“What Happens at the Lord’s Word”
Luke 5:1-11
2/4/07
Last week we learned about the power and
authority of Jesus’ words and what those words do to the
authorities which hold people captive - authorities like the devil and
the demons, sin, sickness, and death. We learned that with His
words Jesus releases people from these things and binds these captors
instead. Today we continue to learn about the power and authority
of Jesus’ words. Only here we learn what they do to
people. What happens at the Lord’s words, when He sends
them out to work on people?
The first thing we notice in this text is that as He
was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (or the Sea of Galilee) that a
crowd of people was pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see that happening today?
Wouldn’t it be nice to see so many people wanting to hear the
Word of God that there was standing room only in church with still more
crowds outside just waiting to get in? Many churches try to
create this kind of drawing power by attracting people with all kinds
of programs, entertainment, and life-goal, therapeutic, pep-talk-like
sermons, but few rely on the proclamation of the Word of God alone to
draw in the crowds. And, of course, it doesn’t appear that
the Word of God draws the crowds in like it did when Jesus spoke that
Word in person. Perhaps it’s because of the lack of
miraculous signs that don’t seem to accompany the proclamation of
the Word today as they did when Jesus proclaimed it.
But here’s where we make our mistake and think
that because we don’t see signs of the Word at work and because
we don’t see crowds of people flocking in to hear that Word
today, that the Word of God is somehow impotent and weak, that the poor
Holy Spirit needs our help somehow, that He needs something added to
the Word to make it more appealing to people so that they will come and
hear it. Yet we see from today’s Gospel text that
it’s the Word alone that draws the crowds to come and hear Jesus
preach. The text says that they came to hear the Word of
God. This tells us that we don’t have to worry about
whether people will come to hear the Word of God or not. If we
preach it, they will come - maybe not in crowds, maybe not to this
congregation, and we may not even get to see the results of the
Word’s work at all, but the Lord’s Word will do the work He
sends it out to do, drawing people to Jesus and into His kingdom, and
that without our trying to help it along.
This is illustrated by the catch of fish which Peter
and his fellow fishermen caught at the Lord’s Word. The
catch was enormous - so great that their nets were at the point of
breaking and their boats at the point of sinking. But the
fishermen couldn’t take credit for this large catch of
fish. All the glory went to Jesus, who with His Word produced
this great catch of fish and simply used the fishermen to bring it
in. While the fishermen were working all night on their own to
catch fish (that is, by their own efforts and means), they caught
nothing. But when the Lord added His Word, then they were
successful. Pastors today can’t take credit for the people
who are drawn into the kingdom of God on the basis of their work.
They are simply the Lord’s tools for casting out the net of
God’s Word and hauling in the catch which God’s Word itself
has caught.
So, the first lesson we learn here is that the
Lord’s Word does what the Lord sends it out to do, regardless of
whether we see the results or not. The great catch of fish
represents all those with whom the Word of the Lord has had its way and
brought them to faith in Jesus and into the kingdom of God.
Through the proclamation of this Word you have been brought to faith in
Jesus and into His kingdom, the boat of the Church, where Jesus is with
His disciples, feeding them on Himself, teaching them with His
Word. This kingdom is bigger than any one congregation, so that
even if we’re not drawing in the crowds here, the crowds are
still being brought in throughout the world, wherever the Word of God
is being proclaimed in its truth and purity. On the Last Day
we’re going to see the great catch which the Word has brought in
as multitudes of believers from every tribe, language, people, and
nation stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, singing His
praises.
The next thing we notice that happens at the
Lord’s Word is that the disciples of Jesus listen to the Word of
God and do it even though it goes against reason. After His
sermon to the crowds, Jesus tells the disciples to put out into deep
water and let down their nets for a catch. Peter’s response
is that of our fallen reason, which sees the Word of God as
foolish. “Master,” he says, “we toiled all
night and took nothing!” “If we experienced fishermen
working all night long couldn’t catch anything by the normal
means, it’s unlikely that we’re going to catch anything
now.” Reason and experience team up against the Word of God
and conclude that what it promises is impossible. They hinder us
from hearing the Word, believing it, and doing what it says. But
Peter didn’t let his reason and experience keep him from obeying
the Lord’s command. He may have had his doubts, but he
subjected those doubts to the Word of the Lord. And so he added,
“But at your word I will let down the nets,” and he
did. The Word of God had its way with Peter, a disciple of Jesus,
and caused him to let his reason and experience to be taken captive by
the Word of God.
