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.” 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.” 11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
This miracle is not recorded in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew but the call of the disciples is also found in Mark (1:16-20) and Matthew (4:18-20). The miraculous catch of fish is also found in the Gospel of John (21:1-14) and is related to Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples after he had risen from the dead.
Jesus was preaching the word of God to the crowd when he got into Simon’s boat and told him to move the boat a short distance from shore so he could teach the crowd from the boat. Simon owned the boat and employed fishermen to help him. Simon also had a home large enough to accommodate his mother-in-law and most likely children, so in that time and context, Simon was doing very well for himself. Simon had fished all night, as was normal for fishermen, and caught nothing. Simon had heard about Jesus from his brother Andrew (Jn. 1:40-41), so Simon followed Jesus’ command to go into deep water and lower his nets. Fishermen normally did not fish during the day to avoid the heat. For Simon, the miraculous catch of fish confirmed Andrew’s report that Jesus was the Messiah. Simon felt unworthy and acknowledged his sinfulness before Jesus. James and John were also astonished. Jesus told Simon that he will be catching sinful men and bringing them to new life. Simon, James, and John left their boats behind and became his disciples. When Christ calls us to be fishers of men, he joins with us and we feel the authority of his call. Jesus’ mission is to cast out sin and make God reign in men’s souls. The disciples were to be a part of his mission. The response to God’s call should be immediate.
Almighty ever-living God, grant us the grace to respond to your call to be fishers of men. Let the Holy Spirit transform our hearts so that we may feel the love of the risen Christ and bear abundant fruit for the Kingdom of God. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments