Peter 1 = The Call to Follow Jesus
Peter 1 = The Call to Follow Jesus
The call of Peter occurred in two parts. The first is when his brother Andrew brings Peter to Jesus to meet him. The second is when Jesus seeks out Peter, and enlists him to be a fisher of men.
The first event is recorded in Jhn 1:40-42, and is the result of Peter's brother Andrew, who was a disciple of John the Baptist, following Jesus, spending the night with Jesus, and then the following morning going to get his brother Peter, and bringing him to meet Jesus personally.
"One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." Joh 1:40-42
First, of all this happened not only in a 24 hour period, but within a close enough geographic proximity that Andrew could walk back and forth in the same day.
Second, let us learn to never dismiss an enthusiastic response to our witnessing for Christ. Andrew was so excited about meeting Jesus, that his enthusiasm rubbed off on Peter, such that he was able to persuade Peter to go with him; which meant that after Peter spending a long night of fishing alone, because Andrew was with Jesus, Peter, tired, and maybe a bit perturbed for having to fish alone, was still persuaded to go. We get excited about our hobbies, our work, our families; what about being excited about new life Christ and having our sins forgiven; our enthusiasm will effect others!
Third, let us not neglect our families. Andrew goes immediately and tells "his own brother", and brings him. Jesus was on earth then, so Andrew could physically bring Peter to Jesus; how do we do that today? We talk to them, share the Bible with them, pray for them and with them, invite them to church and /or Bible studies. We do all we can to get them exposed to Jesus and the Bible.
Forth, regarding Peter, Jesus knew Peter before he had met him! "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas." Had Jesus previously met Peter, or was this a God-thing? We don't know, but the point is that Jesus had a plan for Peter's life, very much like with Jeremiah:
"Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jer 1:4-5
Peter was to be the leader of the 12, and the point man in bringing the gospel to the nations. We will address the Roman Catholic thinking of Peter later.
Fifth, we never know what God has in store for the person to whom we witness; think Jeremiah! The shoe salesman who witnessed to D.L. Moody; the man who preached that snowstorm night when Spurgeon was saved. Andrew's brother Peter was to be a great one in the gospel kingdom. Let us be the no-name who brings the great one to Jesus. May our hope and prayer be that the people who are saved through our witnessing become better Christians than we are, more zealous for Christ than we are, and more productive labors in the kingdom than we are; it is our glory if they surpass us! As John the Baptist said about Christ: He must increase, but I must decrease. Joh 3:30
Sixth, let us not expect instant conversions when we witness to people. Peter did not immediately follow Jesus. People we witness to, will not automatically, immediately, as we are witnessing to them, based on our one time speaking of a few words, come o Christ. It happens, but let's be honest, not usually; how was it with us? The gospel seed needs time to germinate!
So let us not be too hard on Peter, if we are tempted to wonder why Peter did not immediately follow Jesus. Jesus had not called him to follow, nor had Jesus told him the work that had been ordained for him, (to be a fisher of men); Jesus had simply acknowledged that he knew who he was, and then gave him a new name, which in itself would probably have taken Peter aback!
In summation, I would say that Jesus orchestrated this 2 stage calling of Peter, to give Peter time to ponder what was going on!
So after Andrew brings Peter to Jesus, an interval of time passes, and then:
"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." Mat 4:18-20
"And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, 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. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him." Luk 5:1-11 (Mat 4:18-22)
I would say these 2 portions are recording the same event, just from different angles, with different emphasis. Jesus is walking along the shore, not aimlessly, but looking for these men. A crowd is with him, and so he gets into Peter's boat, so he teach.
Let us first look at the miracle, then Peter's reaction, and then at Jesus statement.
1) Regarding the miracle. It is miraculous, not simple because of the number of fish caught, but because they were caught during the day time. These men fished with either throw nets or put a long net in the water, and they boated around in a circle to close off the net and encircle an area of water, and then pull the in net; they fished near the surface, and so they fished at night when the fish would be near the surface, having come up from the depths, as the water temperature cooled off during the night. Remember, this is the Middle East, where the sun is strong, and it is hot during the day time. Yes, they did fish with hooks during the day (Mat 17:27), but for commercial fishing it was at night.
So Jesus finishes preaching, and tells them to go out a bit from shore, and cast in their nets.
Peter's response to Jesus: And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. (Luk 5:5)
They do as Jesus said and get a huge catch of fish. That is the miracle. It was day time, the fish should not have been near the surface, but Jesus sent the fish there, just like he sent the fish to swallow Jonah (Jon 1:17), and just like he later, when he restores Peter in Jhn 21. Not to follow a tangent, because the 2 events are 2 1/2 years apart, but the exact parallel nature of the 2 miracles would not have been lost on Peter: first Jesus calls him to the gospel work by telling him to cast his net back into the water, during the day time, after a night of fishing without catching anything, and then Jesus restores him to the gospel work with the very same miracle!
