Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

Frustration flashed across the face of the man before Him. It was a reasonable emotion. Deep lines of exhaustion were already etched around his eyes. Discouragement clouded his countenance. It had been a long night. Jesus knew it had. The fishermen had spent hours putting down their heavy nets, only to pull them up empty. Hour after hour. Place after place. It felt like they had dropped their nets in every possible area of the lake. Nothing. Not even a minnow. Their nets were empty. And empty nets were useless. They didn’t make a living. They didn’t put food on the table, a roof over their heads, and clothes on their backs. Worse, there was no way to know how long they would remain empty, how many nights they would launch their boat into the lake, put down their nets, and pull them up without a catch. In the light of day, weighed down by the urgency of their situation, they simply wanted to clean their gear and head to their beds. Tonight would be another long night. 

Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait. Stifling a sigh, Simon agreed when the Teacher boarded his boat and asked him to push out a bit from the shore. It was a reasonable request. The gathered crowd was growing, both in size and agitation. Everyone thought they deserved to be in the front row. Some shoving had broken out. A few elbows had been thrown. It wasn’t a safe space for a lone man. Simon could see that Jesus needed a rescue. Unable to resist helping a fellow man in distress, Simon lifted the anchor and had his crew gently float the boat out to a safe distance from the pressing crowd. They wouldn’t be there long. Once the people realized Jesus wasn’t going to get tangled up in their affairs, they would dissipate. Go back to their homes and jobs and responsibilities. It shouldn’t take more than an hour. People were like that. Quick to follow. Quicker to leave when they didn’t get what they wanted. Simon didn’t figure they were going to get what they wanted this time.  

Simon was in for a grand surprise. Or two. As the boat settled in its new resting place, Jesus sat down, faced the crowd, and began to speak. Teach, really. It wasn’t like any sermon or lesson Simon had ever heard. It wasn’t full of terrifying doom and gloom. It didn’t instill fear in the heart of every listener. There was nothing manipulative about it. Jesus didn’t threaten them with hell if they accidentally stepped outside the parameters set forth by the law. No. The words of Jesus were firm and sure. He didn’t soft-pedal sin or short-sell grace. He didn’t say following Him would lead to an easy and carefree existence. But. His words exuded grace. They were coated in kindness. Laced with love. His words identified with where they were, like He’d walked in their shoes for a day. Like He knew they’d messed up, but didn’t care. He didn’t verbally eviscerate them. Instead, He offered hope for their souls and forgiveness of their sins. It was a captivating message. 

If Simon intended to mend a torn net or catch a quick nap while he waited, he must have been hugely surprised to find himself hanging on every word of Jesus’ message. His hands unmoving in the net on his lap. His eyes and ears tuned to the message rather than drifting off to sleep. Before Simon was ready to stop listening, the lesson was done. The crowd on land reluctantly began to disperse. Most of them. A few remained, huddled in groups, hoping to get a few minutes of time with Jesus. They looked innocuous. No one was pushing anymore. It was time to lift the anchor and drift back to shore. 

Just as Simon started to speak the words to his men, Jesus interrupted him with a different idea. A wild, crazy, impulsive plan. Something Simon had neither the energy nor inclination to do. Pull up the anchor, but don’t go back to shore. Go out into the sea. Deep into the sea. Maybe the center of the lake. Try fishing again. One more time. Find the deep waters and put out your nets. Give it a few minutes. See if the fish swim in. What could it hurt? Could the situation be worse than it was now? Could they catch less fish? No? So why not do it? Just try it. Give it a shot and see what happens.  

Heaving the exasperated sigh that could no longer be stifled, Simon reasoned it out in his head. Jesus wasn’t wrong. Things couldn’t get worse. The only thing he’d lose would be another hour of sleep. Maybe two. Not that those weren’t precious. They were. But so were fish. They were his livelihood. He had to catch fish to live. They all did. Every man on the boat needed fish to survive. Their families depended on it. There was no harm in trying one more thing. Realistically, it probably wouldn’t work, but if it did…well, that would be amazing! A fish story to end all fish stories. Why not? Why not try it Jesus’ way? So they did. Simon hefted in the anchor and told his men to set out for the deepest part of the lake. And they did. Even with the questions bombarding their minds. Even when they knew they’d already been there. Even when they didn’t expect a different outcome for their labor. Simon and his crew chose to obey Jesus.  

