Let Down Your Nets

Well, good morning. How is everybody doing today? Good? Well, hey, my name is Kevin. If I haven’t had a chance to meet you, I would love to do that out in the courtyard at the end of the gathering. Normally, I get to come up here and just welcome you, but today, you have to endure me for a little bit longer. So, suck it up, man! No, in all seriousness, I feel very privileged to get to open up God’s word with you today. I would just as soon hang out and have coffee with you, but I’m grateful for this time.

This is wedding season, right? This is the Valley. It seems like everybody tries to get weddings in before it gets too hot. Here in the Valley, we have hundreds of incredible outdoor wedding venues, but we don’t have many indoor ones, which is a crazy thing. Over the last few weeks, it has been wedding time, and I’ve officiated a few of them. One of my very favorite things at a wedding—the part where I’m most likely to get emotional or cry—is when the bride walks down the aisle. I love that moment. I love leaning over to the groom and just letting him know, “Hey man, what’s about to happen is a moment you’re going to need to hang on to.”

It’s a feeling and an experience that is unlike anything else. The reality is that at some point in time, there’s going to be difficulty. There’s going to be drama. There are going to be complications. And that’s just on the groom’s part of the marriage! But the bride will do some things too at some point. In the middle of all that, I tell them: you’re going to need to come back to this moment. You need to remember everything about this moment because it somehow resets everything about marriage. In that moment, you realize, “Oh my gosh, this is going to be my wife forever.”

I think Luke chapter five contains a moment like that. We are in our summer teaching series called Invitation, looking at these invitations that Jesus walks us through. In this text, there is a beautiful story of Simon Peter seeing Jesus more clearly than he ever had before. What Peter sees in Jesus changes the way he sees everything else, including himself.

Luke 5:1-11 (NASB)

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and [began] teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say [and] let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets [began] to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw [that], he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also [were] James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

I love that this story starts with empty nets and ultimately ends with surrendered lives. My prayer today as we walk through this text together is that each one of us will see Jesus more clearly today than ever before. For those of us who have embraced the gospel, maybe it’ll be a reminder—kind of like that bride walking down the aisle—to remember the moment we realized who Jesus was and embraced the truth. And for some of you here today, this might be the day you embrace the gospel for the very first time, because you’re going to see Jesus uniquely and realize who you really are in the process.

Meeting Jesus in the Ordinary

Have you ever had one of those seasons where it felt like you were doing all the right things but getting all the wrong results? You’re working hard. You’re praying. You’re showing up. You’re trying to be faithful, man. But it’s like every time you pull in the nets, they come up empty.

That’s where Luke 5 begins. It didn’t start with a miracle. There wasn’t a bunch of success. This wasn’t a huge group of disciples yet. It started with a tired man standing beside a bunch of empty nets. That’s important because Jesus often shows up and does His deepest work when we’ve actually come to the end of ourselves.

Peter and his guys were fishermen. They had worked all night catching nothing. Now, how many of you love to fish? And how many of you have been skunked before? There should be just as many hands going up! That’s the thing about fishermen—they lie. For Peter, though, fishing was not a hobby. This was his livelihood. This is what paid the bills and fed his family.

Luke tells us they were washing their nets. That detail matters because Peter isn’t preparing to fish; he’s cleaning up after fishing. He’s removing debris, inspecting for tears, and laying them out to dry. This was not a fun project. After a night of no fish, no money, and no food, the night was over. The opportunity was gone. Yet, the failure still had all the “feels.”

Many of us know what empty nets feel like. Maybe it’s a marriage that isn’t where you hoped it would be. Maybe it’s a child who has wandered. Maybe it’s a diagnosis you didn’t expect, a dream that never materialized, or a loved one who passed away. Peter is discouraged, and that is exactly where Jesus meets him.

There is hope in the midst of our empty nets. Jesus climbs into Peter’s ordinary life. I love that Jesus doesn’t wait for Peter to show up at a synagogue or some religious setting. He engages him where he is—in his workplace, in the midst of his frustrations, exhaustion, and disappointment. We tend to think God is most present in a gathering like this, or a Bible study, or a mountaintop moment. But the truth is that God is deeply interested in your Monday mornings and your Friday nights just as much as your Sunday mornings. We shouldn’t be surprised when Jesus shows up in our ordinary day.

