Luke 5:3
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, 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. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, 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.
Jesus stepped into Simon Peter's boat after a fruitless night of toil and asked him to push out a little from shore, then sat down and taught the crowd pressing to the water's edge where they could better see and hear. The humble, rocking fisherman's boat was thus made a pulpit, showing that the gospel was first proclaimed where people were and not only in imposing churches or secluded religious places. From it He proclaimed with authority the good news of salvation and the mysteries of His kingdom in simple, earnest words that brought healing and strength to sin-sick souls. None of that teaching fell fruitless, but its truths went out over the world to spring up as light through time and eternity. That teaching led directly to the great draught of fishes and the call to leave nets and boats to become fishers of men, illustrating that His abiding presence makes human effort successful in winning souls and that God still does His work through humble, teachable, common people.
Boat Pulpit by the Lake
This belongs to the call by the sea at the commencement of Christ's ministry, the same event told in Matthew and Mark, when the fishermen had returned for a short time to their fishing after a fruitless night. They had come back to their former work for a short time because grief over John's death and fear for Jesus' safety had troubled them. The teaching from the ship then led directly on to the command to launch into the deep and let down the nets.
Jesus entered into Simon Peter's boat and asked him to thrust out a little from the land, and Simon, though weary with toil and disappointment, cheerfully complied. He sat down in the rocking boat and taught the crowd pressing down to the water's edge to hear the Word of God. There was no suitable place on land and the crowd was too large, so the move eased the press and put Him where He could be better seen and heard. Men, women, and children on shore and in nearby boats listened attentively from that position a little way from land.
The glorious Commander of angels, the Honored of heaven, having left the royal courts of heaven, did not take His position upon David's throne but sat in a humble, unpretentious fisherman's boat swayed to and fro by the restless waves. He taught from that lowly seat even when weary and at the end of a long and toilsome day. That fishing boat was made a pulpit and was never so honored nor put to so profitable use to its owner as when He proclaimed Bible truth and words of eternal life from it. The gospel was thus first proclaimed in humble settings and where people were, not only in imposing churches, pulpits, or secluded religious spaces.
The open-air setting by the lake of Gennesaret was most fitting for His work. The lake, the mountains, the spreading fields, and the sunlight flooding the earth furnished objects to illustrate His lessons and impress them upon the mind. The lakeside scenery became a setting for lessons drawn from nature, connecting ordinary settings and daily events with truth and speaking of the higher life. He was ready to open the treasure-house of truth wherever He found those ready to listen, on the mountainside, from a boat, in the desert, on the great thoroughfares of travel, and at the yearly festivals where He brought eternity within the view of multitudes absorbed in outward ceremony.
From the boat He proclaimed with authority the good news of salvation, the great things and mysteries of His kingdom, and Bible truth. He taught in simple, earnest, convincing words that appealed to common people and persuaded them. He ministered with tender, courteous grace to sin-sick souls to bring healing and strength, with a simplicity and earnestness that hallowed every word. His teaching planted seeds of truth that spring up to eternal life.
None of His teaching from the boat fell fruitless, for every message from His lips came to some soul as the word of eternal life. The truths spoken in that sermon went all over the world and accomplished a work which eternity alone will reveal, springing up a light to be reflected through time and through eternity. That light will be seen when the judgment shall sit and the books of record are opened and the history of the effort is revealed. Some fishermen who listened later became His appointed ministers to help establish His enduring spiritual kingdom, and His words there were immortalized in His disciples and given to the world as the legacy of God.
Call to Be Fishers
The teaching from the ship leads directly to the command to launch out into the deep water and let down the nets, when such a multitude of fishes is taken that the net breaks. The miraculous catch impresses Peter with divine power, bringing him to recognize his own sinfulness and unworthiness, so that he clings to Jesus even as he asks Him to depart. He then bids them leave their boats and nets and follow Him to become fishers of men. The call comes when their nets are full and the old life has a strong pull, testing whether they value temporal gain or fellowship with Him more, and their leaving their nets models people today leaving their occupations to proclaim the gospel.
In this call He chooses humble, teachable, ordinary fishermen whom He can train, raising up willing helpers and co-workers to carry the truth and do His work. They are free from worldly customs and fashions, religious bigotry, and blind prejudice, which makes them teachable and useful in His work. They are marked by candor, fairness, kindness, and sympathy for others that help them receive and preserve His teaching for future generations. He begins their training and educates them through the Scriptures rather than through the rabbis, shaping willing helpers to be shaped by Him.
His presence in the ship makes the fishermen's work successful, illustrating that His abiding, indwelling presence is equally necessary for winning souls and that human effort without Him cannot produce lasting good. When human effort labors in connection with Him, as in bidding them cast on the right side where He stands on the shore, His divine power uniting with human effort will not fail of success. The later resurrection draught of fishes is wrought to make that former miracle more impressive, to show that though deprived of His personal companionship and of sustenance from fishing, the resurrected Saviour still cares for them and will provide for them while doing His work, and to renew the commission that His death had not removed. By using a fisherman's working boat as His teaching place and choosing working fishermen as co-laborers, He joins His ministry directly to working life, showing that ordinary labor and religious service are not to be divided.
Pattern for Present Ministry
Luke 5:3 belongs to the record of Christ's ministry to people seeking help for their spiritual and physical needs, and that ministry is the model for all who serve others. From the fisherman's boat He carries on His work as the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, giving an example of His own methods of helping all who were in need of help. He ministers with tender, courteous grace to sin-sick souls to bring them healing and strength, with a simplicity and earnestness that hallows every word. His readiness to open the treasure-house of truth wherever He finds those ready to listen is seen on the mountainside, from a boat, in the desert, on the great thoroughfares of travel, and at the yearly festivals of the Jewish nation, where He speaks of heavenly things to multitudes absorbed in outward ceremony and brings eternity within their view.
By the lake of Gennesaret Jesus asks Simon for the use of his boat to teach the crowd pressing to hear the Word of God, and Simon, though weary with toil and disappointment, cheerfully complies and thrusts out a little from land. That unpretentious fishing boat is made a pulpit and is never so honored and never put to so profitable use to its owner as when Jesus sits in it and proclaims Bible truth and speaks words of eternal life. The truths spoken in that sermon go all over the world and accomplish a work which eternity alone will reveal, springing up a light to be reflected all through the world through time and through eternity. It will be seen when the judgment shall sit and the books of record shall be opened and the history of the effort is revealed. This experience has been repeated to thousands of messengers of the Lord Jesus and has inspired hope and courage and faith.
The calling of the fishermen in this account shows that God raises up ordinary people and prepares them to carry the truth and do His work. God does His work through common people, and as of old He called fishermen, so He will raise up men and women from among the common people to accomplish His work by means not now seen. There will soon be an awakening that will surprise many, in which those who do not realize the necessity of what is to be done will be passed by, while heavenly messengers work with those called the common people, fitting them to carry the truth to many places. Now is therefore the time to awake and do what can be done.