Title Word and Double (Luke 05:1-11)
Contents Today's text is set in Lake Gennesaret. Two phenomena that are the core of today's sermon can be found in verses 1 and 4 of the main text.
“When the crowds came and listened to the word of God, Jesus stood by the shore of Lake Gennesaret.”
"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Go out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch... Then there were so many fish that the nets were torn. Then he beckoned his companions in the other boat to come and help. They came and filled the boats twice, and they were submerged.
There is a deep inner bond here. Every Christian wants to invite a pastor or other clergy to worship when they start their own business. It is because we want to hear the word of God first and then do business. This can be seen as a precious meaning of the modern realization of Luke 5.
1. The first question to consider in the text is which of these two comes first.
This can be answered by the Lord's reference to the attitude of Martha and Mary in Luke 10. Look at Luke 10:38-42.
“As they were going on the road, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a younger sister named Mary, and she sat at the Lord's feet and listened to him. Martha was busy with many preparations. They came to Jesus and said, "Lord, do you not think that my brother leaves me to work alone? Command me to help me. The Lord answered and said, Martha, Martha, you are troubled and anxious over many things, but a few things or one thing is enough. Mary has chosen this good part, and it will not be taken away from her.” That is, hearing the word of God is the most important thing. And then the work for the flesh follows.
The words of the Lord, “He taught the multitudes” in verse 3, did not in any way refer to “the secret of a good catch”, but “the Gospel of the Kingdom,” “Food for the soul,” and “About the Spirit of the Father.” is in
The Pearl of Great Price comes with a luxury case. A noble person is accompanied by a large house of 高臺廣室 (Ancient Gwangsil). Kerygma! The phenomenon of plentiful catch is to follow in order to follow the healthy body to the precious soul who hears the living Word of God. That is, the order is the same as the words in 3 John verse 2.
“Dear one. May all things prosper and be in good health as your soul prospers.”
Everyone! What is the first thing to do? Is today's worship service first? Or is your business or workplace first? What do you give priority to?
Everyone! Is the family important? Is the church important? Of course, at first you may think that the family is more important. But as your faith grows, you will come to realize that God's work must come first.
However, just because we are immersed in the business does not mean that the business will be successful, and that our family will be protected just because we try to protect it. If we follow God's word and have zeal for the Lord's work, God is with us, so our business will go well and our family will be kept healthy. As 3 John verse 2 says, when the soul prospers, all things prosper and the body becomes healthy.
See Matthew 6:33.
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Then all these things will be added to you.”
Here, 『All these things』 refers to our problem of food, food, and shelter. If we know this priority right and keep it right, it is a promise that God will take care of everything we need in our lives.
2. The problem to think about in the text is about 『double』.
The word “double” appears in verses 2 and 7 of today’s text. When the Lord sent out His disciples, He sent them out two by two. Both demonstrate the need for cooperation and at the same time strike a balance. 『Two Legs』 and 『Two Wings』 keep the body in balance.
Now Apollo 11 has landed on the moon. This is a historic day, a global day. Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, said, "If the development of natural science is one wing, the other is spiritual development."
As the modern American writer Archivald McLeish lectured at Yale University, “Humans of different centuries will look back on the century we live in and say that it was the most majestic and most terrifying century in the annals of mankind. Simply put, this century can be said to be the period in which human beings have gone the farthest outward into the unknown, and at the same time, the period in which they have entered the most deeply into the unknown inwardly than in any previous century.
Today's age can be said to be the age when the spiritual light is the brightest to achieve balance. Human morality and popular ethics are getting smarter and darker day by day. It is a time when we feel the need to develop our souls spiritually through God's Word.
Gogarten said, “Man must open himself in darkness. He must have the sincere courage to commit himself to understanding the mysteries of the future.”
3. Let us consider the words in verse 6 of the main text, “They were filled with meat.”
But now the Lord commands us to go into the deep and let down our nets. For Simon, this is a spell that is less than common sense. However, I felt the subtle authority that could not be denied by the Lord's word, which gave that command, and I obeyed the command.
As a result, something incredible happened. Many fish were caught in the net. Too many to fill their stomachs. Beckon your companion to call the rest of the boat. I ended up double full. What does this mean? It is the fact that the Lord not only transcends human knowledge, experience, or skill, but also transcends the laws of nature.
But here something even more surprising happened.
Look at verse 8 of the text.
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord. I am a sinner.”
Simon Peter discovered the perfect Lord who transcends all things, and found himself standing in front of him.
In other words, through the incident of lifting a lot of fish, he caught the fish of the Lord who wanted to catch Peter, and his great life as a fisher of people, not a fisher of fish, began again.
Look at verse 10 of the text.
“… Jesus spoke to Simon and said, “Do not be afraid. From now on, you will take people.”
In Matthew 4:19, a parallel passage, he said, “Follow me. I will make you fishers of men.”
What a wonderful thing happened through Peter, who was commissioned to be a fisher of people like this. The early church experienced a remarkable revival centered on him, and once he preached, 3,000 people repented and returned. Through him, the early church was filled to the brim.
We should listen to these words as the words to fill our Oncheon Central Church, the ship of salvation. This is our immediate task and at the same time our Lord's command to us.
Please don't get too caught up in your own life. Our priorities must be right. Our priority is to follow the Lord's commands. First, we must strive to listen to the Word of God, and then we must live by it. And the greatest command is to fill this temple as we go forth as fishers of people and work hard to save souls.