Simon Peter was a fisherman who Jesus called to follow him. When Jesus got into Peter's boat and asked him to go out a short distance and lower his nets, Peter obeyed even though they had fished all night with no catch. When they lowered the nets, they caught so many fish their nets began to break. This miracle convinced Peter of Jesus' power and he fell at Jesus' knees, acknowledging his own sinfulness. Peter, along with James and John, then left everything to follow Jesus as his disciples.

1. Luke 5:1-11
They left everything and
followed him.
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2. 1 While the crowd was
pressing in on Jesus
and listening to the
word of God, he was
standing by the Lake
of Gennesaret.
2 He saw two boats
there alongside the
lake; the fishermen had disembarked and
were washing their nets.
3 Getting into one of the boats, the one
belonging to Simon, he asked him to put
out a short distance from the shore. Then
he sat down and taught the crowds from
the boat.
4 After he had finished speaking, he said to
Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower
your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon said in reply, “Master, we have
worked hard all night and have caught
nothing, but at your command I will lower
the nets.”

3. 6 When they had
done this, they
caught a great
number of fish
and their nets
were tearing.
7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. They came and filled
both boats so that they were in danger of
sinking.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees
of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I
am a sinful man.”
9 For astonishment at the catch of fish they had
made seized him and all those with him,
10 and likewise James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus
said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on
you will be catching men.”

4. 11 When they
brought their
boats to the
shore, they left
everything and
followed him.
Fishing was important to the first century
economy but it was not a free enterprise.
Even if fisherman who owned their own boat
they were only parts of a state-run system of
financial relationships.
The fishing industry was controlled by the
ruling leaders who issued fishing rights or in
modern terminology, fishing licenses to
brokers or tax collectors, who in turn sold
them to the fishermen.
This reading is truly a course in obedience
Often times we consider the day-to-day
decisions we make to be insignificant.

5. Peter’s decision to
obey Christ’s
request to “to put
out a short
distance from the
shore,” would be
a life changing
decision.
He probably thought of is as an insignificant
decision, maybe Peter just needed a break from
his cleanup tasks, maybe he was following the
Spirits instructions, but for whatever reason he
complied with the request.
Again Peter obeyed another of Jesus request to
cast his nets into the sea even though he
“knew” there weren’t any fish in the area.
The result of Peter’s decisions were miraculous, a
catch so large he needed help to bring it to
shore.
Peter’s complete and compelling history of
submitting to the Lord’s will and then
experiencing His blessings convinced

6. him to give up everything and follow Jesus.
So never assume that your day-to-day decisions are insignificant.
It is those decisions that will form and guide your life along the path to
your eternal reward.

7. 5:1-11 Call of Simon the Fisherman
Jesus had begun
recruiting.
Simon/Peter is the first
to be convinced
because of the catch.
James and John also
join Jesus.
“Do not be afraid; from
now on you will be
catching men.”

8. Simon Peter was overwhelmed by this miracle, and his first
response was to feel his own insignificance in comparison
to Jesus’ greatness.
Peter knew that Jesus had healed the sick and driven out
demons, but he was amazed that Jesus cared about his
day-to-day routine and understood his needs.
God remains interested not only in our
eternal life but also in granting us the
grace to live daily, a Christian life.
There are two requirements for coming
to God.
Like Peter, we must recognize our own
sinfulness.

9. Then, like these
fishermen, we must
realize that we can’t
save ourselves and
that we need help.
John 14:6 Jesus said
to him, “I am the way
and the truth and the
life. No one comes
to the Father except
through me.