This episode, “The Rock on Which It Was Built,” puts Simon front and center—and honestly, the man is a walking tornado of trouble. He’s tangled himself in a mess so big you almost need a flowchart to keep up. He couldn’t turn in the merchant fishermen on Shabbat because, surprise, they were his friends. He can’t pay off his debts. He’s in hot water with the Romans. And every attempt to fix things only seems to make the hole deeper.
When he finally confesses everything to Eden, she doesn’t yell. She doesn’t spiral. She simply asks the two questions that cut straight to the heart: “Where is your faith?” and “Why are you not pursuing God?” Those words land. You can almost see them hit him. And when Simon goes out for one last desperate attempt to pull in a catch, he finally breaks. He cries out to God—not with polished prayers, but with raw honesty. Frustration. Exhaustion. A plea for help from someone who has run out of options.
And right on cue, Eden sends James, John, and Andrew to help him. It’s almost like God heard Simon’s cry and whispered, “Watch this.”
There are many times in life when things don’t go as we planned, just like Simon’s situation. But are you going to God? Are you expressing your frustrations and having an honest conversation with him? God is not a genie and will not grant your every request, but he will listen and his will prevails. I think this is a good lesson we can all learn from, when we are in a hard situation GO TO GOD!
The night of fishing is a bust… but joy comes in the morning. And with the sunrise comes Jesus. He tells Simon to drop the net one more time. One more act of obedience. One more chance to trust. And then it happens—the miracle that changes everything. The nets overflow. The boats nearly sink under the weight of the catch. Debts can be paid. Futures can be rewritten. And Simon falls to his knees, overwhelmed by the holiness standing in his boat.
This is the moment Simon accepts the invitation of Jesus to follow him. He leaves being a fisherman and becomes a fisher of men. And he’s not alone—Andrew, James, and John join him. One miracle, four lives redirected forever. (Luke 5:4–11)
Now, scripture doesn’t say Matthew witnessed any of this, but The Chosen gives us a fun twist: Matthew is watching the whole thing unfold like a stunned reporter at the scene of the world’s strangest fishing story. He’s scribbling notes, eyes wide, trying to make sense of the impossible. His curiosity about Jesus is officially ignited, and we all know where that’s headed in future episodes.
If you want to dive deeper into Simon’s story, check out the free Bible study attached. Now that you’ve seen the moment dramatized on screen, go read it in the Word. You might be surprised by how alive the passage feels when you’ve watched it play out.
Biblical Rewind 
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