It's Never Been About the Fish

Bonhoeffer, Miracles & A Study in Obedience

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an absolute firebrand. Conviction came in spades. Character was everything. He lived on principle and refused to bow to cowardice when the vast majority of clergy in Germany caved under the pressure of the Third Reich.¹ To him, obedience to Christ was the cardinal rule of life.

And that made him a real troublemaker.

Uninterested in the parade of glittery lip-service religion which Germany seemed hopelessly entrenched in, he distinguished authentic faith as being characterized by a willingness to obey: “Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.”²

Erm. Excuse me?

Can’t I just, y’know, agree with some of Jesus’ altruisms and niceties and… go about living my life?

Nope. Sorry. Option unavailable.

In Luke’s Gospel, we find Jesus teaching by Lake Gennesaret (aka Sea of Galilee aka Lake Tiberias). Lots of people are listening, and he wants to use the natural acoustic advantages of the water. He asks some of the local fisherman if they wouldn’t mind putting a boat out from the shoreline just a bit so he can speak from there to the people. Natural vocal amplifier.

One of the things I love about Jesus. He is so genius.

What happens next is striking:

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

⁸ But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

— Luke 5:4-11

Appearance on Lake Tiberias by Duccio di Buoninsegna, ca. 1308-1311

Hmmm. Think for a moment.

They “left everything and followed Him.”

In 1st century Galilee, it was important to have a trade. Something valuable to offer your society, a way to take care of your family. And these fishermen left all of it behind: their boats, their miraculous haul of fish, and their old lives.

This is a portrait of what it means to make a hard break with all the mechanisms of security one has previously relied on upon encountering Jesus. It’s given me a few reflections I hope encourage you today:

Obedience

I know what you’re thinking.

“Duh.”
“Of course obedience is important.”
“That’s nothing new.”

And you’re right. It’s not new.

But obviously, for most of us at least, it’s also not easy.

So impressive in this story is the humility of Simon. I mean, he was a professional. This was his industry. He knew these waters. Jonah, his father, taught him long ago how to read the tides, the ripples in the surf. There were times where they caught long jaws and musht in droves; other times, the rough, worn lines of rope came up empty. This was one of those days.

And then some rugged-handed, bright-eyed hayseed Nazarene comes along.

“Hey. Thanks for letting me use your boat. You know, what you should do is—”

STOP.

Right there. Who does this guy think he is? Doesn’t this clodhopper know I’m a professional fishermen? I know what I’m doing.

That tends to be our response to the voice of Jesus. “I know what I’m doing.”

At its bedrock layer, it’s good old, Grade-A human pride. You know, the thing that comes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Lewis said it’s the thing that keeps us from being able to know God.³ And obedience is straight kryptonite for a stubborn, arrogant heart. Simon showed he was willing to give up his pride and listen to the instruction of the Master. What a momentous decision.

You could say, this decision changed everything for this group of roughnecks. Their lives are totally different from this moment onward. And they got to experience firsthand a profound spiritual principle:

Obedience is the breeding ground for miracles.

Faith is expressed through our obedience — usually in the simplest of things. Simon lowered the drawbridge of his ego and allowed Jesus entrance to the fortress of his soul as Lord and Master. He acquiesced in spite of his exhaustion, frustration, the dirt and the sweat.

He didn’t understand but he complied to the Teacher with a simple answer — “but I will do as You say.”

And because of that, he experienced the phenomenal.

But he (and the rest of the fellas) didn’t stop there. They didn’t grab the nets, start counting and head to the marketplace. That’s because…

It Was Never About the Fish

The boats were the tools of the trade, a necessity for anyone laboring in one of the world’s most ancient vocations. The disciples didn't just leave the boats, they left the fish too.

