How God’s Word Catches Men
Fifth Sunday after Trinity| Luke 5:1-11| Pastor James Preus| July 5, 2026
But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Galatians 3:22
At the most basic level, Jesus’ miracle in our Gospel lesson teaches us how God gives us our daily bread. Peter and Andrew, James and John and their crews labored all night fishing, and they caught nothing. They had given up for the day when Jesus bid Peter to push out a bit from the land, so that He could preach from his boat. And so, Peter and the other fishermen put aside their work and went to church, listening to Jesus’ preaching as the crowd stood on the beach. Yet, after church, Jesus tells Peter to let the net down into the deep to catch fish. Peter states the fact that their labor all night had accomplished nothing, yet at Jesus’ Word, he would let down the net. And to everyone’s astonishment, they caught more fish than they could handle. In fact, their nets began to tear and when they beckoned their partners to bring their boat, the great abundance of fish began to sink both vessels!
And so, we learn what Scripture has always told us: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) And “Unless the Lord build the house, he who builds it labors in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) And so, this miracle teaches us two things about our daily bread. First, man must work. St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 3, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Second, it is not our work that provides the increase, but God. God wants us to keep the work, but to leave the care, that is, the worrying to Him. God commands us to work as the means to get our daily bread. Yet, none of our labor could cause a single grain to sprout from the earth or keep the economy from crashing to the ground, unless God caused the growth.
And so, we learn how foolish we are to worship our labor, that is, to trust in it. Work becomes a false god, an idol. People forsake listening to God’s Word, worshipping Him and praying to Him, because they are too busy working. Yet, all our labor accomplishes nothing unless God blesses it. Even the founders of our nation did not dare declare independence to forge a new government without reliance on Divine Providence. Unless the Lord builds it, the builder labors in vain.
Therefore, we should set aside our work, and listen to God’s Word, because through God’s Word alone do we receive our bread. Even if our work is not finished, if we have labored with little results, it will not grant success to our labor if we set aside God’s Word. And we should not begin any task without prayer that God bless it. It was good that God caused Peter and the other fishermen to labor all night in vain, so that they may learn not to trust their labor, but to trust in God. And we learn from this that faith is not something we use from time to time, but it is how we live. We accomplish every task in life through faith in Him who accomplishes every good work. And when we walk by faith, we recognize how generous God is to us, even as Christ granted Peter and his companions more than enough fish for their boats.
Yet, when Peter recognized who Jesus is and His great generosity toward him and how futile his own labor was in comparison to Christ’s, he does not respond with joy. Rather, he falls down on his knees and says to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Jesus’ generosity toward Peter humiliates him, because it exposes his helplessness, his ingratitude, and his lack of faith. And this is often the case when we look at God’s generosity toward us. It humbles us. We do not deserve what He gives us. Our work did not accomplish it. There have been many who have worked much harder than we, and yet have seen much less wealth than we have received. And nowhere do we see this more than in the cross of Christ. We see that God sends His Son to suffer and die for our sins, so that He might declare us forgiven and righteous. We look at our own sins, and we look at Jesus’ passion, and our consciences are stricken at the cost of our sin.
And so, Peter, after He sees Jesus’ power, which proves that He is God, and after He sees His generosity, which exposes Peter’s unworthiness, He bids Jesus to depart from him. This is what sin does. Sin leads us to flee from God. We seek to hide ourselves, as Adam, our first father and the first sinner tried to hide himself from God’s presence. Yet, Jesus says to Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men.” And this reveals to us the spiritual lesson of Jesus’ miracle. Jesus’ miracle doesn’t simply teach us that you can’t catch fish apart from God’s Word. Jesus’ miracle teaches us how God gathers people into His Kingdom.
By saying that he will catch men, Jesus compares fishing with a net to gathering people into the kingdom of God. Yet, Peter and the other apostles would not catch people with nets, but with God’s Word. The crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear Him teach them, just as the fish pressed into each other in the net. St. Peter writes in His first epistle, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,” (1 Peter 2:2). That spiritual milk is the Word of God.
When Jesus tells Peter that they will be catching men, He is saying that they will be proclaiming God’s Word. In all four Gospels, after Jesus’ resurrection, before He ascends into heaven, His last charge to His disciples is to proclaim the Gospel, that is, the good news, to the whole creation (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44ff; John 20:22-23; 21:15-19). The net is the Word of God, which encloses people like a net encloses fish.
