Digging Deeper: Location, Location, Location
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Luke 5:1-11 (NLT)
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
My family moved to Atlanta from my home state of Virginia when I was just seven years old. Shortly after moving here, my dad made sure to take me, along with my brothers, to Fulton County Stadium for the first live sports event of my life.
I remember it well—the Braves lost to the Mets 5-2, despite leadoff back-to-back homers from Roberto Kelly and Jeff Blauser. More significantly, the first game I ever saw live was started by Greg Maddux—one of the best players of… well, ever.
Maddux may not have gotten the win that night (he threw a complete game, but unearned runs cost him), but he did earn 355 career wins and a Hall of Fame nod in 2014. Maddux didn’t throw the ball as hard as others, but he could make it move and locate his pitches with incredible precision.
Former major leaguer Orel Hershiser once remarked that Maddux could “throw it into a teacup if he wanted to.” Maddux himself routinely emphasizes the importance of location, urging younger pitchers to focus on where the ball is going, not just how hard they can throw it. Location matters.
We learned in studying Luke that location also mattered for the disciples. Jesus stepped onto the boat and taught the crowd before turning to Simon Peter and telling him to go deeper and try again. The fishermen reluctantly took the boat into deeper water as he instructed—and were rewarded with a catch so large they needed help hauling all the fish onto the boat (Luke 5:4-7).
Pastor and author John Piper, speaking on this text, said of verses 6 and 7: “The point is: this is an utterly unprecedented catch of fish in a location that seemed hopelessly unproductive the night before. And it was caught at the powerful and authoritative word of Jesus.”
This miraculous catch was designed to shock the future disciples and display his awesome power, leaving Peter on his knees in wonder. The location of the boat mattered—not because the fish had magically become more available that day, but because Jesus was delivering in a way that only he can, commanding the outcome.
We must be willing to answer the same call as the disciples did that day. They had doubts about the outcome, but they were rewarded for taking their boat to the right location. Our willingness to go where we are called must be absolute.
It has long been a hallmark of our church to have our “yes on the table” when Jesus calls us to move and act. We must have our hearts ready to move the boat wherever he tells us to go—despite our doubts. If we live this way, he will deliver in ways that only he can!
Lee Wilson and his wife, Deanna, have been NorthStar Church members since 2010. They are parents to Everett, Henry and Roselyn. Lee is passionate about sports (Go Braves, Go Dawgs) and has the pleasure to serve on the worship team as a bassist.