Catch and Release

I love fishing, although I don’t get to do it often. When I catch a fish, I want to eat it. I don’t like catching and releasing fish because I find it a cruel game – inflicting pain on a fish for pleasure. But I understand that sometimes, fishers must do that. The last time I went fishing, I went with friends and a license to catch rainbow trout. One of us accidentally caught a big-mouth bass. Although it was a big and beautiful fish (and delicious to eat), we had to release it because we didn’t have the license to catch it because it wasn’t the season to catch it.

Galilean fishermen caught fish to eat or sell for eating, not to let them go or release them. Peter, John, and Jacob (James) were fishermen. They had two boats. They had gone fishing all night long and caught nothing. So they were at shore, washing their nets for another day’s fishing. (Sea water was bad for the nets and had to be cleaned with non-saline water.)

The crowd followed Jesus, and he came to where Simon’s boat on the Lake of Gennesaret (a cove on the Sea of Galilee). For acoustics and perhaps a little personal space, Jesus got into the boat, asked Simon to shove it a few yards, and taught from there (Luke 5:1–3).

When he finished teaching, he said to Simon,

“Row the boat to the deeper sea and cast the nets to catch fish.” (Luke 5:4)

If rolling eyes in disbelief were a practice, Simon would have done so. A son of a carpenter (or technician) was instructing a bona fide fisherman! He said,

“Teacher (didaskalos), the entire night we labored and caught nothing. But because you said so, I will cast the nets.” (Luke 5:5)

As he did, he imprisoned (syn-kleio) a large number of fish that he had to get the help of John and James, their boats. Both boats almost sank with the catch. Then Peter’s eyes opened, fear came, and he said,

“Lord (kyrie), depart from me; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)

His friends – Jacob, John, and everyone with them – said the same. Perhaps Jesus had a smile as he said,

“Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be buying people to give life (zoyreo).” (Luke 5:10)

The fishermen brought the boats to the shore, left everything (including the boats, nets, and fish [for people to eat freely], and followed him (Luke 5:11).

In this miraculous incident, Simon’s eyes opened to see Jesus as more than a teacher to see him as Lord. And his profession changed from imprisoning fish – to killing, eating, and selling them – to buying people to give them life. The verb zoyreo is a combination of the verb “to give life” (zao) and the noun “market” (agra).

In earlier days, people bought birds and animals to kill and eat or to give them freedom from captivity (e.g., scapegoat, Leviticus 16). Jesus called Peter and his friends to leave behind the lifestyle of imprisoning fish and entering the lifetime service of buying people of bondage and giving them life and freedom. Jesus was more than a master, a benevolent kyrie, Lord, who buys people from enemies and frees them.

Even now, our job is to free people and show them what a loving Lord Jesus is. Whatever profession we are in – banking, teaching, nursing, IT, cleaning, hospitality, preaching, administrating, flying, or raising children – we impart life, not death