The Disciple's Walk That Begins With "But"

Introduction

You probably know that little phrase that lingers in your mind when Jesus draws near to your day: "I'm a little busy right now." The net that needs mending, the screen that's on, the meeting that's running long. Nothing serious. Just life filling up every space.

In Luke 5:1-11, Peter is in exactly that place. He is coming back from a night of fishing that caught nothing, washing his nets, wanting only one thing: to finish up and go home to sleep. And that is exactly where Jesus steps into his boat. Pastor Kitayama, of Kobe Christ Glory Church, opens a series called Fan or Disciple? In this first part, he shows that the disciple's walk rarely begins with a big, enthusiastic "yes." It begins with one small word: "but."

"Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:5). That "but" doesn't erase your tiredness. It doesn't deny your failure. It simply opens a gap so that Jesus's word can come before your own judgment of the situation.

Outline

1. "I'm a Little Busy Right Now": The Trap of the Rushed Disciple

Look at the scene in Luke 5:1-2. On one side, the crowd. They are pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. They are eager, loud, on fire. You look at that crowd and think, "Now there are people with real faith."

On the other side, a few yards away, the fishermen. They have come down from the boats and are washing their nets. This isn't just "working": it's the end-of-day stage, the point where you have only one thought left, going home. They are tired, the night was empty, and all they want is sleep.

Kitayama presses on a delicate point. Jesus is not a stranger to them. A few verses earlier, in Luke 4:38-39, Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law of a high fever. Simon knows who Jesus is. He has seen his power in his own home. And yet, right when the crowd is pressing in to hear the word, Simon himself is busy putting away his gear.

Notice: the pastor says clearly that Jesus does not condemn work. The Bible does not set faith against work. Pastor Timothy Keller makes this point in his book Every Good Endeavor: work is a good gift from God, damaged by the fall in Genesis 3, but redeemed and redefined by Christ as a place of worship, prayer, and service. No caricature along the lines of "quit your job and serve the church" is legitimate here. That would be a sectarian reading.

The real question is different: does the presence of Jesus, right there beside your boat, still find you able to say "not now"? Have you become, without realizing it, someone who has met Jesus but who, every single day, murmurs, "I'm a little busy right now"?

2. The "But" That Sets You in Motion

Once his teaching is finished, Jesus turns to Simon: "Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). Humanly speaking, this is absurd. Jesus was trained as a carpenter. Simon is a professional fisherman. He knows the lake, the hours, the zones. Night is the right time; daytime, in deep water, doesn't work. Simon would have a thousand reasons to politely refuse.

His answer becomes a model for the whole Christian life: "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:5).

That "but" is small and immense at once. It holds two things together:

• It honestly acknowledges the failure, the exhaustion, the experience. Simon is not in denial: the night really was empty.
• It chooses, in spite of everything, to put Jesus's word ahead of his own expertise. "At your word."

Kitayama points out that the disciple's walk doesn't begin with "I feel strong." It begins with "I trust you more than I trust myself." And the result goes beyond every category: the nets are about to break, and both boats are so full they begin to sink (v. 6-7).

Faced with this miracle, Peter doesn't celebrate. He falls at Jesus's knees: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). The blessing doesn't make him proud, it opens his eyes to who he truly is. And that is when Jesus speaks the call: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men" (v. 10).

The disciple is not someone who carefully arranged his life before following Jesus. He is someone who, standing in his empty boat, says "but" and casts the net one more time.

3. Leaving Everything and Rising: The Disciple's Response

The text moves on, spare and radical: "And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:11). The same movement appears further on, in Luke 5:27-28, when Jesus calls Levi (the man we know as Matthew), sitting at his tax collector's booth: "Follow me. And leaving everything, he rose and followed him."

Kitayama draws attention to three things.

Jesus's gaze comes first. It isn't Levi who chooses Jesus, it's Jesus who looks at him first, in a trade despised as collaboration with Rome and outright theft. John 15:16 says it plainly: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you." The same gaze that found Levi found you in your own night, before you changed anything at all about your life.

