Luke 5:1-11
Jesus, the Personal Lord
In the last part of chapter 4, we saw Jesus establishing His
authority over sickness and demons. He cast out demons and cured the
sick. Tonight, we will see Him showing His authority over people and
the people He began with, were His own followers.
As we continue to study through this chapter, let’s notice that Jesus
was most likely still in Capernaum and that His popularity continues
to soar.
1. \\#1\\ Jesus is at the Lake of Gennesaret. That is another
name for the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias. All mean
the same body of water. While we are not told what city
Jesus was in, it is the port of Peter and so most likely was
still Capernaum.
2. Jesus’ fame was so great that He needed to use Peter’s boat
for a podium and platform. This set circumstances up for
Jesus to teach His disciples an important lesson.
I. Jesus must be Lord of All.
A. Jesus used this opportunity to begin to teach the disciples
the need to make Jesus the Lord of all.
1. Jesus transitions from being a Guest to being a Passenger
to being the Captain of this boat.
a. It was Peter’s boat.
Luke 5:3 And he entered into one of the ships,
which was Simon’s….
b. Once aboard, Jesus asked if Peter would push it out a
bit to serve as a podium and platform from which He
could teach the people.
Luke 5:3 …and prayed him that he would thrust
out a little from the land. And he sat down, and
taught the people out of the ship.
2. This was not Peter and Jesus’ first time to meet.
John 1:40 (After hearing John the Baptist point
Jesus out.) One of the two which heard John
speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon
Peter’s brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and
saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which
is, being interpreted, the Christ.
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus
beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of
Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by
interpretation, A stone.
3. And by reconciling John and the other gospels, it would
appear that Jesus and the disciple had already traveled
to Cana and perhaps some other places.
4. Peter, knowing Jesus, seemed happy to comply with Jesus’
request.
a. Note that it was a request.
b. Jesus "prayed him." That’s a switch! God asking a
man for something.
c. At this point, Jesus was Peter’s Guest.
5. But after speaking, Jesus assumed the role of Passenger
and Captain.
Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said
unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let
down your nets for a draught.
a. Here, Jesus does not REQUEST but COMMANDS.
b. Jesus commanded two things:
(1) Take me out into the deep.
(2) When I tell you, drop your nets.
c. Peter, probably willing to humor his Friend, agreed to
the first, but not completely to the second.
Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him,
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have
taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will
let down the net.
d. Of course we understand why?
(1) Peter was the experienced fisherman. Jesus was
the carpenter’s son.
(2) Peter had labored all night and the fish just
were not out there.
e. Under these circumstances, Peter was actually being
VERY magnanimous! (That net was going to have to
be rolled and cleaned again!)
f. Of course the results were astonishing.
(1) Peter caught so many fish, his net began to rip.
(2) He had to call his partners who with Peter hauled
in so many fish that the ships could not hold
them all.
g. This lead impulsive Peter to first become aware of
Jesus’ authority and he made his first declaration
that Jesus was the Captain of his vessel!
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down
at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I
am a sinful man, O Lord.
B. What Jesus did was to show His disciples the result of
submission to God.
1. In a nutshell, the result is that it is always better to
obey God.
2. The problem is that the human race rebels against God. We
do not want to submit to God.
3. The Bible teaches that one of the conditions of salvation
is repentance.
a. Repentance is essentially surrendering control of your
life to God.
b. God made man with a freewill, the ability to choose.
(1) One of the difference between humans and the
other beings that God has created, angels, is
that He wants human beings to continuously
choose to serve Him.
(2) The best we can tell, angels had a single
opportunity to exercise their will.
(3) But humans, at least as long as we are alive,
have a continuous choice.
c. Repentance is the state of surrendering our will to
God’s.
(1) Repentance along with faith produces salvation.
(2) Repentance along with faith is the proof of your
salvation—the only ones.
(3) Repentance along with faith powers the Christian
life.
4. So Jesus taught the disciples that He must be Lord of all.
C. Is it worth having Jesus as Lord of all?
1. On a personal level, you will have to make that decision
because God has given you that choice to you.
a. In this life, we may obey God some, none, or much.
b. However, as long as we rebel against God, we cannot be
saved from our sins.
2. On a Biblical level, I can tell you Jesus absolutely has
that right!
a. He is Lord by virtue of His identity. He is God.
b. He is Lord by virtue of His position. He is the Lord
God.
c. He is Lord by virtue of His power. He is the ALL
MIGHTY.
d. He is Lord by virtue of His past and present deeds.
He is Creator, Sustainer, Provider of all.
e. He is Lord by virtue of His future deed. He is
Judge.
3. And on an eternal level, I will tell you that one day, our
freewill will be changed—exactly how and to what extent,
I do not know; but one day, all will acknowledge Jesus’
Lordship.
Phi 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
4. Until then, you had better weigh the consequences of your
decision very carefully.
II. Jesus must be Lord no matter the command.
A. Peter’s first thought was to allow Jesus to make suggestions
but He would screen them and decide whether to obey or not.
1. We might say that Peter was generously offering to make
Jesus his co-pilot.
2. To be honest, that is what most people are willing to do.
3. The truth is that God is not interested in being anyone’s
co-pilot or even the pilot’s chair.
a. What Jesus is looking for is some auto-pilots that
will let Him control them, but who have the option
of disengaging whenever they desire.
b. Jesus just doesn’t want them to desire that.
B. Again, we understand Peter’s reluctance to blindly obey every
command Jesus gives.
1. It was Peter’s boat. He had the experience. He had to
do the work, and many others.
2. These reasons all come back to one truth.
a. It is OUR life.
b. So every human being must make the choice to control
their lives or to surrender control to Jesus.
c. And for most, that is what salvation will boil down
to.
d. However, as I have already said, for the Christian,
we must continually re-make that decision.
e. This isn’t easy because to be honest, some of God’s
commands just don’t make sense to us.
C. Let me give you some principals that might help you to better
understand God’s commands.
1. God will always put the spiritual over the physical. (The
physical has been tainted by sin and so is corrupt and
will always typically make the wrong choice.)
Ro 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.
2. God will always put the eternal over the temporal. (God’s
eternal and the temporal is going to be put away one
day.)
Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast
laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and
they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,
and thy years shall not fail.
3. God will always put want us to put others over self. (God
wants a people that are not selfish.)
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.
4. God will always want good over evil.
a. There are other ways of saying that.
b. God will always want right over wrong, righteousness
over sinfulness.
c. Perhaps the best way is to God will always want
holiness above all else.
d. Why? Because that is God’s nature.
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for
I am holy.
5. God will always want faith over our fears, feelings, and
facts. (God wants us to trust Him and His Word.)
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him.
6. God will always want our obedience to Him over our
obedience to our flesh. (Choosing to obey His commands
over fulfilling our desires is the surest way to see
who is in control of our lives.)
Ex 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine:
D. If these six principals are too many to remember, let me sum
it up in just one.
1. God will always want us to honor Him over honoring
ourselves.
1Sam 2:30 …for them that honour me I will
honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly
esteemed.
2. Jehovah is God and God has the right to be loved, obeyed,
and worshipped—honored—above all the human race.
3. His commands might seem strange to us, but obedience to
them will always bring Him honor.
III. Jesus must be Lord of your life.
A. At some point the Word of God must move from being theorems
and generalities to being personal and private.
B. Peter represents US—and maybe too well for like Peter maybe
we have made some pledges that have not kept and maybe some
that did not even mean.
C. Well, make them again and this time mean it.
D. Jesus must be Lord of all, no matter what the command, in your
life.
I pray that He will be starting today.
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
