You sense that the request came out of nowhere. One moment Jesus is teaching . . . the next he’s telling them to go fishing. Now I know some guys who all you have to do is show them a lake and their brains go into trolling mode . . . but these guys had already been out in the boats all night and caught nothing . . . nada . . . zilch . . . double doughnut holes. But Jesus wanted them to go fishing.

In Hebrews it says that God confirmed the Lordship of Christ and the gospel of salvation by “bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will” (Heb. 2:3-4). The word for miracles is the word for “power” . . . Jesus manifested His power so that others might know that He was the Son of Man and so that His message of a coming kingdom would be believed. And it wasn’t just the same display of power over and over again . . . but it was through various miracles . . . manifold, multi-colored, multi-faceted acts of power that Jesus bore witness concerning Himself and His message. For those who hung out with Jesus, you just never knew when or how Jesus was going to draw you into a display of His power. It could be through something as simple as fishing.

Once Jesus starting “going public” it didn’t take long for the crowds to gather and follow Him. Some may been pressing around Him because of the authority which He commanded when He taught (Luke 4:32), but I’m guessing that most of them were there for the miracles. They had either seen or heard about demons being cast out (4:35) and people being healed (4:40) and wanted either to see more or, perhaps, be on the receiving end of such displays of power. So that morning, they pressed around Him . . . looking for another “good show.” I don’t think anyone was expecting what happened.

Jesus finishes speaking to the crowd and turns to Simon Peter and tells Him and his fishing buddies to “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (5:4). Where did that come from? It was kind of a crazy request . . . anyone who was anyone in the Galilean fishing industry knew that the best fishing was at night . . . no way would you go out mid-morning. And besides, they had been fishing this spot all night . . . no fish. So what do you do when Jesus asks you to do something that makes little sense to you?

And this is the response that caught my attention . . . my imagination . . . and resulted in some conviction . . . “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (5:5b). Peter often takes so much heat . . . but here he shines. “What You’re asking me to do, Lord, doesn’t really align with my reality . . . or rationality,” says Peter, “but if You say so, I’ll do it.” Oh, that I would develop more of that attitude. If Jesus says it, that settles it. If His word commands it, I’ll obey it. If it doesn’t make sense, I’ll lean not to my own understanding and trust the Lord and step out in faith (Prov. 3:5-6). I’ll push out in that fishing boat though I don’t think there’s any fish to be found . . . I’ll let down the net, even though I’ve let it down before and it’s come up empty . . . if He says so.

And Jesus used this fisherman’s simple obedience to work one of His self-revealing “various miracles”. The nets were so full they started to break . . . the boats were so loaded they started to sink . . . and Peter was so blown away he was compelled to kneel . . . “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ ” (5:8). Oh, to see the power of God work through your obedience. You don’t always see it . . . maybe rarely see it . . . but when God, by His grace, allows you to see it . . . then it’s on your knees . . . facedown . . . Jesus revealed afresh . . . the awe restored . . . the worship released. Just from a simple (not easy, but simple) attitude of, “If You say so, Lord.”

Who wants to go fishing?