Jesus' First Disciples | The Wolfe Notes

These notes follow our 7-step rhythm for Bible study. Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotes are from the Good News Translation.

Jesus' First Disciples

(From Luke 5:1-11)

Summer Fishing by szjeno09190 at Pixabay

1. Summary

Jesus, surrounded by a huge crowd on the banks of Lake Gennesaret, sees fishermen cleaning their nets, preparing to return home. Jesus climbs into Simon's boat and asks Him to go out a little ways into the lake. From the boat, Jesus speaks to the crowd for awhile. Then, He tells Simon to move out into deeper water, lower his nets, and see what he catches. Simon responds incredulously, "Okay, I mean, we've already fished all night and have caught nothing. But, since You're asking, I will." 

When they pull the nets in, they are positively bustling with fish. The nets even begin breaking! They shouted for help to a nearby boat. The fishermen hastily unload the fish into the boats. There were so many fish that the boats nearly sank! All the fishermen were amazed. 

Simon fell at Jesus' feet and confessed that he was unworthy of this kind of attention from Jesus. Jesus replied, "Don't be afraid, Simon. From now on, you'll bring Me in people instead of fish."

Simon left his boat at the beach and followed Jesus. So did the other fishermen.

2. N/W/L Statements

1. I NOTICED that:
1. Simon felt unworthy.
2. Jesus chose workers, manual laborers, not someone from the crowd and not someone from the temple or synagogue.
2. I WONDER:
1. If all the disciples chosen also felt unworthy, as Simon did.
2. How the crowd felt at not being chosen.
3. Where I would fall, chosen to follow or not chosen, and what would my response be. There were people who chose to follow, even though they weren't asked to follow.
3. I think God wants us to LEARN that Jesus' work for us is to bring people to Him. We're in the people business, the disciple-making business.

3. Key Verse

Master, we've been fishing all night, and we haven't caught even a minnow. But...all right, I'll do it if You say so. Luke 5:5 (VOICE) 

This verse reminds me of my own reluctance to do what Jesus tells me to do at times, and of what I want my response to be: "If you say so, I will do it."

4. God's Character

1. God cares about people. (Jesus tells Simon that he will be bringing people to the Kingdom from now on.)
1. But the LORD God called out to the man, "Where are you?" Genesis 3:9
2. "I, the Sovereign LORD, tell you that I myself will look for my sheep and take care of them. Ezekiel 34:11
3. Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me. Revelation 3:20
2. God partners with us to work in His field. (Jesus could have done it on His own, but He chose to train others.)
1. "Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 'I don't want to,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. 'Yes, sir,' he answered, but he did not go. Which one of the two did what his father wanted?" "The older one," they answered. Matthew 21:28-31
2. The Lord answered, "Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of food at the proper time. How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. Luke 12:42-44
3. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building. I Corinthians 3:9
3. God can do miraculous things. (He filled a net so full of fish that the boat nearly sunk, when by man's own efforts the lake seemed empty.)
1. When the Israelites saw the great power with which the LORD had defeated the Egyptians, they stood in awe of the LORD; and they had faith in the LORD and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14:31
2. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill these jars with water." They filled them to the brim, and then he told them, "Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast. They took him the water, which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. He did not know where this wine had come from (but, of course, the servants who had drawn out the water knew); ... John 2:7-9
3. "Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you. Acts 2:22
4. God calls us. (Even though a crowd was following Him, Jesus chose someone who wasn't.)
1. Israel, the LORD who created you says, "Do not be afraid - I will save you. I have called you by name - you are mine. Isaiah 43:1
2. You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. John 15:16
3. God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. I Corinthians 1:9

5. Pray

Father God, often I don't feel like I have a purpose. To say my purpose is to glorify You and to show love to others feels like an unacceptable non-answer in this world. But, I thank You for allowing that to be my answer. I thank You for getting rid of every other obstacle so that I can focus on knowing You and loving others. Teach me to say it with unapologetic confidence. I am so thankful for my life with You, and I want others to experience it too.

6. Act

• Believe my purpose of drawing others to God matters greatly.
• Live with an awareness of my partnership with God as coworkers.
• Do what God tells me to do even when I don't want to do it, or when I doubt it will make a difference. In so doing, I acknowledge His complete authority over my life.

7. Annotation Notes

? Denotes a question, * a personal thought, x a cross reference, ! a connection, and italics a referenced source.

1. * Jesus is not distracted. He maintains His focus even though there is a crowd. (Luke 5:1-3)
2. * Oh that I would always so readily respond in such a way to Jesus: "But if you say so, I will [do it]." (Luke 5:5)
3. * I feel this unworthiness of Jesus' direct attention, and I feel that giving me a Kingdom purpose is His response to me, too. (Luke 5:8, 10)

Sample these related resources:

• To reconsider the Christmas story from the theme of obedience.
• To explore the importance of obedience to God.
• To see how Jesus obeys from even a young age.
• To watch Jesus focus on God's mission.
• To respond to God's call to partner with us.

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