The Gospel Project® for Adults
(LUKE 5:9-11).
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.
Verses 9-10a (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):
Imputation:
When God pardoned sinners at the cross,
our sins were imputed or transferred to Christ,
who became sin on our behalf.
Our sin was imputed to Christ,
and Christ’s righteousness was imputed to us
(Rom. 5:17; 1 Cor. 1:30).
When God the Father looks at those who have trusted in Christ,
He does not see their sins but the righteousness of Christ
as belonging to them
(Rom. 4:6).
Verses 10b-11 (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):
The call to follow Jesus comes with a commission
to join in His work of sharing the gospel
of salvation by faith in Jesus.
The reality of who Jesus is demands a response.
He has clearly come to save souls
and has victoriously paid for our sins
and conquered the power of sin and death along the way.
Those whom Jesus has saved now get to follow Him
in worship and service for the rest of our lives
as we partner together to fulfill the Great Commission.
Zebedee’s sons, they were part of Jesus’s inner circle,
along with Peter, being able to witness Jesus’s transfiguration,
the raising of Jairus’s daughter,
and be with Jesus in His sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane
on the night of His arrest.
They were close to Jesus, but they were also
strong-tempered, so much so that Jesus called them
“Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
Because we have been made holy through the work of Christ,
we yield to the ongoing work of the Spirit in changing us
to live according to our new identity so that others might see
God’s power at work in and through us.
Jesus is sovereign over all and worthy of our worship.
Following Jesus involves a deep trust in who He is
and also in His ways.
Often, to go where He leads can seem illogical or foolish—
to both us and the watching world. A faithful disciple of Jesus
holds fast to the trustworthiness, omniscience,
and infinite wisdom of His character,
even when the path ahead looks weird or uncertain.
Having experienced the miracle of Jesus, Simon Peter rightly reacted
with humble submission, contrite confession,
and utter surrender. God is still in the business of miracles,
but all too often we explain them away with science and logic.
We have lost our awe of who God
is and the great and wondrous deeds He accomplishes every day.
Therefore, we often miss out on opportunities to praise God
for all He has done for us.
If we are Christians, then we, like Simon Peter, have seen the glory of God,
repented of our sin, and received grace upon grace.
Therefore, we get to follow God with all we are and all we have.
This is the right response to God’s grace.
Obedience is the life of the believer.
We get to follow the calling of Christ:
to go and make disciples, be fishers of people,
and carry the good news to as many who will listen to it
that they too may be saved.
“Here is a holiness that comes to sinners.
Rather than going away, Jesus says,
‘Join me.’ Here is a holiness that uses a confessing sinner in its mission.
Here is holiness that not only calls the sinner
but commissions the sinner to become a fisher of men.
Here is holiness so stunningly beautiful
it causes a man to leave everything for its sake.
It gives the former sinner a new purpose,
direction, and call.” 7
– Thabiti Anyabwile
1. Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Luke 5:3 [Logos].
2. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2015), 154.
3. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, 153; J. Carl Laney, “Fishing the Sea of Galilee,” in Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels, eds. Barry J. Beitzel and Kristopher A. Lyle, Lexham Geographic Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 170.
4. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. John Allen, 6th ed., vol. 1 (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1813), 1.ii., 47.
5. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, 151.
6. Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Luke 5:7 [Logos].
7. Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke: Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018), Luke 5:1-11 [Logos].
8. Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 168-69.
9. Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 133-34.
10. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, 156-57.