<p>5:8<i> But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord </i>- See on Jn. 21:7. The Father seems to have wanted Peter to make the connection between preaching and recognition of personal sinfulness quite early on. &ldquo;Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord&rdquo; was followed by a commission to go preach the Gospel to Israel, just as Isaiah had been brought to the same point and then been sent on a like mission. The picture of the condemned is presented in Scripture in some detail. We are all condemned men and women before the light of the glory of Jesus Christ. If we are to be saved in that future day, we must judge / condemn ourselves now in our self-examination (1 Cor. 11:31). This means that we ought to have their feelings in some respects; as they will have no desire to go on living in the flesh, as they will so earnestly desire entry into the Kingdom, as they will then desperately not want to go back into the world... so we should feel now, grateful that for us there is entry into the Kingdom made possible. Thus Peter asked the Lord to depart from him (Lk. 5:8), with the very same words the Lord used about what He will say to the rejected (Lk. 13:27).</p><p>&quot;Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord&quot; was capturing the spirit of Isaiah. But the Lord responded that he was not to fear, but no now &quot;catch men&quot;. Peter's deep recognition of his sinfulness resulted in him being given a preaching commission. And in similar vein, Peter was given another commission to teach the word when he met the Lord after his denials (Jn. 21:15-17). In response to this he stood up and preached that forgiveness of sins was possible to all those that are afar off from God (Acts 2:39). As he did so, consciously or unconsciously, part of his mind must have been back in the way that on that shameful night he followed the Lord &ldquo;afar off&rdquo;, and far off from Him, denied Him (Mk. 14:54). Peter&rsquo;s vision of the unclean animals in the net taught him that those people whom he considered unclean, he was to &ldquo;eat&rdquo;, i.e. preach to and fellowship with. When he recounts the vision, he comments in an account that is strictly factual in all other regards and without any embellishment: &ldquo;It the sheet with the animals came <i>even to me</i>&rdquo; (Acts 11:5). He is expressing his unworthiness at being called to the task of preaching, just as Paul likewise expressed his inadequacy.</p>