The miracle was 100% planned by Jesus with the pre-determined intent of calling Peter into gospel service. Yes, he was also dealing with the other 3 men, Andrew, James, and John, but Peter was the real target, hence he gets into Peter's boat.
2) Now Peter's reaction. Here is a good example of the co-operative work of the inner and outer call of the gospel; of how God uses externals to work together with the inner working of the Holy Spirit.
Externally, a miraculous catch of fish occurs, and Peter sees the miracle, but Peter sees beyond the fish, and sees Jesus for who he really is, and Peter sees himself for who he really is, and hence he says, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
The heartfelt cry of many of us, when we saw Jesus for the first time, as God Almighty, and hence ourselves in all of our innate evil and external sin, was basically the same: just leave me alone, I am no good!
Sending a group of fish to a specific location, so they can be caught in a net is small stuff for God, the greater miracle is to show a person what they really are within them-self: a sinner!
Here is one of the true tests of whether or not God has worked in your heart: Have you seen your sinful self and the realized the fountain of sinful acts which pour out of your heart? It is easy to say the cliche phrases: I love Jesus; I believe; I am a Christian; the Holy Spirit lives in me. It is quite another to see your sin, to feel your sin, and say, depart from me, for I am a sinful man oh Lord!
The first work of the Holy Spirit in someone's heart is often to show us the darkness (deadness) of our heart's, and the sin that results from that deadness. The woman in Luk 15 who lost the coin is the Holy Spirit who works in the heart and first shows the darkness and then the dirt by shining the light of the Truth within.
Peter sees Jesus is the Lord God, and publicly confesses that. It was blasphemy to address a man as "Lord," but Peter sees the miracle, realizes it is a work only God could do, and hence, he realizes that Jesus is God, and he publicly states that, for everyone in the boat to hear.
Next, Peter realizes he is a sinner. We all know we are sinners. He does not say, "I do bad things," but "I am a sinful man." Peter realizes the root of his problem is his dead heart: he is spiritually dead.
Thirdly, Peter realizes that God, who is holy, cannot associate with sinner, hence "Depart from me!"
Hab 1:13 says, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:"
For the first time in his life, Peter realizes this on a personal, visceral level; he feels it.
Fourthly, Peter is afraid. Jesus tells him, fear not! Only people who have realized the true holiness of God, and their personal un-holiness, fear God. They see it. Here is another good test of whether you are a true Christian or not: Do you fear God?
I am not saying that every person in whom the Holy Spirit is working, and every Christian follows those steps, like some required sequence. We are not all the same, and God deals with us as individuals, but if the Holy Spirit is working in you, or has worked in you such that you are a real Christian, you will see Jesus as truly God, you will see yourself as truly a sinner who sins all the time, and you will have a healthy fear of God.
3) Lastly, what does Jesus do? Having prepared the soil of Peter's heart with a revelation of who he, Jesus is, and of who he, Peter is, and having produced the desired result of fearful humility, Jesus tells Peter the purpose of it all: Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
This is not a request, or suggestion, this is a command; and I would say this same basic command is given to everyone whom the Lord saves. And while salvation is a sovereign work of God the Holy Spirit imparting life to a dead sinner, yet there is a point in the time line of God's dealing with us when we could, humanly speaking, turn away.
Peter could have turned away.
Paul did not have to pray for 3 days, he could have fought on against Jesus.
We are effectually called by the sovereign God, but we are also commanded to believe and follow; this is the hard-to-understand inter-play of God's sovereign working, and our human responsibility!
A true Christian follows Jesus, a true Christian lives like a Christian. A Christian is a follower of Jesus, someone who walks in Jesus foot steps. Talk is cheap, what we do, how we lives, that tells the story.
Later on Peter could say to Jesus, "Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee." Mat 19:27; Mar 10:28; Luk 18:28
Lastly, Jesus tells Peter the work he has ordained for him to do: I will make you a fisher of men.
He will fish with a net, preaching to crowds, and catching some, as the Holy Spirit saves; he will fish with a hook, catching a smaller group, like Cornelius and his household; but he will fish by speaking the gospel to people.
Gospel = good news. News must be spoken; we do not hide good news, we proclaim it; promiscuously!
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Mat 28:19-20
Christian are you a witness for Jesus Christ. Do you speak about him, for him, verbally honoring him, fishing for men by telling them the good news of salvation from sin and devil, and new life in Christ?
Do not say "This was just for Peter," or that the Great Commission was just for the 12 apostles; if we have been called out of our sins, then have been called to be fishers of men!
12 February 2026