Weighing down two boats with so many wet, little creatures that the vessels themselves begin to sink is kind of a big deal. Doubtless they would have brought back a horde of denarii⁴ that would have been the headline story all the way from Cana to Dekápolis. It’s difficult to determine exactly what the amount of fish would have measured in at, but suffice it to say our imaginations and film depictions might not be far off. Scholars have low estimates of the payout (divided four ways if it was Simon, Andrew, James and John) being anywhere from 24-36 years wages.⁵

Each.

Needless to say, “Jesus paid Peter very well for the use of his boat.”⁶

Try to envision for a moment what that means. You work hard in the sun, day after day, the stench of fish permeating your tunic. All you’re trying to do is provide for your loved ones and keep the family business going in tough times. You’ve heard stories of Yahweh’s wonders since childhood, but the only wonder you have is if He really cares. Suddenly, the fantastic and unthinkable happens. There’s more than enough. You could pay all your debts, retire early. Do whatever you want. Money was no longer a worry.

And you leave it all behind to follow the Teacher.

It was never about the fish. You were looking for something else all your life.

Simon and his friends found It. We must do the same. More than success or money or acceptance or satisfaction…

Jesus is the Real Reward

These guys weren't satisfied with the miracle. They wanted to follow the Miracle Maker.

What’s the real reward? Get out the flannelgraphs. It’s a Sunday School answer.

Jesus. It’s Him.

The real reward for leaving all of our paradigms and comforts behind in pursuit of Jesus is we get to have Jesus. Not financial prosperity or impervious physical health or miraculous favor at your place of employ. And none of those things are bad! The LORD may see fit to give them; He’s a gracious King. The many graces and blessings of redemption are not bad — but they are not Him.

Somehow, Simon and his friends got this. The wonder and amazement of someone who could do… something like that, proved to them that He was worthy of their entire lives. Nothing else would do. Not financial security or fame or luxury or comfort.

Inexpressibly deep within them was a magnetic draw to walk in the footsteps of this rabbi and do whatever he asked them.

We would be wise to live like that.

For people like Bonhoeffer, Simon, and countless others, the call to follow Christ wherever it leads and whatever it means has proven transformational. I’m still learning what it means to lay down the things that make me feel safe or provided for or secure that aren’t named Jesus. You probably are too. That’s okay.

An encouraging promise is found in Paul’s second (or depending on who you ask, third or fourth) letter to the Corinthian Church:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

— 2 Corinthians 3:18

Jesus is so worthy of our adoration. He gently bids us to follow. He does unfathomable miracles. He desires us to be His dear friends. But we must follow, and following has a cost. The riches and ways of the world may be enticing, but the Way of Jesus is so much more valuable. Bonhoeffer knew it, and received his true Reward. So did Simon and the disciples. So should we.

May we allow the Spirit’s work to renovate us in the area of our humble obedience to Christ.

1. Metaxas, E. (2022). Letter to the American Church. Simon and Schuster, 38-39. Great insight into the ecclesiological climate in pre-war Germany: “…many in the German Church—like many in the American Church now—were willing to look the other way, even on something that touched the very fundamentals of the faith in which they professed to believe. They wished to get along and not to be seen as ‘troublemakers.’ But Bonhoeffer was not among them… Bonhoeffer concluded that if the state refused to change course and do the right thing, but rather continued in its sins—which in this case were principally focused on persecuting the Jews—it was the solemn obligation of Christians to take action.”

2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2015). The Cost of Discipleship. SCM Press, 23.

3. C.S. Lewis (1996). Mere Christianity. New York: Touchstone, 109-112.

4. DeBloois, Nanci. “Coins in the New Testament.” BYU Studies Quarterly 36.3 (1996): 239-250

5. Houser, S. H. (2017). “An estimate of the value of two boatloads of fish, as recorded in Luke 5:1-11.” Usi. https://www.academia.edu/35395818/An_Estimate_of_the_Value_of_Two_Boatloads_of_Fish_As_Recorded_in_Luke_5_1_11

6. Houser, S. H. (2017). “An estimate of the value of two boatloads of fish, as recorded in Luke 5:1-11.” Usi.