Two fishing stories. Book-ends really. The first in Luke 5:1-11 and the second in John 21
Luke 5:5-11:
5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
John 21
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
- What is Peter’s response to Jesus’ resurrection and appearance to them in Jerusalem? The most momentous event in human history.
“I am going fishing”.
Peter is the leader and what does he do? He decides to go fishing.
What is his particular style of leadership here?
He makes an announcement. He doesn’t say, “Let’s go fishing” or “Let’s all get away and think about what we’ve seen here.” No, it’s “I am going fishing”. He would have gone by himself.
Not only that but look at the way he responds to John’s recognition of Jesus.
He gets out of the boat and leaves everyone else.
When the rest of the disciples catch up with him he jumps back in the boat by himself and drags the miraculous catch back to shore on his own.
There is very little sense of taking thought about the group.
He’s not a loner. He’s in the group but can leave the group at will. They follow him but he is so independent that they have to be continually catching up. He’s not tied to the group. That’s not his style. He doesn’t wait for them. He doesn’t even consider them before he acts. It’s not wrong. It’s just his nature to make his own decisions.
Do we know people like this?
They appear to be committed. They appear to be loyal. They appear to be in the deal and counted on as one of the team. They may even be in a leadership position.
But they cannot quite completely engage.
Several years ago I read a long profile of Ted Turner and there was something similar. He is always out there far ahead of people and they are always running to catch up with him. One of the most pronounced traits of Ted Turner is he doesn’t want to be alone but he wants to be free. He wants freedom and he wants commitment from those closest to him but he doesn’t want to be constricted. He’s the largest individual landowner in the United States with the equivalent of New Jersey and Delaware. He’s determined to be free but what was clear in the article is he is afraid of being alone so he has to have one person – typically a woman – who is always around him and waiting for him. They need commitment from others but they treasure their freedom.
Some of you may remember the Bob Dylan song, “It Ain’t Me Babe” The lyrics go like this.
Go lightly from the ledge, babe
Go lightly on the ground
I’m not the one you want, babe
I will only let your down
You say you’re lookin’ for someone
Who will promise never to part
Someone to close his eyes for you
Someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you an’ more
But it ain’t me, babe
No, no, no, it ain’t me babe
It ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe.
What was it with Peter?
He is always breaking out from the group and establishing a unique relationship with Jesus. He is the first to say he is the Messiah. He is the one who gets out of the boat and walks on the water. He fights for Jesus in the Garden. He claims he will die with him. His total attention was on the relationship with Jesus and he is, at times, totally unaware of everything and everyone else around him. He is part of the group but determined not to be just one of the group. He is always independent.
- What does Jesus ask him to do right after the second miraculous catch?
He doesn’t say, “Remember when I told you that you would be fishers of men? Well, I want you to now go out and catch men. I want you to do what you know so well and I will bring you even more miraculous catches.”
No, he says, “Feed my sheep”.
Peter is not a shepherd. He is a fisherman. There are big differences between shepherds and fishermen.
First, the relationship between fish and sheep is totally different. Catching is not the same as caring.
Second, fishing is not a full-time job. Caring for sheep is. You sleep with them.
Third, the results are different. You have great fishing stories but not shepherding stories. There are no sheep miracles in the Bible. You never see a sheep mounted on a wall. No one takes a vacation to go shepherding and there are no sheep shows with the latest equipment.
Fishing is so much more attractive and exciting. That’s why they call it a sport. Feeding sheep is not a sport.
- What is Jesus really asking him to do?
To lay down his life for the sheep. Not to lay down his life for Jesus but for the sheep. (John 10:15)
To empty himself. (Philippians 2:5-7)
To have a whole new relationship with people that goes against his personality. Peter is not by nature a caretaker. He’s impetuous and impatient. He’s one who likes to stand out.
To stay in the boat – and not leap out on his own.
To be tied down.
To change the whole pattern of his life. To be available to people.
To give up his options. To voluntarily limit himself.
To give up comparing himself to others. “I will never do that” or “What about him?”
- What is the motivation for that change?
Is it a newly discovered love for people?
Did Jesus use guilt? No.
Is it a love of responsibility and commitment to sheep?
Is it a love of self-discipline and limiting his options?
No, it is not so much about changing himself but it is changing his definition of what it means to love Jesus. It is not being a fan of Jesus but being a follower. It is not showing Jesus anything but trusting him enough with your life to take on a life you would not have chosen.
If you lose sight of that then the sheep become an unbearable burden or, worse, they become a means to an end. The sheep are there to feed you instead of your feeding the sheep. You see them as wool or lamb chops. Sheep sometimes want celebrities instead of shepherds. Sometimes they want stars or ship captains instead of shepherds. Sometimes shepherds are weary of feeding sheep and want to be fed themselves. They are weary of being tied down and having their lives so constrained by all the same tedious needs of a flock. They are tired of going home every day smelling like sheep. They want to go back to fishing and the exciting possibility of miraculous catches. There are no miracles for shepherds. Their find their calling has become a career or a curse.
Ezekiel 34:1-10
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
- We may be like Peter was when Jesus says we are to be shepherds instead of fishermen.
We want to keep our options open and not be tied down.
We want to make short commitments because we don’t want to be fenced in.
We don’t want to be alone but we don’t want to lose our freedom.
We want miracles – not the mundane.
Jesus may be saying the same thing to you?
Do you love me more than all your plans for your life?
Do you love me more than your own freedom?
Do you love me more than these?
It’s the only way to pour out, to empty yourself, to lay down your life without become bitter or resentful or a martyr who makes everyone around them miserable. Jesus was asking Peter to pour out something precious to him – to give up what he would have preferred and to hand over what he imagined he could have been. I know there are some here this morning who have wrestled with this. They have accepted the responsibility of taking care of someone else – a parent or a child or a spouse. They have traded their options and plans for becoming a shepherd. While the world rewards personal accomplishment they have chosen to serve invisibly. They have not merely resigned themselves but have willingly and sacrificially aligned themselves with the interests of others. They have followed Jesus and not insisted on their own independence. You have not wasted your lives. You have a reward that is certain. You have the reward that Peter himself describes late in his life.
1 Peter 5:1-4
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
All of us will receive crowns but there will be something very special for those who would have preferred the freedom of fishing and still chose to be shepherds out of love for Jesus. I know there are times when the life you might have had seems to be fading away but you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away. The glory of your life that is now hidden will be revealed.