The Miracles of Jesus - Readings: Isaiah 35 & Luke 5: 1-11
This morning we are looking at the 'Miracles of Jesus' as we continue with our sermon series. And, of course, that immediately raises the question of why did Jesus perform miracles. And it's an interesting question to which I think Jesus himself provides an answer. Do you remember the occasion when John the Baptist was languishing in one of Herod's dungeons and he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was indeed the Messiah they were expecting? And this is what Jesus tells them in response: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good new is preached to the poor."
In other words the miracles being performed by Jesus were signs of the Kingdom of God breaking into the present - into the here and now. And this is what Kingdom life is about. So what we see is Jesus clearly linking his miracles to his mission in proclaiming the Kingdom of God and doing the very sort of things that the first century Jews expected the Messiah to actually do when he came.
And the reason for this is that many years prior to the coming of Jesus, the Rabbis in Judaism had divided miracles into two separate categories to help the Jewish people to recognise the Messiah when he came. And into one of those categories they placed miracles that anyone could perform if they were empowered to do so.
And into the other they placed those miracles that only the Messiah would be able to do when he came. So, for example, only the Messiah would be able to heal a man born blind from birth and only the Messiah would be able to cast out a deaf and dumb demon and so on. And, of course, these were the very kinds of miracles that Jesus was, in fact doing and these were reported back to John in prison.
But as we go through the gospels we see Jesus doing far more than the Rabbis expected, we also see him exercising his authority over nature in telling a storm to be quiet; we see him turning water into wine and feeding more than 5000 people with five barley loaves and two small fish and so on. And we can see where the rabbis derived their teaching from when looking at some of the messianic passages in the Old Testament like the one read to us this morning from Isaiah 35.
So on one level the miracles were signs of God's future Kingdom breaking into the present. But then on another level the miracles have much to say to us on a personal and individual level as well.
So let's take a closer look at the one about the miraculous catch of fish we heard in this morning's reading from Luke 5.
The story opens fairly early on in Jesus' ministry and the disciples have been out all night fishing on the Sea of Galilee or Lake Kinneret as it's called today and caught absolutely nothing. It has been exhausting and back breaking work; throwing the nets over the side and then pulling them in again empty and then throwing them over the side again. And they have been at this non-stop all night; and it's now morning and their backs are hurting and their whole bodies are just aching through all the work. But now they are in the process of washing and mending their nets. I don't know anything about fishing but I should imagine washing the nets is one of those tedious tasks that nobody likes doing but has to be done if the nets are going to be kept in good repair. So as they are sorting out their nets Jesus is preaching to a crowd from Peter's boat. They are probably only half listening to what Jesus is saying. But when he has finished speaking he says to Peter: "Come on now Peter and put out into deep water and let the nets down for a catch". "But Master" - and you can almost read Peter's thoughts at this point. "You can't be serious; this is a complete waste of time. We've just packed up all the nets and if we go out now we are going to have do it all over again. We've worked hard all night and haven't caught a thing; we know these waters and there are no fish out there at the moment and there certainly will not be any now it's daylight."
So is this what he actually says? Well let's look fully at what he does say: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." Now listen carefully to what he says next because it's important: "But because you say so, I will let down the net." - Now for me that sums up the meaning of true discipleship in a single phrase - because you say so Jesus, I will do it. "I wouldn't do this for anyone or anything else; but because you say so I will do it."
And the fact that Jesus asked Peter to do it was enough. And I wonder what our response would have been. And what if even now God is speaking into our hearts about something he wants us to do or someone he wants us to see. And maybe we don't want to do it, or feel we can't do it, or maybe we think it's just too inconvenient. So how are we responding to it? Might it be: "O Lord, I can't possibly to do that - it's just not me" or is it more likely to be "Lord, I wouldn't do it for anyone else; but if you say so I'll do it."
And asking what our response might be in such a situation is a searching question as it does much to reveal our attitude to the extent we really recognise Jesus as Lord. We often sing 'He is Lord' don't we: but is he in fact, Lord or just Lord of that part of our lives we consider to be the religious bit? I mean Peter might have been quite happy for Jesus to use his boat to talk about religious things; but then to use his boat to tell him how to fish - well for fishing it was Peter's boat. But then the hallmark of a true disciple is when we allow Jesus into every area of our lives; in our work, our leisure time or whatever.
So Peter puts the boat out into deep water and they let down the nets and the most amazing thing happens; the net suddenly begins to drag and it starts to break because of the weight of fish caught in it. In fact, the weight is so great it's beginning to destabilise and swamp the boat. And the situation is so serious that Peter has to call to James and John in the other boat to help them out. In fact, both boats are so full of fish that they are in danger of sinking. And these are professional fisherman; they know all about fishing on this lake but they have never seen so many fish as this in the net before. It's extraordinary. It's miraculous there's no other explanation. The Scripture says they were all astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.
And it's at this point while all the shouting and excitement is going on all around that something happens in Peter at a very deep level. It's a though he is suddenly aware of the holiness and authority of Jesus and a recognition of who he really is. O yes he has seen Jesus heal a number of people but this is on a different scale altogether. I don't suppose he can really explain why but he has this awareness that being in the presence of Jesus is none other than being in the presence of God. Not only does he become aware of who Jesus is but he is also aware at the same time of the sin lurking within his own heart And this big tough fisherman falls to his knees and says: "look just go away from me Lord: I am a sinful man."
And have you noticed how Peter first calls Jesus 'Master' and now it is 'Lord.'
And before a holy God this is where we all stand. The Scripture says that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None of us measure up to what we should be before a holy God; we are all in need of his forgiveness.
And this is Peter's realisation of himself and it frightens him. "Go away from me Lord;" he says: "I am not worthy" but Jesus does not go at all; instead he says: "Don't be afraid Peter; I want you to join with me in my work or bringing men and women into the kingdom." And although Peter is aware of his own sinful nature he is also aware at the same time of how much he is loved.
And it's when we come to that same point of knowing our need of God's forgiveness that Jesus draws near and says to us: "Don't be afraid that's why I came so that through me you might know the Father." And like Peter he invites us too to share in the work of his kingdom and making him known to others.
And, of course, this story is not really about fish at all is it? It's about our call to discipleship. It's about putting Jesus at the centre of our lives and not ourselves. It's about letting go of that reluctance to let him have full control and direction of our lives and being willing to say: "If you say so Lord, I will do it." And the fish? - Well they speak to me of the millions of people in the world who need to be won for Christ.
And there is a wonderful footnote to this story if we look at the final verse. It says: "So they pulled their nets up on shore, left everything and followed him." Now that's interesting isn't it because it implies that they not only left the boats and the nets but the catch as well. And this was a catch worth more than anything they had ever landed before.
And so what might this be saying to us today? Well I don't think it is suggesting that everyone who comes to Christ should give up the day job, although it might be for some, but it does raise the question of what really motivates us. Is it the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom or is it things such as worldly ambition; the trappings of wealth; success or whatever? Well for these fishermen something more important and precious had now come into there lives and these other things no longer had such a hold on them. And they could even now walk away from the most valuable catch they had ever landed. And could the same be said about us I wonder and maybe that's something we might need to think about.
Philip Newell - Licensed Reader
(Sermon preached at St Luke's on Sunday 28th August 2011.)