Beyond Our Expertise

Not only does Jesus meet us in our disappointment, but He also invites us beyond our expertise. Peter was a professional fisherman. There is nothing worse than being an expert and having someone tell you how to do your job—especially when that someone is a carpenter (or perhaps a mason). The carpenter started telling the fisherman what to do. It sounds like the beginning of a joke.

Jesus tells them to put out into the deep water and let down the nets. Peter’s response is fascinating. Now, if you know Peter’s story, you know he was all over the place. He often put his foot in his mouth. It’s hard to read this without imagining Peter’s sarcasm, but remember, this is the beginning. He says, “Master, we worked hard all night and we caught nothing.”

That word for “worked hard” means laboring to the point of exhaustion. Peter is saying, “We’ve already tried. We’ve already failed. We’ve exhausted our options.” But then comes one of the greatest statements of faith in the passage: “But I will do as you say.”

Literally, he says, “At your word.” The Greek word here is rhema, meaning a spoken word or a direct command. Peter obeys Jesus before he understands everything. Isn’t it our nature to want to control things? We want to understand everything first, and then we’ll make a decision. But that’s not faith. Faith is not having all the answers; it’s trusting the One who does.

Why is this such an obstacle for us? For many of us, the greatest obstacle to faith isn’t ignorance—it’s our expertise. It’s our experience. We know too much. We’ve tried too much. “Been there, done that.” Somehow, our experience begins to speak louder to us than God’s word. Our lack of faith is often activated by the very experiences God allowed us to have to grow our faith, but instead, they paralyze us because we think we know better. Peter teaches us that faith begins with simple obedience that goes beyond our expertise.

From Master to Lord

When we look beyond our expertise, we begin to see who Jesus really is. As the story plays out, the nets fill up. The fish pour in. The catch is so large that the boats begin to sink.

But the miracle of the fish was not the point. The miracle of the fish pointed to the point. And the point is always Jesus. He is the Lord of the fish, the Lord of the sea, and the Lord of Peter’s profession. By the way, He’s the Lord of your profession, too.

Peter begins to realize that the man in his boat is unlike any other man he’s ever met. Peter would have known of Jesus—Jesus had been in the area casting out demons and healing people. He had even healed Peter’s mother-in-law. But something changes here.

In verse five, Peter calls Him “Master.” The Greek word is epistata. Luke is the only gospel writer who regularly uses this word. It means supervisor, commander, or the person in charge. It’s a respectful title of authority, like calling someone “boss” or “teacher.” There is respect and trust, but there is no awe.

That changes in verse eight when Peter calls Him “Lord.” That word is Kyrie. This went from someone with authority to someone with divine authority. This went from someone Peter respected to the Ultimate. This was the game-changer. This moment was Peter’s “bride walking down the aisle.” It was the moment that reset and refocused him. Throughout the rest of Peter’s life, he would need to come back to this moment to resettle his understanding of who God is and who he was in light of that.

The Miracle of Grace

This leads to the center of the story: Jesus revealing our greatest need. When Peter sees the miracle, he falls at Jesus’s feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

What did Peter see? It wasn’t just the fish. Peter had seen fish before. For the first time, Peter saw Jesus for who He truly is, and as a result, he saw himself clearly. For one brief moment, the veil was pulled back. He saw holiness, majesty, and authority. And when you see Jesus clearly, you see yourself clearly.

We see this response throughout Scripture. Isaiah saw the Lord and cried, “Woe is me.” Job saw the Lord and repented. John saw the Lord in Revelation and fell like a dead man. The more we understand who God is, the more we understand our need for Him.

Isaiah 6:5 (NASB)

Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’

Job 42 (NASB)

1. Then Job answered the LORD and said, 2. ’I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 3. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ ‘Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.’ 4. ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ 5. ‘I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6. Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.’ 7. It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ’My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. 8. ‘Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you [according to your] folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’ 9. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite [and] Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job. 10. The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold. 11. Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12. The LORD blessed the latter [days] of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13. He had seven sons and three daughters. 14. He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15. In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. 16. After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17. And Job died, an old man and full of days.

Revelation 1:17 (NASB)

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ’Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

Notice Peter doesn’t say, “I have sinned.” He says, “I am a sinful man.” This isn’t just a behavior or a mistake; it’s a condition. He’s saying, “I am a mess.” Peter suddenly understands that his deepest problem isn’t empty nets; it’s his heart.

