Sunday message · Luke: Jesus For Everyone series
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Message Summary
Continuing the summer series Luke: Jesus For Everyone, Pastor Phillip Santillan recalls Clarity’s founding goal: that believers, unbelievers and skeptics alike would find a clear picture of who Jesus is. Understanding the life Jesus lived shows us the kind of disciple he makes. Jesus did not come to start another religion, Phil says. Religion says change first and then you can join us; Jesus says follow me, and you will be changed by being near him. Luke 5:1–11 shows how Jesus, the first disciple maker, works.
As crowds press in to hear the word of God, Phil’s first point is that Jesus makes disciples of those who choose to hear the good news. Paul asks in Romans 10 how people can hear without someone telling them, so Phil calls the church to live as sent ones; telling one’s own story of coming to faith is itself preaching. Since we gather around whatever captures our wonder, whether bands, movies or sports teams, Phil asks, “Have you gathered around Jesus recently?”
Jesus asks Simon Peter’s permission to use his boat and teaches from it (verses 2–3). With permission, he walks right into someone’s job site to preach rather than waiting to get people into a synagogue. Jesus makes disciples of everyday people who trust him in the everyday rhythms of life, so the good news can be shared at work too, once we have built relationships that give us permission.
Jesus then tells Simon to let down his nets in deep water. Addressing him as Master, Simon protests that they worked all night and caught nothing, but obeys. Phil asks how often we resist letting Jesus direct us in our own area of expertise. The nets fill until they begin to tear. The miracle is not the point; Jesus asked Peter to do something familiar his way, and what was at stake was trust. Falling to his knees, Peter now calls him Lord. Sometimes the greatest clarity about who Jesus is comes from trusting his direction in spite of our own intuition.
Jesus tells Simon not to be afraid; from now on he will fish for people. Many picture God as eager to condemn, but John 3:16 and the verse that follows say God sent his Son not to condemn the world but to save it. Peter, the last person anyone would pick to lead the church, gives Phil hope: he kept blowing it, but he was teachable and repentant. Jesus makes disciples of people committed to a lifelong process of becoming like him, so no one should give up, because God has not given up on them.
Finally, they leave everything and follow him (verse 11). Net fishing takes a group, so Jesus makes disciples of people who embrace community on mission. Phil urges believers not just to attend but to engage in a community living on mission in everyday life, because “we can’t do it as line fishers. We’ve got to do it as net fishers.” He closes by inviting everyone, even longtime followers, to be Jesus’ disciple, and prays.
