Fish → Fear → Faith

February 10, 2019


Gospel Lesson: Luke 5:1-11 The Calling of the First Disciples
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

When Peter saw the great catch of fish, "He fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man'" (Luke 5:8). And Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men" (5:10). Jesus said "Do not be afraid" because when Peter saw the great catch, he was afraid, not only filled with amazement and awe, but filled with fear. He said "Go away" because he was afraid of Jesus. Let's look at why he was afraid.

First, what is fear? Fear is a nervous feeling that we are about to die or suffer great pain. We have some casual expressions like, "I'm afraid it's going to rain." That is not fear, it is just disappointment. "I'm afraid I made a mistake" could be just an expression of being sorry or an apology, but if you are driving your car it could cause an accident and kill yourself. Real fear is fear of death. And when the New Testament talks about fear, that is what it means. The Shepherds who saw the Christmas Angels which filled the sky and were terrified in their fear, they could have been obliterated! Peter was not afraid because the great catch of fish might sink his boat and be drowned. Peter could swim, as he did in John Chapter 21 to meet the Resurrected Lord who was waiting on the shore. Peter was afraid of Jesus, that Jesus might kill him. Kill him because he was a sinner. In the miracle of the great catch of fish, Peter saw that Jesus had the holy power of God, and sinful people cannot live in the presence of that holiness. It was like the fear of Isaiah in Chapter 6 when he saw the Holy, Lord Almighty. Isaiah said, "Woe is me!

Sometimes the expression "to fear God" means only "to believe in God." But this is based on the fact that only those who believe in God can truly fear Him. An atheist does not fear god whom he does not believe to exist. An atheist who was afraid of God's punishment would not be a true atheist. But there are stubborn people in the world who know about the True God and yet ignore their sin and the consequences of their sin. Their lack of fear is a sign of rebellion and sin. But the Bible says that even the devil fears God! James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."

When many people first come to faith, they have a tremendous fear of God's punishment because they realized their sinfulness. They are afraid of eternal damnation. This is one reason why some people join the church, to escape hell. There are the "fire and brimstone preachers" who capitalize on this. You have probably seen signs that say, "Prepare to meet your Maker" and the like. They make you stop and wonder if you really are prepared. I thought, as a young preacher, that I wanted to convert people to Christianity, not by scaring them, but by showing the love of God. But do you know what happens? Even if you show the love of God, people fear God. Look at Peter in the boat. Jesus knew what was really in Peter’s heart and mind. It was not awe or “awesome,” it was awful fear and dread. And so Jesus spoke to the real problem. Jesus said, "Do not fear." What made Peter afraid? At another time Peter was afraid because there was a big storm on the lake. Another time he was scared when he saw what seemed to be the ghost of Jesus walking on the water. But today, Peter's life did not seem to be in danger. Yet he was afraid! He was afraid of Jesus. What had he seen? He had seen the love of Jesus. He had seen the pure, undeserved grace of Jesus. That grace was shown in the miracle of the great catch of fish. And in the presence of that grace and love, Peter was moved to humility and fear. "He fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man'" (Luke 5:8). So, it was love that made him fear, and love that took away the fear. As First John 4:18 says, "Perfect love drives out fear." And Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men" (5:10). T

he second verse of the hymn "Amazing Grace" goes like this: "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed!" Some Lutherans who don't think that the Gospel of grace could ever make us afraid don't like this stanza. But when we realize the full meaning of God's grace, is should make us fear! Because that grace was very fearful to our Lord Jesus! It meant that Jesus had to suffer and to die. Maybe that bloody sweat of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44) was because of the tremendous fear that Jesus had. Mark 14:33-34 says, "He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.'" Because of his wonderful love for us, Jesus took up his cross and died to forgive our sins. Because of the wonderful love of God, Jesus had confidence to know that his Heavenly Father would protect him even in suffering and death, and raise him on the third day.

For us, the same love that causes our hearts to fear, is the love that is going to take away that fear and give us perfect joy in Jesus Christ. It changes Peter's cry and our cry from "Please, Lord, go away," to "Please, Lord, stay with me always!" It takes away the fear in our lives so that we can become followers and disciples of Jesus. We rejoice when he says to us, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." Then we only worry that there won't be enough other disciples to help pull in the catch!

In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther always starts the explanation of each of the Ten Commandments with the words "We should fear and love God so that we do not murder or steal or covet, etc." There is this dynamic of fear and love. They are opposites. Sometimes we keep the commandments only out of fear. We fear God, we fear those in authority, we fear we might get caught. And yet at the same time, the love of God fills us with a desire to show that love in a life that is pleasing to Him. That love gives respect and dignity to other people. Ultimately our relationship with God and other people is based not on fear, but on the gracious love of God..

Amen!

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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