Peter is without a doubt one of my favorite disciples. Peter was a fisherman, and that is one reason that I am drawn to him. Peter fished for a living, and I am sure that “fishing for a living” is much more stressful than the recreational fishing that I enjoy. Nevertheless, I suspect that on many days he sat out there in his boat, letting wind and the waves gently rock him. He paddled to his favorite fishing holes, threw out his nets, and waiting patiently to catch fish. If anyone has ever been fishing, one knows how much down time is involved. I am sure that there were times when he had no choice but to reflect on his life and to contemplate the meaning of his life.
Then one day, the unthinkable happened. A strange man met him on the lake and began to talk with him. He told him that he could take him to catch fish. I can only imagine what mood Peter displayed. Peter was as human as anyone. He had been fishing all day and caught nothing, which probably meant no money and no food. He was packing it up for the day and this strange man wants him to go back out. Personally, I would have been offended. Peter probably knew his fishing waters as well as anyone. If he could not catch fish, then there were no fish to be caught. He was tired and aggravated. We know from the Bible that Peter eventually lets the strange man, who turns out to be the son of the creator of the universe, into his boat. Peter catches boatloads of fish, and then he becomes one of the Bible’s central figures. I wonder, however, if Jesus had to convince Peter.
Now, I have to add a disclaimer. Even though I think that there was more to the story of Peter and Jesus’ first encounter, I am not trying to add or subtract anything from the Bible. The TRUE story is in the Book of Luke, Chapter 5. This is simply a comical story of how the conversation “might” have gone. Peter could have told Jesus to get lost. Jesus could have used his divine powers to force Peter, but God always gives us a choice. The conversation may have gone something like this:
“How you doing there?” Jesus said as he saw Peter untangling his net in his boat just a few feet offshore.
“Not bad. How about yourself?” replies Peter never looking up from his tangled mess.
“Do any good today?” Jesus said energetically. He did not need to be the Son of Man to read Peter’s body language. He already knew the answer.
Peter looked up and with a sarcastic half-smile answered shortly, “Nah.” Then he went back to untangling his nets.
“Well I know a place where you can catch as many fish as you want”, said Jesus with a ginormous smile on his face.
“Really”, responds Peter flatly as he rolls his eyes with unbelief, never looking up from his nets.
“All you have to do is take me out in your boat”, Jesus says with a smile, but also with a more matter-of-fact voice.
“Who is this weirdo?” Peter muffles under his breath. This weirdo is very inviting and non-threatening. The idea that this weirdo-stranger could rob or murder him never enters his mind. Peter thinks for second and then responds, “Okay big guy, show me the fish”. All the time, however, he is thinking that this is waste of time. Nevertheless, Peter has enough pride to want to prove the weirdo wrong.
Peter paddles toward the bank to pick up Jesus, but Jesus walks out into the water to meet him. Peter helps him into the boat and asks condescendingly, “Where should we go, my fine fisherman?”
Jesus nearly laughs, but restrains himself to a light snicker. Then he completely composes himself, and answers, “Over there, around that point”. A point is a piece of land that protrudes into the water, much like a small peninsula.
Over there, around that point was almost all the way across the lake. Peter says harshly, “If you want to go way over there to catch fish, you’ll have to help me paddle”. Peter wanted to prove this guy wrong, but he did not want to paddle that far to do it. Furthermore, he knew that he and every other fisherman on the lake, had already fished that point. There were simply no fish to be caught over there.
Jesus paddled halfway across and Peter says, “okay, my turn”, but Jesus grins and keeps paddling. When they arrive at the point, Peter says smugly, “I’ve already fished this. And so has everyone else.”
Jesus then says a little short of breath, “Alright, throw it out”.
“No”.
“Oh come on. We paddled all the way out here so you could prove me wrong, and now you won’t do it”. Jesus pauses for a moment and exclaims, “Look, I see a fish!”
Peter excitedly looks over the boat into the water, and Jesus says humorously, “Okay, I was just joking. I didn’t see a fish, but I know they’re there”.
Peter gives Jesus the stupid look. Then he puts one of his hands on his hip, looks down, shakes his head, and realizes that Jesus’ joke was funny. He releases a light chuckle, picks up his net, and throws it over the boat, thinking, “I can’t believe I got talked into this.”
Peter’s first encounter with Jesus provides insight for seekers and seasoned Christ followers. I think that God wants us to leap into a relationship with him. He wants us to jump at opportunities to serve him. That is why it is commonly called a “leap of faith”. Peter had doubts. Especially in the world of special effects and youtube, we will have doubts, too. There are so many things in the modern world that are fake. It is difficult to genuinely believe in anything. God understands. He would rather you leap, but he will also honor small steps in the right direction. A small step is relative to where a person is spiritually. A small step for one person may be volunteering to teach Sunday School. A small step for someone else may be to simply open his/her mind at the possibility that God exists. Peter made a small step by letting Jesus into his boat, and the rest is history.