And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

1) What is Simon Peter’s attitude toward Jesus in verse 5?
Peter had fished all night with nothing to show for it, then had sat in his boat while a Rabbi he had never met gave a sermon. Then this Rabbi told him to go out and fish again. Peter spoke with respect (using the title, “Master”), but the way he explained to Jesus how their night of fishing had gone indicates that he was skeptical of Jesus. He respected a religious leader enough to obey, but he didn’t expect to have different results from his fishing.

2) What was Simon Peter’s attitude toward Jesus after he witnessed a miracle?
The amount of fish that Peter and his partners caught was miraculous, and Peter’s response was to call Jesus “Lord” and to confess his sinfulness. Once he began to realize who Jesus was, he was convicted of his sin, and responded by falling down in front of Him.

3) How did Simon Peter and the other three men respond to Jesus?
Verse 11 says that they left everything and followed Him. They recognized that Jesus was someone important, more important than anyone they had ever met. Although they might not have recognized Him at the Messiah at this point, they saw that they needed to respond to His call by leaving everything and following Him.

1) What is Simon Peter’s attitude toward Jesus in verse 5?
All of us must wrestle with a certain amount of skepticism as we come to faith in Christ. Even those who have grown up being taught about Jesus need to wrestle through their doubts before they can fully embrace following Christ. The amazing thing is that God is big enough to answer our doubts and to help us understand Him better. If you are struggling with skepticism or doubt, dig into God’s word, and ask Him to help you understand who He is. He will answer your prayer. Have questions you want to bounce off of someone? Send us an email!

2) What was Simon Peter’s attitude toward Jesus after he witnessed a miracle?
Once Peter realized who Jesus was, his response was to confess that he was a sinner. Our response should be the same. If you do not feel convicted of your sin (and grateful for His grace) when you think about Christ, it could be that your view of God is too small and your view of yourself is too important. Although God probably won’t appear to you personally with a miraculous catch of fish, He shows His power and His holiness again and again throughout Scripture. Read it, study it, and see who Christ really is!

3) How did Simon Peter and the other three men respond to Jesus?
These verses show a progression from skepticism, to belief, to responding by following Christ. The disciples immediately left everything to follow Him. They didn’t even take the time to profit from the biggest catch of fish they had ever hauled in! Nothing, nothing in this world is worth comparing to the joy of following Christ. Is there something that is holding you back from following Him with abandon? Safety, security, comfort, and many other good things can easily become idols that hinder us spiritually. Ask God to reveal any of these idols hiding in your heart.

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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