1.

In verses 1-3, Simon complied with what Jesus asked him to do. What does Simon’s response to Jesus’ request indicate about Simon as a disciple-candidate?  What wisdom can we learn from Jesus in serving the Lord’s discipleship ministry? 

** He is willing to go the extra mile in order to meet the needs others have. 

** Like Jesus we need to look for someone who is willing to go the extra mile to meet the needs others have. 

2.

Think about Jesus’ order to Simon, and Simon’s response. Why do you think Jesus issued an order like this? What does Simon’s response show us about Simon as a disciple-candidate? What can we learn from Jesus in building up the Lord’s discipleship ministry?

** Jesus was looking for a good disciple candidate who: 1) was willing to obey His word, even if His word looked unreasonable, and hard to obey; 2) was willing to try again despite his past record of failures.

** He had deep respect for Jesus and His word. He was willing to set aside his own ideas, and change his position based on Jesus’ word.

** We need to look for someone like Simon Peter, for he demonstrated two important qualities, that is, absolute faith in the Lord and obedience to His word, and the capability to bounce back from the sense of failures. 

3.

Consider the amount of fish the disciples caught, and the way they “managed” the large catch, bringing it into the boat. What does this tell us about Simon as a disciple-candidate? (cf. 10) 

** The word “partners” indicates that Simon was capable of doing “team” work. A man who loves to show himself off, and do everything by himself, is never fit for a discipleship ministry, for discipleship is never a one man show.  Saving of a soul requires team work. Just as there are many different kinds of people so also Jesus calls many different kinds of disciples. As Jesus calls different kinds of people with different talents and puts them in the body of Christ, it is a must for each disciple to learn how to serve the Lord, adopting a “team work” approach. 

4.

Think about Simon Peter’s reaction in verse 8. Why do you think Simon responded in this way? (cf. 9,10) What does this show us about Simon Peter as a disciple-candidate?

** He saw God in Jesus. At the same time he found himself “before” God the Father. And he found himself as a sinner. He was a sinner in that he did not know the greatness of God and lived merely like a blind puppy dog. 

** He was humble enough to see His own sinful condition. Success made him humble instead of proud. This is a very important quality, because after succeeding in doing one thing or another in the Lord, people tend to go proud and then become useless. 

5.

In verse 10 Jesus said to Simon, “From now on you will catch men.” What does it mean to “catch” men? Why is this (catching men) necessary?

** Catching men meant to help men be committed to Jesus Christ.

** Like fish swimming around in the Pacific Ocean, fallen men are slippery, not willing to commit themselves to the relationship with Jesus Christ. So someone must work to help them commit themselves to the relationship with the Lord.

6.

Think about what they did in verse 11. What does this show us about them as disciple-candidates? 

** They made a decision of faith. They burned the bridge behind them.