Luke 5:4 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters | Metropolitan Tabernacle

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Luke 5:4

Comments

It must have seemed strange that Christ who had begun his public ministry should wish to go fishing with Simon. Why would he concern himself with such things? The outcome was of course known to the Lord, but it was hidden from Peter, who therefore made an assessment according to his limited knowledge. With an attitude of great respect, mixed perhaps with slight embarrassment which is due to an expert stepping out of his area of expertise, he humours the Lord, as he sees it, and goes along with his request and does as he is asked. His understanding of who Christ is, is not yet as it should be, and his subjection to him is not yet without reservation, as is seen from his protest and his hesitant compliance with the Lord’s request. He thinks he understands the art of fishing better than the Lord Jesus, but he half-heartedly does what he is asked. He is being led into an ever deeper understanding; he is going to be astonished at what follows. The lessons which Christ was teaching him were all the more powerful because they were taught through the medium of what he thought he was so familiar with. Christ allowed him to proceed with this limited understanding of his powers, because he knew that what followed would shatter Peter’s inadequate view. Simon and the other disciples needed to be taught about the service they were being called into. This instruction included the whole of the previous night in which they had struggled without success, as well as the abundance that was about to follow. As he lowered his net into the sea, he was probably thinking how much he respected this non-fisherman in his boat, and so he would go through the motions of what he had been asked to do, even though he knew far more about fishing.

Application

The fact that the Lord Jesus was ready to use the task of fishing as an illustration of gospel work teaches us that there are great similarities. Fishing is a hard task. It was not a job that could be done in those days with perfectly manicured hands and without scars, calluses and bruises. It was hard, dirty work, out in all weathers, and involving much hauling and cleaning of nets. So too is gospel work. Every time you witness you have got to pluck up courage. You have got to stand up to all kinds of rudeness. It means visitation and knocking on doors and facing hostile receptions; it means trying to open up the subject when people don't want to hear. It's a work which requires great patience, and long periods of waiting. There were two occasions when they toiled all night and caught nothing and then at his word they got a great catch of fish. The lean times teach us that when the blessing comes, it is of God. Witnessing is a patient work and sometimes God allows the work to become arduous, because he means to bless us in his time. This is another reason why the philosophy of mass evangelism is wrong, because it says on such and such a date we are going to have a tremendous awakening: you just push the button and you have got conversions. But these miracles teach the opposite. It may very well be the will of God that there is a long night of patience because conversions come, yes, by human instrumentality, by our patient effort, but ultimately by the sovereign power of God. Often the Lord blesses when we have tried long and hard. We return to witnessing after a lapse, and we are already sad because nothing has happened in a short time. But it is when we have toiled long and hard that we receive blessing from God. Let us not work in fits and starts because we may never get the blessing. The results of the work and the joy that comes from them is shared by us and our Saviour.

The Lord claims Peter’s boat for his use, just as he has the right to claim all that we have at any time for his service in the gospel, and what a privilege and joy it is to us to make all that we have available to the Lord. How little we can give him in comparison to what he has freely given us, but he accepts our gift as if he had not given all things to us in the first place.

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Luke 5:4 Commentary and Bible Study