Catching Fish part 2 - Luke 4:1-11
Jesus has asked Simon to do something seemingly easy, go out a ways into the sea and throw out some fishing nets, but the implications are huge. Doing as Jesus asked Simon would be giving up any time to rest before the next night out fishing, and would have caused much more work for him because he would have to clean out his nets again. Looking at all that in the face, he clearly must have seen Jesus as more than a mortal man, he must have seen Him as a spiritually superior force because he answers, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." The IM quotes Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as teaching, "After an unsuccessful night of effort, Peter's expert judgment told him a final effort was useless. But this was a man of genuinely childlike faith, and he lowered the net." I have to be honest I don't know if I would have done that, I would have assumed that I was the expert and I knew better and would have just said the first part of Simon's answer, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." So I guess that that's a profound commentary about me.
Because Simon listened to Jesus he cast the net over into the sea, "And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And the came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink." Think about this, Simon and his partners, who were Andrew, James, and John, had done everything they could to catch fish during the night, but as soon as the Lord got involved the fruits of their efforts multiplied until it was too much. How often do we try to do everything ourselves and don't ask for the Lord's help? Maybe that's my lesson, is to ask for the Lord's help in all things and watch as the blessings pour from heaven.
The bounteous catch provided for the families of all those who would follow the Savior during his ministry. With the men of the families gone with Jesus, they still would have had families to provide for and we know that Jesus doesn't approve of abandoning your family responsibilities for the sake of church service. The size of this catch probably set their families up for a long time, proving that the Lord does provide for his servants. The IM suggests that Simon gave up this great catch as a sacrifice to follow the Savior, and he clearly did in that he personally didn't reap the riches of the catch, but I'm pretty sure that the families of the fishermen who would be following Christ shortly thereafter tended to the catch and used it to support themselves. In that sense I don't think that it went to waste, I think that it went to provide for their families over the time that they were away and unable to do it for themselves. So what does it means that they "forsook all, and followed him?" That great catch of fish could have provided Simon and his partners and their families with lots of money and they could have sustained a lavish lifestyle with it, living in comfort and security and all that. But they didn't do that, they didn't take the gift that God had given them and run with the money, they instead followed Jesus and adopted a minimalist lifestyle without a definitive place to sleep every night, wandering and teaching and learning and following. They saw the money and used it sparingly to provide for their families. I guess it could be seen in a similar way if someone got a huge $25,000 Christmas bonus or something. They could take that money and use it to buy a new car or a new house or lots of clothes or a vacation or something like that, or they could use that money to pay for a mission, or to buy food storage. That's not a perfect example but I believe that Elder Holland's point with his statement is that Simon forsook the comfortable and luxurious years that could have come from this catch and instead followed the Savior into a life of living without all those comforts.
The IM quotes President James E. Faust as asking, "what is discipleship? It is primarily obedience to the Savior. Discipleship includes many things. It is chastity. It is tithing. It is family home evening. It is keeping all the commandments. It is forsaking anything that is not good for us... Discipleship (requires) us to forsake evil transgression and enjoy what President Spencer W. Kimball had called 'the miracle of forgiveness. This can come only through repentance, which means that we forsake sin and resolve each day to be followers of truth and righteousness. As Jesus taught, 'What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I saw unto you, even as I am.'"
Probably remembering his initial doubt when Jesus first told him to go fishing again, Simon Peter, "fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." I have felt this way many times, especially after the Lord is merciful to me and I know that I don't deserve it. It was a bittersweet moment, sweet because of the once in a lifetime catch, but bitter because he recognized that he didn't deserve it. The IM says, "When Peter first met the Savior and witnessed His miraculous power, Peter recognized that he was 'a sinful man' in great need of the Savior's redeeming power. Peter's words illustrate that as we draw near to God, we become away of our sinfulness and unworthiness and desire His help in becoming more like Him." I think this is why Nephi was so acutely aware of his own sins that did so easily beset him.
Because Simon listened to Jesus he cast the net over into the sea, "And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And the came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink." Think about this, Simon and his partners, who were Andrew, James, and John, had done everything they could to catch fish during the night, but as soon as the Lord got involved the fruits of their efforts multiplied until it was too much. How often do we try to do everything ourselves and don't ask for the Lord's help? Maybe that's my lesson, is to ask for the Lord's help in all things and watch as the blessings pour from heaven.
The bounteous catch provided for the families of all those who would follow the Savior during his ministry. With the men of the families gone with Jesus, they still would have had families to provide for and we know that Jesus doesn't approve of abandoning your family responsibilities for the sake of church service. The size of this catch probably set their families up for a long time, proving that the Lord does provide for his servants. The IM suggests that Simon gave up this great catch as a sacrifice to follow the Savior, and he clearly did in that he personally didn't reap the riches of the catch, but I'm pretty sure that the families of the fishermen who would be following Christ shortly thereafter tended to the catch and used it to support themselves. In that sense I don't think that it went to waste, I think that it went to provide for their families over the time that they were away and unable to do it for themselves. So what does it means that they "forsook all, and followed him?" That great catch of fish could have provided Simon and his partners and their families with lots of money and they could have sustained a lavish lifestyle with it, living in comfort and security and all that. But they didn't do that, they didn't take the gift that God had given them and run with the money, they instead followed Jesus and adopted a minimalist lifestyle without a definitive place to sleep every night, wandering and teaching and learning and following. They saw the money and used it sparingly to provide for their families. I guess it could be seen in a similar way if someone got a huge $25,000 Christmas bonus or something. They could take that money and use it to buy a new car or a new house or lots of clothes or a vacation or something like that, or they could use that money to pay for a mission, or to buy food storage. That's not a perfect example but I believe that Elder Holland's point with his statement is that Simon forsook the comfortable and luxurious years that could have come from this catch and instead followed the Savior into a life of living without all those comforts.
The IM quotes President James E. Faust as asking, "what is discipleship? It is primarily obedience to the Savior. Discipleship includes many things. It is chastity. It is tithing. It is family home evening. It is keeping all the commandments. It is forsaking anything that is not good for us... Discipleship (requires) us to forsake evil transgression and enjoy what President Spencer W. Kimball had called 'the miracle of forgiveness. This can come only through repentance, which means that we forsake sin and resolve each day to be followers of truth and righteousness. As Jesus taught, 'What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I saw unto you, even as I am.'"
Probably remembering his initial doubt when Jesus first told him to go fishing again, Simon Peter, "fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." I have felt this way many times, especially after the Lord is merciful to me and I know that I don't deserve it. It was a bittersweet moment, sweet because of the once in a lifetime catch, but bitter because he recognized that he didn't deserve it. The IM says, "When Peter first met the Savior and witnessed His miraculous power, Peter recognized that he was 'a sinful man' in great need of the Savior's redeeming power. Peter's words illustrate that as we draw near to God, we become away of our sinfulness and unworthiness and desire His help in becoming more like Him." I think this is why Nephi was so acutely aware of his own sins that did so easily beset him.
Comments
Post a Comment