Reaching the designated place, the men gathered their nets and methodically threw them into the water like the professionals they were. Because they were professionals. They knew that lake as well as they knew their own homes. Lived on it. Loved it. They knew where the largest catches of fish could normally be caught. They trolled those places regularly. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of those places. Yet still they obediently launched the nets. In spite of their doubt. In spite of their exhaustion. In spite of what logic and their clearly unfruitful night indicated. They grabbed those nets, tossed them down into the complete stillness of the deepest part of that fishless lake, and settled in to wait an acceptable amount of time before quietly pulling in their empty nets and silently rowing back to shore.

No one was prepared for what happened next. No one except Jesus. Fish were everywhere. In the water. In the nets. In the boat. It was unbelievable!  And the boat was sinking. At least it felt like it. The men manning the craft were clearly being evicted by their remarkable catch. Fear and exhilaration warred within them. The boat seemed unreliable right now, but the catch was incredible! They had been on that same lake in that same boat all night long and caught nothing. An hour ago they would have sworn the fish had all migrated. Now, here they were, their nets were full and beginning to break. They were wildly signaling the other fishing vessel to come and help. Their catch that day was greater than their normal haul for several months combined. Why? Because Simon had chosen obedience and launched out at Jesus’ command. Even when it seemed ridiculous. Even when he thought he already knew the outcome. Even when he was already exhausted from his fruitless night on the lake. Simon chose blind obedience and God rewarded it. (Luke 5:1-7)

The message rings throughout the Bible. Old Testament. New Testament. It’s threaded throughout history in an unbroken thread. Obedience to God is rewarded. Maybe not the way we hope it will be or the way we think it should be. It will be rewarded in the way God knows is best. Ask Noah. Building an enormous boat to withstand torrential rain and historic flooding had to feel ridiculous. The people around him certainly thought it was. Their jeers and scoffing were relentless. It didn’t stop Noah. Still, he obeyed God. Naaman didn’t like the instructions brought by Elisha’s servant to go wash his leprous self in the filthy Jordan River. He almost didn’t. It took a quiet word from a faithful servant to urge him into the cleansing water, but he went and it did. The ten lepers Jesus sent to show themselves to the priest didn’t wait to leave until their condition improved. No. They went immediately. It was gone by the time they made the trip. In Cana, at a wedding, Mary, the mother of Jesus, found the wine was gone too early. Knowing Jesus could fix the situation, she lined up the servants and issued one command. Obey Him. No matter what He says. No matter if it seems ridiculous. No matter if you agree or not. Do it. And they did. (Genesis 6:9-8:19; II Kings 5:1-14; Luke 17:11-19; John 2:1-10)

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if none of these people had obeyed God? What if they all decided they knew better? What if Simon had chosen to go with his professional opinion rather than obey Jesus? What if Noah had required proof of rain? What if Naaman had opted to go home and dip in an acceptable river? What if the ten lepers had stood around waiting for their miracle before heading to see the priests? What if those servants had scoffed and laughed and refused to refill the water pots because turning water into wine was just too ludicrous to believe? What would have happened if none of them had chosen obedience because it didn’t match what they believed to be true, because the possible outcome was beyond their wildest imagination, or because they needed to see progress before they obeyed? 

What happens when you do the same? Because you do. We all do. We sit and wait for God to act, then choose obedience. We want to know our faith won’t be in vain, our obedience will reap the rewards we desire. We aren’t good at blind obedience. Our faith doesn’t work well without sight. It needs to. The reward is in the obedience. The writer of Hebrews tells us that. Failure to obey is caused by unbelief. We don’t obey God because we don’t believe He really will do what He says. We worry He won’t keep His promises. We fret that His ways and methods and outcomes won’t align with our allegedly superior ones. We believe in the work of our hands more than we believe in the hands whose work we are. (Hebrews 3:12-19; 4:1-6)

It needs to change. Now. Today. Your faith has to trump your fears. You need to launch out. Launch off your sofa and do that thing God has been telling you to do. Launch out of your comfort zone and boldly speak about Jesus. Launch out of your self-centered pity party and lend a hand to those in need. Visit the sick. Feed the hungry. Help the struggling. Obey God without expecting something in return. Even when what He is asking seems impossible. Even when you know it is improbable. Even when the reward is intangible. Get up and obey God. Physically. Spiritually. Verbally. Visibly. Launch out. Into the deep. Into the unknown, the unpleasant, the uncomfortable. Whatever He is asking you to do, do it! He will be with you. Launch out! (Matthew 28:20; Psalm 37:18; Proverbs 28:14; John 14:23; Isaiah 1:19; James 4:7; Exodus 19:5; Acts 5:29)