Luke 5:1 Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” 6 When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9 For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”
Jesus was completely different from all of the other teachers and leaders in Israel. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:29 But Jesus not only spoke with authority, he backed his words up with unexplainable miracles. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him. Acts 2:22
So many people flocked to Jesus to hear his words of life and to receive healing that Jesus asked Simon for a favor. Simon, whose mother-in-law had just been healed by Jesus was more than willing to help out. Jesus got into Simon’s boat and put out a little from the land so that he could get away from the press of the multitudes who had gathered around him. Jesus then was able to sit down and teach the multitudes from the boat.
After Jesus was finished teaching he asked Simon to let down the net so that he could catch fish. Simon, a professional fisherman, politely tried to explain to Jesus the futility of such an action, but he, nevertheless, let down the net. To his astonishment Simon caught so many fish that he had to call out for his business partners, James and John, to come help because his nets were breaking, and his boat was sinking under the weight of the fish.
Realizing that he was in the presence of a power that he could not understand, Simon fell down asking Jesus to depart from me for I am a sinful man. Throughout the Scriptures whenever people are in the presence of holiness they tremble in great fear. Holiness clearly exposes human sinfulness.
Simon had seen the miracles of Jesus: the healings and the exorcisms. He had heard the teachings about the Kingdom. He understood that Jesus was an exceptional religious teacher. But Simon was a professional fisherman and he understood fish and everything connected to the industry; the tides, the times, the market, and he had subtly tried to tell Jesus about his expertise. Now Simon realized that Jesus was not only a teacher of religion, Jesus, more that just a carpenter from Nazareth, was the Lord of all.
How often do we compartmentalize our lives like Simon did? We rationalize, Jesus can have a say in my religious life, but I can handle my business, my home, my family, my friendships, and my entertainment. Jesus is okay as long as he stays in Church, so we live as practical atheists in other areas of life. However, when we meet Jesus, and like Simon, come to really understand that he is the Creator and sustainer of all, Colossians 1:17, our sinful pretensions are exposed for what they are.
Jesus used this whole incident as an object lesson. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.” Catching fish is a great and necessary profession but it pales in the light of eternity. Every human whom you meet is an immortal soul who has rebelled against their Creator. Jesus’ mission is to offer life to the rebels by bearing their sin and shame and then ushering them into the eternal safety of his Kingdom. Jesus asks Simon, and his business partners, James and John to join him in his mission.
Luke 5:11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.
Simon had just had the biggest catch of his life. With the sale of his fish, he and his partners were financially secure. Yet they were willing to walk away from it all to follow Jesus. Similarly, everyone who has repented of their sin and followed Jesus has a new primary task in life. Whoever you are and wherever you go you are to be a fisher of men, catching people alive.
These days, fishing for men in most churches looks a lot like waiting around for the fish to swim into our pool. We seldom launch out beyond the safe confines of our church building, and the “nets” we have chosen to use in drawing people to the grace of Jesus look more like the lures of self and entertainment than the hard but saving truths of God’s Word.
(T.M.Moore, Called to Fish, ailbe.org)
Luke 5:12 While he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, and begged him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
13 He stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.”
Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 He commanded him to tell no one, “But go your way, and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing according to what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.” 15 But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.
Leprosy and its treatment is described in great detail in Leviticus 13. Because leprosy is contagious and, in the ancient world, an often fatal disease, a person who contracted leprosy was, by the Levitical Law, untouchable, and quarantined. In healing the leper, in full view of the city, Jesus did the unthinkable. He stretched out his hand and touched him, healing the man. Jesus publicly displayed his power over even the most feared plague.
Throughout the history of the Church, Christians, fishers of men, not fearing death, were known for courageously seeking out and caring for the sick even in times of terrible plague.
For example, during the plague in 249 A.D. Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria wrote a letter to his congregation thanking those who had lovingly and selflessly cared for the sick.
Most of our brothers showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ… The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner, presbyters, deacons, and laymen. (Eusebius, The History of the Church, Penguin)
Compare the faithfulness displayed by the early church leaders when faced by a deadly pandemic, to our recent experience with COVID19, where church leaders were placed in the position of weighing the demands of Scripture against the demands of their governments: forbidding assembling together, suspending worship, the dehumanization of masking, and requiring untested “vaccines.”
Listen to Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemoller, lamenting the Church’s capitulation to governmental lies in another time and place:
We preferred to keep silent. We are certainly not without guilt/fault, and I ask myself again and again, what would have happened, if in the year 1933 or 1934 – there must have been a possibility – if 14,000 Protestant pastors and all Protestant communities in Germany had defended the truth until their deaths? If we had said back then, it is not right when Herman Goring simply puts 100,000 Communists in the concentration camps, in order to let them die. I can imagine that perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 Protestant Christians would have had their heads cut off, but I can also imagine that we would have rescued 30-40,000 million people, because that is what it is costing us now.
(Martin Niemoller, Of Guilt and Hope, Philosophical Library Publishing)
True love is demonstrated by courage in action, overcoming fear, not by capitulating to the lies of Satan and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Ephesians 6:12 God’s Word is clear. Christians are to obey the magistrate’s lawful commands but are under no obligation to obey commands that violate the higher law of God. (Westminster Confession of Faith, The Civil Magistrate 23-4, The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Of the Civil Magistrate, 24-3)
Whatever lawful things commanded by the civil magistrates, we ought to obey in the Lord. We are to be in subjection to the civil magistrates but only in all lawful things commanded by them. When they command us things to do which are against the law of God, disobedience to them is obedience to God. We must obey God rather than men Acts 5:29.
[thecalvinist.net, Commentary on The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith]
Responding to the governmental mandates John MacArthur wrote:
Christ, not Caesar, is Head of the Church. Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the Church. He is also King of kings – sovereign over every earthly authority. Grace Community Church has always stood immovably on those Biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. Therefore we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings. Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands.
(John MacArthur, gracechurch.org)
In retrospect, it is now apparent, from their own admissions, that the authorities were deliberately deceiving the public, arousing fear. Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House Covid Response Coordinator, discussing her new book, “Silent Invasion” admitted, “I knew shots would not prevent COVID infection… I think we overplayed the vaccines.” (Clarkcountytoday.com, July, 25, 2022)
Affirming Dr. Birx’ assessment, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance recently published:
The COVID messaging came in early and hot – “This virus is deadly. Masks, social distancing, and quarantining are critical to stemming the spread. Herd immunity will be our salvation… Lock everyone in their homes and wait for safe-and effective vaccines to save us” Three long years later, it turns out that masks not only don’t work but can make us sicker. Social distancing was a myth pulled out of thin air. Quarantining was an unmitigated social, psychological, and economic disaster. [There are now] sweeping admissions from both government officials and the manufacturers themselves that the vaccines don’t stop infection or transmission and skyrocketing spikes in adverse reaction reports.
(covid19criticalcare.com, Jenna McCarthy, 2/18/23)
Just like Martin Niemoller, we must all admit, lesson learned. We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29
Just as the German Church had a painfully important task and did not rise to the occasion to perform it, so we have a painfully important task… During the recent pandemic when churches were preposterously deemed “non-essential” by governors and mayors many pastors behaved as though it was their Christian duty not to speak, as though this were the “winsome” way forward. When questionable medical procedures were being forced on their parishioners – some of which were manufactured with the cells used from aborted babies – they meekly adopted the stance that it was the “Christ-like” thing to submit and not to fight, nor even mention such tremendously serious issues… It takes courage to stand athwart history and shout, “Stop!”
(Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, Salem Books)