Luke 5:1

This passage of story fell, in order of time, before the two miracles we had in the close of the foregoing chapter, and is the same with that which was more briefly related by Matthew and Mark, of Christ's calling Peter and Andrew to be fishers of men, Mat 4:18, and Mar 1:16. They had not related this miraculous draught of fishes at that time, having only in view the calling of his disciples; but Luke gives us that story as one of the many signs which Jesus did in the presence of his disciples, which had not been written in the foregoing books, Joh 20:30, Joh 20:31. Observe here,

I. What vast crowds attended Christ's preaching: The people pressed upon him to hear the word of God (Luk 5:1), insomuch that no house would contain them, but he was forced to draw them out to the strand, that they might be reminded of the promise made to Abraham, that his seed should be as the sand upon the sea shore (Gen 22:17), and yet of them but a remnant shall be saved, Rom 9:27. The people flocked about him (so the word signifies); they showed respect to his preaching, though not without some rudeness to his person, which was very excusable, for they pressed upon him. Some would reckon this a discredit to him, to be thus cried up by the vulgar, when none of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him; but he reckoned it an honour to him, for their souls were as precious as the souls of the grandees, and it is his aim to bring not so much the mighty as the many sons to God. It was foretold concerning him that to him shall the gathering of the people be. Christ was a popular preacher; and though he was able, at twelve, to dispute with the doctors, yet he chose, at thirty, to preach to the capacity of the vulgar. See how the people relished good preaching, though under all external disadvantages: they pressed to hear the word of God; they could perceive it to be the word of God, by the divine power and evidence that went along with it, and therefore they coveted to hear it.

II. What poor conveniences Christ had for preaching: He stood by the lake of Gennesareth (Luk 5:1), upon a level with the crowd, so that they could neither see him nor hear him; he was lost among them, and, every one striving to get near him, he was crowded, and in danger of being crowded into the water: what must he do? It does not appear that his hearers had any contrivance to give him advantage, but there were two ships, or fishing boats, brought ashore, one belonging to Simon and Andrew, the other to Zebedee and his sons, Luk 5:2. At first, Christ saw Peter and Andrew fishing at some distance (so Matthew tells us, Mat 4:18); but he waited till they came to land, and till the fishermen, that is, the servants, were gone out of them having washed their nets, and thrown them by for that time: so Christ entered into that ship that belonged to Simon, and begged of him that he would lend it him for a pulpit; and, though he might have commanded him, yet, for love's sake, he rather prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land, which would be the worse for his being heard, but Christ would have it so, that he might the better be seen; and it is his being lifted up that draws men to him. Wisdom cries in the top of high places, Pro 8:2. It intimates that Christ had a strong voice (strong indeed, for he made the dead to hear it), and that he did not desire to favour himself. There he sat down, and taught the people the good knowledge of the Lord.

III. What a particular acquaintance Christ, hereupon, fell into with these fishermen. They had had some conversation with him before, which began at John's baptism (Joh 1:40, Joh 1:41); they were with him at Cana of Galilee (Joh 2:2), and in Judea (Joh 4:3); but as yet they were not called to attend him constantly, and therefore here we have them at their calling, and now it was that they were called into a more intimate fellowship with Christ.

1. When Christ had done preaching, he ordered Peter to apply himself to the business of his calling again: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets, Luk 5:4. It was not the sabbath day, and therefore, as soon as the lecture was over, he set them to work. Time spent on week-days in the public exercises of religion may be but little hindrance to us in time, and a great furtherance to us in temper of mind, in our worldly business. With what cheerfulness may we go about the duties of our calling when we have been in the mount with God, and from thence fetch a double blessing into our worldly employments, and thus have them sanctified to us by the word and prayer! It is our wisdom and duty so to manage our religious exercises as that they may befriend our worldly business, and so to manage our worldly business as that it may be no enemy to our religious exercises.

2. Peter having attended upon Christ in his preaching, Christ will accompany him in his fishing. He staid with Christ at the shore, and now Christ will launch out with him into the deep. Note, Those that will be constant followers of Christ shall have him a constant guide to them.

3. Christ ordered Peter and his ship's crew to cast their nets into the sea, which they did, in obedience to him, though they had been hard at it all night, and had caught nothing, Luk 5:4, Luk 5:5. We may observe here,

(1.) How melancholy their business had now been: "Master, we have toiled all the night, when we should have been asleep in our beds, and have taken nothing, but have had our labour for our pains." One would have thought that this should have excused them from hearing the sermon; but such a love had they to the word of God that it was more refreshing and reviving to them, after a wearisome night, than the softest slumbers. But they mention it to Christ, when he bids them go a fishing again. Note, [1.] Some callings are much more toilsome than others are, and more perilous; yet Providence has so ordered it for the common good that there is no useful calling so discouraging but some or other have a genius for it. Those who follow their business, and get abundance by it with a great deal of ease, should think with compassion of those who cannot follow theirs but with a great fatigue, and hardly get a bare livelihood by it. When we have rested all night, let us not forget those who have toiled all night, as Jacob, when he kept Laban's sheep. [2.] Be the calling ever so laborious, it is good to see people diligent in it, and make the best of it; these fishermen, that were thus industrious, Christ singled out for his favourites. They were fit to be preferred as good soldiers of Jesus Christ who had thus learned to endure hardness. [3.] Even those who are most diligent in their business often meet with disappointments; they who toiled all night yet caught nothing; for the race is not always to the swift. God will have us to be diligent, purely in duty to his command and dependence upon his goodness, rather than with an assurance of worldly success. We must do our duty, and then leave the event to God. [4.] When we are tired with our worldly business, and crossed in our worldly affairs, we are welcome to come to Christ, and spread our case before him, who will take cognizance of it.

(2.) How ready their obedience was to the command of Christ: Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. [1.] Though they had toiled all night, yet, if Christ bid them, they will renew their toil, for they know that they who wait on him shall renew their strength, as work is renewed upon their hands; for every fresh service they shall have a fresh supply of grace sufficient. [2.] Though they have taken nothing, yet, if Christ bid them let down for a draught, they will hope to take something. Note, We must not abruptly quit the callings wherein we are called because we have not the success in them we promised ourselves. The ministers of the gospel must continue to let down that net, though they have perhaps toiled long and caught nothing; and this is thank-worthy, to continue unwearied in our labours, though we see not the success of them. [3.] In this they have an eye to the word of Christ, and a dependence upon that: "At thy word, I will let down the net, because thou dost enjoin it, and thou dost encourage it." We are then likely to speed well when we follow the guidance of Christ's word.

4. The draught of fish they caught was so much beyond what was ever known that it amounted to a miracle (Luk 5:6): They enclosed a great multitude of fishes, so that their net broke, and yet, which is strange, they did not lose their draught. It was so great a draught that they had not hands sufficient to draw it up; but they were obliged to beckon to their partners, who were at a distance, out of call, to come and help them, Luk 5:7. But the greatest evidence of the vastness of the draught was that they filled both the ships with fish, to such a degree that they overloaded them, and they began to sink, so that the fish had like to have been lost again with their own weight. Thus many an overgrown estate, raised out of the water, returns to the place whence it came. Suppose these ships were but five or six tons a piece, what a vast quantity of fish must there be to load, nay to over-load, them both!

Now by this vast draught of fishes, (1.) Christ intended to show his dominion in the seas as well as on the dry land, over its wealth as over its waves. Thus he would show that he was that Son of man under whose feet all things were put, and particularly the fish of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea, Psa 8:8. (2.) He intended hereby to confirm the doctrine he had just now preached out of Peter's ship. We may suppose that the people on shore, who heard the sermon, having a notion that the preacher was a prophet sent of God, carefully attended his motions afterward, and staid halting about there, to see what he would do next; and this miracle immediately following would be a confirmation to their faith, of his being at least a teacher come from God. (3.) He intended hereby to repay Peter for the loan of his boat; for Christ's gospel now, as his ark formerly in the house of Obed-edom, will be sure to make amends, rich amends, for its kind entertainment. None shall shut a door or kindle a fire in God's house for nought, Mal 1:10. Christ's recompences for services done to his name are abundant, they are superabundant. (4.) He intended hereby to give a specimen, to those who were to be his ambassadors to the world, of the success of their embassy, that though they might for a time, and in one particular place, toil and catch nothing, yet they should be instrumental to bring in many to Christ, and enclose many in the gospel net.

5. The impression which this miraculous draught of fishes made upon Peter was very remarkable.

(1.) All concerned were astonished, and the more astonished for their being concerned. All the boat's crew were astonished at the draught of fishes which they had taken (Luk 5:9); they were all surprised; and the more they considered it, and all the circumstances of it, the more they were wonder-struck, I had almost said thunder-struck, at the thought of it, and so were also James and John, who were partners with Simon (Luk 5:10), and who, for aught that appears, were not so well acquainted with Christ, before this, as Peter and Andrew were. Now they were the more affected with it, [1.] Because they understood it better than others did. They that were well acquainted with this sea, and it is probable had plied upon it many years, had never seen such a draught of fishes fetched out of it, nor any thing like it, any thing near it; and therefore they could not be tempted to diminish it, as others might, by suggesting that it was accidental at this time, and what might as well have happened at any time. It greatly corroborates the evidence of Christ's miracles that those who were best acquainted with them most admired them. [2.] Because they were most interested in it, and benefited by it. Peter and his part-owners were gainers by this great draught of fishes; it was a rich booty for them and therefore it transported them, and their joy was a helper to their faith. Note, When Christ's works of wonder are to us, in particular, works of grace, then especially they command our faith in his doctrine.

(2.) Peter, above all the rest, was astonished to such a degree that he fell down at Jesus's knees, as he sat in the stern of his boat, and said, as one in an ecstasy or transport, that knew not where he was or what he said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord, Luk 5:8. Not that he feared the weight of the fish would sink him because he was a sinful man, but that he thought himself unworthy of the favour of Christ's presence in his boat, and worthy that it should be to him a matter rather of terror than of comfort. This word of Peter's came from the same principle with theirs who, under the Old Testament, so often said that they did exceedingly fear and quake at the extraordinary display of the divine glory and majesty. It was the language of Peter's humility and self-denial, and had not the least tincture of the devils' dialect, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? [1.] His acknowledgment was very just, and what it becomes us all to make: I am a sinful man, O Lord. Note, Even the best men are sinful men, and should be ready upon all occasions to own it, and especially to own it to Jesus Christ; for to whom else, but to him who came into the world to save sinners, should sinful men apply themselves? [2.] His inference from it was what might have been just, though really it was not so. If I be a sinful man, as indeed I am, I ought to say, "Come to me, O Lord, or let me come to thee, or I am undone, for ever undone." But, considering what reason sinful men have to tremble before the holy Lord God and to dread his wrath, Peter may well be excused, if, in a sense of his own sinfulness and vileness, he cried out on a sudden, Depart from me. Note, Those whom Christ designs to admit to the most intimate acquaintance with him he first makes sensible that they deserve to be set at the greatest distance from him. We must all own ourselves sinful men, and that therefore Jesus Christ might justly depart from us; but we must therefore fall down at his knees, to pray him that he would not depart; for woe unto us if he leave us, if the Saviour depart from the sinful man.

6. The occasion which Christ took from this to intimate to Peter (Luk 5:10), and soon after to James and John (Mat 4:21), his purpose to make them his apostles, and instruments of planting his religion in the world. He said unto Simon, who was in the greatest surprise of any of them at this prodigious draught of fishes, "Thou shalt both see and do greater things than these; fear not; let not this astonish thee; be not afraid that, after having done thee this honour, it is so great that I shall never do thee more; no, henceforth thou shalt catch men, by enclosing them in the gospel net, and that shall be a greater instance of the Redeemer's power, and his favour to thee, than this is; that shall be a more astonishing miracle, and infinitely more advantageous than this." When by Peter's preaching three thousand souls were, in one day, added to the church, then the type of this great draught of fishes was abundantly answered.

Lastly, The fishermen's farewell to their calling, in order to their constant attendance on Christ (Luk 5:11): When they had brought their ships to land, instead of going to seek for a market for their fish, that they might make the best hand they could of this miracle, they forsook all and followed him, being more solicitous to serve the interests of Christ than to advance any secular interests of their own. It is observable that they left all to follow Christ, when their calling prospered in their hands more than ever it had done and they had had uncommon success in it. When riches increase, and we are therefore most in temptation to set our hearts upon them, then to quit them for the service of Christ, this is thank-worthy.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ch. Luk_5:1-11. The Draught of Fishes. The Calling of four Disciples

1. pressed upon him] St Mark (as is his wont) uses a stronger word to express the physical inconvenience, and adds that sometimes at any rate, it was with a view to touch Him and be healed (Luk_3:9-10).

to hear] The more probable reading is not tou but kai, ‘and listened to.’

the lake of Gennesaret] “The most sacred sheet of water which this earth contains.” Stanley. St Luke alone, writing for the Greeks, accurately calls it a lake. The Galilaean and Jewish Evangelists unconsciously follow the Hebrew idiom which applies the name yam ‘sea,’ to every piece of water. Gennesareth is probably a corruption of the old Hebrew name Kinnereth, but the Rabbis derive it from ganne sarim ‘gardens of princes.’ This same inland lake is generally called ‘the Sea of Galilee’ (Mat_15:29, &c.). In the Old Testament it is called “the Sea of Chinneroth” (Jos_12:3) from its harplike shape. St John calls it “the Sea of Tiberias;” because by the time he wrote Tiberias, which in our Lord’s time had only just been founded by Herod Antipas, had grown into a flourishing town. Gennesareth is a clear sweet lake about five miles long and twelve broad, with the Jordan flowing through it. Its fish produced a valuable revenue to those who lived on its shores. The plain of Gennesareth, which lies 500 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, is now known as El Ghuweir, ‘the little hollow.’ It is so completely a desolation, that the only inhabited places on the western shore of the Lake are the crumbling, dirty earthquake-shaken town of Tiberias and the mud village of El Mejdel the ancient Magdala. The burning and enervating heat is no longer tempered by cultivation and by trees. It is still however beautiful in spring, with flowering oleanders, and the soil is fruitful where it is not encumbered with ruins as at Khan Minyeh (Tarichaea) and Tell Hûm (Capernaum). In our Lord’s time it was, as Josephus calls it, “the best part of Galilee” (B. J. iii. 10, § 7) containing many villages, of which the least had 15000 inhabitants. Josephus becomes quite eloquent over the descriptions of its rich fruits nearly all the year, its grateful temperature, and its fertilising stream (Jos. B. J. iii. 10, §§ 7, 8), so that, he says, one might call it ‘the ambition of nature.’ It belonged to the tribe of Naphtali (Deu_33:23) and the Rabbis said that of the “seven seas” of Canaan, it was the only one which God had reserved for Himself. In our Lord’s time it was covered with a gay and numerous fleet of 4000 vessels, from ships of war down to fishing boats; now it is often difficult to find a single crazy boat even at Tiberias, and the Arabs fish mainly by throwing poisoned breadcrumbs into the water near the shore. As four great roads communicated with the Lake it became a meeting-place for men of many nations—Jews, Galilaeans, Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks and Romans.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_5:1; Luk_5:3

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God

The gospel and the masses

What could have been the wonderful secret power by which the great Prophet of Galilee drew all men after Him?

1. One simple and very intelligent element in it was the way in which he recognized the wholeness of human nature, that, at the bottom, peer did not differ from peasant, nor monarch from villager.

2. And not only did He recognize the wholeness of human nature, hut also its many diversified needs.

3. He was sinless, and yet He never had a harsh word for the sinners--provided they were not hypocrites.

4. He had the tenderest feelings for those who enjoyed fewest opportunities.

5. He recognized the natural or social wants which are common to all men. Feeding five thousand; making wine at wedding.

6. He disdained no man.

APPLICATION. Oh that God would give us grace to preach fully, faithfully, wisely, lovingly this gospel in the spirit, and with the simplicity and abounding sympathy with which it was first preached in the cities and on the mountain slopes and by the lake shores of Galilee; and then I believe the people would be found pressing to hear it as they pressed then. (Bishop Fraser.)

The Word of God

I. THE WORD OF GOD THAT IS NOW PREACHED AMONG US.

II. THE EXISTING URGENCY TO HEAR IT. Of diffusive religion we have abundance; a concentrative Christianity is what we require.

III. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ITS FAVOURED, AND TOO OFTEN ITS FORGETFUL HEARERS. TWO great classes; those who know the revelation of the will of God through Christ as a mass of doctrines and commands demanding from our understandings a simple assent to their truth; and those who know it in such a sense and degree, as that it becomes the pervading principle of all their actions. Beware of the Christianity of the formalist. When rightly received, the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. (W. A. Butler, M. A.)

To hear the Word of God

One of the finest conceivable pictures presented in this verse--people pressing to hear the Word of God! They often pressed to see Christs miracles, and to listen to His parables, with more or less of mere curiosity; but in this case the motive was spiritual and pure. Why do people attend the sanctuary? To hear the word of man? Then will there be debate, opposition, doubt, or at best, admiration, fickle and selfish. The remedy is partly in the hands of ministers themselves. When they insist upon delivering the message of God without any admixture of human speculation, their spiritual reverence and earnestness may carry a holy contagion amongst the people. Gods Word should always be supreme in Gods house. Them that honour Me, I will honour. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Lake of Gennesaret

It is the centre of the ministry of our Lord; it is not too much to say of it what Dean Stanley has said, It is the most sacred sheet of water that the earth contains. The Rabbins say, I have created seven seas, saith the Lord, but out of them I have chosen none but the sea of Gennesaret. In the day of our Lord, it was a scene of teeming life as well as the centre of a peculiarly hushed and hallowed solitude. No doubt, as compared with many quarters of the globe, it was secluded; but still its shores and its waves were the way of traffic. It was situated in the midst of the Jordan valley, or the great thoroughfare from Babylon and Damascus into Palestine; hence it was the way of the sea beyond Jordan. Along its banks a wondrous vegetation spread, and full of especially beautiful birds and flowers and fruits. What a scene it must have presented--fishermen by hundreds on the Lake; in hamlets around the numerous shipbuilders; and the sails and boats of pleasure flying before the frequent gusts from the mountains. There was no other spot which would so instantly have been a conductor to the words of our Lord. There is a Divine providence in even the very spot itself. The dwellers of the Sea of Galilee were free from most of the strong prejudices which, in the south of Palestine, raised a bar to Christs reception. There were the people of Zabulon and Nephthalim, by the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. They had sat in darkness; but for that very reason they saw more clearly the great light when it came to them in the region of the shadow of death. There He came, to that spot, to preach the gospel to the poor, the weary, and the heavy laden, to seek and to save that which was lost. Where could He find what He sought so readily as in the ceaseless turmoil of those busy waters and teeming villages? Roman soldiers, centurions quartered with their slaves; here, too, the palaces of the princes. Hardy boatmen, publicans, and tax-collectors sitting at the receipt of custom, women who were sinners from neighbouring Gentile cities and villages. Thus all was prepared to concentrate and give effect to the power of His teaching by the Lake. (E. Paxton Hood.)

