The Lord's Followers

A message from Luke 5:1-11 by Phil Rogers 03/06/07

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Wherever Jesus went he attracted crowds. People thronged to see him, often bringing the sick, longing for a miracle, a healing. This day was no exception. Walking along the sea shore he was recognised and soon a great crowd had gathered round him so he began to teach about the kingdom of God. Hundreds of people pushing and shoving, pressed forward to hear the word of God. Much further and they would push Jesus right into the sea! What hunger to hear the word of God! Jesus noticed two boats pulled onto the beach. The fishermen were washing their nets after a totally unsuccesful night’s fishing. They had caught no fish, just a load of debris. Jesus knew these fishemen. Simon and Andrew and James and John, two pairs of brothers from Bethsaida on the shores of Galilee, who had been with him a lot during the past year. Andrew first met Jesus when John the Baptist had pointed him out as ‘the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’. Andrew and his friend John immediately went after him. Andrew introduced his big brother Simon to Jesus. He was deeply impressed by this young rabbi only a few years older than him. Simon was married and lived with his wife and her mother, whom Jesus had recently healed from a raging fever, after being invited back for lunch after a Saturday morning synagogue meeting.

Jesus climbed into Simon’s boat and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. They pushed the boat out into the water before climbing aboard and kept the boat steady for Jesus, as he sat in the boat and spoke to the crowds. When Jesus had finished all he wanted to say, as the sun beat down, he turned to Simon, and told him to put out into deep water and let down his net for a catch. Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but if you say so, I’ll cast out the net.” Fish go down into the depths when the sun is hig, so night is the best time to fish, but with all their skill and experience they had fished all night and caught nothing. What did this carpenter know about fishing? But Jesus was far more than a carpenter! Whatever he said was worth acting upon. He told sickness to leave and they left, demons to “go!” and they went! His words got inside you and made you think and feel so differently! Perhaps what their own skill and effort had not achieved, might well happen if Jesus said so!
They threw the net over the side of the boat and to Simon’s utter amazement it began to tip over. Such a huge shoal of fish that the net began to tear! But now they might loose all these fish! “James, John,” he shouts, “come and give us a hand.” So the other boat comes over and they begin loading the fish into the boats, so many fish that both boats are in danger of sinking. Jesus was just sitting there in the boat with a huge grin on his face watching as they threw handfuls of fish into the boat, all flapping round his feet. Both crews were utterly astonishment at such a huge catch. Simon was so overawed by Jesus’ power, fear gripped him and a deep conviction, and he knelt down in the bottom of the boat at Jesus knees and said, “Get away from me, Lord, I am such a sinful man!”
“Don’t be afraid”, Jesus replied, “from now on you will catching men!” Can’t you just see him grinning?

This was a watershed moment for these men. They already considered themselves as his followers and had spent hours with him, but with a living to make and families to support they could only give their spare time to hang out with Jesus. But Luke reports that “they left everything and followed him,” their boats, fish and crews, their livelihood and their families, to go around with an itinerant preacher. They went ‘full time’ because following Jesus ‘part time’ was no longer an option. I believe the time for a person to be released for full time ministry is when they cannot develop any more in the area where they are already serving successfully in the local church and still keep their full-time jobs. The local church has a responsibility to release up and coming leaders into full-time ministry.

Do we need to give up our jobs, ‘to leave everything to follow Christ’? Our strap line says our vision is to see people become ‘fully devoted followers of Christ’. Jesus is no longer an intinerant preacher living in Israel. He is at his Father’s right hand and has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us wherever we are throughout the whole world. Leaving everything and following Christ today is more to do with heart attitude than with actually leaving jobs, homes and families. We can follow Christ and live to the glory of God in the workplace and in our homes. We canfollower Jesus full-time while we fulfil our calling in life whatever that may be.

What does it involve? Letting Christ into our daily lives and trusting him in everything. Praying about our work and home life, listening to his prompting. Putting Christ first, even before family, jobs and social activities. If we have a passion for Christ we cannot fail to have a passion for what he is passionate about, the local church. When our families see of our devotion to Christ and our commitment to the local church it will influence their attitudes to life. Who do we love the most our spouse, our children, ourselves or Christ?

“From now on you will be catching people”. (‘I will make you fishers of men’) Wholly following Christ is about ‘taking people alive’. We don’t have to try to catch them. If like Simon we say “If you say so, Lord” he will give us converts as we act upon his say so. Evangelism!? Aargh!! No! Fully devoted followers who have realised who Jesus really is and have fallen on our knees and owned up to being rubbish and heard him say “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will be.................” (fill in the blank)