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LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP (THE DEEPER WORD).

A TIMELESS OVERVIEW:

02-12-12

(Luke 5:1-3)  And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

(Luke 5:1-3)  And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him [Jesus Christ] to hear the word of God, he stood by [in readiness, prepared to take action] the lake of Gennesaret [Heb: harp-shaped] [also called the sea of Galilee], And saw [the “big” picture in a snapshot of timeless eternity] two ships [symbolizing the Old Testament and the New Testament] standing by [in readiness, prepared to take action] the lake [of water (symbol of the Holy Spirit) which contained the wild fish unknowingly swimming under the enormous pressure of the Holy Spirit]: but the fishermen [the activators] were gone out of them [the ships, without the fishermen in them, the two ships would remain immobile and could serve no profitable function for God], and were washing their nets [cleansing the nets of stones and weeds (thorns) that they had dredged up, which is a type and shadow of “the parable of the sower” Mat 13:18]. And he entered into [Jesus initiated the action, He animated this otherwise still-life scene] one of the ships [the New Testament], which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out [Gk: launch out] [Dict: to push forcibly; shove; put or drive with force] a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship [and that is exactly what He is still doing out of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, i.e., the combined Bible].

1.      Commentary: “two ships” = the two ships represent the Old Testament and the New Testament. Trees symbolize men in the Bible (Psa 1:3, etc); that is why Jesus came to us to perform the function of a carpenter (He is working on us now). Both of these ships were made of wooden boards representing saved holy men. This clear typology is first biblically observed in the construction of the Tabernacle of Moses wherein the 48 boards of shittim wood (Heb: the acacia tree - from its scourging thorns), alluding to the 48 cities given to the priests (with very meaningful geographical locations paralleling in particular the western side of the Tabernacle), stand up perfectly aligned (in single-minded agreement) each upon two silver tenons (figurative shoes, and the metal symbolic of redemption) that literally support the Tabernacle (prayer, praise, worship, and deeds of support). This typology is all encompassing, and originates in the fruit trees of the garden of Eden (we are all called upon to bear fruit), then obscurely appears as Noah’s ark (Gen 6:14), again obscurely appearing as the baby Moses’ “ark of bulrushes” (Exo 2:3), and then vibrantly appearing in the boards and ark of the Tabernacle (Exo 25:10), and appearing lastly in the New Testament in the “barn” (Mat 13:30) of Jesus Christ, which also in context is an ark.

2.      (Mat 13:47,48) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net [the word of God], that was cast into the sea [of humanity], and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. [Isa 28:9-13 draws a superb picture of “the word of the LORD” being a net, and to the separation of the good and the bad]  

(Luke 5:4-7)  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

(Luke 5:4-7)  Now when he had left speaking [to the apparently unresponsive “way side” unsaved people standing on dry land (no water of the Holy Spirit)], he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep [Gk: profound; (fig.) mystery: deepness, deep things], and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master [a much lesser title than Lord], we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they [Simon, and his brother Andrew] had this done [they were both disobedient], they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners [James, and his brother John], which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came [and let down their “nets” in addition to the nets of Simon and Andrew], and filled both the ships [to over- flowing, a wonderful catch: “my cup runneth over” Psa 23:4; opening “the windows of heaven” Mal 3:10], so that they began to sink.

1.      draught = Gk: a catching (of fish); a haul (of fish).

2.      enclosed = Gk: to shut together, i.e. include or (fig.) embrace in a common subjection to.

3.      Commentary: “enclosed” = does not have the same meaning as “a draught” or a catch of fish. The meaning of “enclosed” is much closer to “embraced” because “enclosed” is still subject to becoming broken, whereas the meaning of “caught” or “a catch” of fish is the more direct specific statement of a completed deed.

4.      Commentary: why did the net brake? The response to that question is the principal point and overriding lesson of this narrative. It is the wonderful lesson issuing from Jesus that was missed by the New International Version Bible, the Amplified Bible, the New American Standard Bible, and the Living Bible, etc. They all missed and omitted this lesson by failing to translate into English from the Textus Receptus, which is often called the Received Text, or to translate contextually (second error), that Simon in fact let down “the net” rather than “the nets” as they would have it. In KJV reality, this was, on Simon’s part, an act of disobedience incurred by placing his own “better” judgment over and superior to the command of Jesus. A definite no-no. But they instead rendered in Luke 5:5 that Simon said “I will let down the nets” (NIV, etc.), and he did so, and then they further confused the issue by rendering that those “nets” were not “brake” (broken) as the KJV has it (for a definite purpose), but that those “nets” were in the act or process of breaking, thereby casting irrelevant another vital point.

5.      Commentary: God through Jesus is teaching His disobedient children (didn’t Simon disobey Jesus? yep! sure did) then and us now, how and why we are to obey Him so that He may use us as perfect instruments formed by Him for His good works and pleasure, in summation, for His delight (Heb: Eden). We are being led to learn how to become obedient children because it is only through obedient non-obstructive, non-rebellious children that God may release the full power of the Holy Spirit, which power may be likened unto a fantastically brilliant ray of light, like a tremendously powerful laser beam, purposefully sent straightly (“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” Luke 3:4) coursing downward from the heavens to discharge the Holy Spirit’s miraculous power through the instrument of you, onto or into whatever.

6.      Commentary: We may herein learn the good news (a happy ending) that in contra-distinction to the initial disobedience of Simon in this narrative of Luke 5:1-11 which occurs at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to His disciples, that approximately 3 ½ years later, in a similar fishing narrative at the end of Jesus’ ministry to His disciples, Simon Peter has learned instant now instinctive unquestioning obedience (John 21:6) (“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” Luke 3:4), and so too have the disciples accompanying him. Thus Luke 5:1-11 and John 21:1-11 represent literal bookends, with many books between, of the ministry of Jesus Christ to His disciples beginning at (Luke 5:1-11) and the ending at (John 21:1-11).

Amen