That word for enclose used in this lesson to describe the catching of the fish in the net is also used in Galatians 3:22, translated as imprisoned, “But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” And this describes how God’s Word catches people. It does it in two steps. First, it imprisons everyone under sin. It does this through the preaching of the Law. The Law gives knowledge of your sin by declaring what God says is right and wrong. Now, the natural response to the preaching of the Law is to run away from it. The Law makes you feel bad. No one wants to feel bad, so they try to ignore it. And when they can’t ignore it, they are filled with fear. So, like Peter, they cry, “Depart from me, O Lord!” Like Adam hiding in the bushes, the sinner tries to hide from God.
Yet, the purpose of the Law is not for us to run away from God. Rather, it is for us to recognize how much we need Him. We deserve damnation. Our sins are shameful. And the Law presses us all into the same net, so that we cannot escape. But the preaching of the Law does not complete the preacher’s task. He must also preach the Gospel. The Gospel reveals that God forgives sinners for Christ’s sake. This is what Jesus means when He says, “Do not be afraid.” Why shouldn’t Peter be afraid? He is a sinner! Jesus is the righteous God. God judges and condemns sinners! He shouldn’t be afraid because Jesus forgives his sins. Christ Jesus came into the world to saves sinners, even the chief of them. This is a faithful saying, and warrants all acceptance. (1 Timothy 1:15) Jesus commands the net of the Law to be cast over the whole world so that the entire world can be convicted of their sin, not to condemn them, but so that He might have mercy on all. Christ Jesus died for all sinners and for all sins.
And so, the Gospel tells sinners not to run away, but to run toward Jesus. Do you recognize your sin? Does your conscience burden you? Are you embarrassed to admit what you have thought, said, or done in secret. Do you realize that all secret things will be exposed on judgment day? Do your sins make you want to hide from God? Do not hide. Do not flee. Rather, run toward Christ. Come to Him for comfort. He is the God who pardons iniquities and casts sins into the depth of the sea and drowns them (Micah 7:18-19). He is the God who will blot out your transgressions and remember your sins no more for the sake of Christ’s precious blood (Isaiah 43:22). Any god that does not take away sin is an idol, a false god. So, flee from all false gods and run to Him who forgives sins.
And so, Peter’s experience reflects the experience of every Christian. He was terrified because he became aware of his own sin and unworthiness and of the great presence of God, so he thought he must flee from Him. So, does the Law do to every sinner. Yet, Jesus told him to not be afraid. And so, the Gospel does to every sinner terrified by his sin. Is your conscience stricken? Does your guilt alarm you? Then you are most blessed. Christ Jesus has come for such stricken and alarmed sinners. Do not be afraid. Come to Him for forgiveness and salvation.
This is the work of God’s net. It imprisons sinners, and then forgives them for the sake of Christ Jesus who died for all sinners. And this forgiveness and salvation does not depend on us at all, but on Christ Jesus. To prove this, Jesus sends even sinners for this task. Peter fell down at Jesus’ feet and confessed his sins. And Jesus sent him. And so does Jesus do to every pastor and preacher of God’s Word. He only calls sinners, because all are sinners but Him alone. He calls sinners who have been brought low by a guilty conscience, and yet have been cleansed of their sins and renewed by the Holy Spirit, so that they may say with David in Psalm 51, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” And the net these forgiven sinners cast succeeds, because it does not depend on them, but on Christ. Your Baptism is valid, not because of the righteousness of the pastor who baptized you, but because of the righteousness of Christ in whom you have been baptized. The Absolution you hear is valid because of the death and resurrection of Christ, who gives authority to absolve sins. The Sacrament of the Altar has power to forgive your sins, not because of the pastor’s worthiness, but because of the power in the body and blood of Christ which bore and washed all your sins away. All this is accomplished through God’s Word spoken by a forgiven sinner.
As Jesus commanded Peter to let down the net for a catch, so preachers must preach. How can they believe without hearing, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10) Yet, the success of their preaching never depends on them, but on Christ Jesus and His Word, as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” And this is how it works in every Christian vocation. Christ does not forgive us so that we can continue in our sins, but so that we may be a new creation, even as He made Peter something different than he was before. In each of our vocations, we can cast the net God gives us, and trust in God’s Word for success. Christian fathers, do not be intimidated to do devotions with your wife and children and talk to them of God’s Word. Mothers, do not fear that you are unfit to carry out your godly task in the home. Dear Christian, do not fear that you will fail if you confess Christ to your friend or neighbor. Cast the net without fear. Do not be discouraged by your fruitless labor. God gives the growth. At Jesus’ Word the net will be filled.
Do not trust in your work. Do not flee from God because of your sin. Rather, rush into Christ’s net where there is forgiveness and restoration, and trust that the net you cast will succeed even as it succeeded in bringing you into the Kingdom of God. Amen.