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THE K I N G ’ S' BUS I NES S
January, 1942
He said, "A five-pound bass at the end of .that rod is Mozart, and Beet-,; hoven, and Shakespeare, and Cicero all in one thrill.” He had .the fishing spirit, don’t you see? He was a genuine fisherman. Would. God that we Christians had the spirit for fishing for men like that! Our delight in it .Would excel all the pleasure of music and poetry •and oratory.—A. C. Dixon, in Five Thousand Best Modern Illustrations, by G. B. F. Hallock. Four1Fishermen L uke 5:1-11 MEMORY VERSE: “I have called you friends” (John 15:15), APPROACH: Frank had gone out on the fishing barge with his father. It was his first attempt at fishing, and he wasn’t succeeding very welL places with him, but still Frank could catch nothing, while (his f a t h e r kept bringing them-in. I wonder why he could catch fish in the place where his little boy seemed to find none. Maybe it was because he had been a fisherman for so many years that he knew all about the habits of fish. What do you think? LESSON STORY: Today We have the story of some fishermen who could catch nothing and of one who brought in so many fish that the nets broke. The fishermen were Peter and James and John, and the other one was the Lord Jesus Himself. Peter and James and John had fished all night and caught nothing. Morning came and they went ashore to wash their nets. Jesus came by and asked Peter to lend Him his boat for a pulpit. When He had finished talking to the peo ple as they were gathered on the lake shore facing Him, He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and' let down your nets for a draught.” Now Peter was sure there were no fish there. : He had been trying to find some all night. But he was will ing to mind Jesus. He said, “Never theless at thy word I will let down the net.” And after the Lord Jesus had told Peter where to fish, Peter caught so many that the boat almost sank! I wonder why. Maybe it was because Jesus knew all about fish since He had made them. Don’t you think it must have been because He 5 - b i v i s i o r v His father was catching .plenty of fish right by his side, but Frank could catch noth ing. Finally , he said, “Daddy, I think all the fish are on your •side. CoUld I trade?” His father changed
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Thus ■the miracle, becorhes all the greater, having to do not only with the large number taken, but also with the place where they were c a u g h t , a placfe where no experienced fisher man would expect to find them. 6. "Toiled all the night . . . taken nothing . . . nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net" (v. 5). This is the language of faith. Everything here was opposed to the testimony of mere sense experience, but Peter was ready to follow the word of the Lord. Our greatest blessings come at just such times. Golden Text Illustration M ark 1 :17 Jesus Christ said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” IMk. 16:15). T h a t word “go” is as big as the earth, and as little as the space between you and the next man. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). I was talking to a deacon the other day who is at the head of a great corporation. If you saw him in church, -you might, think he w o u l d never unbend, but it was in the fish ing season, and he had just received from a friend the gift of a fine new rod. He forgot' his dignity as he talked about the pleasure of fishing. BLACKBOARD LESSON ■•JESUS-SAWmio 6RETHREO- CASTinaen£T iatotoesea - muTT.v.ia
Points and Problems 1. "He stood by the lake of Gen- nesaret" (Lk. 5:1). As one commen tator remarks, “Luke never calls it a sea; others never call it a lake.” It was also called the “sea pf Galilee” and the “ sea of Tiberias” (Matt. 4:18; John 21:1) . The Old Testament name was “sea of Chinnereth” (Niim. 34:11). While it was perfectly in accord with popular speech to call it a “sea,” Luke shows his meticulous concern for ver bal accuracy by calling it a “lake.” Much of our Lord’s ministry was in the region about this body of water. 2. "Saw two ships" (v. 2). The Greek is a diminutive-r-“little ships,” or boats, as we would say. Josephus says there were 23Q of these little ships on Galilee, managed by crews of four or five men. Their small size is indicated by the fact that the un usually large catch almost sank them (v.; 7). 3. "And prayed him" (v, 3), The Greek verb is not an ordinary word .for “pray.” It means simply to ask, 'or make request. Our. Lord used this word in His great high-priestly prayer in John 17. 4. "And he sat down" (v. 3). This ■was , the habit of Jewish teachers. They very seldom or never spoke standing up. See Luke 4:16,20 where in the synagogue at Nazareth our Lord stood to read the Scripture but sat down when He began to teach the people, a restful and informal man ner of teaching. 5. "Launch out into the deep" (v. 4). Many a preacher has waxed eloquent over this command, but has missed the point. Fishing with nets was nearly always done in the shallows comparatively near the shore. To Peter the command must have seemed altogether contrary to all the accepted and common-sense rules of fishing.
“COfTlE s)£ „FYERmei, AfìD I UJILLfTlflKE yOU to Become fisu ras of men."
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