Devotional: At Thy Word Luke 5:1-11

“And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and haven taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” (Lk. 55, KJV).

After Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness by the devil is ended, He begins His public ministry (Lk. 4:14). Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and announces the nature of His ministry (Lk. 4:18-19). The crowds in Galilee follow Him because He heals the sick, and He cast out demons. The crowds press around Him, and they listen to the His words (5:1).

Jesus sees two boats. The fishermen are out of their boats, and they are cleaning their nets. Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and teaches the people. When Jesus finishes teaching, He tells Simon to let down his net into the deep water. Simon obeys Jesus and the catch of fish is so large that Simon has to call his business partners James and John the sons of Zebedee. Even so, the catch is so large that the boats begin to sink.

From this story we can learn a few things. First, we notice that Simon and his partners, James and John are professional fishermen. They know about the times and signs that indicate when to fish. They have knowledge, skill, and experience. So, after fishing all night they recognize that it is time to stop for the day.

Along comes Jesus. He is the son of a carpenter. Jesus knows nothing about fishing. Yet, here is this dry land working carpenter instructing a professional fisherman to cast his net into the deep water. Simon’s answer, “Master we worked hard all night and caught nothing” is an admission that Simon had used every means to catch fish, and they had failed to catch anything. Yet, Simon does what Jesus tells him to do. Why?

Simon does not obey Jesus because he thinks that Jesus knows anything about fishing. On the contrary, Simon knows that Jesus has no knowledge, skill, and experience in fishing. However, we must not overlook what Simon knows about Jesus. Simon is aware of Jesus’ teaching, his healing of diseases and infirmities. He cast out unclean spirits. The news about Jesus spreads throughout the region. Furthermore, Simon knows that Jesus had rebuked the fever in his mother-in-law. Jesus word alone is all that is needed to get the desired results.

You and I will have circumstances and situations in our life in which our knowledge, skill, and experience can do nothing to change things. Simon gives us an example of faith. We obey Jesus because we believe in Him. We believe that He can speak a word that will effect change in our life. When my knowledge, skill, and experience are ineffective, I can get desired results if Jesus speaks, and I obey His word.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your word. We believe Your word, and we fully expect that Your word to effect change in our life. Amen.