Peter was a fisherman who lived in Capernaum and grew up fishing the shores of lake Galilee in Northern Israel. He would have been schooled as a Jewish boy in the Scriptures and been familiar with the hope and promises that one day God would come and save his people through the long-awaited Messiah. Peter would have attended the classes for boys at the synagogue until the age of 12 when he would have probably become fully apprenticed to the family business of fishing along with his brother Andrew. If he was anything like me he probably didn’t pay much attention in class and loved to be outside fishing or doing things with his hands. Certainly, based on what we read about him in the gospels as a man, it is likely he was one of those kids who couldn’t sit still and had “ants in his pants” so to speak.
In Luke 4 we read that after being rejected at Nazareth, Jesus went down to Capernaum which was about 65km away. He began to teach and drive out evil spirits, and after leaving the synagogue he went to the house of Peter Peter. Peter’s mum has a high fever and Jesus heals her, along with many others who have come to Peter’s house with various sicknesses and diseases. After a night like this we would assume that Peter has a pretty high view of Jesus and has seen his power firsthand in his own home. He has heard Jesus’ teaching and no doubt was impacted by that also. One day as Jesus is by the lake teaching the people, he gets into Peter’s boat. After teaching, Jesus tells Peter to put out into deep water and let down the nets. Peter objects, saying they had worked hard all night and caught nothing, and the middle of the day is not the time to catch fish, especially when they are not around anyway.
Peter isn’t keen but respectfully calls Jesus “Master” and is obedient, though very sceptical. This word Master was a generic word for someone above you, like an overseer or superintendent. As they let down the nets they catch and enormous load of fish, so much so that the boat begins to sink. When Peter sees what has happened, he falls to his knees and addresses Jesus differently. “Master” was a polite respectful way to address a rabbi or teacher, but now he calls Jesus “Lord”. This reflects a significant shift in how Peter now viewed Jesus. He is also acutely aware of his own sinfulness and pleads with Jesus to leave because of his holiness.
How do you view Jesus? Has there been a time in your life when there was a significant shift in your understanding of Jesus as the Lord of all things? When we get a right understanding of who Jesus is, we often get a sense of how sinful we are, and how pure God is. Yet Jesus does not leave Peter, rather he says don’t be afraid. Follow me and let’s do this work of my Father together. Jesus call on Peter is the same as his call on you and me today. This is who I am, trust me, follow me, lets work together in the work of our Father through the Holy Spirit.
Grace and Peace - Garry