Description of the lake

The Sea of Galilee is shaped like a pear, with a width at the broadest part of 6.75 miles, and a length of 121; miles; that is, it is about the same length as our own Windermere, but considerably broader, though in the clear air of Palestine it looks somewhat smaller. Nothing can exceed the bright clearness of the water, which it is delightful to watch as it runs in small waves over the shingle. Its taste, moreover, is sweet, except near the hot springs and at Tiberias, where it is polluted by the sewerage of the town. There is much more level ground on the eastern side than the western, yet the western side was always, in Bible times, much more thickly peopled by the Hebrews than the other; partly from the fact that beyond Jordan was almost a foreign country; partly because the land above the lake on the east was exposed to the Arabs; and in some measure also because it always had a large intermixture of heathen population. (Geikies Holy Land and the Bible.)

Description of the surrounding scenery

The original population of the shores of the lake was Sidonian, and when Tyre and Sidon were founded on the shores of the Mediterranean they moved westward, but the town of Bethsidon still retained the name given it by its first inhabitants. The richest part of the shores was at the north-west, where is a luxuriant plain of half-moon shape, walled out from the north and west winds by mountains, and exposed to the sun. This was where the princes and the nobles had their country residences, and the gardens were filled with all kinds of flowers and fruit. The lake was called by its first colonists, Cenuereth, or the Harp, from its shape. The Jews thought so highly of its beauty that they said, God created seven seas--but for Himself He elected but one, and that the Lake Gennesareth; and again, It is the Gate of Paradise. Josephus says, It is a district where Nature seems to have constrained herself to create an eternal spring, and to gather into one spot the products of every one. To the present day the date-palm, citrons, pomegranate, indigo, rice, sugar-cane, grow there; cotton, balsams, vines, thrive; the purple grapes are as big as plums, and the bunches weigh twelve pounds. Here also the fig-tree yields her fruit throughout the year, ripening every month. The Jews call Gennesareth the Garden Lake, and if there were any place in Palestine that could recall the lost Paradise, it was this fruitful, beautiful tract, watered with its five streams. At Chammath, about two miles south of Tiberias, are hot springs, of old much used for baths, and half an hours walk above Tiberias a cold spring of beautiful water bursts out of the mountain side, and pours down to the lake in five or six streams. At Tabigha also are hot springs, that gush streaming down into the blue waters of the lake. Now the neglect of mismanagement of the Turkish Government have led to the devastation of this beautiful corner of the world, and many of the foreign plants once introduced into it have died out, or are disappearing. We can only guess what a garden of delight it must have been in the time of our Lord, when the aqueducts were in working order, and canals carried water to all the gardens and fields. (S. Baring-Gould, M. A.)

Attractiveness of the true preacher

Let a man be a true preacher, really uttering the truth through his own personality, and it is strange how men will gather to listen to him. We hear that the day of the pulpit is past, and then some morning the voice of a true preacher is heard in the land, and all the streets are full of men crowding to hear him, just exactly as were the streets of Constantinople when Chrysostum was going to preach at the Church of the Apostles, or the streets of London when Latimer was bravely telling the truth at St. Pauls. (Phillips Brooks, D. D.)

The personal power inpreaching

The nameless and potent charm of intense personality cannot all go down into a dead book. Truth in personality is where the hidings of power are. We look in vain along the pages of Whitefield for the secret of his mighty effectiveness. We search the famous sermon of Edwards, and wonder what there was in it that moved men so. It was not the sermon on the printed page; it was the sermon in the living preacher. While men are men, a living man before living men will always be more than white paper and black ink. And therein will for evermore lie the supremest possibilities of pulpit power, which no competing press, however enterprising and ubiquitous, can rival. The Founder of Christianity made no mistake when He staked its triumphal progress down through all ages, and its victorious consummation at the end of the world, on the foolishness of preaching. He chose the agency in full view of the marvels of these later centuries, and the pulpit is not therefore likely to be despoiled of its peculiar glory and made impotent to its work by any device born of the inventive genius of man. (Dr. Herrick Johnson, of Chicago.)

A remarkable pulpit

I have seen in different countries some very wonderful pulpits, some of them exquisitely carved in stone or wood, some of them richly inlaid with the choicest mosaics, some of them illustrating scenes from the Bible. Perhaps the loveliest pulpit I have ever seen is in a place where you would least expect to find it. In Italy you often see places that are called Baptisteries--that is, places built specially for the baptism of children. In the old city of Pisa there is a most lovely Baptistery, and in it the most beautiful pulpit, which every one who sees greatly admires; but, strange to say, it cannot be used, because there is such a wonderful echo in the building that the preachers voice could not be heard. If you speak quite softly in it you hear a sound as of a great choir right up in the roof, and so the pulpit can only be admired and not used. But the pulpit from which Christ preached on this occasion was a very simple one; it was not richly carved, nor beautifully decorated, nor of massive form. It was only a tiny boat resting upon the bosom of a lake. (W. A. Herder.)

The preaching of Christ

The form of the preaching of Jesus was essentially Jewish. The Oriental mind does not work in the same way as the mind of the West. Our thinking and speaking, when at their best, are fluent, expansive, closely reasoned. The kind of discourse which we admire is one which takes up an important subject, divides it out into different branches, treats it fully under each of the heads, closely articulates part to part, and closes with a moving appeal to the feelings, so as to sway the will to some practical result. The Oriental mind, on the contrary, loves to brood long on a single point, to turn it round and round, to gather up all the truth about it into a focus, and pour it forth in a few pointed and memorable words. It is concise, epigrammatic, oracular. A Western speakers discourse is a systematic structure, or like a chain in which link is firmly knit to link; an Orientals is like the sky at night, full of innumerable burning points shining forth from a dark background. Such was the form of the teaching of Jesus. It consisted of numerous sayings, every one of which contained the greatest possible amount of truth in the smallest possible compass, and was expressed in language so concise and pointed as to stick in the memory like an arrow. Read them, and you will find that every one of them, as you ponder it, sucks the mind in and in like a whirlpool, till it is lost in the depths. You will find, too, that there are very few of them which you do not know by heart. They have found their way into the memory of Christendom as no other words have done. Even before the meaning has been apprehended, the perfect, proverb-like expression lodges itself fast in the mind. (James Stalker.)

Attention to the Word of God

I. The circumstance mentioned in the first verse of the text was A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF OUR LORDS OFFICE AND CHARACTER. The people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God. Jesus Christ was that Prophet which should come into the world. He brought down a message of mercy from heaven to earth; a message of pardon for the guilty, of life to the dead, and of salvation to those who were utterly and eternally lost. They were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught them as one having authority. They pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God. And surely it is not too much for us to expect to witness a continuance of the same spirit. If God has indeed sent His Son and His servants to communicate an authentic revelation of His will to man, these teachers must be listened to by all who understand their own character and circumstances, and the great ends for which they live.

II. Such AN ATTENTION TO THE WORD OF GOD IS MATTER OF ABSOLUTE AND UNIVERSAL DUTY AND OBLIGATION. We are all bound to receive Divine instruction, and to receive it in the mode contemplated in the text. The law of Moses directed that, at stated seasons, there were to be holy convocations of the people; when they were to be collected in masses, to engage in holy duties, to enjoy holy delights, to receive holy light and power, and thereby to be filled for those high and holy ends for which they existed as a separate people. In the gospel, Christians are commanded not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. They are to exhort one another. Along with these commands, there are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. In all places where I record My name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee (Exo_20:24; Mat_18:20). We are bound to give this attendance on the word and worship of God, because He requires it. We are bound to do this, because we ourselves have need of it. If the highest archangel in heaven were commanded to frequent religious assemblies, as a learner, and as a worshipper, he would not refuse. This was done by Him who has received a name which is above every name. As the Mediator, Jesus Christ was subject to the Father; and He testified that subjection by a devout regard for His ordinances. He was a stated attendant on the services of the Temple. But we are not merely creatures: we are also sinners. We are not only subject to our Makers authority; we need our Makers mercy. If we would obtain His blessing, we must seek it in the way of His own appointment. In any other way He has not promised it; in any other way we have no right to expect it. It does not mean that the vulgar and illiterate must go to Church, but that men of science and literature are at liberty to stay away. A man may be as great a philosopher as Socrates or Plato; but then he is a creature and a sinner. He must therefore attend to his Creators word; he must kneel at his Creators feet. Neither can political rank at all free us from this great obligation. A man may be a lord, a duke, a king, or an emperor; yet he must imitate the example of Him who is Lord of lords, and King of kings. No man is excused on the ground of poverty and meanness. It may mortify him excessively to exhibit his rags before a large and respectable congregation; but Christ hath left us an example that we should tread in His steps. His piety and poverty were great and manifest. The plea of a high and refined spirituality of mind will be equally unavailing. It is useless to say, I have no need to observe the mere forms of piety, since I enjoy its spirit and its power.

III. The men of bustle and business are sometimes disposed to look upon all this attendance on the Word of God AS SO MUCH LOST TIME, AND AN INCONVENIENT INTERFERENCE WITH THE CONCERNS OF LIFE. If such excuses could ever be seasonable, they might have been urged by the fishermen of Galilee, on the occasion referred to in the text. They had toiled all the night before, and caught nothing. They were now in the act of washing their nets, in order at the earliest opportunity to go to sea again and make another attempt. Several of them, it is probable, had families dependent on their industry and success. Under such circumstances they might have said, Lord, we have no time to hear sermons now. It is impossible for us to comply with your request, and to spare our boat for preaching purposes at present. We must follow our employment, or our debts cannot be paid, nor our childrens wants supplied. But not a word of objection or excuse was heard. What follows proves that in the end they suffered no loss. Know, therefore, that there is a providence; a blessing of the Lord which maketh rich.

IV. THE WORD OF GOD DESERVES TO BE IMPLICITLY BELIEVED AND OBEYED. We may always venture to carry out its instructions into practical effect in the face of every difficulty and discouragement. But Peter reasoned on a different principle, and came to a different conclusion. He called Jesus Master, and was consistent with himself. Many of us talk like servants while we act like masters. We say, Lord, Lord, but do not the things which He enjoins. But Peter understood his duty better. When the Master commands, the servants business is, not to argue, but to obey.

V. THAT WORD DESERVES OUR ATTENTION ON ACCOUNT OF ITS POWER TO REACH AND CONTROL THE HUMAN HEART. The Author of the Bible knows what is in man. He can speak to the heart of His own creatures. His Word touches the hidden springs of thought and feeling, and thus turns us about whithersoever He will (Heb_4:12). Peter found this by experience. The sermon was heard, and such was the silent and secret but powerful effect of Divine truth upon his heart, that he saw his unutterable guilt and depravity as in the light of open day; and became so agitated with grief and terror, that, in the end, he fell down at Jesus knees, exclaiming, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord (Luk_5:8). You will soon be brought to the same temper, if you listen to the same Teacher.

VI. IT IS NOT INTENDED, HOWEVER, TO INTIMATE THAT THIS MATCHLESS WORD WILL INTRODUCE US TO A REST AND PEACE, WHICH IMPLIES AN EXEMPTION FROM WORLDLY CALAMITIES. When the disciples were favoured with the immediate presence of Christ, and were in the very act of receiving a miraculous blessing at His hands, we scarcely expected to hear anything of a broken net and a sinking boat. Yet both these inconveniences were experienced on this memorable occasion. The afflictions of a good man only tend to heighten his gratitude, by more abundant displays of the Divine faithfulness and love. It was wonderful that the net should be suffered to break; but it was more wonderful that, after this accident, the fishes were not lost. It was wonderful that the boat should be suffered to begin to sink; but it was more wonderful that, in such a state, they should all come safe to land. God often reduces His people to the last extremities, and then shows them His salvation. The vessel which bears the saints to glory is often in a leaky and sinking state. All hope of being saved is not unfrequently taken away. Yet, while they have an ear to hear, and a heart to obey, they continue to float.

VII. THE BENEFITS ARISING FROM. AN ATTENTION TO THE WORD OF GOD ARE NOT CONFINED TO OURSELVES; THEY EXTEND TO OTHERS. While attention to the Word of God teaches us the duty of instructing others, it also gives us the disposition to make the attempt. Piety and charity are inseparably connected. (Samuel Jackson.)

The attractive power of the gospel

Jesus as a preacher drew. What was the attraction? He used no rhetorical device to produce an effect. His method was startling in its novelty. He did not follow the customs of His age. Though claiming to be a religious teacher, He did net adopt the conventional role of a priest or scribe. But to really appreciate the spirit of the Preacher we must understand His doctrine. The message He brought men made it imperative that His attitude towards them should be that of large-hearted sympathy. Now, there are some things I want you to see as the result of this exposition.

1. The first is that the gospel of Christ, when proclaimed in the proper spirit, never fails to touch the heart. In a sermon of Bishop Frasers I read the following story: A well-known Anglican Bishop was announced to preach in a certain church. A tradesman in the parish, the leader of a set of Atheists, made up his mind to go and hear him. He listened attentively, and after the sermon he said to some one, If that bishop had argued, I would have fought with him; but there was no arguing about him; he preached to us simply about the love of God, and that touched me. Let the gospel be preached with the simplicity and sympathy with which it was first preached in Galilee, and people will still be found pressing to hear.

2. The next thing I want you to see is, that the gospel and spirit of Christ are the powers that have been refining and elevating society ever since He lived and taught. Slowly, almost insensibly, the gospel has been making its way in society.

3. The last thing I want you to see is, that the gospel and spirit of Jesus alone have the power to make humanity noble and good. What a principle this is on which to base individual, social, and political life--God is the Father of all men and has given His Son to redeem them from death; all men are the sons of God, bound to obey Him with loving and filial spirit; each man owes to every other man the duties of a brother. Were that principle realized the happiness of the world would far surpass the dreams of the most ardent socialist. Getting rich by methods that injure others would be unknown. (S. If. Hamilton, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 5:1-10. As the people pressed upon him, with great eagerness, to hear the word of God — Insomuch that no house could contain them: they perceived Christ’s word to be the word of God, by the divine power and evidence that accompanied it, and therefore they were eager to hear it. It seems the sermons which Jesus had preached in his last tour through the country had made a great impression on the minds of the people who heard him; for they either followed him to Capernaum, or came thither soon after his return in great numbers, in expectation of receiving still further instruction from him. He stood by the lake of Gennesaret — Elsewhere called the sea of Galilee, Mar 1:16; and the sea of Tiberias, Joh 6:1; being distinguished by these names, because it was situated on the borders of Galilee, and the city of Tiberias lay on the western shore of it. The name Gennesaret seems to be a corruption of the word Cinnereth, the name by which this lake was called in the Old Testament. See note on Mat 4:13. It appears from Mar 1:16, that Jesus had been walking on the banks of this lake. And he saw two ships — Two small vessels, as the word πλοια, frequently occurring in the gospels, evidently means, though in the common versions rendered ships. They were a sort of large fishing-boats, which Josephus calls σκαφαι, observing that there were about two hundred and thirty of them on the lake, and four or five men to each. Standing by the side of the lake, or aground near the edge of the lake, as Dr. Campbell renders εστωτα παρα την λιμνην, observing that the vessels are said to be, not εν τη λιμνη, in the lake, namely, at anchor, but παρα την λιμνην, at, or beside the lake. But the fishermen were gone out of them — After the labour of a very unsuccessful night; and were washing their nets — Namely, in the sea, as they stood on the shore. And he entered into one of the ships — Namely, Simon’s — With whom, as well as with his brother Andrew, he had formed some acquaintance on the banks of Jordan, while John was baptizing there. See Joh 1:37-42 : and prayed that he would thrust out a little from the land — Jesus desired this, that he might avoid the crowd, and at the same time be more conveniently heard. And he taught the people out of the ship — The subject of his discourse at this time is not mentioned by the evangelist; he introduces the transaction only because it was followed by an extraordinary miracle, which he is going to relate. When he had left speaking, he said unto Simon — Who was the owner of the boat, and his own disciple; Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught — Christ intended by the multitude of fishes, which he would make Simon catch, to show him the success of his future preaching, even in cases where little success was reasonably to be expected. And Simon said, We have toiled all the night and taken nothing — A circumstance this, which “one would have thought,” says Henry, “should have excused them from hearing the sermon; but such love had they to the word of God, that it was more reviving and refreshing to them than the softest slumbers.”

Nevertheless, at thy word — In obedience to it, and dependance on it; I will let down the net — Though they had toiled to no purpose all night, yet at Christ’s command they are willing to renew their toil, knowing, that by relying on him, their strength should be renewed as work was renewed upon their hands. Observe, reader, we must not presently quit the callings in which we are engaged, because we have not the success in them which we promised ourselves. The ministers of the gospel in particular must continue to let down their nets, though they have, perhaps, toiled long, and caught nothing. They must persevere unwearied in their labours, though they see not the success of them. And in this they must have an eye to the word of Christ, and a dependance thereupon. We are then likely to have success, when we follow the conduct of Christ’s word. And they enclosed a great multitude of fishes — The net was no sooner let down, than such a shoal of fishes ran into it, that it was in danger of breaking, or rather did break in many parts. How vast was that power which brought such a multitude of fishes into the net! But how much greater and more apparently divine was the energy which, by the ministration of one of these illiterate men, converted at once a much greater number of souls, and turned the despisers and murderers of Christ into his adorers! And they beckoned to their partners which were in the other ship — Namely, James and John, who, it seems, were at such a distance from them, that they were not within call; that they should come and help them — To secure this vast draught of fishes, and bring them safe to the shore. Such a draught had, doubtless, never been seen in the lake before. Wherefore it could not miss being acknowledged plainly miraculous, by all the fishermen present, especially as they had toiled in that very place to no purpose the whole preceding night, a season much more favourable than the daytime for catching fish in such clear waters. Peter in particular was so struck with the miracle, that he could not forbear expressing his astonishment in the most lively manner, both by words and gestures: he fell down at Jesus’s knees — In amazement and confusion; saying, in deep self-abasement, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord — And therefore utterly unworthy to be in thy presence. He believed the holy God was peculiarly present with the person who could work such a miracle; and a consciousness of sin made him afraid to continue in his presence, lest some infirmity or offence should expose him to some more than ordinary punishment. Observe here, reader, 1st, Peter’s acknowledgment was very just, and one which it becomes us all to make, I am a sinful man, O Lord: for even the best of men are sinful men, and should be ready upon all occasions to own it, and especially to own it to Jesus Christ; for to whom else but to him, who came into the world to save sinners, should sinful men apply themselves? 2d, His inference from it was not just: if we be sinful men, as indeed we are, we should rather say, “Lord, for that very reason, while we own ourselves most unworthy of thy presence, we most importunately entreat it: Come unto me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man, and if thou stand at a distance from me, I perish! Come and recover my heart from the tyranny of sin; come and possess it, and fix it for thyself.” But, considering what reasons sinful men have before the holy Lord God to dread his wrath, Peter may well be excused in crying out, on a sudden, under a sense of his sinfulness and vileness, Depart from me, O Lord. Though Peter was the only person who spake on this occasion, the rest were not unaffected. James and John, who were partners with him — Were also struck with astonishment, and, doubtless, were also humbled before him. But Jesus encouraged them all, and especially Simon, saying, Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men — Instead of doing thee any harm, I from this time design to employ thee in much nobler work, in which I will give thee such happy success, that thou shalt captivate men, in greater abundance than those fishes thou hast now caught: enclosing them in the net of the gospel, and drawing them out of the gulf of ignorance, sin, and misery, to the land of life eternal. The original expression here is very emphatical, ανθρωπους εση ζωγρων, Thou shalt be employed in catching men alive: it is spoken in allusion to those fishes and beasts that are caught, not to be killed, but to be put into ponds and parks.

