Nevertheless at Thy Word

The Story

Simon Peter was a professional fisherman. He and his partners had worked the Sea of Galilee all night long, and they had caught nothing. Now it was morning, and they were on the shore washing their empty nets.

A crowd was pressing in to hear Jesus teach. Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and asked him to push out a little from the shore so He could speak to the people from the water.

When He finished teaching, Jesus turned to Peter. “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.”

Peter knew fishing. You fished at night in shallow water, not in the deep in broad daylight. And he was exhausted. “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing,” he said. Then he added one word that changed everything: “nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

The moment the nets hit the water, they filled with so many fish that they began to tear. Peter waved his partners over in the other boat, and both boats were so full they started to sink.

Peter fell to his knees in front of Jesus. “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” But Jesus said, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Peter and his partners pulled their boats onto the shore, left everything, and followed Him.

Reflection