Jesus, the Good Fisherman
Luke 5:1-11
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C
Analysis by James Squire
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

From Wikimedia Commons
“Jesus went to death still carrying his catch – all of us – and he emerged from the empty tomb in the resurrection with his nets still intact. We are his now, and he is our victory.”
Author’s note: Noteworthy is their response to “the catch of fish that they had taken.” This was at bare minimum a quantum leap from their familiar experience. They didn’t celebrate a good yield, nor were they overjoyed at this volume of fish. Instead, they were astounded by it and gripped with fear. Not only that, but after Jesus calmed their fears, they lost all interest in the enormous, astounding number of fish they had just caught.
DIAGNOSIS: Fragile Business
Step 1-Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Times are tough
Peter, James, and John lived and worked in a community that was occupied by an oppressive regime. Even if they had good days, they had to make sure the Roman government got their share. The amount of “tax” was likely imposed on them as subordinates with no recourse to negotiate. Then there were days like this one, where their nets were empty. Presumably the system took no pity on them on such days. Nets must still be cleaned, and the work must continue through long hours until fish are caught. Certainly, an outstanding catch today would be welcomed, making up for yesterday, but there are no guarantees. The sea is not constrained to play fair.
Even under a liberal (small “l”) enlightened democracy, the economic system tends to be flaky at best. For many, good days are few and far between. Business waxes and wanes, at least in part, according to the whims beyond the businessperson’s control. Farmers no doubt can identify with the trials and tribulations of fisherman in Jesus’ time. The elements, the climate, and the marketplace all have to cooperate in order to properly support the family. None of those factors is required to bend to such wishes. In short, the world we live in is not committed to our well-being and happiness.
Step 2-Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Toughing it out on our own
Peter, James, and John would have probably yearned for the sea to play fair. That was their place of work. That is where the fish live that they need to catch to put food on their tables and pay for all the other necessities for their families. The sea owes them, one way or the other, and when it doesn’t deliver, they surely get frustrated. But they have nothing else to do but redouble their efforts in the hopes of coaxing the necessary yield out of an uncooperative sea.
We still expect our turbulent world to sustain us and ensure that everyone can be satisfied and make their voices heard. No matter how often society and government may fail us, we still look for salvation within those broken systems because we don’t know where else to turn to fix our own brokenness. We insist on returning again and again to that same uncooperative environment for help.
Step 3-Final Diagnosis (Ultimate Problem): God’s bounty breaks our nets
Jesus comes into their workplace and breaks their nets with a haul of fish that makes no sense. They asked for a good yield, not a catastrophic one. Will they have to buy or make new nets? How long will that take? For that matter, these fish came out of nowhere. They are a mystery. Something doesn’t feel right. This man comes into their lives and gives them too much, to say nothing of the fact that he looks like a traveler. What about tomorrow and the next day? Is he trying to tempt them with false hope? This is not a one-day hobby for them. This is their life. It is quite understandable that Peter reacted with fear and trembling.
If Jesus comes into our lives and performs an outstanding miracle, it unsettles us. It is one thing to pray for such rescue and dream of how our lives might change. It is another thing to actually experience it, especially to excess. The world we live in doesn’t need a one-time miracle. It needs consistent, fundamental change. Such a one-time event brings chaos that we can’t handle, especially when it disrupts our daily routine. Fear and trembling might well set in after the initial thrill.
PROGNOSIS: Solid – Good – Business
Step 4-Initial Prognosis (Ultimate Solution): Christ holds us through death and resurrection
Jesus is the real fisherman in this story, and his nets will be strained with the haul he brings in as he travels the countryside to teach, heal, and save an astounding number of eager listeners, sick and broken people, and lost souls. In fact, his haul will be so great that his body will burst as he hangs on a tree outside Jerusalem, still recruiting one (or two?) more lost souls on his way to death (Luke 23:39-43). His ministry gets him in trouble with the authorities and rulers of the land, and he has no help from business partners to keep the nets from breaking, but somehow, he hangs on to all of us – including many who contributed to his crucifixion. He went to death still carrying his catch – all of us – and he emerged from the empty tomb in the resurrection with his nets still intact. We are his now, and he is our victory.
Step 5-Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Jesus removes our fear
Perspective changes: who is catching who? Peter and his associates are not the beneficiaries first and foremost, they are the catch. Jesus brings his net to the encounter. They are extracted from the sea of turmoil that is their attempt to scratch out a living in occupied Palestine, not to be consumed or sold, but to be cared for and loved. Their fear of this strange new thing that has invaded their lives is replaced by the peace he gives them. “Do not fear.” He is the one they feared; it is he who takes that fear away. He invites them to join him in a new business venture, one which dares to thrive on something the Roman government cannot provide: grace and blessed, holy community.
Jesus catches us, not by dazzling us, but by exchanging his blessed, holy status for our brokenness. He doesn’t waft into our lives, drop an unbearable bounty in our laps, and then leave. He finds us, rejoices over us, and then holds us close to himself forevermore (Luke 15). He did waft in and out of his disciples’ lives between his resurrection and his ascension, but he sent his spirit into their and our lives after he ascended. That Holy Spirit dwells within us. That Spirit is his presence in our lives through thick and thin.
Step 6-Final Prognosis (External Solution): Jesus invites us to new “Good News” business
“From now on you will be catching people,” Jesus says to his disciples (v. 10). It sounds like a job assignment, but it feels like something good and blessed. They will indeed be catching people. Jesus is confident of this. This is not motivational leadership on his part. This is Jesus trusting that he will have that kind of effect on his disciples, so that they cannot help but catch people wherever they cast their ministry nets. They have switched businesses without hesitation, putting their complete trust in him. They are ready to catch people the way Jesus caught them, learning from him and his Spirit as they go.
That Spirit drives us into the fragile, crumbling world to catch people who are drowning in whatever anxieties and burdens have been dumped on them by themselves or the cruel world they live in. We live there too, so we can offer the saving, cruciform net of Christ to catch them so they too can exchange their brokenness for Christ’s blessedness.