The Church: Being A City Set On A Hill - Week 6 (Luke 5:1-11)
Luke 5:1-11
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Committed To The Great Commission
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Luke 5:1-11 〰️ Committed To The Great Commission 〰️
This week marks the close of our series The Church. We've spent the last five weeks breaking down what we desire to be as a church and the expressions we use to describe ourselves as we follow Jesus. In this final week, our focus will be on how we are committed to the Great Commission. The Great Commission is the final instructions from Jesus to His followers in Matthew 28:19-20.
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
In this passage, Jesus gives clear instructions to his disciples to share the good news of Jesus with the world. This is the bookend for Jesus's initial statement when He first called the disciples in this week's passage: "From now on you will be catching people" (some translations say "you will be fishers of men") (Luke 5:11). The whole idea here is that Jesus is telling these men, "this is your new life." What's cool about this portion of Scripture is that when fishing, Simon and the others with him followed Jesus's instructions to let down their nets again, even though they had no real reason to. They gave it a shot and, in turn, saw the power of Jesus. This would underscore their entire time following Jesus and beyond, even after His ascension. By the power of Jesus, they were able to catch so many fish that they couldn't contain them, and by the power of Jesus, they would later catch people in such significant numbers that they couldn't contain them.
And so here, we come face to face with the call of Jesus for us, the church. To pose it as a question, what would it look like for us to let down our nets in faith? To follow that, what facets of our lives are we reserving from God, either out of unwillingness or shrunken faith? As we lead our people in discussion this week, consider the ways in which obedience to Jesus could change our lives, neighborhoods, workplaces, classrooms, and generations of families. Simon's obedience to Jesus and eventual trust in Him led to generations of people who would come to trust Christ, spreading all around the world for thousands of years. A small step of faith towards Jesus can mean all the difference.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
Why do you think the men dropped everything when Jesus called them to follow everything?
Are there any points in your life or walk with Jesus that you have responded like Simon did in v5a? (Specifically, "we've worked hard all night long and caught nothing.")
How did Simon's and the other disciples' lives change by trusting Jesus in v5b?
Thinking in the long term, what could our lives as individuals and a community look like if we followed Jesus with this heart posture?
Why do we sometimes make an excuse for our disobedience or lack of trust in God?