Quit Your Job
Luke 5
After several miracles, including healing Simon's mother, Jesus does one more. The crowds kept following Jesus because of these miracles. Scripture says they, "clung to him so he couldn't go on," but Jesus knew he had to keep telling others about God's kingdom.
When he got to the Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Gennesaret), which is the head of the Jordan River, he had a huge crowd pressing in on him. He decided to jump in a boat owned by Simon to teach the crowd. I imagine the people were watching and listening intensely, mostly because they wanted to see another miracle performed by Jesus. After waiting long enough they get their miracle. Jesus tells Simon to push his boat out into the water and drop his fishing nets down. This doesn't seem like much of a set-up for a miracle, except that Simon says "Master, we've been fishing hard all night and haven't caught even a minnow." As a fisherman, Simon was an expert in his field and would have no reason to listen to Jesus when it came to fishing. In fact, the culture of the time was to listen to experts in their field. Jesus was an expert in religious matters and Simon was an expert at fishing. Simon is setting an incredible example when he simply obeys Jesus saying, "if you say so, I'll let out my nets."
That's when the miracle the people were waiting for happens. So many fish are caught the workers in one boat can't even haul it in. They need their friends. When the fish are finally brought to shore, Simon is overwhelmed with the power of God. Jesus calls them to follow him, and though they have a thriving business, making more money than average as fishermen, they drop their nets and follow Jesus. They now have a new job - making disciples of Christ.
After several miracles, including healing Simon's mother, Jesus does one more. The crowds kept following Jesus because of these miracles. Scripture says they, "clung to him so he couldn't go on," but Jesus knew he had to keep telling others about God's kingdom.
That's when the miracle the people were waiting for happens. So many fish are caught the workers in one boat can't even haul it in. They need their friends. When the fish are finally brought to shore, Simon is overwhelmed with the power of God. Jesus calls them to follow him, and though they have a thriving business, making more money than average as fishermen, they drop their nets and follow Jesus. They now have a new job - making disciples of Christ.