Launch into the deep

“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’”

- Luke 5:4

In Luke 5, Jesus shows up on the shore where Peter, James, and John have been fishing all night. They had cast their nets over and over with no success. And, in that moment, Jesus calls them to cast out into the deep.

Peter, James, and John are professionals. They’ve worked in this family business their whole lives. They know how to catch fish. If they’re not catching anything, no one is going to catch anything.

Additionally, they know that the deep isn’t where you catch fish. You catch them in the shallows. Jesus’ request makes no logical sense. But, somewhat reluctantly, they obey. And in their seemingly illogical act of obedience, the miraculous takes place—a catch so big that the nets are breaking and the boats are sinking.

It’s in this moment that Jesus calls them to follow Him. He tells them that if they’ll follow Him, He’ll make them fishers of men. I believe the timing of Jesus’ call is exceedingly intentional. He could have simply called them from their boats. But, instead, He first performs a life-altering miracle. Why?

I don’t think it was simply because they needed evidence that He was the Messiah. They would have that in time. My hypothesis? From that day forward, whenever Peter, James, and John would think about fishing for men, Jesus wanted them to remember that miraculous catch. They would think about bold, illogical obedience leading to a catch so big that only Jesus could accomplish it. They wouldn’t associate their new calling with fishing all night and catching nothing. Rather, they would think about the masses of fish. And so they would expect to catch masses of men.

It seems like we’ve spent all night as the Church trying to use our professional tactics to catch fish and coming up with little to show for it. We’ve used our strategies, stats, and advertising tactics. Because focus groups and stats are easier to do than prayer meetings and fasts. And I say this not out of self-righteousness, but out of being personally convicted.

I’m not against any of those things. What I am against is relying on them more than the Holy Spirit and living out radical obedience. It’s easy to forget that the nations where the Church is growing the fastest—places like Iran and Afghanistan—have no access to such resources. They have the Word of God and the Spirit of God. And it seems to be working just fine.

In these days, I believe the Lord is calling us to cast back out into the deep. To step out with great faith, to risk, to seek His face, and follow His leading—no matter how foolish it seems.

If we’re not catching anything, we shouldn’t blame the culture or the lost. As Paul proclaimed from His prison chains, “The Word of God cannot be chained” (2 Timothy 2:9). Our risk is not that our cultural climate will hinder the Holy Spirit, but that our lack of faith and obedience will. We must refuse to keep fishing all night with tiny catches—having more faith in our own ingenuity than in the power of God.