05/18/2026
Jesus and a large group of followers arrive at a lake where Simon and his friends have come to shore with nothing after a long night of fishing. Jesus asks Simon to take him out on the lake in his boat so He can teach the crowd of people. After Jesus finishes teaching, He tells Simon to cast his nets again. Simon and his friends catch so many fish that it almost breaks their nets and sinks the two boats needed to haul in their catch. Jesus tells Simon that he will be fishing for people from now on. Simon and his friends bring in their boats and leave everything behind to follow Jesus. Simon obeyed Jesus twice in this story. First, when he took Jesus out onto the lake in his boat, and second, when he cast his nets, even though he had caught nothing all night. When Simon saw what was going on with the fish, he immediately knew that he was witnessing a miracle. The man in his boat was a holy man, and Simon didn’t think he was worthy to be in His presence. He didn’t want his sin to hurt Jesus’s reputation, so he told Jesus to go away because he was a sinful man – but Jesus already knew that and didn’t care. He saw Simon for who he could be and how he could help others, not for all the wrong that he had done in his life. Once Simon understood what Jesus was offering him, there was nothing worth staying behind in his old life for. He heard Jesus call him, and he followed.