Thus by a signal miracle our Lord, 1st, Showed his dominion in the seas as well as on the dry land; and over its wealth as well as over its waves; and that he was that Son of man, under whose feet all things were put. 2d, He confirmed the doctrine he had just preached out of Peter’s ship, and proved that he was at least a preacher come from God. 3d, He repaid Peter for the loan of his boat; and manifested that his gospel now, as his ark formerly, in the house of Obed-Edom, would be sure to make ample amends for its kind entertainment; and that Christ’s recompenses for services done to his name would be abundant, yea, superabundant. And lastly, he hereby gave a specimen to those who were to be his ambassadors to the world, of the success of their embassy; that though they might for a time, and in some particular places, toil and catch nothing, yet, that they should be made the instruments of enclosing many in the gospel net, and bringing them to Christ and salvation, present and eternal.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 26. CALL OF SIMON, ANDREW, JAMES, AND JOHN, PRECEDED BY THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES, Luk_5:1-11.

Mat_4:18-22; Mar_1:16-20.

Connecting Luke’s statement with Matthew’s and Mark’s, we have the following complete narrative. Jesus, walking by the seaside of Gennesaret, is pressed by a crowd proceeding from Capernaum. He stops as he arrives at the boat of Simon Peter, which is drawn up and lying on the beach. Jesus directs Simon to put a little into the deep to get out of the reach of the crowd, and from the boat he preaches to the people on the shore. Closing his discourse he directs Peter to let out his net, and a draught of fishes is encircled, so large that the net is broken and the drawing so difficult that Simon and Andrew call upon the brothers in the other boat to fetch up and aid in bringing in the seine with its draught. They come, and their boat also being filled with a share of the fishes, return to their own station and take in the nets, which they proceed to mend. When the fishes are secured, conversation between Jesus and Peter takes place, in which the latter receives his call to the apostolate. Jesus then proceeds a few steps further around the cove, to the boat of James and John, and finding them mending their broken nets, gives them their call.

This method, we think, completely harmonizes the accounts, and supersedes any effort to make out the impossibility of reconciliation, and a consequent necessity of supposing two separate narratives. The simple fact that Matthew mentions the mending of the nets requires Luke’s account of the breaking of them. This is, in fact, one of those frequent unintentional coincidences which not only demonstrate that both agree, but that both are true.

This narrative is really, in point of time, to be inserted after Luk_5:32, in chapter 4. Leaving Nazareth, our Lord went to Capernaum, and perhaps abode in the house of Peter. The power of his preaching drew crowds, which pressed upon him as he was walking along the white beach which forms the margin of Lake Gennesaret.

Both Matthew and Mark simply relate the call of the two pairs of apostles, at the same place and occasion and in the same order as Luke; and Matthew gives our Lord’s striking utterance, “fishers of men,” of which the miracle given by Luke is the great occasion and illustration. That the first two evangelists omit the miracles is explained from the rapidity of that part of their narrative; and from the fact that the call of two pairs of leading apostles was an event far more important in Christian history than any one miracle.

As Jesus was now residing at Capernaum, it is probable (as the language of Matthew and Mark suggests) that he was in the habit of walking upon the broad beach of the lake. As the two pairs of brothers had resided in Bethsaida, it was probably in that direction, northward, that he was now perambulating.

1. He stood—Stopped in his course as he arrived at the boats of the future apostles.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk_5:1. To hear the word of God.—“His preaching in the synagogues had excited so much attention that the people followed Him to the shore of the lake to hear Him” (Speaker’s Commentary). Lake of Gennesaret.—St. Luke alone uses the name.

Luk_5:2. Standing.—The technical word used for vessels at anchor or fastened to the shore. Washing their nets.—As if their work for the day were over.

Luk_5:4. Launch out.—The verb is in the singular; addressed to Peter, who was steersman of his boat: “let down” is in the plural; addressed to all the fishermen in the boat.

Luk_5:5. Master.—Not “teacher”: a title of respect. All the night.—The usual time for fishing (cf. Joh_21:3).

Luk_5:6. Their net brake.—Rather, “was breaking” (R.V.), was on the point of breaking.

Luk_5:8. Depart from me.—Lit. “Go forth away from me,” i.e. “Go out of the boat and leave me.” The presence of one possessed of Divine power or knowledge overawed him: he felt, too, that in Jesus there was also a Divine holiness; and he was overwhelmed with the thought of his own unworthiness. Yet he addresses Jesus as “Lord,” a term of greater reverence than “Master” (Luk_5:5). His request that Jesus should leave him is the expression of a very different feeling from that of the sordid Gadarenes, who desired Him to depart from their coasts (Luk_8:37). A sinful man.—It is his own individual guiltiness that he confesses, and not simply the depravity of human nature: the word he uses implies this—it is ἀνήρ, and not ἄνθρωπος.

Luk_5:9. Astonished.—Lit. “amazement possessed him.”

Luk_5:10. Thou shalt catch.—Or, “thou shalt be catching”—as a permanent occupation. “It must be remembered that this was the second call of Peter and the three apostles—the call to apostleship: they had already received a call to faith. They had received their first call on the banks of the Jordan, and had heard the witness of John, and had witnessed the miracle of Cana. They had only returned to their ordinary avocations until the time came for Christ’s full and active ministry” (Farrar).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_5:1-11

A Parable in a Miracle.—There are three stages in this incident: the sermon from the fishing-boat, the draught of fishes, and the call of Simon.

I. The sermon from the fishing-boat.—The narrative is vivid and picturesque. We can fancy the little crowd on the beach in the fresh morning; their unmannerly jostling; the singular inattention of Simon and the others; the wet, slimy boats drawn up, in token that fishing was done for the day; the crews busy cleaning the nets; and stretching from the strip of busy beach the glittering waters, shining in the early sun as it rose over the eastern hills. Though the fishermen had not lifted their heads from washing the nets to listen to Jesus, they were all His disciples; but they had not been summoned to forsake their callings, and Jesus had been going about preaching alone. They did not know how far He wished them to swell the crowd of listeners, and so they went on with their work. The patient doing of common duties is as true a service as any other. Who looked likest disciples—the eager listeners, or the knot of fishers? The light-minded crowd shows us that open ears and shut hearts often go together, and the true sign of discipleship was dropping the nets and pushing off just because He wished it. Let us learn to stick to our small secular duties till Jesus asks other service, and then to drop them immediately and cheerily, like these men. What a pulpit for such a preacher the rough, untidy fishing-boat was! How willingly He shared the lowly lot of His friends, and how little He cared for comfort, or what people call dignity! The gospel for all men, poor as well as rich, was fitly preached from a fishing-boat; and its power to exalt all secular work into Divine and priestly service was plain from the very place of its utterance.

II. The draught of fishes.—“At Thy word I will” is the very essence of obedience. Never mind though use and wont say “Folly”; never mind how vain the night’s work has been, nor how weary the arms with rowing and hauling; if Jesus says, “Down with the nets,” then down they should go, and he who truly calls Him Master will not stop to argue or remonstrate. Swiftness is part of obedience. The reward is as swift. The load threatens to break the nets. The miracle is remarkable, in that it was not done in answer to any cry of distress, and in that it had not for its purpose the supply of any sore need. Its value is didactic and symbolical. In the former aspect it reveals Jesus as the Lord of nature, and as fulfilling the ancient psalm (Luk_8:8), which ascribes to man dominion over “the fish of the sea.” The incident shows how the original and forfeited glory of humanity was restored in Jesus. “We see not yet all things put under” man, but “we see Jesus.” This teaching is equally clear whether we regard the point of the miracle as being our Lord’s supernatural knowledge of these passers “through the paths of the seas,” or as His sovereign power bringing them to the nets. It teaches, too, His care for His followers’ material needs, and prophesies the blessing which crowns obedient work in secular callings. If we are sure of what is duty, we are to stick to it, come failure or success. Then, too, we learn the need for prompt, unhesitating obedience to every command of Christ’s, however it may break in on our rest or contradict our notions. If all our common duties have this motto written on them, “At Thy word,” the distasteful will become pleasant and fatigue light, and success and failure will be wisely alternated by Him as may be best for us; and whatever the outward issues of our work, its effects on ourselves will be to bring us nearer to Him; and though our nets may often be empty, our hearts will be full of perfect peace.

III. The call of Simon.—The miracle heightened Peter’s conception of the Worker, for “Lord” is a loftier form of address than “Master.” It had also flashed upon him a sudden consciousness of his own sinfulness, which was altogether wholesome. It is well when great mercies reveal the Giver more clearly, and when the glimpse of the gracious Giver bows us with the sense of our own unworthiness. To know ourselves sinful and Christ as Lord is the beginning of deliverance from sin and of fitness for apostleship. But Peter was sadly wrong in his “Depart from me.” The disease is a reason for the coming, not for the going, of the Healer. He would have understood himself and His Lord better if he had cried, “Never leave me, for I am sinful.” He did understand matters better when, on the occasion of the second miraculous draught of fishes, he flung himself into the water to get close to his Master. A partial sense of sin and surface knowledge of Jesus drive from Him: a deeper understanding of ourselves and of Him drives to Him. Christ knows what Peter means by his foolish cry. What he wants to get rid of is, not Jesus, but the sin that separates him from Jesus. “Go away,” said Peter. “Come to Me henceforth permanently, and leave all else to be with Me,” replied Jesus. Christ knows our hearts better than we do, and often reads our wishes more truly than we put them into utterance. “From henceforth” indicates the change in Peter’s calling and relation to Jesus. The moment was an epoch, making a revolution in his life. Our sight of our own sinfulness and of His holiness ever makes a turning-point. Well for us if “henceforth” we are nearer Him, and lifted above our old selves.

The fisherman’s trade is the symbol of evangelistic activity, and the points of resemblance are very obvious. There is need for the same patient toil, the same persistent bearing up against discouragement. There will come the same apparent want of success, and there should ever sound in the servant’s ears the Master’s command to launch out into the deep—to push boldly into untried ground, and to ply his task, undaunted by discouragements and unwearied by the long night of toil. The conditions of success are diligence, obedience, hope. The preliminary is to leave all and follow Him. We may have little, or we may have much; but whatever it be, we have to give it up; and he who surrenders an “all” which is little is one in motive, and will be one in reward, with him who gives up an all which is much.—Maclaren.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_5:1-11

Luk_5:1-11. First Studies in Christ’s College.

I. Thrust out a little from the land.—Peter is first asked to lend his boat for the preaching of the word. For the first time the instruments of his ordinary life are turned to the use of his new calling: his boat, his oars, his strength and skill. What a lesson is here for every disciple—to be ready to give his house, his field, his shop, his seat at the receipt of custom, not to any mere selfish purpose, but to further the preaching of the word! For thus disciples are first taught to thrust out a little, in a venture to which they are new and timid.

II. Launch out into the deep.—That first lesson is followed by a second, and all the more suggestive that their life-long skill now finds a Master. For themselves they have toiled all night in vain; but they learn to begin anew at His word, and now they are astonished at their success. How often would this scene and its teaching come up to memory in aftertimes, with other lights and other applications! How often would Peter think in other waters of his partners in the ship, of fellowship in work as well as faith, of the joy of drawing men to the shore when the Master watches and directs, and of the wonder of nets unbroken under the heavy strain!—MacColl.

Trust in Christ taught by the Miracle.—Peter learnt from this miracle that it was best to trust Christ. He might say to himself, “I never felt more convinced that we should take nothing by letting down the nets than I did on that morning on the lake; but I let them down, and found I was wrong.” A memorable act is not done with educationally when it is over. The recollection of it is an attendant monitor, always pointing the same way; and so this miracle may have done much towards accustoming Peter to look to the Lord’s prompting, and to be ready at His word to give up that about which he felt most sure.—Latham.

A Miracle of Instruction.—The early miracles were mostly wrought in the sight of the multitude; but this miracle of the draught of fishes was performed when few but the disciples were by. It was a miracle of instruction: it lent great impressiveness to great lessons, it emphasised in a way never to be forgotten the call to become “fishers of men,” and it gave good augury of success. The thought of this draught must have come back to Peter at many a juncture in his life—a notable one being the morrow of the feast of Pentecost, when “there were added to them in that day about three thousand souls!”—Ibid.

Christ the Ruler of our Lives.—In this incident Christ unfolds Himself to His disciples as Lord of their lives and of their lives mission. He shows that their mission will be among men whom they are to seek to win; He gives them a glimpse of a kingdom which is moral rather than material; and at the same time He shows Himself as Lord of their lives.—Boyd Carpenter.

I. The scene.—Here you have week day ministry, open-air preaching, a quite extempore service, an occasional and entirely singular pulpit.

II. The sign.—The deed which followed when He had “left speaking” is a good illustration of the mutual influence of every-day religion and every-day work.

III. The purpose and effects.—A general impression of astonishment, a spiritual crisis in Peter’s case, and a complete and immediate decision on his part and on that of the other fisher-apostles. The crowning purpose of the miracle was to be a sign and seal of the calling of these converts as preachers of the gospel, messengers of the kingdom, fishers of men.

IV. The symbolic meaning.—It was an acted parable. The analogies between the work of fishers and the work of Christ’s servants are many.—Laidlaw.

Luk_5:1. “The people pressed upon Him.”—The presence of a large crowd of men and women eager to hear the word of God lends additional significance to the spiritual meaning of the miracle now wrought, and to the call now addressed to these fishermen to leave their trade and become fellow-workers with Christ in the task of saving men. The multitude gathered together upon the beach were ready and waiting to be enclosed in the gospel net.

Luk_5:2. “Were washing their nets.”—It is interesting to notice how often in the Gospels Christ is revealed to men while they are busy in their worldly occupations, and how those very occupations are made the means of giving them truer knowledge of Him and of their relations to Him.

1. The shepherds at Bethlehem, while tending their flocks, receive tidings of the birth of Him who was to be the Good Shepherd.

2. The Magi, while engaged in watching the heavens, see the star that guides them to Christ, who was Himself the Star which was to arise out of Jacob (Num_24:17).

3. The fishermen of the Galilæan lake, Simon and Andrew, James and John, while engaged in their trade, are called to join Him and to become fishers of men. The figure of Christ as a fisherman was common in the early literature of the Church: it is based upon this passage and upon the parable in Mat_13:47-50. Various refinements upon the figure were current, e.g. the mystical symbol of the ἰχθύς (i.e. an acrostic upon Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour), the idea of the soul, like the fish, being born in the water (of baptism), etc.

Luk_5:3. “Entered into one of the ships.”—An old writer fancifully says of Christ in the boat and the people on the shore, “Behold the Fisherman upon the sea and the fish upon the land.”

Luk_5:4-5. “Launch out into the deep.”—The faith of Simon Peter is now tested. The night-fishing had been utterly unsuccessful, and the idea of renewing the attempt that day had been abandoned: the boats had been drawn up on the shore, and the nets were being cleaned and dried. The fisherman is now told to launch out into the deep, and cast the nets again. Simon’s knowledge of his craft, of the habits of fish, of the weather, etc., would have led him to refuse; but his deference to Christ and reverence for Him disposed Him to obey. To labour at the command of Christ, and to do so with alacrity and pains, is proof of a docile and implicit faith. Simon’s obedience was perhaps not very severely tested by this command, but it must be remembered that his faith in Christ was as yet only in an early stage of development, and therefore more easily shaken: he now manifested deference to a Teacher, where afterwards he showed ardent obedience to a Lord and Saviour.

Luk_5:5. “Nevertheless.”—Two feelings predominant in Peter’s words:

(1) weariness;

(2) discouragement. “Nevertheless.” Here is the correction of the two feelings. “This or that is against it, yet it shall be done.”

I. Life as a whole is one great “nevertheless.”

II. Each act of the life is a little “nevertheless.”—A “though” and a “yet” in perpetual conflict, the “though,” being the plausible thing, and the tempting thing, and the half-truth; the “yet” less apparent, but the manly thing, and the courageous and the right. There is a “though” as well as a “yet” in the simplest action. Though it is pleasant to sit still, I must be up and doing. It is irksome to perform this particular duty, but it must be done.—Vaughan.

Failure a Proof of Want of Faith.—Every failure is a proof of the want of faith. If faith were present, failure could not be. But there is such a thing as faith, after defeat, returning to the charge; and it is in that returning to the charge that the test of our Christianity lies.—Ibid.

“At Thy bidding.”—This is the disciple’s “nevertheless,” and finds its place in the disciple’s daily duty and service. And by the faithful use of it the disciple is trained and prepared to meet other and higher demands. Humbly recognising past failure, and feeling the full weight of the disappointment, not ignoring the pressure of difficulty and the sting of pain, yet trusting in His grace, we set against the stream of indifference and unbelief the whole force of our will consecrated to Him, and say, “Nevertheless, at Thy bidding we will let down the net.”—Nicoll.

Luk_5:6. “A great multitude of fishes.”—It seems unnecessary to inquire minutely whether this miracle was due to Christ’s omniscience or to His omnipotence, i.e. whether by supernatural knowledge He was aware of the near presence of a shoal of fish, or whether by His Divine power He brought together a multitude of the fish of the lake. Perhaps the former supposition would commend itself to most of us; but in favour of the latter we have the passage in Psa_8:8, in which the ideal son of man, who finds his true representative in Christ, is described as having supreme authority, not only over cattle and beasts of the earth, but over the fish and all creatures that live in the sea. In either case the miracle was equally stupendous.

