Lesson 3366

 (Lesson 3366)(03-22-21) Luke 5:1-11

    “ And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”

    Today’s lesson tells us that Jesus began to choose His twelve apostles by selecting Peter, James, and John, all fishermen, as the first three.

    It’s important to note that neither Mark, nor Luke, in contrast with the Matthew account, mention anything about Peter being chosen as the “rock”. Neither is it implied in any of the other three gospel accounts that Peter was to be the foundation of the church. Similarly, there is no mention in Mark, Luke, or John, that Peter was given the “keys to the kingdom”. As a matter of fact, in an offsetting statement that appeared in Matthew 16:23 Jesus referred to Peter as “Satan”. It troubles me that Jesus would have refered to a man whom He had just appointed to head up His church, as Satan, the evil one.

    It is my opinion that, any time there is an omission of a certain action that occurs in three of the four gospel accounts, we should be very skeptical of why the action is mentioned in the one.

    A complete and comprehensive study of the entire New Testament shines a bright light on the disparity between the gospel narratives of the life of Jesus. Although most of the disparities have little or no affect on the overall message of the New Tesatament, some actually alter the intent of that message and should be highly scrutinized for their legitimacy.~