Taking Men Alive
byDoug Wilson
From Hammer Magazine Vol. III No. I, Winter 1984
Webster’sdefines the verb astonish as to fill with sudden wonder or surprise. Itsroots in the Latin are very close to our expression thunderstruck. Astonishment, of course, is that state of beingamazed or thoroughly surprised.
InLuke chapter 5, an incident occurred which filled certain fishermen withastonishment. They were astonished because of a powerful miracle, and yet thereis more significance to the miracle than a mere display of power.
InLuke 5:1-11, Jesus was preaching to crowds beside the Lake of Gennesaret.Jesus apparently found it difficult to preach with the crowd pressing Him, soHe climbed into a boat belonging to Simon, sat down, and taught from there.
Whenthe lesson was ended, He told Simon to put into deep water and let down thenets for a catch. Simon responded that they had already worked all night withno result. Daylight was a poor time for fishing, and, apparently, the nets werealready washed. Nevertheless, he agreed to do what Jesus said.
Whenthe fishermen obeyed, their nets became so full that they began to tear. Whenthey were brought into the boats, water threatened to come over the gunwalesand sink them.
NowSimon Peter had already seen some of Jesus’ powerful miracles and had alreadybeen willing to follow Him—to a certain extent. And yet this miracle, for somereason, is a major turning point in Simon’s choice of careers. This miracleaffected Simon deeply. He fell down (in a boat already about to sink) and criedout, “Go away from me, Lord; I am asinful man!” In other words, this miracle did not strike Simon as a simpleact of power. His confession of his sinful state shows that it had an entirelydifferent significance for him.
Someonewho could control the fish in the sea was obviously more than a mere man. Simonfell to his knees before someone he called Lord.But the Lord of the lake, the Lord of nature, has a right to be Lord over thosewho live by the lake and those who fish in it. Jesus had already called Simonto follow Him another time, and Simon had—up to a point. But when he followedHim after this incident, nothing was ever the same.
Noticethat Simon wanted Jesus to leave him because he, Simon, did not deserve to bewith Jesus. He was a sinful man. In order to follow Christ, something mustfirst be done about the sin. Simon was more than aware of the problem.
Jesusreassured him, and He revealed the point of the miracle. It was a teachingmiracle, a parable acted out. Jesus said, “Don’tbe afraid; from now on you will catch men.” A fuller rendering from theGreek would be, “You will take men alive.”
Jesuscalled Simon to a life of evangelism. In His earlier call, He had promised tomake them fishers of men. Here He said men will be taken alive. It is in thislatter instance that He shows He has the power to issue such a call. Jesus wasinvolved in fishing for men. Simon fished for fish. Jesus, by this miracle,demonstrated His authority in both realms. Someone who can command fish intonets is certainly able to make fishers of men. Simon knew this but consideredhimself unworthy. Jesus was able to reassure him; He is able to supply the menjust as He supplied the fish. The evangelism will not depend on Simon’s worth,but on Jesus’ authority.
Whatwas the reaction of the fishermen to this display of authority and power? Weare told that Simon, his companions, and James and John, were all astonished. This astonishment wasprofound and life-changing. They pulled their boats on shore, left everything,and followed Jesus.
Inthe three years that followed, much instruction was given, and many lessonswere learned. The period was one of apprenticeship and had all the successesand failures that characterize it. The entire time, Jesus was overseeing them. Thepromise to Simon that he would be a fisher of men was not fulfilled until thesermon in Jerusalemat Pentecost. There the Holy Spirit was given, the gospel proclaimed by Simon,and 3,000 souls were added to the church. The church’s small boat was full,with water coming over the gunwales.
Beforethat fulfillment occurred, the fishermen/disciples were given a reminder of thepowerful call they were given at the beginning.
Afterthe resurrection, the disciples were overjoyed but still disoriented. Theystill didn’t know what it all meant. Jesushad appeared to them several times, and they knew He was alive. But what didthat life mean? The crucifixion and resurrection had shattered thepresuppositions they had acquired over the last three years. What were they nowsupposed to do?
Itis in this condition that we find these fishermen/disciples on the shores ofthe Sea of Galilee. In John 21:1-14, Jesus repeats the miracle. Simon, Thomas,Nathanael, James, John, and two other disciples were at the Sea of Galilee. Simonannounced that he was going to fish, and the others went with him. The decisionwas perhaps for financial reasons or, perhaps, for lack of anything better todo. Whatever the reason, they spent the night on the water with the same resultas before. As morning broke, Jesus called to them from the shore and asked ifthey had any fish. They replied in the negative (Jesus was about 100 yardsaway, and they did not recognize Him). Jesus then told them to lower their netson the right side of the boat. They obeyed, and again their nets were filled.
Johnrealized who it was and said so to Peter. In Luke 5, Simon had said, “Depart from me.” Here he jumped intothe water to rejoin the Lord.
Whenthey got to shore, they discovered that Jesus had already been fishing and withsome success. He had His fish on the fire and invited them to bring some oftheir fish and join Him. They did so, with some mental reservations. Theydidn’t dare ask Him who He was; they knew it was the Lord. And yet, thequestion, “Who are you?” occurred to them. The resurrection body of the Lordwas different enough to cause some questioning, though the questions wereeasily answered.
InLuke 5, Simon and the others were effectively called. In John 21, that callingwas reaffirmed. The power and authority that only began to be revealed at thebeginning of the Lord’s ministry were not fully manifest. The Lord was stillable to perform a fishing miracle, but in this instance did it after themiracle of the resurrection. The Lord of fallen nature was now also the Lord ofresurrection life.
Yetfrom the call in Luke 5 to the second call in John 21, the Lord’s purpose wasunchanged. The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. There arestill many who need to be found that way; the Lord is still in the business oftraining fishers of men.
MayGod grant us the sense of astonishmentthat motivated the Galilean fishermen to begin taking men alive.
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