A Life for Miracles (Luke 5:1-11)

A Life for Miracles (Luke 5:1-11)

 

1 무리가 몰려와서 하나님의 말씀을 들을새 예수는 게네사렛 호숫가에 서서

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

 

2 호숫가에 배 두 척이 있는 것을 보시니 어부들은 배에서 나와서 그물을 씻는지라

2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

 

3 예수께서 한 배에 오르시니 그 배는 시몬의 배라 육지에서 조금 떼기를 청하시고 앉으사 배에서 무리를 가르치시더니

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

 

4 말씀을 마치시고 시몬에게 이르시되 깊은 데로 가서 그물을 내려 고기를 잡으라

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

 

5 시몬이 대답하여 이르되 선생님 우리들이 밤이 새도록 수고하였으되 잡은 것이 없지마는 말씀에 의지하여 내가 그물을 내리리이다 하고

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

 

6 그렇게 하니 고기를 잡은 것이 심히 많아 그물이 찢어지는지라

6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net break.

 

7 이에 다른 배에 있는 동무들에게 손짓하여 와서 도와 달라 하니 그들이 와서 두 배에 채우매 잠기게 되었더라

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

 

8 시몬 베드로가 이를 보고 예수의 무릎 아래에 엎드려 이르되 주여 나를 떠나소서 나는 죄인이로소이다 하니

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

 

9 이는 자기 및 자기와 함께 있는 모든 사람이 고기 잡힌 것으로 말미암아 놀라고

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

 

10 세베대의 아들로서 시몬의 동업자인 야고보와 요한도 놀랐음이라 예수께서 시몬에게 이르시되 무서워하지 말라 이제 후로는 네가 사람을 취하리라 하시니

10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

 

11 그들이 배들을 육지에 대고 모든 것을 버려 두고 예수를 따르니라

11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago. Santiago fails to catch a fish for 84 days, but on the 85^th day he comes across a large marlin. After a few days of struggling, Santiago finally manages to catch the huge fish, straps it to the side of his small boat, and makes his way back to shore.

 

But on his way back, a group of sharks smell the marlin’s blood and attack the dead fish, along with Santiago’s boat. Santiago manages to fight off the sharks but makes it back to shore only to find that the sharks had devoured most of the marlin and only its bones were left.

 

Hemingway’s story illustrates the struggles and battles of a person’s life and the terrifying futility of it all.  

 

The theme and image of “The Old Man and the Sea” parallels verse 5 in today’s scripture where Simon (Peter) tells Jesus, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.”

 

2. Simon, a.k.a. Peter, was from Bethsaida in Galilee. The lake of Gennesaret mentioned in today’s scripture was another name for the Sea of Galilee, Palestine’s largest freshwater lake with shallow ends measuring 20m and deep ends reaching 200m.

 

The north and east sides of the lake are surrounded by tall mountains, causing powerful gusts of wind to pass over at times. The lake was also home to many different types of fish, making it a popular home ground for fishermen.

 

In addition, the fish were exported to Jerusalem and even Rome, meaning the fisherman made a considerable profit. one day, Peter had been fishing all night since the early evening but he had not caught a single fish in his nets.

 

3. At the time, mobs of people had swarmed around the lakeside to hear God’s word from Jesus. Jesus approached Peter, in the middle of his discouraging fishing encounter, and asked Peter to take him out into the middle of the lake on his boat.

 

Peter obeyed and Jesus preached to the hordes of people from the lake. When Jesus had finished, he told Peter to let his nets down in deeper waters. To this Peter responds, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

 

Though this may seem like a simple order from Jesus, to an experienced fisherman it was a request that made absolutely no sense. Not only was it illogical to try fishing in the daytime, but fish were caught in shallow waters. It was strange that Jesus told Peter to let his net down in deep waters in the daytime.

 

In addition, Peter had just spent all night fishing to no avail; any normal fisherman would have ignored Jesus’ seemingly ludicrous command. But Peter set aside his own knowledge and obeyed and as a result he caught so many fish his boat almost sank. In fact, the fish had to be divided among two boats. Peter experienced a miracle.

 

Verses 6 and 7 tell us, “6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net break. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.”

 

Within this meeting and exchange between Peter and Jesus, we see a form of His blessing take shape. We see the miracle that takes place when we listen to God’s command and obey without question. We, too, can experience such miracles in our own lives. But what must we do?

 

 

A) We Must Let Jesus into Our “Boat” of Life

 

1. The first thing we must realize is that the greatest miracle in our lives is that we met Jesus and let Him into our lives. There is a door to our hearts, but if we do not open those doors and let Jesus in ourselves, He will not come into our lives.

