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THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – HOOKED!

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HOOKED!

“Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus, ‘Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.’ When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, co-workers with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, ‘There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.’ They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed Him.” Luke 5:8-11.

It was all about fishing! The fishermen caught nothing, at first. Jesus caught the fishermen, in the end!

Peter was repelled, and drawn, all at the same time. Why did he say, ‘Leave me alone? Get away from me, Jesus,’ when he wanted so badly to be with Him? If Jesus knew all about fishing when He had never learnt to fish, what else did He know that left Peter feeling stripped and naked? Was there something about Him that made him feel so vulnerable that he wanted to hide and yet so fascinated that he wanted to stay?

Peter had a big lesson to learn, and so do we. Yes, Jesus’ eyes pierced Peter’s darkness and bored into the very core of his soul, but never to condemn or consume. Peter needed that reassurance, ‘Don’t be afraid!’  How many times, in the pages of Scripture, does God have to say it to people? We have this idea that God is out to get us. Just let him find out what I am like and He will squash me like a bug.

In Psalm 139, David expressed his vulnerability just like Peter felt. God knew him through and through. Even his thoughts were emblazoned in His sight like neon signs. Trying to hide was futile because God was there, wherever he went. Instead of cringing, however, David celebrated because he had become aware that His presence was reassuring, never threatening. “I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too, your reassuring presence, coming and going.” Psalm 139:6.

“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:9, 10 (NIV). David tried to think of the most impossible places to hide but God was always there, waiting to hold and guide him back to safety and sense.

Peter was not alone in this experience. Although he was the central figure, the other fishermen were just as moved as he was. Almost like men in a trance, they abandoned their old, familiar, humdrum lives to follow the rabbi at His invitation without a backward look. They had no idea what they were in for, but it didn’t matter. If they were so safe with someone who could read their hearts and still embrace them, then their lives were secure in His hands.

Never in their wildest dreams did the brothers ever imagine that they would become disciples. Their schooling had come to an abrupt end when they failed to qualify for tertiary training at the Beth Talmud. They were bundled off home to learn their dads’ fishing skills and make their living off the lake.

What lay ahead was unknown but it was better than the hard work they had to put in to scrape together a living for their families. They didn’t even stop to sell off the massive catch of fish that lay entangled in their nets on the beach. They left them for the lucky ones who came by to claim their find.

So magnetic was the person of Jesus that they never gave it another thought. Just imagine – they didn’t even wait to pack up and store their equipment in case it didn’t work out for them. Their decision was final. They left everything to follow Him.

Discipleship is like that. It’s all or nothing!

We Know Everything!

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WE KNOW EVERYTHING! 

“Then they turned again to the blind man, ‘What have you to say about Him? It was your eyes He opened.’ The man replied, ‘He is a prophet.’

“They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ‘Is this your son?’ they asked. ‘Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?’

“‘We know he is our son,’ the parents answered, ‘and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself.'”

“His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That is why his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.'” John 9:17-23 NIV.

Poor Pharisees! They had hard evidence in front of their eyes but, no matter how hard they tried they could not make the evidence or the witness go away!

First they questioned the blind man. “Who do you think He is? After all, it was your eyes He opened?’ Without hesitation the blind man put Jesus into the category of “prophet” which was unpalatable for the Pharisees because prophets were revered by the Jews even though their ancestors had failed to heed them and even killed them.

Then they called for his parents and questioned them, hoping that by some miracle they would say there had been some mistake and that he was not their son or that they didn’t really know whether he had been born blind or not! That didn’t work for them either. The man’s parents freely acknowledged that he was their son and that he had been born blind. They threw the ball back in his court. ‘He is old enough to speak for himself!’

Now the Pharisees were in a dilemma. All the evidence pointed to the fact that the man had been born blind and now he could see. Somehow Jesus was in the mix and they could not make any of the facts go away. They had already decided to penalise anyone who dared to confess that Jesus was the Messiah.

The man’s parents bowed to that one but the problem was that any explanation other than that Jesus was who He claimed to be would make nonsense of the evidence. They sidestepped the issue by putting the onus back on their son so as not to fall foul of the Pharisees. They also refused to acknowledge that Jesus was more than just a man.

“A second time they summoned the man who had been born blind. ‘Give the glory to God by telling the truth.’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.'” John 9:24 NIV.

How do you make the evidence go away? By assassinating the character of the one who did the miracle! They still had another hurdle to get over but this one they ignored. ‘We know,’ they said, as thought that settled all the arguments. On what ground did they base their knowledge? Had they witnessed Jesus practising sin? Had anyone else witnessed His sinful behaviour?

They had no answer for His challenge, ‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?’ and yet they were now declaring, as though they were the final authority that He was a sinner and on those grounds they could dismiss the miracle He did as the work of a sinner! How did that work?

There are religious groups today that declare that the Word of God is not true because it has been corrupted. Does that make their claim true, simply because they said it? Try as anyone may, truth is indestructible. Since Jesus declared that the Word of the Lord will never pass away, and since no one has ever proved Him a liar, Jesus and His Word are still reliable and dependable.

Hallelujah!