Luke 5 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“As the crowd was pressing in on Yeshua to hear G-d’s Word, He was standing by the lake of Galilee. He saw two of the boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.” Luke 5:1-4

There are many who believe that when Yeshua called His disciples, He simply said, “Follow Me” and they left everything. It’s like they were zombies or something. In Luke 5, we are given insight into five types of “tests” Messiah gave to His followers, before He called them.

The first test is the “Bias For Action Test”. Yeshua had a need, and Simon Peter was naturally inclined to solve problems. Peter had a bias for action.

“When He had finished speaking, Yeshua said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.’” Luke 5:4-5

The second test is the “Because You Say So, I Will Test.” Even though Peter was the so-called expert, he submitted to the L-rd’s direction.

“When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Yeshua’s knees and said, ‘Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, L-rd!’” Luke 5:6-8

The third test was the “Who Deserves The Credit Test.” While Peter was a master fisherman, he knew only the L-rd could have provided such a haul!

“’Don’t be afraid,’ Yeshua told Simon, ‘From now on, you’ll be catching people!’” Luke 5:10b

The fourth test was the “Grander Vision Test.” Yeshua was replacing their worldly goals with Kingdom ones.

“Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.” Luke 5:11

The fifth test was the “Will you Leave It Test.” Based on all they had experienced with Yeshua, they believed the grander vision and left everything to follow Him.

So…how do you rate on Yeshua's job interview?

~Steve Wiggins, Assistant Rabbi
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Friday, June 7, 2013