Put Out into the Deep

Jesus tells His Apostles that they will no longer be catching fish, but men.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “For now on you will be catching men. At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:19-20

A few years ago, I went on a crabbing trip with some friends of mine off Somer’s Point in New Jersey. One of my friends, Sal, claimed that he knew of a certain spot that guaranteed a huge haul of delicious blue claws. We set out in a couple of small motorboats to the designated place with great enthusiasm. On the way, we baited the crab traps with the heads and tails of bunker, squid, chicken necks, backs, and legs. We crossed the bay and anchored in a shallow channel surrounded by tall weeds – a perfect breeding ground for the hard shells. We tossed the traps and even had a few hand lines working. We had all sorts of pools going for the first catch, largest, and the most caught. We sat and waited.

Every few minutes, we lifted the traps into the boat and if we felt a tug, the hand lines, but no crabs! For at least a half hour we repeated the process but came up with the same result. I was getting a bit restless and so were my friends. I suggested that we move to another spot, but Sal insisted that we stay and be patient. Just as we were ready to give up and toss my friend out of the boat a la Jonah, we got our first hit, then another, and another, until both boats filled their wooden baskets! Sal later told us that we were positioned on a crab nest, and needed to wait until the crabs woke up and started to search for food. One of my buddies exclaimed: “It was like the multiplication of crabs!” Sal, smiled, and could have well said: “I told you so,” but he didn’t.

A fisherman named Simon and some of his friends also had a similar experience, but it wasn’t on a crabbing expedition. They were fishing for their livelihood all night yet caught nothing. As they returned to shore and were washing their nets, Jesu approached them and told them to “Put out into the deep,” and try again. Simon, at first, protested telling Jesus that they had already tried for hours, yet came up empty. However, he chose to do what Jesus had commanded. After catching a huge catch of fish that brought their nets to the breaking point, Simon fell to his knees, extremely sorry for doubting Jesus. Jesus’ response could have been, “I told you so,” or He could have scolded Simon for his lack of faith, however, His response was: “From now on, you will be catching men.” What a strange response,” Simon must have thought! He had no idea at this point what Jesus meant, but in God’s time he would.

You may have worked on something for a long time yet came up empty. You may have tried your best, yet the problem you were tackling remained unresolved. You may have been working on a broken relationship with a loved one or close friend, yet it still stayed broken. Sal told a small group of his friends to be patient and hold out. Similarly, Jesus told a small band of disciples to not lose heart and to steer the course. When our good efforts are falling short of the desired effect, He commands us to also “Put out into the deep.” This is a phrase taken from the Latin – duc in altum – that we are told by Scripture scholars has little to do with fishing, but rather, casting out into the depths of the spiritual realm.

Jesus calls us to leave the shallow waters of complacency and the false security that the world offers, to place our faith and trust in God who calls out into the deeper water. There is risk going into the deep because it requires total surrender to God’s will, and to be ready to suffer a bit, yet the result of following His way and not the world’s, is well worth the effort. So, cast your net, my friend, into the deeper waters of God’s love!

Tomorrow – Let the Trees of the Forest Rejoice!