Getting Picked

“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’

Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.  Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:1-11 NIV)

When I was a kid and we were going to play basketball or baseball, I was usually one of the last ones chosen for a team.  My skills were not up to par with most of kids I played with.  For every kid who finds himself in the position of being chosen last, every game reinforces that “you aren’t good enough.

Peter, James, and John were fishermen by trade, but they would have been something else if they had been good enough.  Growing up in a Jewish culture, they at one time were in line to be picked by the rabbis of the day for religious instruction and mentorship.  But they were never picked.  They weren’t good enough, and so they had to find another vocation.

They had met Jesus and probably found him intriguing, but the thought never crossed their minds that they, mere fishermen, would be candidates to be His disciples.  They knew they weren’t good enough, and Peter’s response to Jesus after the miraculous catch is evidence of that.  They were unrighteous sinners.  What rabbi would want them?  As it turned out, they were just the type of men Jesus was looking for. Men who knew they were sinners and fell far short of the glory of God. 

The rabbis and religious leaders of the day, on the other hand, were proud of themselves, self-righteous men who thought they had it all together. Their hearts were hardened to the idea they were no different than the rest of the sinners they walked among each day.  They had been picked for their prestigious positions and they wore their pride in the same way they wore their flowing robes.  Much to their shock and chagrin, Jesus never gave them respect or much positive attention.  

Later in Luke 5, Jesus tells them that He didn’t come to call the righteous, but rather sinners, people like Peter, James, and John, along with prostitutes, thieves and cheats, the brokenhearted, and the physically broken.  Jesus came to build His Kingdom not with the “perfect” people, but with the far from perfect—people like you and me.

Today, know that Jesus is not looking for perfect people to use for His work, but people who know they are far from perfect—sinners who know they need a Savior.  You may look around at others and think you are not good enough, but that is exactly the attitude that qualifies you to be picked.  

© Jim Musser 2013