Note: Audio is not available for this sermon.
Peter and the other fishermen had worked all night, yet they caught nothing. In the morning, they washed their nets and prepared to go home. Then a great crowd began to gather along the shore. They came to hear Jesus preach the Word of God. Peter and the other fishermen set aside their work and joined the crowd to listen.
Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and used it as His pulpit. From there Jesus taught the people. Most likely, He proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God and that the Kingdom is present among them. Most likely, He preached with authority declaring peace and forgiveness for them.
Notice the order. First, Jesus preaches, then He performs a miracle. His priority is first to preach His Word and then to perform a miracle. The miracle would confirm the truth of His preaching and would reveal that He is none other than God in the flesh.
Why have you come here today? Above all, you have come to hear the Word of God. God’s Word is a lamp unto to feet and a light unto our path. It reveals who God is and what He has done for us and what He continues to do for us. God’s Word teaches us what to do and what not to do. It guides us in how to love God and the neighbor.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” We are gathered to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. This is our highest priority. Through preaching of His Word, Christ speaks words of sin and grace; words of law and Gospel; words of repentance and forgiveness; words about the cross and resurrection; and words of death and life. There is nothing more important than hearing the voice of Christ. It is our highest priority.
We see this in Peter and the other fishermen. They were fishermen by trade, yet they stopped working to hear Jesus preach. Their example teaches us that while honest labor is a gift from God, hearing Christ’s Word always comes first.
The work that you do is good and God pleasing. Fathers and mothers provide for their families. Workers serve their neighbors. Citizens seek the welfare of their communities. God calls each of us to be faithfully in our various vocations. Work is necessary, but receiving Christ’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation is absolutely necessary. Work is important, but God’s Word is our greatest treasure. It is good for us to be here.
After Jesus finished preaching, He said to Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Who is the expert fisherman—Peter or Jesus? Peter had spent his life on these waters. He was a professional fisherman. While Jesus had been raised in a carpenter’s home. Humanly speaking, Peter knew more about fishing. His experience told him that fish are not caught in this way, at this hour and in this place.
Yet Peter trusted Jesus’ Word above his own understanding. He said to Jesus, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.”
Jesus is the true expert. He is the Creator. He made the sea. He made the fish. He is Lord over all creation. He has the power to bring fish into empty nets.
Peter took Jesus as His Word. This is a beautiful picture of faith. Faith says, “At Your Word.” Faith does not rest on human reason or experience but upon the promises of God’s Word.
We see this throughout our Christian life. Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies, though our sinful flesh wants revenge. God says that Baptism saves, but our human reason sees only plain water. Jesus said that bread and wine are His true body and blood, but our human reason objects. Jesus forgives sins, but our human reason doesn’t believe it. Our human reason struggles with these promises, but faith simply says to God, “I believe in the power of Your Word and in your many promises.”
Peter obeyed Jesus. He let down the nets and immediately a miracle took place. They caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. They filled two boats until both were nearly sinking. With God all things are possible.
Remarkably, Peter does not celebrate the large catch of fish. Instead, he falls at Jesus’ knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God and that he himself is a sinner. The miracle reveals both Christ’s divine majesty and Peter’s unworthiness.
This is exactly what God’s law does for us. It exposes our sin and brings us to repentance. It reveals our selfishness, impatience, pride, greed, and unbelief. It reveals our trust in money more than in God’s promises. It reveals our love for earthly treasures more than the Giver of every good gift. Like Peter, we can only confess, “I am a poor miserable sinner.”
Yet the Law is never God’s final word. Immediately Jesus speaks the Gospel. He said to Peter, “Do not be afraid.” Those words are the very heart of the Gospel. Jesus does not deny Peter’s sin. Instead, He removes Peter’s fear.
Christ did not come into the world to condemn sinners but to save them. He bore our guilt upon the cross. He suffered the punishment we deserve. He took our place under God’s judgment. Through His death and resurrection, He has reconciled us to the Father.
Therefore, Jesus also says to you today, “Do not be afraid. Do not worry. I am in control.” No matter how great your sins may be, Christ has already paid for them by His blood. His cross is sufficient. His sacrifice is complete and His resurrection guarantees that death has been conquered forever.
The same Jesus who comforted Peter now comforts you. He speaks forgiveness into your ears. He feeds you with His own body and blood. He strengthens you to serve faithfully in your various vocations. And He blesses you in your daily work.
Having forgiven Peter, Jesus then gives him a new calling: “From now on you will be catching men.” Peter and the other disciples were called into the office of preaching the Gospel. Through their preaching the Holy Spirit would convert people from unbelief to faith in Christ. As the book of Acts repeatedly says, “The Word of God grew.” God provides the growth. Wherever Christ’s Word is faithfully preached, the Holy Spirit creates faith and gathers His people into His Church.
Like fishermen casting nets, pastors simply proclaim God’s Word. The Gospel itself is the net. It goes out to all people, to all nations, and to all people groups. The Gospel draws people out of the world and into the Church.
The Church does not grow through marketing or entertainment. It does not manipulate people into believing. People are not converted by appealing to the emotions or by attractive programs. Conversion is never the result of human decision. The Holy Spirit alone converts sinners through the Word of God. The Church grows through the preaching of Christ crucified. The Holy Spirit gathers sinners into Christ’s Church, where they receive forgiveness, life, and salvation.
God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But the catch is His and not ours. He alone receives the glory not us. He just wants us to witness the Gospel to the family member, the friend or the neighbor and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. Bring them to the Divine Service where ears hear the preaching of Christ crucified.
Peter, James and John brought their boats to land. They could have made a lot of money selling those fish, yet they left everything and followed Jesus. Jesus called them into the apostolic office to preach His Word.
Christ continues to give pastors to His Church today. They are called to preach and teach God’s Word faithfully and to administer the Sacraments according to Christ’s institution. They are to visit the sick and dying. They are to seek the lost within the community.
The church needs faithful pastors. Two ladies from my home congregation encouraged me to consider becoming a pastor. If you know of a young man who is qualified and gifted to serve as a pastor, encourage him to consider serving Christ and His Church.
Not everyone is called into the pastoral office, nor is every man is qualified for it. But every Christian has a holy vocation. You serve one another in love. You bring up your children in the faith. You read Scripture together as a family and you pray together. You also faithfully attend the Divine Service to receive Christ’s gifts. You also support the ministry of the Gospel. You confess Christ before the world. And you are honest and faithful within their daily vocation.
Finally, this miracle was never about catching more fish or making more money. It was about Jesus. The miracle pointed to Jesus who caused this miracle. Who is Jesus? He is God in human flesh. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is our Redeemer who came to save us poor sinners.
Our careers, our homes, and our possessions are wonderful gifts from God, but Christ Himself is our greatest treasure. What is Sunday morning all about? It’s about Jesus—who He is, what He has done for us, and what He continues gives to us through His Word and Sacrament. Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness found in Christ and all that you need will be provided for you.
Dearly beloved in the Lord, just as fish were brought into the boat, so Christ has drawn you out of the world and into His church. He has brought you from darkness into light and from unbelief to faith in Christ.
You were brought into the church not with fishing nets but through the waters of Holy Baptism. There you were united to Christ. You heard the preaching of Christ crucified and faith was strengthen. Through that same Gospel your faith continues to be nourished and preserved.
Fish in the sea search for their own food, but here, in God’s house, God freely feeds you with His Word and with Christ’s body and blood. Here you sins are forgiven. Here the crucified and risen Christ is proclaimed for your salvation. Here faith is strengthened and sustained. Christ is present here with His gifts of life and salvation.
This is no better place to be. Thanks be to God. Amen.