Luk_5:7. “Beckoned.”—Perhaps because of the distance they were away from the land, or because fishing operations are best carried on in silence. The noise of shouting might only drive the fish to struggle to escape, and add to the risk of losing them by their breaking through the nets.

The Miracle a Parable.—With this miracle we may compare the second of the kind wrought after the Resurrection, and also the parable in Mat_13:47-50. We shall do well to keep in mind that these miracles were also parables and prophecies: everything connected with them is symbolical. The fishermen represent apostles and ministers of Christ, the ship is the Church, the net is the gospel, the sea is the world, and the shore is eternity. One part of the figure is inappropriate: the fish die when drawn out of the water, while the souls of men are taken captive to be introduced to a higher life. Perhaps this latter idea is conveyed in the words of Christ (Luk_5:10), “Catch men,” lit. “take alive men,” i.e. catch them for life eternal, instead of catching fish for death.

Luk_5:8. “Depart … for I am … sinful.”

I. An important fact.—Peter saw himself a very sinful creature. When we stand near Jesus, we see ourselves:

1. Without moral beauty. Sin has taken away our comeliness.

2. Without moral purity. Sin has robbed us of our integrity.

3. Without moral utility. Our usefulness has gone.

4. Without moral prospect. The future is dark.

II. A mistaken impression.—

1. “Depart from me”: no, because there is something there besides sin. The Saviour beheld the man and the apostle there.

2. “Depart from me”: no, because there is a great service to be rendered. Peter became a fisherman to catch men.

3. “Depart from me”: no, for nearer Thee we have more light, more holiness.

The Repulsion and Attraction of Christ.—“Depart from me”: “To whom shall we go?” (Joh_6:68). The speaker of both texts is the same; the person addressed is the same. Yet the one utterance is the direct negation of the other. Whence comes this paradox? It is a paradox inherent in the religious life. This contrast of repulsion and attraction is the true attitude of the devout spirit towards God. Side by side they have their place in the heart—the awe which repels, the love which attracts. We thrust God away, and yet we run after Him.—Lightfoot.

Peter’s First Impulse.—An oppressive sense of sin had come over Peter in a moment. The eyes of God were looking from that heavenly face down into the depths of his heart. This wrung from him the cry of fear. So must it ever be when we come face to face with God. Observe Peter’s first impulse when he realises how sinful he is. “Depart from me.” The desire is to get away from God. Many do not like to think about God. But for Him to depart would be to leave the sinner helpless and hopeless. What we need is not less but more of Him. What was Peter’s final impulse? To “forsake all, and follow Him.”—Gibson.

Mixed Elements of Character.—This exclamation opens a window into the inner man of Peter through which we can see his spiritual state. There is in him that characteristic mixture of good and evil of which we have so many reappearances. Among the good elements are reverential awe in presence of Divine power, tenderness of conscience, and unfeigned self-humiliation—all valuable features of character, but not existing without alloy. Along with them were associated superstitious dread of the supernatural, and a slavish fear of God, showing how unfit, as yet, Peter is to be an apostle of a gospel which magnifies the grace of God even to the chief of sinners.—Bruce.

Self-humiliation.—With the self-humiliation of Simon Peter compare the confession of Isaiah (Isa_6:5) and that of St. Paul (1Ti_1:15). Note, also, how utterly inappropriate his words would have been, if Christ had been a mere man—even the holiest of men. They express a self-loathing which is excited only by the contemplation of infinite holiness, and by the thought of the near presence of God.

“Depart from me.”—The exclamation of St. Peter was wrung from a heart touched with a sense of humility, and his words did not express his thoughts. They were the cry of agonised humility, and only emphasised his own utter unworthiness. They were in reality the reverse of the deliberate and calculated request of the swine-feeding Gadarenes. The dead and profane soul tries to get rid of the presence of the Divine. The soul awakened only to conviction of sin is terrified. The soul that has found God is conscious of utter unworthiness, but fear is lost in love (1Jn_4:18).—Farrar.

A Strong Plea for Christ to remain.—Simon doth not greedily fall upon so unexpected and profitable a booty, but he turns his eyes from the draught to himself, from the act to the Author, acknowledging vileness in the one, in the other majesty: “Go from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” It had been a pity the honest fisher should have been taken at his word. O Simon, thy Saviour is come into thine own ship to call thee, to call others by thee, unto blessedness; and dost thou say, “Lord, go from me”? as if the patient should say to the physician, “Depart from me, for I am sick.” But it was the voice of astonishment, not of dislike—the voice of humility, not of discontentment; yea, because thou art a sinful man, therefore hath thy Saviour need to come to thee, to stay with thee; and because thou art humble in the acknowledgment of thy sinfulness, therefore Christ delights to abide with thee, and will call thee to abide with Him. No man ever fared the worse for abasing himself to his God. Christ hath left many a soul for froward and unkind usage; never any for the disparagement of itself, and entreaties of humility. Simon could not devise how to hold Christ faster than by thus suing Him to be gone, than by thus pleading his unworthiness.—Hall.

The Deepest Thing in Man’s Heart.—At moments like these all that is merely conventional is swept away, and the deep heart utters itself, and the deepest things that are there come forth to the light. And the deepest thing in man’s heart under the law is this sense of God’s holiness as something bringing death and destruction to the unholy creature. Below this is the utterly profane state, in which there is no contradiction felt between the holy and the unholy, between God and the sinner. Above it is the state of grace; in which all the contradiction is felt, God is still a consuming fire, yet not any more for the sinner, but only for the sin. It is still felt—felt far more strongly than ever—how profound a gulf separates between sinful man and a holy God; but felt no less that this gulf has been bridged over, that the two can meet, that in One who shares with both they have already met.—Trench.

Luk_5:8-10. A Strange Prayer and a Wonderful Answer.

I. The prayer is a strange one, when we think by whom and to whom it was offered. This is a familiar gospel story. The prayer sounds like that of the Gadarene demoniacs; but no two cases could be more dissimilar. This prayer is wrung from a human soul by the sudden revelation of a Divine presence, of which it feels itself unworthy. Very strange must this prayer have looked to Peter in the retrospect—this prayer for separation from the Saviour, and that because he is a sinner. Here is a conversion of the converted, and that not the last or most memorable conversion. There will always be in heroic souls an experience, or many such, analogous to this of Peter. For lack of it we are ineffective, trifling, confident, wavering, unimpressive. Oh for the grace of reverence!

II. The answer.—Jesus does not blame the fear which He comforts. He first calms and then transfigures it. “There is a more excellent way; there is a Divine remedy for the fear that would shrink from Me: I will give thee work to do for Me.” Two words are prominent in the commission.

1. “Men.” Great stress is laid upon it. The object of the ministerial work is men, not “souls” merely, but “men.”

2. The other word, “catch,” speaks of a living capture, of a taking alive in the great net of the gospel. It might be said of some evangelists that they are satisfied to catch a piece of the man, and to catch that piece itself dead! How unlike this to the gospel of St. Peter! How is it that men, even religious men, must always dismember, never unite, the compound being to which they address themselves? There are those who despair of a gospel to the whole man. Not so Jesus Christ.—Vaughan.

Luk_5:10. “Thou shalt catch men.”—Those that were wandering, restless and at random, through the deep, unquiet waters of the world, the smaller falling a prey to the greater, and all with the weary sense of a vast prison, he shall embrace within the safe folds and recesses of the same gospel net, which if they break not through, nor leap over, they shall at length be drawn up to shore, out of the dark, gloomy waters into the bright, clear light of day, so that they may be gathered into vessels for eternal life (Mat_13:48).—Trench.

The Fisherman and the Shepherd.—The figure here used does not set forth the whole work of the Christian minister, but only two aspects of successful work He may accomplish, viz. that of securing within the net, and that of landing safely upon the shore. These are the first and last stages in the salvation of the soul. The intermediate stages are those in which the soul is ministered to, and fed, and encouraged, and guarded from harm; and these are represented under the figure of a shepherd caring for sheep. Hence the two figures mutually supplement one another, and show us the offices of a Christian minister as an evangelist and pastor respectively. Other thoughts in connection with these two figures are suggested by Jeremy Taylor: “In the days of the patriarchs, the governors of the Lord’s people were called shepherds. In the days of the gospel they are shepherds still, but with the addition of a new appellative, for now they are called fishers. Both of the callings were honest, humble, and laborious, watchful and full of trouble; but now that both the titles are conjunct, we may observe the symbol of an implicit and folded duty. There is much simplicity and care in the shepherd’s trade; there is much craft and labour in the fisher’s; and a prelate is to be both full of piety to his flock, careful of their welfare, and also to be discreet and wary, observant of advantages, laying such baits for the people as may entice them into the nets of Jesus’ discipline.”

The Significance of the Miracle.—The physical miracle was to be superseded by miracles of a higher kind, inasmuch as success in the spiritual labours of apostles is a greater proof of Divine power than mighty works that appeal to the bodily senses. The miraculous draught of men which Peter was at a later time to secure (Act_2:41) was more wonderful than the miracle now wrought. The purpose of the miracle seems to have been to deepen and strengthen the faith of those whom Christ now called to engage in spiritual labours, to secure obedience to that call, and to give intimation of splendid success in pursuing that higher work. Observe that Jesus calls these men to have more than faith, to give up their secular employment and to engage in work of a sacred kind. As they are not yet appointed to be apostles, their status is very similar to that of the Christian minister.—Godet.

The Training of the Apostles.—“Christ selected rough mechanics—persons not only destitute of learning, but inferior in capacity—that He might train, or rather renew, them by the power of His Spirit, so as to excel all the wise men of the world” (Calvin). No one need imagine that want of learning and ability are not drawbacks in the case of those who wish to become Christian ministers. Only a gross and ignorant fanaticism could foster such an idea. These fishermen were not called to teach, but to be trained to teach. What they learned from the example and teaching of Christ, from knowledge of human character and society as they went up and down the country with Him, prepared them for their great work. The various kinds of training our theological students are exercised in, are the best and most efficient substitutes which can be found for the methods employed in the case of the apostles.

Luk_5:11. “Forsook all.”—They returned again to their occupation as fishermen after the Crucifixion, and were again called to abandon it and devote themselves to spiritual labours by a second miraculous draught of fishes and by the direct precept of Jesus. After Pentecost they never resumed their former secular calling. Probably in their going back to it we have an indication of their belief that with the death of Jesus all the hopes they had cherished were overthrown, and His call to them to become fishers of men nullified. The example of Simon Peter suggests the duties of

(1) prompt obedience to Jesus,

(2) self-distrust,

(3) and complete devotion to Him (“leaving all to follow Him”).

“Thou hast the art on’t, Peter, and canst tell

To cast thy net on all occasions well.

When Christ calls, and thy nets would have thee stay,

To cast them well’s to cast them quite away” (Crashaw).

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

b. The Miraculous Draught Of Fishes (Luk_5:1-11)

1And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to1 hear the word ofGod, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2And saw two [little] ships2 standing by [the shore of] the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing theirnets. 3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the peopleout of the ship. 4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep [water], and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: neverthelessat Thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, theyinclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake [began to break]. 7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me [Go outfrom me, i.e., from my ship]; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9For he was astonished [astonishment seized him], and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes10which they had taken: And so was also [and so also did it seize] James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fearnot; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.3 11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

General Remarks.—In the narrative of the miraculous draught of fishes, the main question is whether this occurrence is identical with the calling of four disciples, which is related by Matthew (Luk_4:18-22) and Mark (Luk_1:16-20), or whether it is actually distinct from this and did not occur till later. The distinction between the narrative of Luke and that of the other Synoptics is so great that many have maintained the latter opinion (Krabbe, Sepp, Hug). Yet in the nature of the case it is less probable that a calling crowned with such a conclusion should have been repeated twice in so short a time, and it can be shown that the narratives admit without great trouble of being brought into agreement. As respects the distinction in the notation of time, Matthew tells us only that the calling of the four took place while Jesus was walking on the shore; Mark, that the Lord after this calling returned into the city, and healed the demoniac in the synagogue, while Luke, on the other hand, has placed this last miracle before the miraculous draught of fishes. We believe that the arrangement of the events which Mark under Peter’s guidance maintains, deserves the preference, and that therefore Luke (Luk_4:31-44) already relates by anticipation what did not take place till after the miraculous draught. Perhaps he has let the events in the synagogue at Capernaum follow immediately after the portrayal of the occurrences in the synagogue at Nazareth, that faith and unbelief in the two places might be the more strongly contrasted. Luk_5:31 he only speaks in general of one of the Sabbaths which Jesus spent at Capernaum. The distinction in locality is removed when we observe that here also the one in no wise denies what the two others say. We do not read in Matthew and Mark any such thing as that our Lord standing on the shore from there called the four, but only that He was walking on the strand. Nothing hinders us from subjoining, what Luke alone relates, that thither also the people followed Him, and He, in order to preach, ascended a ship. If Luke also had failed to make us acquainted with this, we should have had to conclude, even from Matthew and Mark, that our Lord went into the ship. If Peter was mending nets, is it probable that Jesus would have called out to them from the shore: Leave all and follow me? A third difficulty, that Luke does not mention Andrew at all, is solved by the consideration that Peter in his narrative is so entirely the main person that even the sons of Zebedee are thereby thrown more or less into the shade. Besides he speaks also of other persons who were present in Peter’s ship (Luk_5:2; Luk_5:5; Luk_5:9), and taken with amazement at the astonishing miracle, and (Luk_6:14) enumerates Andrew among the twelve. The question left by him unanswered as to how the latter came to the Lord, is answered by Matthew and Mark, and if there still appears to be a difficulty in the fact that Luke alone relates the miracle and Matthew and Mark only the word of the Saviour, we know no better answer than this: “Undoubtedly to him who stands in Strauss’ point of view every single miracle would of necessity occasion afresh so much astonishment and headache that he would not be able to pass over one; but it being presupposed, on the other hand, that Jesus really wrought miracles and, moreover, many miracles, we cannot see why every evangelist was obliged to relate every miracle” (Ebrard). Perhaps Mark has omitted this circumstance of so much moment to Peter, even as he does not relate the walking of the apostle upon the water, because the humble apostle, under whose influence he wrote, wished rather to see it passed over. With Luke this reason did not weigh, and he freely communicates what redounds to the honor of the Lord as well as of the disciple. In brief, if only we make no unreasonable demands, we account it possible and easy to unite the three Synoptic accounts into a whole without needing to do violence to any one of them.

As respects John, he does not communicate this miracle, but has, on the other hand, related a similar calling of five disciples, among whom are three of these here named (Luk_1:35-52), and the question spontaneously presses itself on us how the one can be brought into agreement with the other. We believe that there is not here the least reason for speaking of a contradiction between the evangelists (Strauss, weisse, B. Baur, Fritzsche, De Wette, Theile, Von Ammon). John describes the first becoming acquainted on the occasion of an unexpected meeting; the Synoptics relate the nearer connection between the Saviour and the disciples. After the first stay of Andrew, John, and Peter with Jesus (John 1), they had gone away as His friends and had accompanied Him upon His Galilean journey, so that they, even at the beginning, as His disciples baptized (Joh_4:2). But still it was as yet a free, not a binding, intercourse, in which they were at liberty from time to time to return to the fish-net. Therefore we have, for instance, in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luk_4:16-30) not met them in the Saviour’s company. But in what way now this preliminary connection passes over into an abiding relation and in what way the apostles were called and set apart to the apostolic function, this is related to us in reference to these four in the narrative of the miraculous draught of fishes.

Luk_5:1. The lake of Gennesaret.—See Lange on Mat_4:18.

Luk_5:2. And were washing their nets; ut peracto opere, Bengel, comp. Luk_5:5. That these fishers here appear almost as strangers cannot surprise us, since Luke has as yet not made mention of these friends of the Saviour with even a word.

Luk_5:3. Which was Simon’s.—It appears that Simon had not left the ship. That the Saviour, ascended this ship, not that of the sons of Zebedee, has probably its ground only in the fact that the latter at that moment chanced to be ashore, not on board their vessel. If Simon was older than Andrew, it becomes so much the plainer why he as owner of the ship is first named.

Luk_5:4. Launch out into the deep water.—As the first command had put the obedience of Peter to a slight test, so here his faith is exercised by an apparently arbitrary demand of the Saviour. To him as steersman the command is addressed in the singular; the plural χαλάσατε, κ.τ.λ., has its force with reference to the rest of the crew of the boat, who must have been active therein. That Peter considers this latter command also as addressed to himself personally appears from the answer, Luk_5:5. Without doubt, after a night of unsuccessful toil this injunction to take up his work again in full day must have appeared singular to him, but he already knows enough of the Lord to bring his fisherman’s theory as a sacrifice to his faith at Jesus’ word alone.—Master. Not the common διδάσκαλα, but ὲπιστάτα; about the same as the Hebrew רַבִּי, a title which was given even to such teachers as any one entertained respect for, without as yet standing in a personal relation to them, comp. Luk_17:13.

Luk_5:6. Their net began to break.—If there was here an actual rent, it was, of course, only a beginning of tearing, since otherwise the whole draught might have been immediately lost again. So in like manner the allusion to the sinking of the vessels must be understood cum grano salis, without, however, our being actually obliged with De Wette to see here an exaggeration.

Luk_5:7. And they beckoned.—According to Matthew’s and Mark’s account, also, the two ships lay close enough together to be able with a slight signal to join each other, the more easily as the crew of the second ship had doubtless observed the uncommon occurrence on the first with intense curiosity. That they for astonishment and fear were incapable of speaking, and, therefore, had to limit themselves to beckoning like Zacharias (Luke 1), is not said by Luke, but only by Euthym. Zigab. and Theophylact.