"Rising" is not a minor detail. In the Gospels, the verb is often tied to resurrection: a new beginning. But this new beginning isn't only bright, it is costly. Levi "leaves everything." Not just a job: an income, a status, a network, an identity. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The saved disciple starts opening his home. Levi throws a great banquet at his house for Jesus (Luke 5:29). The Greek text literally says he "uses his house for the Lord." He takes what he has (not what he lacks) and uses it to introduce Jesus to his friends, his colleagues, the very people respectable religion avoided.

Kitayama draws a very concrete application for the church. Everyone has a different role: some cook, others invite people, others pray, others welcome guests. No one does everything. But everyone shares the same goal: making Jesus known. Think of the church fair, evangelism teams coming through, a monthly coffee gathering for students, an open meal. You don't need to know how to cook. You can pray. You can say hello. You can offer your table. What you have is already what God wants to use.

Finally, a quiet but powerful note: in the Gospels, Levi is almost never quoted. No famous saying, no memorable question. But God used his old tax collector's instinct (recording, noting, keeping accounts) to have him write an entire Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew. The skill you once used for yourself, God can turn around for his glory. "What you do today is not wasted. In due time, if you let yourself be filled with the Spirit, the Lord will use it."

Key Takeaways

• The disciple's walk begins with "but." Not with a heroic surge of feeling, but with the decision to put Jesus's word ahead of your own reading of the situation.
• Jesus sees you before you change. Like Levi at the tax booth, like Peter in his empty night, you were seen exactly as you were. Grace doesn't wait for you to look presentable.
• Following Jesus costs something. Peter and Levi leave everything behind. Your old identity, your props, the way you've defined yourself: that is what has to rise up and be set down.
• The saved disciple shares his home. The mark of a life touched by Jesus is a joy that overflows and invites others to his table, using whatever means you have.
• Nothing you carry is wasted. The skill, the story, the ability: God can take them back into his service, even long after the fact.

Personal Application

1. Where, right now, are you tempted to tell Jesus "not now, I'm a little busy"? Name the exact situation.
2. Is there a "word" from Jesus (a clear biblical command, a conviction that came in prayer) that you keep pushing away because it contradicts your own experience? Are you willing to add a "but, at your word"?
3. What part of your old life (status, security, reputation) is God asking you to "leave" so you can rise and follow him more freely?
4. What do you have (a home, a skill, a job, some time) that you could "use for the Lord" this week, the way Levi used his house?
5. What talent feels "useless to God" today? Hand it over to Christ and ask him to redirect it for his glory, the way he did with Matthew.

Verses Cited

• Luke 5:1-11 (ESV) · The miraculous catch of fish and the call of Simon.
• Luke 5:27-32 (ESV) · The call of Levi and the meal at his house.
• Luke 4:38-39 (ESV) · Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law.
• John 15:16 (ESV) · "You did not choose me, but I chose you."
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) · The new has come.
• Genesis 2-3 (ESV) · Work as a gift, damaged by the fall.
• Nehemiah 4 (ESV) · The opposition that comes with God's work.
• Matthew 13 (ESV) · The parable of the sower: the enemy snatches away the seed.

FAQ

Does this message mean you have to quit your job to follow Jesus?
No. Kitayama explicitly rules out that reading as sectarian. The text does not set faith against work. It points to the inner attitude: when Jesus's presence steps into your ordinary day, does it find you available, or still "busy"? Work itself is a gift from God, meant to be re-consecrated in Christ.

What exactly does Peter's "but" mean?
"But at your word I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:5) holds two things together. Peter doesn't deny his experience ("we toiled all night and took nothing"), and he chooses, in spite of it, to put Jesus's word ahead of his own professional judgment. That's the starting point of all disciple's obedience.

Why bring up the call of Levi (Luke 5:27-32) in a message on Luke 5:1-11?
Because both scenes show the same dynamic: Jesus looks first, calls someone in the middle of an imperfect life, and that person "leaves everything and rises." Peter and Levi together shed light on what the disciple's walk really is: recognizing Christ's gaze, answering with a step, and opening your life so others can know him too.