Banquet With The King: Are You a Fisherman?

Fisherman on the Sea of Galilee
About to cast his net.
Is he fishing for fish or men?

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish." "Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me—I'm too much of a sinner to be around you." For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. Luke 5:1-11

Meditate. Consider how you fish.

There are a couple of versions of Jesus calling these fishermen. See John 1:35-42 (Banquet With The King blog February 23, 2026).

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matthew 4:18-22

In Luke's account, Jesus preaches from one of the fishing boats, with His word floating over the water to the people sitting on the hillside. Imagine the gentle breeze from the water, with a light odor of fish and the warm sunshine. When Jesus tells the fisherguys to keep on fishing, they do, but Simon is overwhelmed with the fishing catch and feels unworthy of this attention and blessing from the Lord. When he declares that he is too much of a sinner, Jesus assures him that He has a job for him, fishing for people. Andrew, Simon, James, and John. These four fishermen became the inner circle for Jesus. You can see them traveling, praying, learning from His teaching, and just generally serving and living with Jesus throughout the Gospels. They become fishermen for Jesus.

What do we learn about Jesus from this scripture passage? Jesus is still working miracles. Look at all those fish. He is very generous. We actually see this repeated after His resurrection when there were 153 large fish in their nets as recorded in John 21. Jesus meets the needs of His disciples, physically and spiritually. Even when Simon felt unworthy, Jesus still called him anyway. Has Jesus called you to fish for Him? Are you a fisherman?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, as a child, I sang the song about You choosing these fishermen as Your disciples. “I will make you fishers of men, if you follow Me.” Sometimes I feel unworthy, like Simon Peter. Help me focus my thoughts on You and Your teachings moment by moment, day by day. Where do I need to “fish” for You today?

Verse of Salvation ~ Finally, believers, we ask and admonish you in the Lord Jesus, that you follow the instruction that you received from us about how you ought to walk and please God (just as you are actually doing) and that you excel even more and more [pursuing a life of purpose and living in a way that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation]. For you know what commandments and precepts we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 AMP

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

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Are You a Fisherman?

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