(Over the next few posts, we will be catching up on some of the high points of the Gospel of Luke from our L3 readings this month. We’ll begin here by taking a look at our reading from April 3rd, Luke 5.)

From the beginning of Luke’s Gospel until chapter five, we have witnessed the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. He has just begun proclaiming the truth about Himself and the kingdom of God, and healing the sick and casting out demons. At the end of chapter four, Jesus just finished a long day of preaching in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth, and He ended His day of ministry in the house of Simon (before Jesus had called him to be His disciple). While Jesus was there, he healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a debilitating fever, cast out demons, and healed the sick. As we pick up in chapter five, Jesus is preaching near Lake Gennesaret, where Simon and his business partners had been fishing all night without success. This is the context of our passage.

When Jesus arrives at the lakeshore, Simon and his fellow fishermen are washing their empty nets. As Jesus preaches, the crowd begins to close in on Him, and He steps into Simon's boat and asks him to take it out a short distance from the shore so He can preach without being overrun by the people who are so anxious to hear Him and to see Him perform miracles. After Jesus finishes teaching, He makes an odd request of Simon, when He tells him, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon’s response reveals his doubt about the request: “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” Keep in mind that Simon had just witnessed numerous miracles the night before, so He was probably more willing to entertain strange requests from Jesus. However, it didn’t change the fact that what Jesus was asking was actually irrational.

You see, in first-century Israel, there were three types of nets used for fishing: cast nets, drag nets, and trammel nets. The cast net (Greek - amphiblestron) of their day was very much like the ones we use today, which is a small circular net with small weights attached all around its margin and the center attached to a small cord for drawing it in. This type of net was made of a fine mesh, so the fish would not see it in the daylight. We find the cast net used in Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:16. 

The second net, the drag net (Greek - sagene), was made of similar material as the cast net, but was around 400 meters long and reached down to the floor of the lake or sea to leave the fish nowhere to go. These are much like we see the commercial fishermen using today in the ocean. This type of net was also for daylight use because the fish could not see it. We find the drag net in use in Matthew 13:47. 

The third type of net, which is the one we find in this particular passage, was the trammel net (Greek – diktuon), which was constructed of three nets suspended on a rope, 200-250 meters long, and 3 meters deep. It was used not far from shore, and it was used only at night, because fish would see the obvious, heavy cotton net. The trammel net appears 12 times in the gospels, in Matthew 4:20, 21; Mark 1:18, 19; Luke 5:2, 4, 5, and 6 (our passage); and John 21:6, 8, 11 (twice). Simon’s reply to Jesus fits the usage of the net, as he and his team were fishing all night.

When we take the type of net into account, we see that what Jesus was asking was probably very confusing to Simon. To paraphrase, this is what He told Simon: “I know it’s the bright of day now, but go back out to the deeper water, and put down the night nets, which the fish will obviously see and avoid, and go catch some fish. Simon must have thought Jesus was just ignorant about fishing, or joking, or about to prove a point of some kind. Surely Jesus didn’t think Simon was going to catch anything! Simon knew that Jesus was asking was unreasonable, and bordering on crazy. Whatever he was thinking about Jesus’ request, it is clear that Jesus had earned enough trust and respect from Simon that Simon agreed and did what Jesus asked of him. The result?

Against all logic and reason, Simon and his buddies caught a ridiculous amount of fish. This was not only irrational—this was impossible! Why would the fish swim into a net that they could obviously see? How could this happen? The miracle was not primarily that they caught so many fish that they almost sunk two fishing boats; the main miracle was that they caught any fish during the daytime with that thick and obvious net that was designed for use only at night. Just for good measure, Jesus made sure there was no mistaking this as a coincidence. They not only caught fish during the day, but they caught two boatloads of fish! Jesus not only went against all common sense, He completely disregarded it and did whatever He wanted, because Jesus is Lord of all. Simon Peter’s response should also be our response when we see Jesus as He truly is, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Simon Peter witnessed Jesus’ power and authority, and recognized his own sinfulness in light of who Jesus is.

The takeaway for us: Jesus is not subject to our reason or common sense. He is Lord, and we are subject to Him. He may use situations or other things in our lives to do something amazing and completely against what we think is possible, reasonable, or practical. What He asks of us is obedience—not necessarily understanding. When He calls us to do something, our responsibility is to respond with obedience, despite our doubts. When we respond with faith and obey in trust, Jesus will take care of the rest.

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship & Arts Pastor