His disciples: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

At the table, we talked a while about the all-night toiling of ministry, and how sometimes we come home with empty nets. I said, You can have my boat, LORD, and at thy word I’ll cast my net. He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

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[*The word draught is pronounced draft. In Middle English, the gh was used to indicate a guttural sound that included an h with gh, but when spoken with a soft accent, the guttural disappears into an f sound. Over time, draught became draft.

**The Sea of Galilee is a large freshwater lake. It is introduced in Scripture under the name Chinnereth (Joshua 19:35). During the time of the Second Temple, the name was changed to Gennesaret. That’s the name used in Luke 5:1. By the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was commonly called the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18, etc.) The Romans called it the Sea of Tiberias, identifying the large body of water with the city of Tiberias, which Herod Antipas founded in honor of the Roman Emperor Tiberius in about AD 20. This is used in John 6:1. Chinnereth is descriptive of the shape of the lake. Gennesaret identifies it with the fertile plains off the northwest shore of Chinnereth. Sea of Tiberius is an effort to identify the lake with the famed Roman Emperor of that name. The common designation, Sea of Galilee, identifies the lake with the region in which it is located.]