For many of us, if we’re honest, our deepest need isn’t just the last time we screwed up. It’s the darkness of our hearts that we keep going back to. Shame always wants to create distance. When we recognize our wrong, we don’t want to stand face-to-face. We say, “Go away from me.” Shame says, “If God really knew me, He’d leave.” Peter thinks his sin disqualifies him from Jesus’s presence. He expects holiness to push him away.

Yet, the gospel teaches the exact opposite. The very reason Peter thinks Jesus should leave is the very reason Jesus came. Peter says, “Depart from me,” and Jesus says, “Do not fear.” Peter says, “I’m a sinful man,” and Jesus says, “Follow me.” Peter tries to create distance, and Jesus moves in closer. That is grace. That is the unmerited favor that only comes from God.

Luke 19:10 (NASB)

‘For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’

Peter discovered he was more sinful than he imagined, yet God was far more graceful than he could ever dream. It’s like Jesus said, “Peter, everything you just discovered about yourself is true… and I’m not leaving.” As Tim Keller famously said, the gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

A New Life

The greatest miracle in Luke 5 isn’t that the nets became full. The greatest miracle is that when Peter’s sin was exposed, Jesus stayed. He pressed in. And then He invited Peter into a new life.

Jesus says, “From now on, you will be catching men.” “From now on” marks a new direction. Peter’s identity, future, and purpose all change. Jesus doesn’t just forgive Peter; He commissions him. The Greek word for “catching men” literally means capturing them alive. Fish are caught and they die, but people are caught by the gospel and they live.

Notice the order: we have to experience God’s grace before we go out on mission. We enter a relationship with Jesus before we become ministry-minded. We surrender our hearts before we serve. Sunday morning can’t just be a checkbox. What we need is total surrender.

Since it’s Father’s Day, I’ll tell you a quick story about my dad. I’m the youngest of three kids. When my oldest brother was born, there were complications, and there was a scare that both my mother and brother might lose their lives. My dad was distraught. A preacher told my dad at the time that this was God’s judgment on his life for not being a Christian. So, my dad “came to know Jesus.” Except, he didn’t. He was just trying to check a box to fix the situation.

For the next thirty years, my dad struggled. He was up and down, battling alcohol, anger, and incredible inconsistency. That’s what happens when we aren’t truly walking with Jesus.

Thirty years later, when I was 21, we were at our little Baptist church. The tradition was to come forward to the altar to pray at the end of the service. My dad had stopped going to church; he had given up on it all. He was a mess. But I’ll never forget the day we were singing a song and the back doors opened. I was sitting toward the back—because that’s what good Baptist people do! I turned and watched my dad walk down the aisle. That morning, he recognized who Jesus was for the very first time. He didn’t have all the answers, but he gave his life to Jesus that day. A few years later, dementia took his life, but I am so grateful for that late-in-life conversion where he finally saw Jesus clearly.

The Invitation

Peter’s story began exhausted, frustrated, and discouraged, washing nets that represented failure. I’m convinced some of you are sitting here today and that is exactly how you feel. Yet the story ended with Peter being forgiven, called, and following Christ.

What changed was that Peter recognized Jesus had stepped into his ordinary life. Jesus’s invitation is not, “Hey, get your life together, try harder, and become worthy.” The invitation is simply: “Come, do not fear, follow Me.” Peter thought Jesus wanted his boat, but Jesus wanted Peter. And He wants you, too.

That same Jesus who stepped into Peter’s boat still steps into ordinary lives today. He lived the life we couldn’t live and died for the sins we committed.

Romans 5:8 (NASB)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He rose from the grave, and today He offers forgiveness, grace, and a new life to everyone who will trust Him. If you’ve never embraced the gospel, right now can be your day. Not because you understand everything—Peter didn’t. Not because you’ve figured it all out—Peter hadn’t. But because you’ve seen enough of Jesus in this moment to trust Him with your life.

Your response can be as simple as a prayer: “Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I believe You died for me and rose again. Forgive me of my sins. Save me. I want to follow You all the days of my life.”

Let’s bow our heads. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the simplicity of Your gospel. We thank You, God, that You love us in such a way that You choose to enter our everyday, ordinary lives. It’s not just about showing up here on a Sunday morning; it has everything to do with responding to You and surrendering our hearts to You. May we follow You all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.