Sketched IX Day 12 I Have Seen Him: Digging Deeper
Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions
Luke 5:1-11
5 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets. 6 When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” 9 For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.” 11 Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.
Original Intent
1) What is the significance of the boats? (verse 3)
As Peter was a fisherman, a boat was an important tool of the trade. After an unsuccessful night of fishing, Peter was washing the nets by the shore. It was here in this very common moment, Jesus physically stepped into Peter’s boat to better serve the crowd pressing close to hear Him. Jesus often taught from boats as it gave Him a little space from the crowd while the masses could sit on the shore, allowing them to see and hear better.
2) What changed in Peter as he witnessed the miracle? (verse 8)
Similar to Isaiah’s call in the Old Testament (Isaiah 6:1-8), Peter was overcome by the power and presence of Jesus. He was overcome and hyper-aware of his sinful nature. Before the miracle was given, however, Peter was faced with a decision to trust a Rabbi’s fishing advice over his long-seasoned experience, or just laugh Him off. Jesus’ advice surely seemed laughable to Peter, but his willingness to humble himself under Christ’s authority paved the way for the Lord Jesus to not only abundantly bless Peter with fish, but entirely re-write the story of his life. As Peter chose obedience, he witnessed the result of one step of faith and became keenly aware of Jesus’ authoritative holiness and his own un-holiness! (verse 8)
3) What did Jesus mean when He told Peter he would now catch people? (verse 10)
Jesus uses Peter’s current occupation as a metaphor to explain his future as a follower of Christ and “fisherman” for “people”. He responds to Peter’s humility with grace and a new assignment filled with rich purpose. Jesus would not divorce Peter’s natural love of fishing from his new calling, but instead, would use it to take Peter deeper and into more meaning than he ever dared dream. Peter would continue to fish, but instead of death, he would “catch” people, leading them to life. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came in the form of tongues of fire, Peter preached the Gospel and about 3,000 people were saved! (Acts 2)
Everyday Application
1) What is the significance of the boats? (verse 3)
The boat in this passage was a critically important tool Peter used to provide for himself and his family. It was vital for his career and the livelihood of his family. Yet, when allowed to be used by God, it produced so much more than Peter could have ever imagined! What have you been given? The first thing often considered is wealth, and God can certainly do much with our financial generosity, but we all have much more to offer Him. Consider your time. Depending on your season, you may have more time in this season to serve those who need to hear, or see, the saving grace of Jesus manifested through the generosity of your time. Consider other possessions. I know several who open their homes to groups of high school students on Sunday nights, so they can grow in their relationship with Jesus. What about your talents? Are you a gifted writer? An artist? Resist the temptation to compare your gift to someone else’s. Peter wasn’t comparing his boat to John’s, he just allowed the Lord to use what he had! When we surrender our whole hearts and lives to Jesus for His glory, there is no limit to what can be accomplished for His Kingdom!
2) What changed in Peter as he witnessed the miracle? (verse 8)
When was the last time you were overwhelmed by the power and movement of God? Enough so that, not only were you swept up by the sheer magnitude of God, but also were deeply aware of your own un-holiness. Peter witnessed something that could only have been done by the power of Jesus and he was overcome with His divine presence. I remember a time when I sensed the Spirit in an overwhelming way. Following the news that a fertility treatment had not produce the desired results, I sat, overcome with sadness, when the Comforter wrapped His arms around me as only He could. I truly physically felt as if Jesus sat with me as I cried. In that moment, there was nothing else I wanted but His presence. If you’ve never experienced this kind of intimacy with the Lord, there is nothing mystical about it, instead the Lord gives these as we grow closer in relationship with Him, coming to Him with a heart of humility and a desire to know Him for Him, just as Peter did.
3) What did Jesus mean when He told Peter he would now catch people? (verse 10)
Peter’s assignment as a “fisher of people” is the same assignment we have when we decide to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus did with Peter’s natural passion, Christ also takes our natural design to color His new purpose for us. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make disciples as we go through everyday life, however that looks for each of us. Teaching others what Jesus has done in our lives is the centering purpose for all who have surrendered to Jesus. This looks different for every Christ-follower because each of our stories is unique while the freeing, gospel story of hope in Jesus remains exactly the same! Sometimes we make this too hard, thinking we need to know everything about the Bible or be able to teach in formal scenarios. But, we are simply called to share with others the hope we have been given as we chose to trust in Jesus! 1 Peter 3:15 tells us we are to live holy lives and be ready to give an answer for the hope we have in us. Jesus is contagious! People have always been drawn to Him, and as they see Jesus in us, we need to be prepared to share the source of our Hope!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
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.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
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. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? 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 :-))
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