Luk_5:8. Go out from me.—The cause of this crushing impression of wonder upon Peter is easy to explain. His words by no means entitle us to compare him to a credulous fool who trembles when he unexpectedly espies an arch-magician near him (Von Ammon, Leben Jesu, ii. p. 378). It appears to us, on the other hand, that the sequel must not be overlooked. Peter had as yet been able to judge no other miracle which he had seen, so well as this. It belonged to his calling, it took place on his vessel, with his fish-net, after his own fruitless endeavors, in his immediate presence. In the case of earlier works of the Saviour, his understanding had indeed doubtless given silent acquiescence, but here both understanding and heart were constrained to bow themselves before a present majesty. Thankfulness and surprise, after so long disappointment, unite themselves with a deep consciousness of his unworthiness, so that he is no longer able to abide in the presence of the Holy One. Had his conscience, perhaps, something to reproach him with that be after a voluntary association of a month with Jesus had again returned to his calling? Had the words: “We have toiled the whole night and have taken nothing,” been expressed in a tone of displeasure and doubt? Or did there perchance in this place concur an instinctive dread of danger when he felt the sinking of the ship, and did he entreat for preservation? In such a disposition as that of Peter, various causes may work together so as to call forth such a cry of distress. That he did not confess any particular offence, but his general sinfulness in the presence of the Holy One, hardly needs, we presume, any proof. The entreaty; “Depart from me,” the Lord heard in spirit, while He dealt exactly against its letter and turned in to be with the man who with trembling hand waved Him from himself.

Luk_5:10. And so also did it seize James and John.—See on Mat_10:2-4. In respect to their relationship to the Saviour, we must refer the reader to the dissertation of Wieseler in the Studien und Kritiken, 1840, p. 648 ff., who has convincingly demonstrated that Salome, the wife of Zebedee, was an own sister of Mary, the mother of the Lord, so that her children were own cousins of Jesus. In Joh_19:25 there are not three, but four women named, and Mary, the wife of Cleopas, must be carefully distinguished from His mother’s sister Salome, the wife of Zebedee. [It will be noticed that among the women mentioned as being present at the crucifixion, Mat_27:56, three are named as conspicuous: Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children. Mar_15:40 the same three are mentioned, only that Zebedee’s wife is mentioned by the name of Salome. We have, however, no reason to doubt that Salome and Zebedee’s wife are one and the same. In Joh_19:25, besides the mother of Jesus, whose presence is not mentioned by the other two evangelists, we find mentioned Mary Magdalen and Mary, the wife of Cleopas, whose identity with Mary, the mother of James and Joses, we have no reason to call in question. But where is Salome? The whole passage reads thus: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.” The question here is: Besides the mother of our Lord, are there two women mentioned here, or three? Is Mary, the wife of Cleopas, to be taken as identical with His mother’s sister, or as different? If the former, Salome is not to be found, and John has omitted bearing witness to this fidelity of his own mother. If the latter, Salome is identical with our Lord’s mother’s sister, and the three whom the first two Synoptics mention, are also mentioned here.—C. C. S.]

Luk_5:11. They forsook all.—Not only the ship, but the rich haul. Zebedee soon returned without his sons to Bethsaida (Mar_1:20), while they proceed with the Lord through Capernaum’s gate, where He immediately after (see above), in the synagogue and in the house of Peter, works the miracles already related by Luke in anticipation (Luk_4:31-42), to enter with Him afterwards upon the journey through Galilee, which had been already, Luk_4:43-44, mentioned with a word, to be afterwards, Luk_5:12 f., described more in detail.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. We have here in Luke the first account of an anticipatory choice of apostles, which is the less to be passed over unnoticed since the Saviour evidently lays so much weight upon it. Our attention is from the beginning drawn to it by the fact that the Saviour seeks the disciples and does not wait until they approach Him of their own impulse, but takes the first step towards them, so that He can afterwards say to them: Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. In this act the word, Luk_5:10, which the Saviour spoke on this occasion, bears the stamp of the deepest wisdom. It is a word of might, precisely fitted to come home to a heart like that of Peter; a brief word, but which, therefore, could the less be obliterated from the memory; a figurative word, borrowed from Simon’s own calling, which could the less be unintelligible to him as it was at the same time in congruity with the Old Testament manner of speech (Jer_16:16; Isa_42:10). It is, finally, a word full of promise, which, it is true, commanded that which was hardest, but promised also that which is highest and was immediately ratified by a sign.

2. It has been asked whether Peter’s draught of fishes was a miracle of omniscience or omnipotence. In other words, whether the Saviour, because of His higher knowledge, because He wished to see, saw at this moment, at a certain part of the sea, the largest number of fishes which were together, or whether He, through the mighty operation of His will, drove the finny tribes together to one point. It is not to be denied that the former admits of being received into the realm of our conceptions more easily than the latter. On the other hand, we are not to overlook the truth that according to the nature of things and the poetic declaration of the Psalm (Psa_8:8), the dominion over all that passeth through the paths of the seas belongs to the ideal of the perfect Son of Man.

3. The miracle here accomplished deserves to be called a striking revelation of the majesty of the Saviour. It took place within a sphere which these four disciples could judge better than any one else, and only after faith had been required of Peter and this faith had been found approved. It stands forth at the same time as a symbol of their whole subsequent apostolical activity: abundant draught of fishes at the simple word of the Lord, after a night also of fruitless wearying toil, without, however, losing the draught. It is noticeable that here there is mention of the tearing of the nets; but afterwards, in the case of a similar miracle, it is no longer mentioned, Joh_21:11. [Trench, not inaptly, regards the former miracle as symbolical of the gathering of men into the outward kingdom of God on earth, from which they may be lost; the latter one, as symbolizing the gathering of the elect souls into the kingdom of glory, none of whom will be lost.—C. C. S.]

4. In this whole work of wonders, Christ reveals Himself as the Fisher of men. It is known how dear this symbol was to the early Christians; this is testified by their monuments, rings, cups, &c., and by the characteristic word ἰχθύς itself, in which they recognized the initials of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour; but especially by the beautiful words from the hymn of Clemens Alexandrinus:

ἁλιεῦ μερόπων

τῶν σωζομένων,

πελάγους κακίας

ἱχθῦς ἁγνούς

κύματος ἐχθροῦ

γλυκερῇ ζωῇ δελεάζων, κ.τ.λ.

[Fisher of mortals

The saved

From the sea of wickedness

Pure fish

From the hostile wave

For sweet life enticing.]

5. “Where the blessing of God operates aright, there does it operate as coals upon the head, and brings to the knowledge of sin and of grace. To be caught by the Lord, is on earth the greatest blessedness; after this there is no greater than to be able to catch men for the Lord.” Löhe.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Jesus in the midst of a throng longing for salvation.—The Fisher of men on the shore of the most remarkable sea.—All that on earth we name our own must be ready for the service of the Lord.—The Lord’s ways: 1. Other, 2. higher than man’s ways.—Even the Lord’s disciples know dark nights.—After a dark night a bright morning.—The faith of Peter: 1. Tried, 2. enduring, 3. changed into sight.—The obedience of faith: 1. Its ground, 2. its nature, 3. its blessing.—All is yours, if ye are Christ’s.—The remarkable transitions in the life of faith: 1. From disappointment to surprise, 2. from want to plenty, 3. from joy to terror, 4. from fear to hope.—The humility of Peter, Luk_5:8, compared with that of Paul, 1Ti_1:15.—Where a contrite heart exclaims: “Depart from me, O Lord,” there does He certainly turn in.—The beholding of the great deeds of the Saviour must lead us to holy wondering.—Whoever has once rightly feared need never fear again.—The preacher of the gospel a fisher of men.—Only he who leaves all can gain all.—The wonderful draught of fishes an image of the preaching of the gospel: 1. The wide-reaching command (Luk_5:4), 2. the hard labor (Luk_5:5 a.), 3. the sole might (Luk_5:5 b.), 4. the rich fruit (Luk_5:6-7), 5. the right temper (Luk_5:8), 6. the highest requirement of the evangelical function (Luk_5:10-11).—Whoever is himself caught of Jesus, must again catch others.—How admirably does Jesus understand the art of winning hearts for Himself!—Canstein:—To the Christian all places are hallowed for the transaction of divine things, whether for himself or for others.—J. Hall:—Labor in our calling, however simply it may be done, makes us fitted for the blessing of God (Psa_127:1-2).—Majus:—The Lord brings His own wonderfully into the deep and into the height.—Nov. Bibl. Tub.:—Whoever receives Jesus to himself, such a one does He reward with abundance, not only of spiritual but of temporal blessing.—Abundance makes not less care and trouble than lack.—Before we let the blessing of God perish, we should beckon to others and have them enjoy it with us.—Hedinger:—Spiritual poverty is the nearest way to the greatest riches in God.—Brentius:—Whoever is faithful in that which is least, to him is more committed.—Herder:—“Launch out into the deep” is God’s word of command to every one in his vocation, and let: “Lord, at Thy word,” be the answer of every one in order to draw God’s blessing with his net.—Heubner:—The miraculous draught of fishes a prophetic type of Act_2:41.—The humility of the Christian in good fortune, first makes the blessing truly a blessing.—The blessed fishermen: 1. Blest by Jesus’ gracious presence, 2. by the rich gift, 3. by the gracious call of Jesus.—The just means of gaining temporal blessing: 1. God’s word, 2. labor, 3. trust in God, 4. acknowledgment of personal un-worthiness, 5. right use of the blessing.—Rieger:—How nothing humbles man so much as grace.—Fuchs:—Peter an example for us: 1. Hear when the Lord speaks; 2. labor when the Lord commands; 3. believe what the Lord promises; 4. follow whither the Lord calls.—Bachmann:—Concerning a blessing in our vocation: 1. We should desire it according to this order; a. hear willingly and diligently God’s word, b. go faithfully on in thy toil, c. trust the Lord thy Helper. 2. We should rightly apply it after this rule; a. recognize in receiving it thy unworthiness, b. prove therewith thy thankfulness, c. follow after Jesus with joyfulness.—Thomasius:—Man as he is: 1. Before the Lord comes to him, 2. when the Lord comes to him, 3. after the Lord comes to him.—Fr. Arndt:—The Christian a fisher of men.—Lisco:—Blessing in our temporal calling: 1. On what it depends; 2. of what nature it Isaiah 3. for what it inspirits us.

Footnotes:

[1]Luk_5:1.—Rec.: τοῦ ἀκούειν, instead of which we read with Tischendorf καὶ ἀκούειν. Not the purpose, but the circumstance is expressed. [Inter al. c. A., B., Sin.—C. C. S.]

[2]Luk_5:2.—Rec.: πλοῖα. With A., C.*, L., &c., it appears that we must read πλοιάρια for πλοῖα. [Sin. has πλοῖα, but omits the preceding δύο.—C. C. S.]

[3]Luk_5:10.—Ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν. The resolved form expressing that it should be his calling.—C. C. S.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 5

1. The Miraculous Drought of Fishes. (Luk 5:1-11)

2. The Leper Healed. (Luk 5:12-16)

3. The Paralytic Healed. (Luk 5:17-26)

4. The Call of Matthew and the Feast (Luk 5:27-29)

5. The Scribes and Pharisees Answered (Luk 5:30-35)

6. The Parable of the Garment and the Bottle. (Luk 5:36-39.)

Luk 5:1-11

Two miraculous draughts of fishes are found in the Gospels. The one here at the beginning of His ministry; the other after His resurrection. (Joh 21:1-25). Both demonstrate His power as Lord over the animal creation. Here the net broke (or began to break), in the other miracle it did not break. Peter is prominent in both. Here he falls at His feet crying out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” The divine presence, made known by the miracle, showed Peter his own condition. The Lord graciously calms his fear. The soul that sinks down at the blessed feet of the Lord and owns his sinfulness is safe. He came to seek and to save what is lost. And more than that. He calls into service. “Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” They left all and followed Him. It would have been strange if they had done anything else. The highest and best besides knowing the Lord as our Saviour is to follow Him and to be obedient to His call.

Luk 5:12-16

Luke describes the leper as being full of leprosy. The terrible disease had advanced so as to cover the entire body. Leprosy is the most awful, incurable disease. It is a living death and one of the best illustrations of sin and its ravages. He has the power, and He alone, to heal the leper, as He is the only One who can heal the spiritual leprosy. Then great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed. How men were attracted to Him and sought Him! But He went instead into the wilderness to pray. He felt the need as the perfect man to seek the Father’s presence. He has given us an example. It is the pattern we should follow.

“Why is it that there is so much apparent religious working, and yet so little result in positive conversions to God,--so many sermons, and so few souls saved,--so much machinery, and so little effect produced,--so much running hither and thither, and yet so few brought to Christ? Why is all this? The reply is short and simple. There is not enough private prayer. The cause of Christ does not need less working, but it does need among the workers more praying. Let us each examine ourselves, and amend our ways. The most successful workmen in the Lord’s vineyard, are those who are like their Master, often and much upon their knees.”--Bishop Ryle

Luk 5:17-26

The same miracle is reported by Matthew and Mark. (Mat 9:2-8; Mar 2:1-12). See annotations there.

Luk 5:27-29

The Publican Levi is Matthew, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew. He was a tax-gatherer and as such despised by his own brethren, because he was serving the hated Roman government. Tax-gatherers and sinners the Son of Man came to call. Levi left all and followed him. That he became at once a witness for the Lord is seen by the feast he made and the large number of tax-gatherers he had invited.

The concluding verses of this chapter we have already considered in the preceding Gospels.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes and the Call of the First Disciples. Luk 5:1-11

Preaching on the shore of the sea:

v. 1. And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,

v. 2. and saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

v. 3. And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Jesus had left the city of Capernaum on a certain day, with the intention of walking along the shore of the lake, Mat 4:18; Mar 1:16. But it was impossible for Him to avoid the crowds that gathered whenever His presence was announced by someone that saw Him. Here a multitude pressed upon Him, whose eagerness for the Word of God is mentioned. They wanted to hear this man speak that preached with such authority. If they had but been as eager for the salvation which He offered in His preaching! Jesus was standing on the shore of the lake, but the growing crowds were hemming Him in on all sides, making it impossible for Him to address the people in an effective manner. As He then looked around for some way of meeting the situation, He saw two fishing-boats standing along the shore. They may just have come in and had barely been fastened by the fishermen who, after having disembarked, were washing their nets. Jesus, having known the men before, did not hesitate to enter into one of the two boats, the one belonging to Simon. He then asked the owner to put out to some distance, a matter of a rod or so, from the shore. And then, having sat down, Jesus taught the people from the boat. From this elevated position He had command of the audience and could speak to all of them without difficulty. Jesus was ever ready and eager to preach the Gospel of the salvation of mankind. Not only in the schools, but out under the open sky, wherever He stood or walked and had opportunity of any kind. He preached the Word of God. God’s Word fits in all places and at all times. Nothing is more necessary for men, nothing more urgent than, the preaching of the Word.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 5:1-11

Fishers of Men.

I. This passage reminds us that discipleship comes before apostleship. Peter had been, for at least some months, a docile learner in the school of Christ before he was called here to forsake all, and follow Him as an Apostle. They who would teach others about the Lord must first be acquainted with Him themselves.

II. That the knowledge of self, obtained through the discovery of Christ, is one of the main elements of power in seeking to benefit others. It is not a little remarkable that when God has called some of His greatest servants to signal service He has begun by giving them a thorough revelation of themselves, through the unveiling to them of Himself. Thus, when He appeared to Moses at the bush, the first effect was that Moses trembled and durst not behold, and the ultimate issue was that he cried, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent:... but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Peter recognised the deity of Jesus through the miracle; but the light of that Godhead did, at the same time, flash into his own heart, and reveal him unto himself as he had never had himself revealed unto him before. Then came the Master’s "Fear not," with its soothing influence; and thus, through his discovery of himself, and his knowledge of his Lord, he was prepared for his apostolic service.

III. That the work of the Christian ministry demands the concentration of the whole man upon it. These first Apostles "forsook all, and followed Christ." This was their response to the call to active and official service by the Lord. Their ordination came later, but their acceptance of the call was now, and was signalised by their withdrawal from their ordinary pursuits.

IV. That the higher life of the ministry lifts into itself, and utilises all the experiences of the lower life that preceded it. "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." This phrase tells us (1) that if we would catch men we must use the right kind of net; (2) that we must follow men to their haunts if we would win them for Christ; (3) that we ought to improve special seasons of opportunity.

W. M. Taylor, Peter the Apostle, p. 36.

References: Luk 5:1-11—A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 11; W. Hanna, Our Lord’s Life on Earth, p. 154; W. Scott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. x., p. 88; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 33; vol. v., p. 193; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ii., p. 350; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 342. Luk 5:4.—Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 287; Ibid., Sermons, vol. viii., No. 443; J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. ii., p. 51: Talmage, Old Wells Dug Out, p. 323. Luk 5:4-6.—S. Leathes, Truth and Life, p. 147; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 225; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 422. Luk 5:4-11.—Ibid., vol. ii., p. 560.

Luk 5:5

I. The great multitude of fishes was the reward of the disciples’ ready and willing obedience. It was the justification of their unshaken confidence in Jesus; none ever relied on Him and was deceived. It was their remuneration for placing their time and their boat at Christ’s disposal, to do with them what seemed good in His sight. It would convince them that no one should ever work in God’s service, and be a loser for doing so. Above all, it was to be an encouragement to Simon and his partners to enter with all their heart upon the ministry of the word with which they were now to be entrusted. That would involve them in work very toilsome, and often thankless; but undertaken at the command of Christ, and with His never-failing help and countenance, it could not be in vain.

II. The text bids us persevere in the path of duty, whatever may be its discouragements. It tells us after failure to try again in the Name of the Lord, seeking His aid, committing ourselves to Him. It seems to say, "Be not weary in welldoing; for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not." The lesson is a hard one to learn, but it has been learned, and that effectually. To hope against hope, to struggle in the face of failure, is no easy task for flesh and blood. But many have so struggled, and have eventually brought the whole to good effect. Any one who is really anxious to do good, or to correct what is amiss in his own immediate sphere, may derive encouragement from this passage of Scripture. It seems to say, "Do not be daunted by apparent failure. Persevere, and all shall come right in the end." Act like the obedient and confiding fisherman, "At Thy word I will let down the net." "Be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

J. Edmund, Sixty Sermons, p. 285.

Luk 5:5-6

Obedience to the word of Christ, and the success with which it is crowned.

