Are you familiar with the Bible story about the miraculous catch of fish ? Read this interesting article and discover the relevant reflection that one of the most prodigious miracles performed by the Lord Jesus during his time on earth offers us.
the miraculous catch
The biblical passage from the Gospel of Luke described at the beginning of chapter 5, entitled the calling of the first disciples, leaves us with several reflections. As well as a main and important message and it is that in the same way we as believers receive the call of the Lord to be fishers of men.
This story narrates that the multitude of people used to go after the preaching of Jesus and crowded around the Lord. At that time, Jesus was teaching on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, sitting in one of the fishermen's boats that had already washed their nets after an unsuccessful night of fishing.
The boat Jesus chose to sit in was owned by a skilled and experienced fisherman named Simon. At the end of his teachings, Jesus tells Simon: Go out into the sea and cast the fishing nets.
Simon, faced with such a mandate and with his vast experience, knew that the best time to fish had already passed. However, placing his trust in the Lord, he replied that in his name he would try fishing again.
Simon is not ashamed to place his trust in Jesus, because when he lifted the nets, the fishing was so abundant that they broke. The miraculous catch was enough to fill the two boats that were literally struggling not to sink.
After such a manifestation of the glory of the Lord, Simon humbles himself at the feet of Jesus by recognizing his sinful humanity. Jesus sees the disposition and will of Simon's heart to be transformed that he prophesies in him saying:
Luke 5:10b (NIV): -Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men – Jesus said to Simon.
The story is read in the biblical quote from Luke 5:1-11, then some reflections and the message that we can extract from it.
The miraculous catch paddling out to sea
In verse 4 of the biblical account of the call to the first disciples of Jesus, it can be seen that the Lord gives the order to Simon to row out to sea. However, we must pause here to notice some aspects of this fragment:
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon: Luke 5:4 (NIV): – Put out into deep water , and let down your nets for a catch.
The first thing is that the order comes from someone who does not have the job of being a fisherman to someone who does have experience in fishing. Jesus with this order was saying to Simon: Hey, there is something more powerful than human reasoning or knowledge.
Secondly, Simón and his colleagues had already returned from fishing without good results despite having gone at the best time to do so. We see that Jesus uses this to teach as He used to do, with parables or symbols.
Teachings that apply at all times and that today we must scrutinize and learn from them for our growth in Christ. When Jesus boards our boat, the first thing we must do is move a little away from the shore to receive his teachings.
Luke 5:3 (NIV): Getting into one of the boats , the one belonging to Simon , he asked him to put out a little from the shore . Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When we begin to receive the spiritual knowledge of the Lord, we train ourselves to be able to go to deep waters and catch abundant fish for God. This is how the Lord enables us to be like his first disciples, true fishers of Men.
The great mission in this call
Therefore, no matter who we are, what really matters is God's call to the vocation of going out to sea serving Him. It is separating ourselves and detaching ourselves from our small horizon, to assume with responsibility the commitment of miraculous the message of Jesus for the salvation of men.
Jesus Christ established in his gospel this mission to his disciples, a mission that we know today as the Great Commission.
In relation to this topic, we invite you to read the article: What is the mission of the church today, because the church has the commitment to continue the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.
To delve deeper into this topic, you can read about the mission of the disciples in the miraculous catch of fish.
The miraculous catch – reflections
In addition to the great message that we have already seen, the order of Jesus of Bogar out to sea leaves us, in the biblical passage of the miraculous catch of fish we also find some reflections. Let us enter and search this word of the Lord, reflecting on what we must do as followers of Christ.
Trust like Peter in the Word of Jesus
After Jesus' order given to the fishermen to sail back into deep water. We can imagine Simon asking himself for a second the following question: -But who is telling me to do something that my vast experience tells me will not do any good?
We can make this assumption from Simon's response: Sir, we didn't catch anything last night. However, Simon pauses in his response and makes the decision to trust Jesus' word.
Luke 5:5 (NIV): 5 -Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything ,' Simon answered. ' But because you say so, I will let down the nets .'
The knowledge of the trade and his human reasoning make Simon feel hopeless and in a pause his understanding is revealed, going on to place his trust, faith and hope in the word spoken by Jesus: -Go and fish!
Our profession as Christians demands of us that same level of faith and trust that the apostle Peter had to hear, obey and believe what Jesus is speaking. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be enveloped by circumstances, we believe the voices of the world and we open the doors to fear, despair, etc., because all this undermines our faith.
But God tells us through Jesus, go get up, do not be afraid and go into the deep. We must know how to discern in the spirit in order to obey what God is speaking to us in any circumstance of our lives.
To learn more about this process, you can look up the meaning of rowing out to sea.
The word of the Lord above what the world says
In this way, we can choose the word of the Lord over what the world says. We must always pause for a "but," like Peter's, and say: The world, experience, reason, etc., tell me that anything can happen; "But," I choose to believe what God says in His word: It will happen!
Jeremiah 29:11 (RVC): “For I know the plans I have for you ,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future .” — The Word of the Lord.
To achieve this level of faith, it is necessary to develop a level of intimacy with God. For this, we invite you to read here, " Intimacy with God : How to Develop It?" Because the goal of the Christian is to achieve the same dependence that Jesus had on his Father. The Lord was intimate because he developed the ability to hear, see, and do what his Father said and did.
Jesus with that degree of intimacy with God achieved sufficient authority to move in an atmosphere of miracles. In such a way that he could carry out wonderful prodigies such as the miraculous catch of fish.
