A sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

I don’t know much about fishing, but it seems like every fisherman has his own special trick. Whether it’s the secret spot, the unique lure, the special source to get worms, every time I’ve been fishing with someone who knows what they’re doing, it’s obvious that a lot of time and a lot of experience have gone into honing every little thing. Of course, fishermen will disagree and everyone does things slightly differently or has their own preferences, but beyond these idiosyncrasies, there’s also a general body of recognized knowledge. Right, you have to get up early to go fishing, everyone knows that. So while there’s room for different techniques, there’s also a wider consensus on the best way to catch a fish.

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus takes fishermen and He makes them fishers of men. And as He does this, Jesus has a unique, counterintuitive approach when it comes to fishing, both literally and spiritually. Although Peter is manning the boat, Christ is the One casting His net. He brings fish out of water and makes them fishers of men.

I. To bring fish out of water

Although Jesus gives this job description to Peter and, by extension, James and John, before Peter can be made a “fisher of men,” he must first be caught. And one thing that can sometimes get lost in these accounts of miracles or dramatic callings is all the preparatory work and everything that led up to it. While this account climaxes in the miraculous catch of fish, even then, if this is the first time that Jesus ever met these guys, it’s rather strange that they would forsake all and follow Him.

As we look back in Luke chapter 4, Jesus has been preaching and doing other miracles here in Galilee. It’s clear He and Peter are at least acquainted. And this account as well begins with Jesus preaching. He’s casting out His net. And Peter’s taking the bait. He’s been listening to Jesus this entire time.

So as Jesus is preaching on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, another name for the Sea of Galilee, things seem kinda happenstance. Jesus needs to get away from the crowd so they can hear Him preach, Peter just happens to be there with his boat, and they cast off and Jesus uses it as a floating pulpit. Seems like mere coincidence, but Jesus has a purpose. Peter’s still listening. Swimming deeper into His net.

And then, Jesus starts to reel it in. He tells Peter to do something that goes against conventional wisdom. “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter’s an experienced fisherman. He knows what he’s doing. And he’s worked all night without a catch. The nets have been cleaned, mended, and folded up, he’s tired from a long day of work, what could this carpenter possibly know about fishing?

But Peter takes the bait. And Jesus has him hooked. “[N]evertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Jesus has cast His net by preaching, lured Peter in, and caught him with His Word.

And then the miracle, enough fish to sink two boats, but what’s even more important, what Jesus has been after, is Peter’s response. Think of what Peter could have said. “Hey, this is great, let’s go into business together!” No. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Peter’s been caught. And he knows it. He’s flopping around like a fish out of water in his own boat because he recognizes who else is in his boat. Peter had been listening to the Word this entire, even seen miracles, but never applied it to himself or fully thought through what that means about Jesus or what that means about him.

Peter recognizes he’s out of his depth. God is standing in his boat. And that’s terrifying. He’s struck with the realization of his own sin. He knows he cannot stand before his God. Peter’s been caught. And, like all fish, he knows what comes next: death.

And so it is with us. It’s easy to keep Jesus at arm’s length. To hear His Word, even regularly, but not realize what that really means, not apply it fully to ourselves. It’s so easy to go through the motions, come to church, take communion, without really recognizing, no, God is here. He’s standing in your boat. What do you do with that?

And every once in a while, we are struck with that sudden realization. Maybe it takes a dramatic life event to get you on your knees and make it all hit home. We, too, are sinful. We carry guilt and shame, we know that we cannot stand before God, at least when we’re honest with ourselves. What then?

“Depart from me.” In times of spiritual affliction, when we realize that we are out of our depth before God, we want to run away. Get out. Maybe that will stop the drowning. We’re comfortable in the depths of our sin, to be called to something new is too much. We flail around like fish out of water, knowing that our sin before God can only mean death.

II. To make fishers of men

But Jesus is a rather odd fisherman. Not only does He give what seems like rather bad advice when it comes to catching fish, He also catches fish, that is, catches men, in an entirely unique way. You see, when a fish is caught, it dies. But not so with Jesus. He catches men alive. More than that, He brings them out of the depths of death and into the boat of life.

Jesus says to Simon, “Do not be afraid.” He doesn’t contradict Peter, everything he said was true. He was sinful, he did deserve death. But, “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. “Your sins are forgiven. I have not caught you not to kill you, but to make you alive.” Before Peter can become a fisher of men, first he must be caught. Jesus pulls him out of his sin and onto the boat. And He has caught you, dear redeemed, as well.

When your conscience is troubled, when you are wracked with guilt and shame, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” He has removed you from the depths of your sin, you dwell in it no more. He has brought you safely upon the boat, the ark of the Church. Here is where you are safe from the storms around you, here is where you are made alive.

Through holy baptism, Jesus has brought you on board. He has washed away all of your sin, saved you from drowning in death, and revived you and brought you to new life. St. Paul writes, “Therefore we were buried with [Christ] through baptism into death.” You have been united with the death of Christ. He died to take away all of your sins, to save you from them. “…that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). Here in this boat, we have been caught alive by Christ, taken through the water, and brought to new life in Him.

We have nothing to fear as we stand in the presence of our God. Although we must recognize that we are not worthy on our own, we cling to Christ who has saved us and washed our sins away. The cross is less of a life preserver and more of a fishhook. It’s not that Christ has saved us when we were drowning, we were dead. But He has caught us and brought us to life, brought us safely upon His boat, the Church. You know, the technical word for where the people sit in church is the “nave,” from the Latin word for boat. You’re on the boat with your Savior, just as Peter was. Recognize that you stand before Him, but do not be afraid. He has brought you from death to life.

And just as Christ made a fish out of Peter, the fishermen, He makes the fish that He has caught into fishers of men. Here again, Jesus uses some unconventional means. He tells us to study and share His Word. To gather around the Sacraments and invite others to join us in this fellowship.

And that doesn’t always seem terribly effective. When the boat of a Christian congregation seems to be shorthanded or when the nets we have toiled with all night come back empty, we may question the effectiveness of our Lord’s strategy.

But the catch comes at His Word. Even when we can’t seem to make much sense of the command, we still faithfully work as fishers of men, trusting that the Lord will gather a multitude in His time. And indeed He has. Billions of Christians have been caught, numerous souls have passed through the same waters you have, Christ has been received in the Sacrament around the world countless times.

Trust the plan. Keep casting those nets. The fish will come, at Christ’s Word, not ours. You were once a fish, too, but have now been made a fisher of men. Amen.