The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-02-07
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR FEBRUARY IL.

Subject: Jesus Calling Fishermen, Luke
w., 1-11-Golden Text, Eph. W, l.
Memory Verses. S, 6~-Topic:. Laws Of
Soul Misunderstanding.
1. Jesus teaching the people Tvs. 49,.
/. 1.-The people pressed" Leaving
Nazareth our Lord went to Capernaum
and perhaps abode in the house OF
Peter. The power Of His preaching
drew crowds, which pressed upon Him
as He was walking along the white
beach which forms the margin Of Lake
Genesaret. ITO hear" There was
a good prospect for q glorious revival
Of religion. There were times in the
life of our Lord when thousands were
anxious to hear Him. for the
common people heard Him gladly.
Lake of Gennesaret." The most sa-
cred sheet of water which this earth
contains. Called also the Sea Of Cali
lee. 1t is a clear lake about twelve
miles long and five broad, with the
Jordan River flowing through it. This
was the region of the early labors of
our Lord.
2. 1.-Two ships" Fishing boats.
They must have been small. This Is
clear from the accounts given Of them.
A few men could handle one, and q
single large draught Of fishes endan-
gered them. Standing by" Anchored,
or drawn up upon the beach. THE
fishermen" Peter, Andrew, James and
John. washing their nets" They
had spent the night in fruitless effort,
and now they were cleaning the filth
Of the sea from the threads Of the nets
and mending any defective or broken
parts. 1t is interesting to notice how
often Christ appeared to men while
they were busy with their temporal
affairs. 3. Zone of the ships" The
ship of James and John appeared to be
at some distance away; this one be-
longed to Simon Peter and to his BROTH
er Andrew. See Mark 1:16. Prayed
him" Asked him. Jesus in a familiar
amer takes possession of Peters
boat and makes it His pulpit.
II. The draught Of fishes Tvs. 40.
4. Launch out" Christ forgot His
W WEAKNESS and only seemed to re-
member the disappointment of His fol-
lowers in toiling all night in vain. This
verse has often been used to illustrate
the fact that Christ would have US
leave the shore Of selfishness, w0rldli-
ness and sin and launch out into the
depth of His love and fulness. For a
draught." Let down your nets for the
taking Of fish. 5. Master" This is
the first time that the word here trans
lated master is used in the New Tesla
ment, and it is used only by Luke. The
other evangelists called Him Rabbi or
Lord. This is not the word usually
rendered master, but is a title of re-
spect. Note how Familiarity Peter adj
dresses Jesus. "Toiled all the night"
Peter thus shows how unlikely it was
that they would catch anything. The
night was the best time for catching
certain kinds Of fish and if they had
caught nothing then they could not
expect to catch any in the daytime.
This is no doubt reported by Luke to
cause the miracle to appear all the
more striking. "At Thy word" No
doubt Peter was weary and somewhat
discouraged, but he had faith enough
in Christ to lead him to go at the d.
rection of his divine Master. 6. Their
net brake" Their nets were break
ing" R. v. There was such a multi
tude of fishes that a snap in some weak
part Of the net warned them that they
must have assistance or lose the entire
''catch." The miracle was an acted
parable, Of which the significance is
explained in Matthew 13:47.
Z. "Beckoned." Made signals. The
distance evidently being too great for
the voice to reach. "They came"
James and John with their ship. BE.
gan to sink" The boats would hardly
hold as much as the nets.
III. TIE disciples astonished Tvs. g,
81. 8. "Simon Peter" His full name
is here given, for this is the turning
point In his life. Simon is destined to
become Peter, a rock. "'Peter ex-
presses tee possibilities Jesus saw in
the nature of Simon" Saw" 1t seems
that it was not till Peter saw the boats
beginning to sink that he realized the
greatness Of the miracle. Fell down."
The common posture of a suppliant. In
amazement he fell at the feet Of Jesus
trembling and afraid. depart from
me-" Peters feelings were not I'M
natural, but were an Involuntary, sud
den request, and arose from ignorance
Of the character of Jesus. We are not
worthy to be with Him, but He came to
seek the lost and to save the impure.
The exclamation of Peter was wrung
from a heart touched with a sense Of
humility, and his words did not ex-
press his thoughts. "a sinful man"
Peter saw himself q very sinful crea-
ture. When we get near Christ we
shall see that in our unregenerate state
we are without moral beauty or holi-
ness. 9. "Was astonished." "Was
amazed" Humanity stands "amazed"
before the power Of God.
Nv. Forsaking all for Christ Tvs. 10
~. 10. "Sons Of Zebedee." The chill
dren and wife Of Zebedee are often re-
ferred to-. but in this transaction only
do we meet with Zebedee himself
Matt. 4.21). Fear not" He Gained
their fears and stilled all their troubled
feelings. From henceforth." Here
after. Catch men," Literally, thou
shalt be catching alive.
II. .'Ships to land" They drew
them up OIL the beach for a final aban-
donment. "Forsook ALL" Although it
was not much which they had to leave,
vet it was all they had, ever al! their
living. The sacrifice was a willing one
and showed their love for Christ and a
readiness to obey Him. Followed
Him." They returned again to their
occupation as fishermen after the cruel
f,con. and were again called to aban-
don it and devote themselves by a
second miraculous draught of fishes
and by the direct precept Of Jesus.