 

2. In today’s scripture, we see how Peter let Jesus onto his “empty boat” so that He could preach to the crowds. The “empty boat” represents the futile and vain life many of us may have led or currently lead. There are many times when we feel our lives are like an empty boat.

 

Sometimes our lives feel empty because of an unexpected illness, a failing business, or a relationship gone sour. But it is crucial we remember that it is during these times of emptiness we need to let Jesus on our boats. When we do this we will experience the miraculous power of God in our lives.

 

3. To Peter, his boat was everything. It would not be an understatement to say Peter was his boat; the boat was Peter himself. Yet Peter demonstrated immense faith and courage by giving his boat to Jesus when asked. There are times when Jesus asks for a belonging that is precious to us. Why?

 

It is so He can create miracles in our lives and use us for God’s good work. He may ask us for our health, our time, our youth, material belongings, or our talents. When we give these things to Him willingly, we are blessed 30, 60, 100 times over.

 

We receive great rewards when we selflessly give to others as well. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38, “38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

Believe that when you give your most valuable asset to Jesus, greater blessings and grace will be poured upon you. Let Jesus use what you have. Let Him in. We must let Him on our “boats.”

 

B) Resolve to Move Away from Land

 

1. Jesus asked Peter to take his boat and move it to the middle of the lake away from the chaotic land where the crowds were. In this image, the land represents the sinful world.

 

The closer we place ourselves to the world, the further we move away from God. If we want to draw nearer to God, we must turn ourselves away from the world. You cannot choose to reside in both. We cannot place value or meaning in worldly greed, sinful hobbies, or material pride.

 

2. We must repent for all our sins and come humbly before God. We cannot take pleasure in worldly exchanges and indulgences. If God tells us to stop, we stop immediately and obey.

 

C) We Must Love and Yearn to Hear His Message 

 

1. Romans 10:17, “17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Tragedy and misfortune are the results of people who fail to pay heed to God’s word.

 

2. God warned Adam and Eve, “17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:17) But Adam and Eve failed to take the Lord’s warning seriously and disobeyed. As a result, mankind became a slave of sin and cursed with death.

 

3. We receive God’s abundant grace through His word. His word is “[s]harper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” Our thoughts are diagnosed, operated, and healed by this sword of His message.

 

God’s word is also said to be like fire. Our sinful habits must be burned by His fire. Why is worship so valuable? Because it is through worship we receive His word, and it is through His word our lives are healed, cleansed, straightened, and revived. Hallelujah! Expose yourself to His word daily.

 

4. Psalm 1:1-2 even tells us, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Hallelujah!

 

D) We Must Obey His Word

 

1. Fish are typically caught in shallow waters where temperatures are warmer and fish food, like plankton, are plentiful. Yet Jesus tells Peter to fish in deeper waters. This command holds great spiritual symbolism: It is in deep waters where you experience Jesus’ amazing powers and receive thorough training in faith.

 

2. The Book of Ezekiel tells us there are depth levels when it comes to faith: Faith that reaches one’s ankles, knee-deep faith, waist-deep faith, chest-deep faith, neck-deep faith, and finally, faith that reaches far above one’s own head. You cannot swim in shallow waters, nor can a boat sail.

 

Great faith cannot be present in shallow waters. God’s boat of miracles will only float in great and deep faith. Let your faith be one that takes you into deep waters. Venture into deeper waters with faith and take on greater challenges, set greater goals. Yearn for deeper faith. Hallelujah!

 

3. The story of John D. Rockefeller’s rise to riches is an amazing one. At a young age he experienced great failure after stepping foot in the mining industry. He had taken over a gold mine from a friend, only to find he had been conned.

 

All of the gold had already been mined. There was nothing left. Things started to spiral out of control: The banks demanded he pay his debts and unable to pay the miners his men were growing impatient and outraged. The situation grew so severe, Rockefeller even contemplated suicide. But instead he decided to pray deep in his mine.

 

He resolved that he would not leave the mine until God answered his prayers. He was praying deep in the mines when he heard a voice deep inside his heart telling him to dig deeper and he would receive what he wanted when the time came.

 

Logically, it made no sense to continue mining for there was no way gold would suddenly appear. But remembering how Peter caught two boat-loads of fish after obeying Jesus and fishing in deep waters, Rockefeller convinced his men to continue digging deeper into the mine.

 

Eventually he hit oil and thus began his oil empire and legacy as one of the richest men of his time.

 

1. When Peter obeyed Jesus’ command, he experienced a miracle from God and received his calling. Matthew 4:19 says, ““Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.””  Peter answers this calling and lives a new life. He left behind his boat, his belongings, his entire life and followed Jesus without hesitation.

 

2. True miracles are waiting in our lives. When we put down what we have for the Lord, miracles will take place. Let us all take to heart today’s message from the Lord and experience the life-changing miracles of God.