Luke 5: Called to be obedient

Cadet Megan Moore discovers value is added as we give our time, trust and talents to Jesus.

Key texts

• Luke 5:1-11

What does it mean to you to be obedient to Jesus? In our study passage, we encounter Jesus by Lake Gennesaret, a busy place of work, where he is teaching people who have come to hear him. There are so many people there that Jesus needs to find space so he can better teach them and not be crushed by them. Jesus asks Simon, whose mother-in-law he healed from a high fever (see Luke 4:38 and 39), for his help.

Simon has been fishing all night and has returned empty-handed – he is ready to go home and try again tomorrow, so he is cleaning his nets by the shore. Then he is approached by Jesus and asked to be his personal boat captain – not something you would expect from a normal day of work.

Simon could easily refuse and carry on with his work. Instead, he chooses to be obedient with his time. By accepting Jesus’ request, he makes space for Jesus in his busy life. Even among all the turmoil of an unsuccessful day at work, Simon recognises that Jesus is worthy of his time.

Simon has a physical encounter with the Son of God, and we are promised an encounter too – with the same risen Lord through the power of the Spirit. Do we, like Simon, look to be obedient with our normal, everyday routines and offer them to Jesus?

Pause and reflect

• Do you expect to encounter Jesus in daily life?
• Are you prepared and willing to make space and time for him?

Simon probably expects Jesus – this rather extraordinary man – to ask to be taken back to shore. Instead, Jesus has other plans and tells Simon: ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch’ (v4). At this point, if I were Simon, I would have been thinking: ‘I’ve already done that. Are you sure?’

Jesus, who seemingly has no experience of fishing, tells this seasoned fisherman, who most probably was raised to be one from birth, how to fish. It might seem unlikely that Jesus, a carpenter by trade, would have a better natural awareness of the habits of fish than Simon. The best fishing – I’m reliably informed – is at night and close to the shore, not in deep water in daylight.

However, instead of refusing, Simon chooses to be obedient to Jesus again, this time giving him his trust. Even though Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, the decision couldn’t have been easy for him. It might seem against his better judgement to trust his livelihood to Jesus.

Simon knows and expresses that he thinks this idea won’t work, but he answers: ‘Because you say so, I will let down the nets’ (v5).

The result of Simon’s obedience is nothing short of amazing! Verse 6 tells us so many fish were being caught that the nets were breaking. Simon’s partners have to rush to help out: ‘They came and filled both boats so full they began to sink’ (v7).

Simon begins the encounter with Jesus in disappointment and ends it in joy. With a simple decision to trust Jesus, Simon is rewarded with more than he could ever ask for or imagine.

We, too, are asked continually to offer the whole of our lives to Jesus and let him have lordship over them. What do you need to trust Jesus with today?

Pause and reflect

• To what extent are you prepared to trust Jesus to be in control of your life – even against your better judgement?
• Which facets of your life do you find difficult to surrender to Jesus?

At the end of our study passage, Jesus invites Simon to leave his fishing business and become a fisher of people. Jesus calls Simon and his partners, the brothers James and John – in the midst of their working week, in the normality of their everyday lives – to come and be missionaries.

Jesus does not call his first disciples in the synagogue, where one might expect more learned disciples to be found, but he chooses to encounter these men on the beach as they mend their nets. Simon and his brothers appear to be untrained and inexperienced. And yet Jesus uses their experience to apply to ministry: catching fish is a skill requiring training and patience, and so does evangelism.

We are also called to be obedient with our talents in our own personal ministries, wherever we are. Might Jesus be calling you to engage in his extraordinary business?

Pause and reflect

• How and where is Jesus calling you to use your gifts and talents for his glory?

This Bible study is the first in a series building up to Candidates Sunday, looking at the story of Peter. For more information, visit tsa.link/candidates-sunday-2026.