Reading: Luke 5:1-11

This reading is a little quirky and fun to visualize (people so excited that they crowd the speaker into a lake! a preacher “seizing” a boat! a rough, tough fisherman taking unsolicited advice from a carpenter!).

There are a lot of different things we could look at, but I’m going to focus on a few key characteristics of Simon (elsewhere called Simon Peter or just Peter) that come out in this passage.

I’m tempted to call this post “What Jesus looks for in a disciple,” but the reality is, Jesus picked a pretty disparate group of guys as disciples, with a wide variety of temperaments and personality traits, so this really is more like, “What Jesus liked about Simon Peter”—and even then, there’s a lot more to Simon Peter’s personality and the relationship he had with Jesus than what’s shown here (think outrageous outbursts and crazy love, among others).

Still, this section shows several traits that are worth emulating.

Simon Peter was ready to help

This wasn’t the first time Simon had met Jesus—Jesus healed his mother-in-law back in Luke 4:38. But still, Jesus kind of jumps right in and co-opts the boat owned by Peter and his fishing partner (elsewhere identified as Andrew), using it as a floating pulpit.

Not only does Simon not freak out at this seeming imposition, but he takes care of the logistics, getting the boat to the proper spot for Jesus’ purpose—never mind that he’s just spent all night awake, working, and there’s more work to do (cleaning the nets) before he’s done for the day.

Simon Peter was obedient

Simon was a career fisherman. He knew what he was doing. So when Jesus starts giving him fishing advice, it really borders on insulting. After all, Jesus was a carpenter-turned-itinerant-preacher. What did he know about fishing?

But Simon seems raise no more objection than perhaps an eyebrow before readily agreeing to take what was probably downright bad advice. There’s not any real explanation of why he was so willing to do what Jesus asked him to, but clearly he took Jesus seriously.

Simon Peter was humble

When confronted with Jesus’ miracles, many people seemed to become groupies. It was fun, it was good fodder for conversation and gossip, and they followed Jesus around just to see what he’d do and say next.

Simon’s reaction was completely different. He wasn’t at the point of acknowledging Jesus as God, but even believing him to be merely God’s messenger, he immediately understood that he was totally inferior. This wasn’t a self-esteem issue; it was an honest assessment of reality. This was the moment that Simon “got” that he was in the presence of God, and that is properly a sobering experience.

One of the commentaries I read said the following:

Simon Peter represents all disciples. His humility and awareness of his sin do not disqualify him from service; they are the prerequisite for service.

Jesus does not call those who think they can help God do his work. God does not need or want servants who think they are doing God a favor. Jesus calls those who know they need to be humble before his power and presence.

Note, though, that Jesus didn’t revel in Peter’s awe and fear—he comforted him and invited him on an adventure.

Simon Peter had the right priorities

The final part of this scene is where the rubber meets the road. It’s great that Simon was willing to help out and humor the carpenter, but the real question (for all of us) is “what next?” Is this just an interesting diversion, or does it become the central focus of our lives?

For Peter and his fishing partners, the answer was clear: they left everything and got on board with Jesus’ mission.

What would it look like if we jumped in that way?