The Story of Jesus Teaching from a Boat (Luke 5:1-11)

Everywhere Jesus went great crowds of people followed him and wanted to be with him. Why do you think they wanted to be with Jesus? You might say it was because he was a worker of miracles, and that’s true. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, said to Jesus one night, “No man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” Someone else might say people wanted to be with Jesus because he was a great teacher, and that’s also true. If you and I lived back in days of Jesus, I’m sure we would also want to hear him teach and listen to the many parables (or stories) he told the people. One day Jesus was standing by a lake with people crowded all around him. There were two boats nearby, and one of them belonged to a fisherman named Simon. Jesus got into Simon’s boat and asked him to move out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. I think that’s neat, don’t you? We’re not sure what Jesus taught that day, but after he was finished, Simon was in for a big surprise. Jesus told him to put his fishing net back into the water, and he would catch a lot of fish. Simon had been fishing all night and caught nothing, but I believe he obeyed Jesus because he believed him to be a man of God. What do you think happened? Simon caught so many fish that his net started to tear apart. He called for help from the people in the other boat, and both boats were filled with so many fish that they started to sink. Wow! Now here’s the best part of the story: After the boats were brought to land, Simon Peter and the men in the other boat, James and John, left their fishing boats and nets and followed Jesus. They became his disciples. Hurray for them!