(8)  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  (9)  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:  (10)  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.

Luke 5:8-10

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Matthew 4:19 

Explanation:

By observing 4 responses found in this passage we can know what it means to follow Jesus in discipleship.

Response #2- Submit

Simon Peter saw the evidence of the working of Jesus.  They saw His Work and properly identified Him as more than a rabbi.  When He experienced the power of God, and recognized Him as Holy, the right response was to submit to His authority, and recognize His own sinfulness.  The very presence of Jesus became a testimony against the sinfulness of Simon Peter.  And so his right response to this miracle was an attitude of submission.

Application:

It is one thing to identify Jesus correctly.  This is absolutely necessary.  But it is not enough to just identify Jesus as God. We must respond in submission to Him. We must recognize who we are in relation to His idenity. When we recognize HIm as Lord then we must recognize ourselves as sinful.  This is much like Isaiah’s response when He encountered the Holiness and power of God in His call in Isaiah 6.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  (2)  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  (3)  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  (4)  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.  (5)  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 6:1-5

The right response to the identity of Jesus is submission to Him.  We recognize our sin and confess Him as Lord and Savior.

Response:

• When was the last time that you were not submissive to the will of Christ?  How should you respond to that?