We disciples of Jesus are a lot like Peter, too,
often letting our reason and experience run the show rather than
God’s Word. God’s Word often sounds too weak and
foolish to be believed and obeyed, and so we doubt it and try to do
things our own way. But like Peter we too must learn from the
Word to let our reason and experience be taken captive by the Word of
God and simply say, “Lord, it is your Word; therefore, at your
Word we will hear, believe, and do what you command.”
Then the Word does its work, and Peter is amazed, so
amazed that he’s terrified at Jesus, for he now knows who Jesus
truly is - God in the flesh. This is the third thing we see the
Word of God doing here - opening our eyes in order to recognize who
Jesus is, and then terrorizing us like it did Peter on account of our
sins. Recognizing who Jesus is causes Peter to recognize who he
is - a sinful man. The best thing that Jesus could do for him in
his eyes is to leave him alone, to depart from him, for if Jesus is God
and Peter is a sinner, then Peter is in big trouble. We, too,
must confess ourselves to be sinners before God. We must confess
that we deserve His punishment, that we deserve to depart from His
presence into eternal death.
But Jesus uses His Word not to heap more guilt and
condemnation on Peter. Instead, He speaks words of comfort,
peace, and absolution to him: “Do not be afraid,” He
says. These were the words which the angels spoke to the
shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth, when they were
terrified at the sight of the glory of the Lord all around them.
The angels told them not to be afraid, because they had come not to
announce judgment and condemnation, but to bring them good news of
great joy that would be for all people. That good news was that a
Savior had been born to us - Christ the Lord. And then the angels
sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
towards men.” Jesus’ words speak that good news to
you sinners today. They proclaim to you that it is on account of
Him, your Savior, that God forgives your sins, grants you His favor,
and gives you peace. And though you can’t see the
forgiveness of your sins like Peter could see the great catch of fish,
you can know from this account that His words do what they say.
Jesus was sacrificed for you on the cross. His blood atoned for
all your sins - an atonement that was confirmed by His resurrection
from the dead. His blood was applied to you in your Baptism and
it along with Christ’s body is given you to eat and drink in the
Lord’s Supper. These are the visible signs today that you
have what Jesus’ words promise - peace with God. You need
not be afraid of God any more. Your sins have been answered for
by Jesus. For His sake God is gracious and merciful towards you
and forgives you all your sins.
Having received the Lord’s words of comfort
and peace, Peter and the rest of the disciples are then given a
commission, a new vocation - to be fishers of men, making disciples of
Jesus themselves by using as their net the Word of God. This is
the final lesson here about what happens at the Lord’s
Word. Having been caught by the net of the Word of the Gospel
yourself and brought into the boat of the Church where Jesus is
proclaiming your sins forgiven and feeding you on Himself and His Word,
He now makes you fishers of men, sending you out into your various
vocations with the net of His Word to catch others with His Gospel and
bring them into the kingdom of God. Again, it’s not really
you who’s doing the catching; it’s the Word of God.
You’re simply the instruments that the Lord is using as He casts
the net of His Word into the sea of the world. You may not see it
catching anyone, but you don’t have to. God’s Word
will not return to Him void. It will accomplish what He sends it
out to do.
And so, things happen at the Lord’s
Word. We are brought to confess our sins and to confess that we
have a Savior - Jesus Christ, on whose account God forgives our sins
and brings us into His kingdom. There the Word continues to do
its work of granting us pardon and peace, while commissioning us to be
fishers of men ourselves, sending us out with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ into our various vocations and stations in life, that others who
hear that Word from us may also come to confess their sins and believe
in the Savior. In the end, all the glory goes to God alone
through Jesus Christ, whose Word does what He sends it out to do,
delivering Jesus and all His benefits to you and all who would trust in
Him for eternal life. It’s God’s Word, after all, the
truth of which is confirmed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the
Word enfleshed. Amen.