I. Obedience to the word of Christ—"Nevertheless at Thy word." It is wise to have authority for every work we undertake. To know that we have authority, and a sufficient one, is more than half the inspiration of our life. It is enough for the soldier that he has the authority of his officer, for the officer that he has the authority of his general, for the ambassador that he has the authority of his king; and for the Christian labourer it is enough that he has the authority of Christ. Nothing short of this authority would either inspire or justify us in pursuing the work to which we have set our hands. Be sure of this, that Peter would have turned a deaf ear to any other voice than that of Christ if it had enjoined a like command. But he is willing to try at Christ’s word. "Nevertheless," said Peter, that is, not because of success, but in spite of failure, "at Thy word I will let down the net." And still the word "nevertheless" is on the lips of the Church. The night had been discouraging, and the Church has its discouragements, too; but nevertheless it has to do the work given it to do by the word of Christ

II. Look at the result of this obedience. It had in it not much of cheerfulness, nor, perhaps, any faith, but it was obedience under trying circumstances, and as such it was crowned with success. The failure of the previous night was not unforeseen or unarranged. Christ was in that failure as much as in the success that followed it. He saw those fishermen at their work in that long, profitless night, and He meant they should bring back empty nets. It was part of His gracious purpose to teach them that without Him they could do nothing, and that with Him they could do all things. Empty nets without His blessing, and full nets with it. And this lesson they were to remember henceforth when they should become fishers of men. The night of failure was not without its lesson and its benefit. We can do worse than fail—we can succeed, and be proud of our success; we can succeed, and burn incense to our net; we can succeed, and despise those who fail; we can succeed, and forget the Hand whose it is to give or to withhold, to kill or to make alive. He is but a weak and worthless man who can only labour so long as he succeeds, fight as long as he conquers, run as long as he wins the race. Such a fair-weather soul is not fit for any kingdom, least of all for the kingdom of God.

E. Mellor, The Hem of Christ’s Garment, p. 272.

References: Luk 5:5.—J. Vaughan, Sermons, 10th series, p. 117; Spurgeon, Ibid., vol. xxviii., No. 1,654; J. Menzies, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 271; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 213; vol. viii., p. 267; C. J. Vaughan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvi., p. 225. Luk 5:5, Luk 5:6.—C. Girdlestone, A Course of Sermons, vol. i., p. 149.

Luk 5:6

What was the teaching of this miracle for the Apostles and for us?

I. To Peter, indeed, and his fellows it was the Divine assurance that henceforth their life was to be spent for Him alone. No more fishing on the Lake of Galilee; henceforth they must toil night and day to save souls alive. The miracle was their warranty that, so only they abide within the ship of God’s holy Church, so only they have Christ with them all days, directing and protecting; however futile, humanly speaking, their work may be, it cannot fail. Christ the Source and Centre of the Church’s life on earth, in heaven; for time, for eternity; Christ using human instruments to draw souls out of the waters of this troublesome world, and bring them safe to the eternal shore; this surely was the meaning of the miracle for Peter and for us.

II. Yet, further, it tells me that whatsoever I take in hand, if I fail to bid Jesus Christ be my Friend, must end in loss. All success in life, success in home, success in business, success in scientific pursuits, depends on Jesus Christ’s help. "Without Me ye can do nothing." Men may think to dispense with Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God; but their efforts are doomed to failure. How shall I then secure this presence? By making everything in life a matter of prayer. Referring all to Him; not merely things appertaining to my soul’s needs, but my daily business, my home life, my recreation, my pleasures. So does our daily life become supernatural, Divine; the light of God’s countenance shines full upon us; our lives are simple, natural, bright, lovely, all because they are lives of faith in God; they are lived in God, referred to Him in every detail; they have Him for their end; failure is impossible.

III. Yet more. Did not this miracle teach St. Peter a salutary lesson of Divine Omnipotence? The eye of Jesus Christ could reach the depths of the Sea of Galilee; He knew exactly where and when the fish would be found. He who could read the secrets of the Sea of Galilee could also read the secrets of Peter’s heart, read his selfishness, read his faithlessness, his impetuosity, and his cowardice. He knows us, yet He bids us know ourselves, that knowing ourselves, and bewailing our wasted life, He may say to us, Fear not.

T. Birkett Dover, The Ministry of Mercy, p. 34.

References: Luk 5:6.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Gospels and Acts, p. 62; W. C. E. Newbolt, Counsels of Faith and Practice, p. 157. Luk 5:7.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Gospels and Acts, p. 65; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., p. 150.

Luk 5:8

It is easy to trace the way by which Peter’s thoughts had travelled to this conclusion. The miracle—such a thing as had never been seen before on those familiar waters—had taken a wonderful hold upon the fisherman’s mind. His veneration for the mighty Stranger who had done it at once rose to the highest. From the contemplation of the wonderworker the eyes of his mind, as they are wont, turned, and in a moment turned in upon himself, and the contrast became intolerable. He was softened at the moment that he was convinced, and upon his melted heart’s conscience he wrote the large, deep characters of sin.

I. The greatest and surest test of every man’s state before God is this, "What is sin?" How does he feel to sin? In a child, I always notice, that quick perception of sin in little things, and a keen distress at it, is the most certain index of early piety. And, as it is in childhood, so it is in the Christian’s after-life, which is childhood over again; the measure of the saint is always the depth of his convictions.

II. Until the spiritual eye has been fully opened, the sense of the distance which there is, and which the natural mind feels there ought to be, between God and the sinner, is ever strong in thoughtful, serious, and really converted persons. In one this feeling becomes despair. The soul dares not to admit the thought that it could ever be received into the love of God. The dread of the sin of presumption—from which it is the farthest off—is ever haunting it. (2) In another man this feeling destroys all present sense of God’s mercy. A real deprecation of sin, acting unscripturally, leads to a wrong perception of the entire spirit of the Gospel. "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

III. It is an unspeakable comfort to know the awful prayer that Peter made in ignorance was never answered. Christ did not depart from him. Thank God, He knows when to refuse a prayer. He never leaves those who are only ignorant. On the contrary, Christ instantly gave Peter something more than forgiveness. He gave the employment to him which ensured his pardon: "Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Those who have ever feared lest they have lost the love of one whose love they most prized, will best understand the delicacy and the beauty of this way of treating a discouraged disciple.

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 1874, p. 209.

Consider what it was that could lead St. Peter to wish the Lord to go away and depart from him; what he could mean, and what he could be feeling, that should make him shrink from Christ, and actually, on his knees, beg Him to go away and leave him, at the very moment when He had shown so signal a proof of His Divine power and goodness.

I. St. Peter’s words in the text were the natural exclamation of wonder; and with wonder a natural shrinking back from One so good, so holy, so powerful, and so Divine. 1 think Peter felt as though he said: "Thou art too good, too great for me to be near Thee. Let me be Thy disciple farther off. Do not come to me; I am not good enough for Thy near company. Depart from me. I shrink, in uneasiness and distress of mind, from Thy closer presence." I believe this to be the true account of St. Peter’s meaning, and of the feeling with which he spoke; and if it is so, it seems to me one which is very common. Men, conscious of sin, conscious of weakness, and not very much in earnest, do shrink from God in this sort of way. It is possible that their shrinking may seem to themselves like modesty and humility; but it is a shrinking away from God, and it may be extremely serious in its consequences. In its extremest form it is none other than the same thing which the poor creatures, possessed with devils in the country of the Gergesenes, cried out, "What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?"

II. But mark the difference in these two cases. In the one, a man shrinks altogether away from God, flies from Him, will not believe His love; is sure that he is quite hopelessly lost and ruined, falls into despair and that terrible recklessness of unclean living which is the characteristic of despair. And so he falls into complete and hopeless rebellion, and his end is utter loss and death. In the other case, a man, penetrated with the sense of his unworthiness and sin, also shrinks, or at least is tempted to shrink, away from God; he feels disposed to cry, with St. Peter, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." But he knows that he must not yield to such a temptation. He soon recalls and repents of his faithless cry. He learns by grace to trust his Saviour’s love. He learns to repent of the yielding, such as it was, to the temptation of shrinking away. There may have been some likeness in the original feeling of the two, but the one has ended in despair, and the other in the high estate of a favoured apostle, one of the chief seats in the everlasting kingdom of glory.

G. Moberly, Parochial Sermons, p. 180.

References: Luk 5:8.—G. Calthrop, Words Spoken to My Friends, p. 239; Bishop Lightfoot, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 177; J. Martineau, Endeavours after the Christian Life, p. 147; F. W. Robertson, The Human Race and Other Sermons, p. 125; G. E. L. Cotton, Sermons and Addresses in Marlborough College, p. 9. Luk 5:10. Church of England Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 54.

Luk 5:12-13

(with Luk 5:20)

I. So long as there is any religion at all in the world it will, of course, busy itself with the eternal question of the difference between right and wrong. It will, in some sense, make itself the champion of right and the enemy of wrong. But then wrongdoing may be very differently regarded, even by religious men. Roughly speaking, it may be regarded as directed either against man or against God; either as an injury or an offence; either as a weakness or a wickedness; either as a defect or a sin. Roughly speaking, again, the world takes the former view, Scripture the latter. The sentence of worldly men and of the natural conscience is, "I have injured him, and I must do what I can to make amends." The sentence of Scripture is that of the Psalmist, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight."

II. If at any time sin as sin is thought little of, the prevalent ideal of goodness among Christians will be that of doing good to man rather than walking humbly with God. Philanthropy, in short, will take the place of holiness. And I think we see many signs of this at the present day—signs which we are bound to hail with thankfulness, even while, as Christians, we note their deficiencies.

III. Christ assumes our sinfulness as the very basis of His work. He speaks to us as sinners, but as sinners loved, not despised; and there is all the difference. His deeds have an interest indeed, and a charm for thousands, and thousands who are, as yet at least, but little burdened by a sense of sin. But it was not to interest these that He lived and died. He came not to call the righteous, or the sensible, or the indifferent, or the critical, but sinners to repentance. That was His distinguishing work. All other works—the unfelt duties He has revealed, the dormant philosophy He has stimulated, the social kindness He has aroused, the august institutions He has founded and hallowed—all these works, glorious as they are, are but secondary to His great design. He is, first and chief, the Friend of sinners. "He shall save His people from their sins." He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied; by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.

H. M. Butler, Harrow Sermons, 2nd series, p. 252.

References: Luk 5:12, Luk 5:13.—M. R. Vincent, God and Bread, p. 227. Luk 5:12-26.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. i., pp. 124, 132; W. Hanna, Our Lord’s Life on Earth, p. 134. Luk 5:13.—Parker, Hidden Springs, p. 324. Luk 5:14-21.—Ibid., p. 128, Luk 5:15.—Outline Sermons to Children, p. 139.

Luk 5:16

I. When we read in this and in so many other passages that our blessed Lord in the days of His flesh offered prayers unto God, it greatly concerns us that we do not accept an explanation only too commonly suggested of these His prayers. It is sometimes said that Christ our Lord prayed by way of example, that so He might teach us the duty of prayer, and that His prayers had no other purpose and meaning but this. Doubtless He was our example in this as in every other point. But His prayers were no such hollow, unreal things, as we must needs confess them to have been, if such was the only intention which they had. Our Lord, the head of the race of men, but still man as truly as He was God, prayed, as any one of His servants might pray, because—in prayer is strength; in prayer is victory over temptation; in prayer, and in the grace of God obtained through prayer, is deliverance from all evil.

II. If times of prayer were needful for Christ, how much more for all others; for as He was in the world, so are we; the only difference being that we lie open to the injurious influences which it exerts, as He neither did nor could; that the evil in the world finds an echo and an answer in our hearts which it found not at all in His. In a world where there is so much to dissipate and distract the spirit, how needful for us is that communion with God, in which alone the spirit collects itself at its true centre, which is God again; in a world where there is so much to ruffle the spirit’s plumes, how needful that entering into the secret of the pavilion, which will alone bring it back to composure and peace; in a world where there is so much to sadden and depress, how blessed that communion with Him, in whom is the one source and fountain of all true gladness and abiding joy; in a world where so much is ever seeking to unhallow our spirits, to render them common and profane, how high the privilege of consecrating them anew in prayer to holiness and to God.

R. C. Trench, Sermons in Westminster Abbey, p. 138.

References: Luk 5:16.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 205; J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 9th series, p. 128; Homilist, vol. vi., p. 229. Luk 5:16-26.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 981. Luk 5:17.—Ibid., vol. xii., No. 720. Luk 5:18-25.—G. Macdonald, Miracles of Our Lord, p. 145. Luk 5:22, Luk 5:25.—N. Smyth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 72. Luk 5:26.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Gospels and Acts, p. 88.

Luk 5:27

The text tells us of the power which Christ exercised over the mind, the will, and the affections. "Follow Me, follow Me," and immediately he rose up, and followed Him. There was power—power over the mind, power over the will, power over the affections; and that is the demonstration beyond all parallel that Christ is God. Now, about this Levi. We know very little about him, except that he was a Jew, a native of Galilee, and that he was a publican—that is, a collector of the Roman taxes. Now for a Roman citizen to become a collector of the taxes upon the Jews was an offence to them, for it carried the conviction constantly to their minds that they were a subjugated people; but that a Jew should be so far recreant to the honour of his country and to the feeling of his people as to take office under the Roman government for such a purpose, it carried the conviction home still further. How did Levi come to follow Christ? There are four things that will help us to determine the reality of his conversion.

I. First, the change of occupation in obedience to Christ. The rule is to continue in that calling in which we were unless the providence of God, or some other reason, justifies the change. There are but two exceptions to this rule. The first is where the business in which a man is called, converted, is itself injurious to himself and his fellowmen. The other is where a man is called to a different field of labour.

II. The second evidence is the sacrifice endured. Levi sacrificed the source of his wealth. The publicans did get rich; he forsook it, gave it up. You know it takes grace to do that.

III. The third evidence is his identifying himself with Christ. He did not act as Nicodemus did, who said, "I will come round the corner at night;" nor like Joseph of Arimathæa, who was secretly a disciple. He was no neutral; he came right out, identified himself with Jesus Christ, to go where He went, and suffer or rejoice as He suffered or rejoiced.

IV. I have one more evidence—his concern for his fellowmen. It is added, "He made a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and others that sat down with them." Why did he make that feast? Levi understood human nature; he knew that more people would come to a feast than to a prayer meeting. He made a feast; he called the publicans to it; he designed to tell them why he had determined to quit that business. He made a public profession of religion. He had a hope that as he had experienced a saving benefit, so those others would also desire to share it with him. If any individual should bring in such evidences as Levi’s in proof of his conversion, I take it that he would be received into the Church.

J. Patton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 120.

Luk 5:27-28

How was it that a man like Levi, with aims so low and pleasures so earthly, was found to listen, not only with willingness, but with profit and attention, to the teachings of the Lord Jesus? We cannot explain that difficulty away by saying that our Saviour spoke seldom or leniently of this particular class of men; for it would be difficult to name any sin, save hypocrisy, which He reproved with greater frequency and severity than covetousness. Anything more opposite than the tone of His preaching to the state of public teaching and practice it would be impossible to conceive, and yet the fact is incontestable, that in this class of publicans our Saviour found numerous disciples and one apostle. How, then, are we to explain it? The result was due, I believe,

I. To the honesty of the Lord Jesus Himself. In censuring sinners He reproved all alike, not only the poor and despised, but also the nominally pious and respectable. No station was so lofty as to lift the offender above the reach of His censure; no profession so pious or respectable as to cloak from his searching eye the pride, or lust, or covetousness, which might lurk concealed beneath it. By such a prophet the publicans could bear to be censured, who told the Pharisees that they were accursed outcasts, that their phylacteries and broad garments, and greetings in the market-place, were all hypocrisy. If, then, we are desiring that the love of Christ should touch men’s hearts, and change their lives, let us endeavour to be more like our Saviour. More bold and true in what we say; more simple and self-denying in what we do; practising no more than what we believe and what we intend.

II. But then, in the second place, if we would worthily follow the Lord Jesus, our Master, we must not only imitate His truthfulness and self-denial, but we must be content, like Matthew, to leave all in order to do it; content, that is to say, with no more of this world’s wealth and honour and pleasant things, than are consistent with a simple and holy-hearted surrender of our wills and ways to the will and direction of our blessed Saviour. If there be any pleasure, any pursuit, any friend, any indulgence, any gain, which is inconsistent with the devotion of our life and work and heart to the service and glory of our Lord, all that must be given up without reservation; we must throw it off and cast it behind us, finally and decisively, as Matthew did, when, rising up from the toll-booth at the call of the Saviour, he deserted his occupation for ever.

Bishop Moorhouse, Penny Pulpit, No. 536.

I. One of the most conspicuous instances of the attractive power of Jesus is presented by the narrative in our text. The Lord laid a spell on Matthew, and he yielded in a moment. Christ drew him irresistibly, imperially. He swept him with Him in His progress as a satellite is swept by its sun. And what was the secret of the spell? The Man Christ Jesus embodied all the higher thoughts, influences, aspirations, and hopes, by which His life had ever been blessed. Man is double. He is what he is, what the world and the devil have made him, and he is what he was meant to be, what his soul pines to be—his idea. And he and his idea dwell together, strange comrades in this case of flesh. The one is and suffers; the other dreams, and while it dreams is blessed.

II. The Lord came by as Matthew was brooding there; the Lord comes by as you sit brooding; He is the Author and Finisher of those dreams. His is the voice which has often spoken to you in night watches, and stirred your aspirations; in bitter sorrow He has come to you and kindled your hope; out of the depths He has lifted you to visions of a glorious future, and made the germs of all blessed fruits stir in the cold breast of your despair. Every voice of the better nature, every pining of the nobler heart, every vision of the purer imagination, every stirring of the immortal spirit that you have from God, every sigh for deliverance from sin, every resolution to fight it out, God helping you, with the devil, is the Lord’s inspiration; and they all rise up and beckon you to follow Him, when Jesus of Nazareth at length draws near. "And Matthew left all, rose up, and followed Him." Young man, standing there by the devil’s toll-booth, paying in the tax of thy young life to his accursed treasury, go thou and do likewise.

J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 106.

References: Luk 5:27-29.—Homilist, new series, vol. vii., p. 141; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 190. Luk 5:27-32.—A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 20. Luk 5:27-39.—W. Hanna, Our Lord’s Life on Earth, p. 154. Luk 5:28.—G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons, p. 249.

Luk 5:29

Our Lord’s example teaches us what sort of employment is always, perhaps so far as we can pursue it, the most useful to our souls; it shows us, at any rate, what business there is which we can none of us safely neglect altogether; for that which Christ did always, Christ’s servants cannot certainly be justified if they never do. And this business consists in mixing with others, not in the mere line of our trade or calling, and still less for mere purposes of gaiety; but the mixing with others, neither for business, nor yet for pleasure, but in the largest sense of the word, for charity.

I. It will, then, be seen how many persons there are who have need to be reminded of this duty. They who really live mostly to themselves are indeed in these days very few, and embrace only that small number of persons whose time is principally spent in study; that is, men who are devoted to literature or science. But those who, while they mix with others, yet do it in the line of their business, or for pleasure’s sake, include a very large portion of the world indeed. Statesmen, lawyers, soldiers, sailors, tradesmen, merchants, farmers, labourers—all are necessarily brought much into contact with their fellowmen; there is no danger of their living in loneliness. And persons of no profession—the young, and women of all ages, in the richer classes especially—they desire society for the pleasure of it; they think it dull to live out of the world. For it is very possible that neither of these two large classes of people may mix with others in the way that Christ mixed with them; they may do it for business or for pleasure, but not for charity.

