Epiphany 5
In this season of Epiphany we see who exactly that Baby is who was born in Bethlehem as in our Gospel readings we have accounts of Jesus revealing who He really is by His teaching and His miracles. Of course, in today’s Gospel we have Jesus showing that He is the King of Creation, the One whom all creatures must obey and serve as we read: when Peter and his fellow fishermen, at Jesus’ command, let down a net, they caught at great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. The very fish that had eluded these fishermen at the prime time for fishing, now, at the command of Jesus, filled the nets. Jesus–the Creator and King of Creation–is the one who was born that first Christmas.
But we also have in today’s Epistle the greatest Epiphany/ revelation of who it was who was born in Bethlehem–Jesus’ resurrection. Elsewhere St. Paul had written that Jesus was [Rm. 1.4]: declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. If there was any doubt about who Jesus is, if His teaching and His miracles were not clear enough, His bodily resurrection from the dead settles it: He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world!
Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead on Easter is the heart and core of our holy Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity and Christianity becomes like the rest of the religions of the world–worthless, its founder rotted in a grave somewhere. That’s why St. Paul is very quick to write: I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared…. Jesus’ resurrection is a firm, certain, historical fact. There are good reasons for believing it! Notice that St. Paul mentions first that Jesus’ death and resurrection were in accordance with the Scriptures, that is, in fulfillment of prophecy. [And we confess the same thing in the Nicene Creed: according to the Scriptures] Jesus really did have to suffer, die and rise again if, indeed, He is the Savior. And then notice that St. Paul points to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to Peter and all the Apostles and also to 500 people at the same time; and then St. Paul says the resurrected Jesus also appeared to him–even as he was still an enemy of Jesus.
Again, notice St. Paul’s first words: I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received–Jesus’ resurrection. There is where our faith is–in Jesus and His work. It is firm and solid. Why? Because Jesus, by His resurrection, showed beyond any shadow of doubt that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world–the only Savior of the world; our only Savior from sin, death, devil and hell. That’s what this Epiphany season is all about–it shows us that the One born in Bethlehem is also the true God and our Savior.
Like we mentioned before, that is also what Jesus shows us about Himself in today’s Gospel: He is the almighty God and Creator whom the Creation must serve and obey. As we meet Jesus in our text, He is preaching to a crowd that is very eager to hear His word: the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God. They were very anxious to hear the divine word; they had been starving from lack of the true word of God, and so here is Jesus teaching with authority and they try to get closer to hear and more and more join the crowd so that He was forced to get into a boat and preach from the boat–His voice traveling well over the water to the crowds on the shore. But Jesus ended His preaching to the crowds and was now directing His attention to the fishermen–Peter, James, and John. When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon. “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” Here we will see what amazing things happen when Jesus gets into the boat, things that are just as vital for us as they were for the fishermen that day.
[Jesus] saw two boats there along the lakeshore. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. The boats were at the shore; they were not being used for fishing; the fishermen had an exhausting and futile night of fishing. But their work wasn’t over–they were washing, stretching and preparing their nets for the next night’s hopefully successful fishing.
Isn’t that scene also a picture of us as well? So often, don’t we find our boats standing there/ find ourselves just worn out from day to day life? Aren’t we so often washing our nets, hoping that the next day/ next time will be better, just hoping that things improve? And that’s just normal daily life!
What about us spiritually? Don’t we see here also an image of what we can accomplish spiritually with our own natural powers and gifts? –Really nothing but futility. Not only is there our conversion–that, as Luther points out, we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him–but also our own efforts by our own strength to grow in the faith. Perhaps we feel ourselves growing stale in the faith; we don’t live as holy as we’d like; we feel nothing but our sin and guilt. Our boats are idle and we’re washing our nets!
But what happened? Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Jesus, if you will, seems simply to come in and commandeer the boat. He doesn’t ask permission–He just comes in. To be sure, Peter knew Jesus. Jesus had called Peter early on during His ministry to be a disciple so that Peter was here still working his trade, but as we see at the end of our text, Jesus then calls Peter to follow Him full time as one of the 12 Apostles. But now the fact remains: Jesus simply comes in and takes over Peter’s boat. And what eventually happens? –There is that great catch of fish.
