Catching no Fish
My boys have taken up fishing this spring. We have a neighbor with a pond who has offered to allow them to fish any time they want. Their cousin had been catching quite a few so they had pretty high expectations going into their adventure.
My 7-year-old watched, wide-eyed, as his cousin pulled up fish after fish. But his joy slowly turned to sadness and his excitement faded to frustration when his own line kept coming up empty.
He came home feeling defeated. His head hung low and you could see the tears were being held at bay.
Because a day spent fishing, catching no fish, can feel like a day completely wasted.
Jesus calls his First Disciples
In Luke, chapter 5, we find Jesus by a lake teaching a crowd of people the Word of God. He spots a couple of boats by the water’s edge and asks the fishermen who owned them to take him out a little from shore so as not to be so crowded by the people.
These fishermen were cleaning their nets from the day but did as Jesus asked and took him out a little ways from shore so Jesus could continue to teach.
When he finished speaking, he said to Simon (the owner of the boat he was in), “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
Honestly, the audacity of this guy. The fishermen had been working throughout the night with absolutely no luck. They had come in, were washing their nets, and were ready to be finished for the day.
They no doubt were feeling frustrated and defeated from their rotten fishing trip. This wasn’t a small ask of Jesus as it was not easy to fish back then. No motors on their boats or machinery to pull up their wet, heavy nets from the water and no technology helping them see where the fish might be located.
However, they respected this teacher and did as he said.
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid, from now on, you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
Luke 5:5-11
What I noticed
In these passages, there are a few things that stand out to me as I read them.
The men that Jesus called were not in the crowd. They were off to the side, washing their nets. They were likely caught off guard when he engaged them.
The fishermen were willing to try fishing again. We don’t know how long they’d heard of Jesus. Maybe that was their first encounter with him or their first time hearing him speak at all. But what he said was enough to convince them to do as he said.
After bringing in the catch of their lives, they were willing to leave it all behind and follow Jesus. They didn’t know where he would take them. They likely were a bit confused on what it meant to fish for people. But their faith led them.
Luke 5:11 says “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
That baffles me. I picture the boats full of fish, left behind. Maybe there were more men there that took over the business or maybe some really lucky guy came upon these overflowing boats and cashed in.
Whatever the case, Simon Peter, James, and John didn’t cash in on that crazy fishing trip, instead they cashed in on being disciples of Jesus.
Bible Journaling Details
I used Neocolor ii water-soluble crayons for the color, applying water to create a watercolor effect, and then outlined everything with a Faber-Castell Pitt Pen size XS.
For more information on my favorite supplies and links to purchase them, check out My Top Ten Favorite Bible Journaling Supplies.
Other Posts You might like
Bible Journaling: 30 Days without Prayer
Leave a Reply