II. To those, then, who are not inclined to be idle, but who, whether from necessity or from activity of mind, are sure to have plenty of employment, nay, who are so much engrossed by it that it leaves them, as was the case with Christ, "no leisure so much as to eat," it becomes of great consequence, not only that they should be as busy as Christ was, but that part of their business, at least, should be of the same kind; not only that they should be fully employed, but that their employment may, in part at least, be of that sort, as, when they fail, they cause them to be received into everlasting habitations.

T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. ii., p. 164.

Reference: Luk 5:31.—D. Fraser, Metaphors of the Gospels, p. 95.

Christian Mutual Tolerance. Christ is here claiming for His disciples that their spiritual life be left to unfold itself naturally; that they be not fettered with forms; that they be not judged by religious traditions and old habits; that they be free to show themselves glad when they have cause of gladness, and that their expressions of sorrow and their self-discipline follow their feeling of sorrow and their need of discipline.

I. Christ’s vindication of freedom to all His disciples. We cannot ante-date maturity nor hurry experience. Endeavour not to force a young and vigorous, even though incomplete, Christian character into the mould and habit of an older one, which may perchance, in its turn, be too despondent, too cheerless; but rather notice and admire how God develops each according to its own vitality, and appoints to each its proper sphere and mode of service. There is a work to be done by the young, and God has given them the impulses for it. Their native energy will be always breaking through their conventionalities; the new wine will burst the bottles. Put the new wine into new bottles, and both will be preserved.

II. Christ’s plea for consideration of one another. Be patient, Christ is saying to those who were offended at the exuberance of His disciples; they will not always be as joyous as they are now. The realities of life and the variations of Christian experience will surely take away from younger disciples the undue exaltation which shocks the elder saints. Without your schooling they will pass through much tribulation. They will be sober enough, subdued enough, by-and-by. While the more sombre Christians attempt to bind their sadness as a law on the whole Church, there will surely be strife and bitterness, insincerity, unfitness for the stress of the Christian conflict. But the life which Christ develops in its own fitting forms will give the joyous, confident Christian, matured by painful discipline, sympathy even with those whose sadness is the sadness of doubt. He will be very gentle with them, for His own life has taught Him that without full and abiding confidence in Jesus religious experience must be a gloomy thing. The new wine is better than the old. Not only is Christianity better than Judaism; even under the Gospel the new days are better than the old. God gives His best blessings latest. "Thou hast kept the good wine till now."

A. Mackennal, Christ’s Healing Touch, p. 218.

References: Luk 5:33.—F. W. Robertson, The Human Race and Other Sermons, p. 190. Luk 5:33-39.—A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 69; D. Fraser, Metaphors of the Gospels, p. 106. Luk 5:35.—J. Keble, Sermons from Lent to Passiontide, p. 410. Luk 6:1-12.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xi., p. 95; A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 88; F. D. Maurice, The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, p. 82. Luk 6:1-49.—E. Aston, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 327. Luk 6:6-11.—Homilist, vol. vi., p. 166.

The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 12

THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES

Luk 5:1-11. “And it came to pass, while the multitudes were pressing on Him to hear the word of God, and He was standing near the Lake Genesareth [i.e., the Sea of Galilee], and He saw two ships standing by the lake, and the fishermen having gone from them were washing their nets, and entering into one of the ships, which belonged to Simon, He requested him to shove out a little from the land, and sitting down, He was teaching the multitudes from the ship. And when He ceased speaking, He said to Simon, Lead out into the deep, and spread your nets for a draught. And Simon, responding, said to Him, Master, toiling through the whole night, we caught nothing; but at Thy word I will spread the net. And doing this, they caught a great multitude of fishes; and their net was breaking, and they beckoned to their comrades in the other ship, having come to assist them; they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were sinking. Simon Peter, seeing, fell before the knees of Jesus, said to Him, Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord; because affright took hold of him, and all those who were with him, on account of the draught of fishes which they received; likewise, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were companions of Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; from now you shall be catching men. And hauling their ships up on the land, leaving all, they followed Him.” Mark (Mar 1:20) says: “Immediately He called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the ship, with the hired hands, they departed after Him.” The beautiful sea of Galilee, clear as a crystal, limpid and bright, sixteen and a half miles long, seven and a half miles wide, with seventy miles of coast, one hundred and thirty feet deep, this day abounds in a vast variety of most excellent fish. My hotel-keeper said he caught five thousand pounds at a single draught. The prophetic desolation has been on that country so long — being mainly given up to the wandering Arabs, who exhibit but little skill in fishing — they have accumulated in vast quantities, ready for the returning children of Abraham, who are fast coming back, and quite a number have recently gathered about this beautiful sea, so memorable in the history of our Lord. This scene took place near Capernaum, headquarters of our Savior and His disciples, and resulted in the call of Peter and Andrew who were brothers, sons of Jonah, and James and John, who were brothers, the sons of Zebedee and Salome. They were professional fishermen, and, as we see before, owned ships — i.e., fishing-boats — and hired hands, to serve them in their business. Hence it seems that they were doing well. While this wonderful and miraculous draught of fishes, looking like they had struck such a run of luck that they would certainly get rich quickly, was calculated so to encourage them in their business that they would certainly hold on; but grace prevails and gets the victory. They leave their ships, and their hired hands — their livelihood, and with no prospect of temporal support, relying only on the good providence of God, they forsake all and follow Jesus, who has already assured them that He will make them fishers of men. How magnificantly true! Who can count the numberless host that had been won for Jesus through the living ministry of these four apostles, and their words of steel and lightning left shining in God’s blessed Book? This wonderful miracle, right on the spot where they had fished all night (a better time than the day) and caught nothing; now they catch so many that they fill both ships, and they are sinking under the intolerable quantity of large and splendid fishes — no wonder they tare overwhelmed with the realization that they are in the presence of a Superhuman Being; the very consciousness of the Almighty inundates them with reverential awe, and appalls them with the apprehension of the Divine presence and power. Consequently, Peter naturally deeply sensitive and excitable, shouts:

“Lord depart from me, because I am a sinful man.” Peter was not sanctified till Pentecost, three years subsequently; hence he is affrighted with the realization of his sinful nature. O what a happy choice did these four bright young men make when they exchanged their fishing-boats for the silver trumpet! The manner of their lives, inured to the hardships of sea and land, toiling all night, exposed to the chilly waters and the arduous, constant toil, had proved to them a most valuable gymnasium, which had developed in them an iron constitution, and eminently prepared them for the conflicts, exposures, privations, burdens, and toils of missionary life, far better than any theological curriculum they could have gone through. While intellectual culture is not to be depreciated, but continued through this life and, doubtless, coming eternity, the physical constitution and the spiritual experiences and enduements constitute the preponderant qualifications of a gospel preacher.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luke Chapter 5

Man, He was come for men. He will associate others (chap. 5) with Himself in this glorious work. He has a right to do it. If He is in grace a servant, He is so according to the full power of the Holy Ghost. He works a miracle well adapted to strike those whom He would call, and which made them feel that everything was at His disposal, that all depended on Him, that where man could do nothing He could do everything. Peter, stricken in conscience by the presence of the Lord, confesses his unworthiness, but drawn by grace goes to Christ. Grace raises him up, and appoints him to speak of itself to others-to fish for men. Already it was not a preacher of righteousness among the people of God, but one who drew into His net those that were afar off. He attracted to Himself as the manifestation on earth of the power and the character of God. It was grace which was there.

He was there with the will and the power to heal that which was a figure of sin, and incurable but by the intervention of God. But God had intervened; and in grace He can say, and says, to one who acknowledged His power but doubted His will, “I will, be thou clean.” [13] Yet He submitted to Jewish ordinances as one obedient to the law. Jesus prayed, as a man dependent on God. This was His perfection as a man born under the law. Moreover, He must needs acknowledge the ordinances of God, not yet abrogated by His rejection. But this obedience as man became a testimony; for the power of Jehovah alone could heal leprosy, and He had healed it, and the priests were to acknowledge that which had been done.

But He brings pardon as well as cleansing. He gives a proof of this by removing all infirmity, and imparting strength to one who had none. This was not the doctrine that God could pardon. They believed that. But God had intervened, and pardon was present. They would no longer have to wait for the last day, nor for a day of judgment, to know their condition. A Nathan would not be required to come and proclaim it on the part of a God who was in heaven while His people were on earth. Pardon was come, in the Person of the Son of man come down to earth. In all this, Jesus gave proofs of the power and the rights of Jehovah. In this instance it was the fulfilment of Psa 103:3; but, at the same time, He gives these proofs as accomplished by the power of the Holy Ghost, without measure in man, in His own Person the true Son of God. The Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins: in fact, Jehovah was come, a man on earth. The Son of man was there before their eyes, in grace, to exercise this power-a proof that God had visited them.

In both these instances [14] the Lord, while displaying a power fitted to extend, and that was to extend, beyond this sphere, displays it in connection with Israel. The cleansing was a proof of the power of Jehovah in the midst of Israel, and the pardon was in connection with His government in Israel, and therefore proved itself by the perfect cure of the sick man, according to the psalm already quoted. [15] No doubt, these rights were not limited to Israel, but at that moment they were exercised in connection with this nation. He cleansed, in grace, that which Jehovah alone could cleanse. He pardoned that which Jehovah alone could pardon, taking away all the consequence of their sin. It was, in this sense, a governmental pardon; the power of Jehovah present, fully to restore and re-establish Israel-wherever, at least, faith could profit by it. Afterwards, we shall find pardon for peace of soul.

The call of Levi, and that which follows, shews that not only was this power of grace to extend beyond Israel, but that the old vessel was not able to bear it. It must form a vessel for itself.

We may also remark here, on the other hand, that faith is characterised by perseverance. In the consciousness of the evil, an evil without remedy, and in the assurance that One able to heal is there, it does not allow itself to be discouraged-does not put off the relief of its need. Now, the power of God was there to meet this need.

This terminates that part of the narrative which reveals, in a positive way, divine power, visiting the earth in grace, in the Person of the Son of man, and exercised in Israel, in the condition in which it found them.

That which follows characterises its exercise in contrast with Judaism. But that which we have already examined is divided into two parts, having distinct characters which deserve to be noticed. First, from chapter 4:31-41, it is the power of the Lord manifesting itself on His part, as triumphing (without any particular connection with the mind of the individual) over all the power of the enemy, whether in sickness or in possession. The power of the enemy is there: Jesus casts it out, and heals those who are suffering from it. But, secondly, His occupation is to preach. And the kingdom was not only the manifestation of a power which casts out all that of the enemy, but of a power which brought souls also into connection with God. We see this in chapter Psa 5:1-12. Here their condition before God,-sin, and faith, are in question-in a word, all that belonged to their relationship with God.

Here, consequently, we see the authority of the word of Christ upon the heart, the manifestation of His glory (He is owned as Lord), conviction of sin, just jealousy for His glory, in the sense of His holiness which should keep itself inviolate; the soul taking God’s part against itself, because it loves holiness and respects the glory of God, even while feeling the attraction of His grace; so that, owing to this, everything is forgotten-fish, nets, boat, danger: “one thing” already possesses the. soul. The Lord’s answer then dispels all fear, and He associates the freed soul with Himself in the grace which He had exercised towards it, and in the work which He wrought in behalf of men. It was already delivered morally from all that was around it; now, in the full enjoyment of grace, it is set free by the power of grace, and wholly given to Jesus. The Lord-perfect manifestation of God-in creating new affections by this revelat ion of God, separates the heart from all that bound it to this world, to the order of the old man, in order to set it apart for Himself-for God. He surrounds Himself with all that is delivered, becoming its centre; and, indeed, delivers by being so.

He then cleanses the leper, which none but Jehovah could do. Still He does not come out of His position under the law; and, however great His fame, He maintains His place of perfect dependence as man before God. The leper, the unclean, may return to God.

He next forgives. The guilty one is no longer so before God; he is pardoned. At the same time he receives strength. Nevertheless it is still the Son of man who is there. In both cases faith seeks the Lord, bringing its need before Him.

The Lord now exhibits the character of this grace in connection with its objects. Being supreme, being of God, it acts in virtue of its rights. Human circumstances do not hinder it. It adapts itself by its very nature to human need, and not to human privileges. It is not subject to ordinances, [16] and does not come in through them. The power of God by the Spirit was there, and acted for itself, and produced its own effects, setting aside that which was old-that to which man was attached, [17] and to which the power of the Spirit could not be confined. The scribes and Pharisees would not have the Lord associate with the wicked and disreputable. God seeks those who need Him-sinners-in grace.

When they ask why His disciples do not observe the customs and the ordinances of John and the Pharisees, by which they guided the legal piety of their disciples, it is that the new thing could not be subjected to the forms that belonged to that which was old, and which could not sustain the strength and energy of that which came from God. The old were the forms of man after the flesh; the new, the energy of God, according to the Holy Ghost. Moreover it was not the time for a piety that took the form of self-mortification. What else could man do? But the Bridegroom was there.

Nevertheless, man would prefer that which was old, because it was man, and not the energy of God.

Footnotes for Luke Chapter 5

13: If a man touched a leper, he was unclean. But here grace works, and Jesus undefilable touches the leper (God in grace, undefilable, but a man touching the defiled thing to cleanse it.

14: The call of Peter is more general in this respect, that it is connected with the Person of Christ. Nevertheless, although he was a fisher of men (a word used evidently in contrast with the fishes he was occupied with), he exercised his ministry more particularly with regard to Israel. But it was power in the Person of Christ that governed his heart; so that it was fundamentally, the new thing, but as yet in its connection with Israel, while extending beyond them. It is at the end of chapter 7 and in chapter 8 that we enter on ground beyond the narrow limits of Israel.

15: Compare Job 33:1-33; Job 36:1-33 and Jas 5:14-15 -the first outside dispensations, and James under Christianity. In Israel, it is the Lord Himself in sovereign grace.

16: Christ, born under the law, was subject to them; but that is a different thing. Here it is a divine power acting in grace.

17: But here also the Lord, in giving the reasons why the disciples did not follow the ordinances, and the institutions, of John and of the Pharisees, connects them with the two principles already pointed out-His position in the midst of Israel, and the power of grace which went beyond its limits. The Messiah, Jehovah Himself, was among them, in this grace (in spite of their failure under the law, in spite of their subjection to the Gentiles) according to which Jehovah named Himself “I am the Lord that healeth thee.” At least, He was there in the supremacy of grace for faith. Those therefore who owned Him as the Messiah, the husband of Israel, could they fast while He was with them? He would leave them: without doubt that would be their time to fast. Moreover, secondly, it is always impossible. He could not adapt the new cloth of Christianity to the old garment of Judaism, in its nature incapable of receiving its energy, or adapting itself to grace, worn out withal as a dispensation by sin, and under which Israel was, in judgment, made subject to the Gentiles. Besides, the power of the Spirit of God in grace could not be restricted to the ordinances of the law. It would destroy them by its very strength. The call of Levi violated, and most openly, all the prejudices of the Jews. Their own fellow-countrymen were the instruments of their masters’ extortion, and reminded them in the most painful manner of their subjection to the Gentiles. But the Lord was there in grace to seek sinners. That which the Holy Ghost sets before us is the presence of the Lord, and the rights which are necessarily attached to His Person and to His sovereign grace, which had come into Israel, but necessarily went beyond its limits (setting aside, consequently, the legal system which could not receive the new thing). This is the key to all these narratives. Thus, also, in that which follows respecting the sabbath, the one case shews the supremacy which His glorious Person gave Him over that which was the sign of the covenant itself; and the other, that the goodness of God cannot abdicate its rights and its nature. He would do good even on a sabbath-day.

John Nelson Darby — Synopsis of the Books of the Bible: the New Testament (c. 1857–1862) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:1-11 This is the first call of disciples recorded in Luke; Matthew and Mark recount a (presumably earlier) call of the four fishermen brothers (Matt 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20). Jesus demonstrated extraordinary authority in the miraculous catch of fish and in his call of Simon Peter.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 5:1. Ἐγένετο δὲ, moreover it came to pass) This is in close connection with ch. Luk 4:44.[54]—ἐπικεῖσθαι) The people pressed upon Him. Hence is evidenced the patient endurance of the Saviour.

[54] Beng. seems to have subsequently adopted a different opinion, when both in the later Edition of the New Testament he began the fifth chapter with a larger capital letter, to indicate a greater division between it and the last verses of ch. 4; and in the Harm. Ev. he has set down the incidents which are given in ch. Luk 4:42-44, after those which we have in ch. Luk 5:1, etc., as we may see l. c. § 48, compared with § 35, 36. But as to Transpositions—viz. those which are to be especially attributed to Luke—I should like any one, who desires a brief and powerful suggestion of advice, to weigh well what Beng. has said in his Ordo Temp., pp. 242, 243 (Ed. ii. pp. 211, 212).—E. B.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_5:1-11. Mat_4:18-22 and Mar_1:16-20 are parallel passages. Nevertheless, the history of the calling in Luke, as compared with it in Matthew and Mark, is essentially different, for in these latter the point of the incident is the mere summons and promise (without the miracle, which, without altering the nature of the event, they could not have passed over; in opposition to Ebrard and others); in Luke it is the miracle of the draught of fishes Moreover, in Matthew and Mark no previous acquaintance on the part of Jesus with Peter is presupposed, although, probably, it is in Luk_4:38 ff., whereby, at the same time, Luke falls into self-contradiction, since Luk_5:8 does not allow it to be supposed that such miraculous experiences have previously occurred to him as, according to Luk_4:38 ff., Peter had already had in connection with Jesus. Luke follows a source of later and more plastic tradition (in opposition to Schleiermacher, Sieffert, Neander, v. Ammon, who ascribe to Luke the merit of being the earliest), which, fastening in pursuit of symbolic meaning upon the promise in Luk_5:10 (Mat_4:19; Mar_1:17), glorified the story of the call of the fishermen by joining to it a similar story of the draught of fishes, John 21 (comp. Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 288); but in the historical sequence after Luk_4:38 ff. Luke has become confused.

καὶ αὐτός] not: he also, but: and he; he on his part, in respect of this pressing (ἐπικεῖσθαι) of the people upon him. Comp. on Luk_5:15; Luk_5:17; as to καί after ἐγένετο, see on Luk_5:12.

ἔπλυναν] ut peracto opere, Bengel; see Luk_5:5.