The miraculous catch is the reward of trusting in Jesus
Simon, as we have seen before, decides to listen to the voice of the Lord, even above the voice of his own knowledge, and obeys him with absolute confidence. The Lord's response to this confidence of the experienced fisherman was an overwhelming blessing:
Luke 5:6-7 (NIV): So they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break . 7 Then they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
How many times have we felt hopeless when situations come into our lives that distract us and we take our eyes off Jesus. This is how we get Jesus out of our boats, to keep our nets or dreams and get stuck on the beach of our own lives:
Luke 5:2 (NIV): Then he saw two boats left by the fishermen on the shore, washing their nets.
This verse teaches us that the Lord always sees us, He knows what our needs are, our fears, He knows when we have moved away from fellowship with his word. And he tells us once more: he goes, casts the nets again and fishes, but now in my name.
If we do it the same way Simon did, our trust will be rewarded with abundant blessings. God's blessings will always exceed our expectations because the Lord is our hope against hope; Jesus is our hope of glory. Amen!
We want to receive God's blessings, but sometimes we don't really know how to recognize them, or we don't know what to do to receive them.
Enter here: God's blessings are waiting for you, and discover what God has for us under His immaculate protection.
Discover how many miracles Jesus performed.
In Jesus Christ is the solution to all our problems and the satisfaction of all our needs.
Recognize like Peter that we are sinners
When Simon Peter sees the miracle performed by the Lord, he realizes the glory and divine authority that He possesses. Jesus with the miraculous catch of fish reveals his holiness, so that Simon, in his presence, recognizes his sinful condition and asks the Lord to distance himself from him.
Luke 5:8 (NIV): When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man !”
The man in the presence of God must recognize himself as a sinner, therefore, Simon recognizes himself unworthy of being close to Jesus, and we can imagine that he came to think:
-The sinner, next to holiness in person!-
No man or woman is without sin, not even the mother of Jesus who conceived him without sin, because she was a human being as any of us is today.
Recognizing ourselves as sinners makes us humble ourselves in the presence of God and be able to attain the grace of the Lord. A gift that is undeserved, that God was pleased to give us when we believe in his Son Jesus Christ his for salvation and forgiveness of sins.
John 17:3 (NLT): And the way to have eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ , whom you sent to earth.
John 17:16 (NLT): Just like me, they are not of this world . 17 Make them holy with your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
We should not fear if we walk together with Jesus
When we regain our trust in the Lord and decide to stay in his way, we will be able to overcome fear, hopelessness, or whatever trial we are experiencing. That is why Jesus tells Simon: Fear not!, and in the same way he tells us today: With me by your side, your foot will not stumble, what you undertake in my name you will achieve if it is the will of God.
Simon Peter had the revelation in his spirit to cast the nets into the sea trusting in the word of Jesus. What does not lead to a reflection in us, that we must stay close to Jesus, remain confident in his word, even despite the circumstances, He will never forsake us.
Even when we recognize ourselves as sinners and imperfect in the presence of God, this cannot stop us from professing Christ. Because as Christians we are the imperfect ones following the perfect one who is Christ Jesus.
We cannot allow our eyes to lose focus on the call of God to be fishers of men as Jesus prophesied for us, in his first disciples. Jesus helps us with his true word to overcome our legitimate fears in human weakness.
For more related reflections, visit the parables of Jesus.
Our call in the miraculous catch
The first disciples of the Lord before the abundant miraculous catch achieved in the name that is above all names: Jesus, they have no choice but to be amazed. All those who were in the boats were fishermen by trade and in their years of experience, they had never achieved a catch of the same magnitude as the one they had just done.
But the important thing is what Jesus saw in them: He saw in these men, the confidence, the faith, the will and the disposition in their hearts to believe in his word, despite the circumstances. Given this, Jesus grants them a similar but superior job to the one they had been doing for years and calls them to be fishers of men.
Luke 5:8 (NIV): 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken , 10 as were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners . “Do not be afraid; from now on you will fish for men,” Jesus said to Simon.
The office granted by Jesus to Simon and his disciples is far superior to the one they were already exercising. This office is also granted to us today by Christ, that is our main calling in the eyes of God, to win, to fish souls for his Kingdom.
To learn more about the meaning of soul fishing, visit the importance of seabirds in fishing.
The most precious treasure of the Lord
Rescuing souls from darkness is the best service we can perform for God, because souls are the most precious treasure for the Lord. When it was time for Jesus to return to his Heavenly Father, he told him:
John 17:6-8 (NLT): – I have made you known to those you gave me out of this world . They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word . 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 because I have passed on to them the message you gave me . They accepted the message and know that it came from you and have believed that you sent me.
Jesus had the mission of fishing for men and through the miraculous catch he transmits to us the message and the responsibility of the trade initiated by Him. It is up to us to accept such a trade with a true vocation.
The miraculous catch to follow Christ
Simon and his companions proved the divine power that was in Jesus with the miraculous catch of fish, so that all of them believed in the Lord's message and decided to follow him.
John 17:11 (NLT): 11 So they brought their boats to shore , left everything, and followed Jesus.
They understood that the profession of being fishers of men was a nobler and more important mission than the one they had been performing. We too have received that calling, and if we want to follow it, we must leave everything that bound us to the world and follow Christ. The apostle Paul teaches us:
Philippians 3:8b (NBV): For him I have lost everything and consider it rubbish, in order to gain Christ.
