Christian Living
This is a republish of a previous article ‘10 Things About Peter That Made for a Net Breaking Miracle.’
Peter is one of my favorite disciples of Jesus Christ. Understanding his transformation from an unstable talkative fisherman to a reliable leader of the rest of the disciples after Jesus’s death, reveals God’s magnificence in making a masterpiece of unlikely vessels.
The early verses of Luke chapter 5 does more than show a miracle of provision and abundance. Those verses of scripture portrays Peter in a light that helps us appreciate why Christ chose him to lead his team despite his obvious human imperfections. They reveal the personality of Peter and how this contributed to him experiencing a net-breaking miracle.
“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Luke 5:4-8 NKJV
We consider 10 of Peter’s qualities from this portion of scripture below…
- Peter was hardworking and resilient. Peter was not only a professional fisherman, he was also very hardworking and resilient. Why spend a whole night searching for fish? With his fishing experience Peter should know better that the tides were unfavorable that particular night and pull the boat to the shore, instead of staying on for a whole night. Peter was surely a man dedicated to and passionate about his trade.
- Peter had a generous heart. A bad night of fishing without fish is enough to make anyone cranky and not nice, Peter was the complete opposite of cranky. Someone might even want to think that Jesus was being ‘insensitive’. I mean Peter just had a bad night, and to come asking for favor, moreover to preach! Maybe it would have been nicer if Jesus just offered to first get the fishes for Peter before asking for his boat. Peter gave his out his boat without complain and without any obvious immediate gain.
- Peter was teachable. I had to use my imagination a bit to answer the question of where Peter was after letting Christ have his boat for a sermon? Was he washing his nets or getting a well deserved rest? I want to believe that Peter sat down with the crowd and listened to Jesus teach. What Peter didn’t realize though was that by bringing himself to listen to Jesus Christ, he was building his faith in preparation for his forthcoming miraculous catch of fish. Peter’s faith was stirred up by Jesus’ teaching, his expectation was aroused and I daresay Peter was greatly impressed with the words of wisdom that proceeded from Jesus’ lips.
- Peter acknowledged the limits of his skill. When Jesus directed Peter, a professional fisherman, to let down the nets again, Peter could have felt insulted. Does Jesus have sufficient knowledge or experience on fishing to be directing him exactly where he needed to let down the nets for a good catch? It was probably easy for Peter to obey Jesus because having listened to Him, he appreciated a superior knowledge/wisdom in display, and he responded positively to it.
- Peter respected authority. When a seasoned fisherman tells you he has toiled all night without a catch, he must be pretty sure of himself. But again, having listened to Christ, Peter recognized Jesus’ authority and if Christ could teach with such wisdom, He must have God’s authority. Maybe more important is the fact that Peter placed Jesus’ authority above his experience.
- Peter recognized and acknowledged a miracle when he saw one. There are many people that would come up with logical explanations for why their second round of fishing yielded great catch rather than ‘fall down at Jesus feet’. Peter recognized that only a supernatural intervention would give the kind of catch they experienced and he was not going to take the praise to himself. This net breaking miracle is all to the glory of God.
- Peter cared about other people. When Peter called his partners in the other boat to come help gather miracle, I believe that he called them to come share of his abundance and not just to help him carry his blessings to shore. Once again, we see Peter’s generous nature show up.
- Peter prioritized Godly wisdom over earthly strengths. How do you toil all night without success and then be magnanimously given what you toiled for in an overwhelming measure, only to abandon same and walk away? You must have seen something of greater value! Whatever Peter heard Christ teach, combined with his experience of the miraculous catch of fish, made nonsense of Peter’s technical know-how, knowledge and experience. He hungered for Christ’ wisdom.
- Peter prioritized Godly wisdom over wealth. You don’t seek for a promotion, get one and then refuse the salary increment or benefits of your promotion. Peter needed fish to make money/wealth. It doesn’t make sense that he’d walk away from it when he got it. Can you just imagine how much money 2 almost-sinking-boats laden with fishes would bring? But Peter suddenly ignored all that to become a fisher of men; something he knew little or nothing about at the time.
- Peter trusted Jesus. By abandoning his fishes, boats and nets and following Christ, Peter was walking into the unknown. That is only possible where there is trust. Yes, Peter was generally unstable in his reaction to things, but to abandon his only source of livelihood without thinking was a bit overboard. I believe Peter’s encounter with Jesus helped his decision no matter how irrational it looked. If Jesus can teach with so great a wisdom and miraculously provide what he toiled all night for, then Jesus can be trusted absolutely to take care of him.
We can all learn something from Peter to aid or facilitate our next net breaking miracle.
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Grace Obomanu