This, too, is a picture of how Jesus operates. Remember, what were the boats and fishermen doing? –The boats were idle and the fishermen were tired and had given up. And what was that an image of? –All that we can accomplish spiritually on our own. But what happens? –Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Jesus comes into our boat! He comes to us in grace. We hear Him in His holy word. He comes to us in the waters of Holy Baptism. And when He comes, He comes with all His graces and blessings. The most glorious thing is that Jesus wants to live in us; He wants to be Lord of our lives; He wants to be the One who moves our minds and wills and leads us into every good work. And look at the wonderful thing that happened to St. Peter when Jesus came into His boat, when Jesus commandeered his boat. Look at the wonderful things Jesus does and wants to do when He comes to us in His grace. Where before we feel nothing but sin and guilt, where we noticed our spiritual inability, now when Jesus comes with grace and every blessing He works in us faith and new life, new desires, and joys in Him. It is His glorious work in us!
Look how different it was for St. Peter when Jesus was in the boat! Before, as Peter told Jesus, Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But once Jesus was in the boat: They came and filled both boats [with fish], so that they began to sink. There is that absolute, complete change once Jesus is in the boat– and in the boat of our lives. With St. Peter’s boat, before it was along the shore, idle after a long night of futility. But now with Jesus in the boat, what do we read? Jesus asked him to put out a little from the shore and when he had finished speaking, [Jesus] said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” There was a complete change; there is a new orientation. Instead of the boat and nets being idle, they are in use and full. Instead of being closer to the shore for better fishing, now it was in the deep water where fishing wasn’t as good.
This is a glorious picture of what happens when Jesus is in our lives/ when He comes with grace into the boat that is our life: everything gets reorientated. What before seemed to be so important–money, power, pleasure, the latest this or that, etc. –now is not important. What becomes important/ the overall arching theme and desire of our lives is Jesus, receiving His gifts He won for us on the cross and treasuring them, living our lives in love of Him striving to do the things that please Him, living with an eye on eternal life in heaven, striving not to lose that gift of eternal life in heaven before our dear, loving God and Savior together with all the saints and holy angels. We no longer judge things by worldly standards but by our Lord’s standards, if it serves us and our salvation.
With the Lord in our boat/ life, we hear Him say to us as well: ‘Put out into the deep water.’ Here is a gracious and glorious command–to Peter it was the promise of a great catch of fish. But when the Lord says to us, ‘Put out into the deep water,’ there is a glorious command to each of us to give our lives over to the deep mystery of knowing Jesus. Jesus tells/ invites us to go deeply into the Scriptures; to study the Scriptures and ground our faith on His word and promise; to see how beautifully all the doctrines of Scripture fit together and point to Jesus. Jesus wants us to have daily Epiphany of Him, who He is, what He has done for us. ‘Put out into the deep water,’ that is, don’t stay with a shallow superficial knowledge of our Lord and His word but delve deeply into it. Be faithful here in church; read solid devotional books; study Scripture; review your catechism; pray fervently. “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” As you are in Scripture, hearing, reading and studying it, God’s word and promise arouse and nourish your faith. That way our faith will be like St. Peter’s, who let reason and experience go and in faith grabbed ahold of Jesus’ word and promise: “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch” saying Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing, but guided solely by the word said, but at Your word I will let down the net.
Of course, our Lord was faithful to His promise: When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
This was the great Epiphany for James, John and especially Peter–they knew beyond any doubt that Jesus is the true God. When Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” Cast in the light of Jesus the God-man, St. Peter was very much aware of his sinfulness and sin. Like we saw in today’s OT reading with Isaiah–the nearer we are to God, the more we see/ feel our own sinfulness and unworthiness; God’s purity and power highlighted Peter’s weakness and sin–as it would you and me. St. Peter clearly saw that the One born in Bethlehem is the very God Himself; the very God Himself was in his boat. The only response to the holy, divine, sacred is adoration: he fell down at Jesus’ knees. The fear of the Lord fills us with awe, wonder, worship and love.
What was Jesus’ response to Peter? Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people [alive]. Through these fishermen, Jesus would draw the world by the net of their Gospel preaching into His Church. This great catch of fish was a tremendous object lesson to these disciples that the Lord would bless their work. Jesus says to us as He did St. Peter, Have no fear: the Church is made up of forgiven and empowered sinners, like St. Peter, you and me. Our Lord used them and He uses you and me. Rejoice, dear Christian, Christ has come into our boat with His grace and every blessing. INJ Amen