City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ 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.”¹¹ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:8-11 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.³ And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah 6:1-7 ESV

Reflection

After Simon pushed out into deeper water and let down the nets as Jesus asked, he made what was likely the biggest catch of his fishing career. Yet, his response was not what you’d expect from someone whose business just got the biggest break. His reaction was similar to Isaiah’s after being given a vision of God in all His glory and holiness (Isaiah 6:1-7).

Jesus had been teaching from Simon’s boat, and no doubt Simon had been listening to Jesus. The power of Jesus’ words and the miraculous catch worked something in Simon’s heart that opened his spiritual eyes to Jesus’ holiness. Simon became so aware of his sin and how undeserving he was to be in Jesus’ presence. Just like Isaiah, Simon was undone (v. 8; Isaiah 6:5).

Jesus didn’t condemn Simon because He knew He would atone for Simon‘s sins, just as atonement was made for Isaiah (with the coals; Isaiah 6:6-7).

Jesus used the miracle of the catch to illustrate to Simon that God’s power alone gives fruitful harvest for the kingdom, not human effort. Simon realized, he needed to be made clean first and was only able to be a disciple because of grace. Upon receiving Jesus’ grace, Simon left everything (including the miraculous catch) and followed Jesus to learn to begin fishing for men.

Application

Simon’s experience shows us that more than anything, a heart of repentance and humility in response to God’s holiness is required to be a follower of Jesus who is learning to make disciples.

John Piper summarized Simon’s experience as it relates to discipleship and evangelism as follows:

By Jesus’ power and authority multitudes of people will be caught for eternal kingdom blessings by the followers of Jesus who teach the word of God, obey the commands of Jesus, humble themselves, and treasure Christ above all.

John Piper, Breaking Nets, Sinking Boats and Saving Men. September 29, 2002

This is how God has chosen to bring people into His kingdom – through the teaching of His Word. We all are like Simon and need our eyes open to the reality of God’s holiness and God mercifully and powerfully works through His Word to reveal Jesus to us and our need for grace.

But the word of God needs to be preached by people. The type of people who, 1) obediently surrender to Jesus’ call; and, 2) humbly remember that any fruitfulness in making disciples comes from God’s power alone.

Prayer

Dear Holy Father, please in Your mercy, give me a heart that is humbly in awe of Your holiness and the grace You have given me in Jesus. In Jesus’ name, I obediently surrender to Your call to preach Your word, the truth of Jesus, trusting You to draw people to Yourself, amen.