Luk_5:4. ἐπανάγαγε, the special word for going out into the deep sea (Xen. Hell. vi. 2. 28; 2Ma_12:4); the singular in reference to Peter alone, who was the steersman of the craft; but χαλάσατε in reference to the whole fisher company in the vessel. Changes of number, to be similarly accounted for by the connection, are often found in the classical writers. See Bornemann, Schol. p. 35 f.; Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. i. 2. 27.

Luk_5:5. ἐπιστάτα] Superintendent (see in general, Gatacker, Op. posth. p. 877 ff., and Kypke, I. p. 228) occurs only in Luke in the New Testament, and that, too, always addressed to Jesus, while he has not the ῥαββί which is so frequent in the other evangelists. Peter does not yet address Him thus as his doctrinal chief, but generally (Luk_5:1; Luk_5:3). Comp. Luk_17:13.

νυκτός] when fishing was accustomed to be carried on successfully. See Aristotle, H. A. viii. 19; Heindorf, ad Plat. Soph. p. 287.

ἐπί] of the reason: for the sake of Thy word (on the ground of Thy word). Comp. Winer, p. 351 [E. T. 491]: Senserat Petrus virtutem verborum Jesu, Bengel. Οὕτως ἦν τὴν πίστιν θερμὸς καὶ πρὸ τῆς πίστεως, Theophylact.

χαλάσω] Simon speaks thus in his capacity of captain. Comp. afterwards ποιήσαντες.

Luk_5:6. διεῤῥήγνυτο] The tearing asunder[93] actually began, but was only beginning. See on Luk_1:59. The assistance for which they signalled prevented further damage. The subsequent phrase ὥστε βυθίζεσθαι, is similar. Hence there is no exaggeration (Valckenaer, de Wette).

Luk_5:7. κατένευσαν] they made signs to, according to Euthymius Zigabenus: μὴ δυνάμενοι λαλῆσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως κ. τοῦ φόβου. So also Theophylact. This would have needed to be said. In the whole incident nothing more is implied than that the other craft still lying close to the shore, Luk_5:2, was too far away for the sound of the voice to reach, and hence they were restricted to making signs, which, moreover, for the fishermen of the other boatwho, according to Luk_5:4, were doubtless eagerly giving attentionwas quite sufficient. As to συλλαβ., see on Php_4:3.

Luk_5:8. On ΠΡΟΣΈΠΕΣΕ Τ. ΓΌΝΑΣΙ, comp. Soph. O. C. 1604. It might also be put in the accusative (Eur. Hec. 339, and thereon Pflugk).

ἔξελθε] out of the ship. He dimly recognises in Christ a something superhuman, the manifestation of a holy divine power, and in the consciousness of his own sinful nature he is terrified in the presence of this power which may, perchance, cause some misfortune to befall him; just as men feared the like on the appearances of God or of angels. Comp. 1Ki_17:18. Euthymius Zigabenus and Grotius in loc. Eisner and Valckenaer are mistaken in saying that Peter speaks thus in accordance with the notion that one ought not to stay on board a ship with any criminal (Cic. De Nat. Deor. iii. 37; Diog. Laert. i. 86; Horat. Od. iii. 2. 26 ff.). He does not indeed avow himself a criminal, but only as a sinful man in general, who as such cannot without risk continue in the presence of this θεῖος καὶ ὑπερφυὴς ἄνθρωπος (Euthymius Zigabenus). See the later exaggeration of the sinfulness of the apostles before their call, in Barnabas 5.

Luk_5:9. ἌΓΡΑ] in this place is not the draught, as at Luk_5:4, but that which was caught (τὸ θηρώμενον, Pol. v. 1), as Xen. De Venat. xii. 3, xiii. 13, and frequently.

Luk_5:10. This mention of James and John at the end is one of the traces that the narrative grew out of the older history of the call. But certainly Andrew was not found in the source from which Luke drew.

ἀνθρώπους] instead of fishes.

ΖΩΓΡῶΝ] vivos capiensin characteristic keeping with this ethical draught (winning for the Messiahs kingdom), as well as with the figure taken from fishermen (Aristaen. Ep. ii. 23).

[93] Augustine has interpreted this tearing of the nets allegorically of the heresies, and the Saxon Anonynms (p. 212 f.) of Judaism and the law; both interpretations being equally arbitrary. There is much allegorical interpretation of the whole narrative in the Fathers (the ship, the church; the net, the doctrine; the sea, the heathen world, etc.).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 5:1-11 . The call of Peter . This narrative, brought in later than the corresponding one in Mk., assumes larger dimensions and an altered character. Peter comes to the front, and the other three named in Mk., James, John and Andrew, retire into the shade; the last-named, indeed, does not appear in the picture at all. This, doubtless, reflects the relative positions of the four disciples in the public eye in the writer’s time, and in the circle for which he wrote. The interest gathered mainly about Peter: Christian people wanted to be told about him, specially about how he became a disciple. That interest had been felt before Lk. wrote, hence the tradition about his call grew ever richer in contents, till it became a lengthy, edifying story. Lk. gives it as he found it. Some think he mixes up the call with the later story told in Joh 21:1-8 , and not a few critics find in his account a symbolic representation of Peter’s apostolic experience as narrated in the book of Acts. Such mixture and symbolism, if present, had probably found their way into the history before it came into Lk.’s hands. He gives it bonâ fide as the narrative of a real occurrence, which it may quite well be.

Luk 5:1-7 . ἐπικεῖσθαι . In Mt. and Mk. (Mat 4:18 , Mar 1:16 ) the call of the four disciples took place when Jesus was walking alone. Here Jesus is surrounded by a crowd who pressed upon Him. καὶ ἀκούειν , etc., and were hearing the word of God. The crowd, and their eagerness to hear the word of God (phraseology here secondary), serve in the narrative to explain the need of disciples (so Schanz and Hahn). παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γ . The position of Jesus in speaking to the crowd was on the margin of the lake; called by Lk. alone λίμνη .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 5:1-11. THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES. THE CALLING OF FOUR DISCIPLES

1. καὶ ἀκούειν. אABL, Edd. ‘and heard’ for τοῦ ἀκ. ‘to hear.’

1. ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ. With this section compare Mat 4:18-22; Mar 1:16-20. St Mark (as is his wont) uses stronger words (ἐπιπίπτειν, θλίβειν) to express the physical inconvenience, and adds that sometimes at any rate, the multitude pressed on Jesus with a view to touch Him and be healed (Luk 3:9-10).

καὶ ἀκούειν. The more probable reading is not τοῦ but καἰ, ‘and listened to.’

τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρέτ. “The most sacred sheet of water which this earth contains.” Stanley. St Luke alone, writing for the Greeks, accurately calls it a lake. The Galilaean and Jewish Evangelists unconsciously follow the Hebrew idiom which applies the name yam ‘sea,’ to every piece of water. Gennesareth is probably a corruption of the old Hebrew name Kinnereth, but the Rabbis derive it from ganne sarim, ‘gardens of princes.’ This same inland lake is generally called ‘the Sea of Galilee’ (Mat 15:29, &c.). In the Old Testament it is called “the Sea of Chinneroth” (Jos 12:3) from its harplike shape. St John calls it “the Sea of Tiberias;” because by the time he wrote Tiberias—which in our Lord’s time had only just been founded by Herod Antipas—had grown into a flourishing town. Gennesareth is a clear sweet lake about thirteen miles long and seven broad, with the Jordan flowing through it. Its fish produced a valuable revenue to those who lived on its shores. The plain of Gennesareth, which lies 500 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, is now known as El Ghuweir, ‘the little hollow.’ It is so completely a desolation, that the only inhabited places on the western shore of the Lake are the crumbling, dirty, earthquake-shaken town of Tiberias and the mud village of El Mejdel, the ancient Magdala. The burning and enervating heat is no longer tempered by cultivation and by trees. It is still however beautiful in spring, with flowering oleanders, and the soil is fruitful where it is not encumbered with ruins as at Khan Minyeh (Tarichaea) and Tell Hûm (Capernaum). In our Lord’s time it was, as Josephus calls it, “the best part of Galilee” (B. J. III. 10, § 7) containing many villages, of which the least had 15,000 inhabitants. Josephus becomes quite eloquent over the descriptions of its rich fruits nearly all the year, its grateful temperature, and its fertilising stream (Jos. B. J. III. 10, §§ 7, 8), so that, he says, one might call it ‘the ambition of nature.’ It belonged to the tribe of Naphtali (Deu 33:23) and the Rabbis said that of the “seven seas” of Canaan, it was the only one which God had reserved for Himself. In our Lord’s time it was covered with a gay and numerous fleet of 4000 vessels, from ships of war down to fishing boats; now it is often difficult to find a single crazy boat even at Tiberias, and the Arabs fish mainly by throwing poisoned bread-crumbs into the water near the shore. As four great roads communicated with the Lake it became a meeting-place for men of many nations—Jews, Galilaeans, Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks and Romans.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chap.

5:1-11.] The miraculous draught of fishes. Call of Peter and the sons of Zebedee. The question at once meets us, whether this account, in its form here peculiar to Luke, is identical in its subject-matter with Mat 4:18-22, and Mar 1:16-20. With regard to this, we may notice the following particulars. (1) Contrary to Schleiermacher’s inference (Trans. pp. 75, 76), it must be, I think, that of most readers, that a previous and close relation had subsisted between our Lord and Peter. The latter calls Him ἐπιστάτα (= ῥαββί), and κύριε: evidently (ver. 5, end) expects a miracle; and follows Him, with his partners, without any present express command so to do.

Still all this might be, and yet the account might be identical with the others. For our Lord had known Peter before this, Joh 1:41 ff.; and, in all probability, as one of His disciples. And although there is here no express command to follow, yet the words in ver. 10 may be, and are probably intended to be, equivalent to one. (2) The Evangelist evidently intends this as the first apostolic calling of Peter and his companions. The expressions in ver. 11 could not otherwise have been used. (3) There is yet the supposition, that the accounts in Matthew and Mark may be a shorter way of recounting this by persons who were not aware of these circumstances. But then such a supposition will not consist with that high degree of authority in those accounts, which I believe them to have: see note on Mark. (4) It seems to me that the truth of the matter is nearly this:—that this event is distinct from, and happened at a later period than, the calling in Matt. and Mark; but that the four Apostles, when our Lord was at Capernaum, followed their occupation as fishermen. There is every thing to shew, in our account, that the calling had previously taken place; and the closing of it by the expression in ver. 11 merely indicates what there can be no difficulty in seeing even without it, that our present account is an imperfect one, written by one who found thus much recorded, and knowing it to be part of the history of the calling of the Apostles, appended to it the fact of their leaving all and following the Lord. As to the repetition of the assurance in ver. 10, I see no more in it than this, which appears also from other passages in the Gospels, that the Apostles, as such, were not called or ordained at any special moment, or by any one word of power alone; but that in their case as well as ours, there was line upon line, precept upon precept: and that what was said generally to all four on the former occasion, by words only, was repeated to Peter on this, not only in words, but by a miracle. Does his fear, as expressed in ver. 8, besides the reason assigned, indicate some previous slowness, or relaxation of his usually earnest attachment, of which he now becomes deeply ashamed? (5) It is also to be noticed that there is no chronological index to this narrative connecting it with what precedes or follows. It cannot well (see ver. 8) have taken place after the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother; and (ver. 1) must have been after the crowd had now become accustomed to hear the Lord teach. (6) Also, that there is no mention of Andrew here, as in ver. 10 there surely would have been, if he had been present. (7) It will be seen how wholly irreconcilable either of the suppositions is with the idea that Luke used the Gospel of Matt., or that of Mark, in compiling his own.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:1-6:11. From the Call of the First Disciples to the Nomination of the Twelve

This section presents a symmetrical arrangement, which possibly is intentional. The call of a leading disciple (1-11) is followed by two healings which provoke controversy (12-16, 17-26); and then the call of another leading disciple (27-39) is followed by two incidents on the Sabbath, which again provoke controversy (6:1-5, 6-11).

5:1-11. The call of Simon. In Mat 4:18-22 and Mar 1:16-20 the narrative is the call of Simon and Andrew, and of James and John. Here Andrew is not mentioned. And although all obey the call (ver. 11), yet Simon alone is addressed (vv. 4, 10). But the identity of this incident with that narrated by Mt. and Mk. can neither be affirmed nor denied with certainty. In Mt. and Mk. the disciples are fishing; here they are washing their nets before putting them away. The important point is that in all narratives those called are at work. Similarly, Levi is called from his busi ness. It would seem as if none of the Twelve were called when idle.

1. Ἐγένετο δέ. See detached note at the end of ch. 1. For τὸν ὄχλον see on 11:29; for ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι see on 3:21; for τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ see on 8:11; for καί introducing the apodosis see on 2:21; and for καὶ αὐτός see on ver. 14. All these points, with the analytical ἦν ἑστώς (1:7, 10, 20, 21, etc.), are characteristic of Lk. Not often do we find so many marks of his style in so small a compass. Comp. 8:22, 37, 40, 41. For the popular desire to behold Christ see on 4:42. With ἐπικεῖσθαι comp. 23:23; Act 27:20; 1Co 9:16; Heb 9:10; Jos. Ant. xx. 5, 3. It is used in a literal sense Joh 11:38, Joh 21:9. Here it is mainly figurative, but it includes the notion of physical pressure. The αὐτός distinguishes Jesus from the ὄχλος comp. 4:15, 30.

παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρέτ. With characteristic accuracy Lk. never calls it a sea, while the others never call it a lake. Except in Rev. of the “lake of fire,” λίμνη in N.T. is peculiar to Lk, When he uses θάλασσα he means sea in the ordinary sense (17:2, 6, 21:25; Act 4:24, etc).

In AV. of 1611 both here and Mar 6:53 the name appears as “Genesareth,” following the spelling of the Vulgate; but in Mat 14:34. as “Genesaret.” The printers have corrected this to “Gennesaret.” in all three places. Γεννησαρέτ is the orthography of the best MSS. in all three places. Josephus writes both λίμνη Γεννησαρῖτις (Ant. xviii. 2, 1) and λίμνη Γεννησάρ (B. J. iii. 10, 7). 1 Mac. 11:67 we have τὸ ὔδωρ τοῦ Γεννησάρ. But in O.T the lake is called Θάλασσα Χενέρεθ (Num 34:11?; Jos 12:3) from a town of that name near to it (Jos 19:35). Josephus contrasts its fertility with the barrenness of the lower take in the Jordan valley (B. J. iv. 8, 2); the one is the “Sea of Life,” the other the “Sea of Death.” See Stanley’s fine description of “the most sacred sheet of water that this earth contains” (Sin. & Pal. pp. 368-378) Farrar, Life of Christ, 1. pp. 175-182; Conder, D. B.2 “Gennesaret.”

For παρά c. acc. after a verb of rest comp. 18:35; Act 10:6, Act 10:32; Heb 11:12: Xen. Anab. iii. 5, 1, vii. 2, 11.

With ἦν ἐστώς (which is the apodosis of ἐγένετο), καὶ εἶδεν is to be joined: “It came to pass that He was standing, and He saw.” It is very clumsy to make καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἐστώς parenthetical, and take καὶ εἶδεν as the apodosis of ἐγένετε.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1. The Call of the Disciples: Luk 5:1-11.

The companions of Jesus, in the preceding scene, have not yet been named by Luke (they besought Him, Luk 4:38; she ministered unto them, Luk 4:39). According to Mark (Mar 1:29), they were Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These are the very four young men whom we find in this narrative. They had lived up to this time in the bosom of their families, and continued their old occupations. But this state of things was no longer suitable to the part which Jesus designed for them. They were to treasure up all His instructions, be the constant witnesses of His works, and receive from Him a daily moral education. In order to this, it was indispensable that they should be continually with Him. In calling them to leave their earthly occupation, and assigning them in its place one that was wholly spiritual, Jesus founded, properly speaking, the Christian ministry. For this is precisely the line of demarcation between the simple Christian and the minister, that the former realizes the life of faith in any earthly calling; while the latter, excused by his Master from any particular profession, can devote himself entirely to the spiritual work with which he is entrusted. Such is the new position to which Jesus raises these young fishermen. It is more than simple faith, but less than apostleship; it is the ministry, the general foundation on which will be erected the apostolate.

The call related here by Luke is certainly the same as that which is related, in a more abridged form, by Matthew (Mat 4:18-22) and Mark (Mar 1:16-20). For can any one suppose, with Riggenbach, that Jesus twice addressed the same persons in these terms, “I will make you fishers of men,” and that they could have twice left all in order to follow Him? If the miraculous draught of fishes is omitted in Matthew and Mark, it is because, as we have frequent proof in the former, in the traditional narratives, the whole interest was centred in the word of Jesus, which was the soul of every incident. Mark has given completeness to these narratives wherever he could avail himself of Peter’s accounts. But here this was not the case, because, as many facts go to prove, Peter avoided giving prominence to himself in his own narrations.

Second Cycle: From the Call of the First Disciples to the Choice of the Twelve, Luk 5:1 to Luk 6:11.

Up to this time Jesus has been preaching, accompanied by a few friends, but without forming about Him a circle of permanent disciples. As His work grows, He feels it necessary to give it a more definite form. The time has arrived when He deems it wise to attach to Himself, as regular disciples, those whom the Father has given Him. This new phase coincides with that in which His work begins to come into conflict with the established order of things.

This cycle comprises six narratives: 1. The call of the first four disciples (Luk 5:1-11); 2 and 3. Two cures of the leper and the paralytic (Luk 5:12-26); 4. The call of Levi, with the circumstances connected with it (Luk 5:27-39); 5 and 6. Two conflicts relating to the Sabbath (Luk 6:1-11).

Vers. 1-3.

The General Situation.

This description furnishes a perfect frame to the scene that follows. The words, καὶ αὐτός..., He was also standing there, indicate the inconvenient position in which He was placed by the crowd collected at this spot.

The details in Luk 5:2 are intended to explain the request which Jesus makes to the fishermen. The night fishing was at an end (Luk 5:5). And they had no intention of beginning another by daylight; the season was not favourable. Moreover, they had washed their nets (ἀπέπλυναν is the true reading; the imperf. in B. D. is a correction), and their boats were drawn up upon the strand (ἑστῶτα). If the fishermen had been ready to fish, Jesus would not have asked them to render a service which would have interfered with their work. It is true that Matthew and Mark represent them as actually engaged in casting their nets. But these two evangelists omit the miraculous draught altogether, and take us to the final moment when Jesus says to them: “I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus makes a pulpit of the boat which His friends had just left, whence He casts the net of the word over the crowd which covers the shore. Then, desiring to attach henceforth these young believers to Himself with a view to His future work, He determines to give them an emblem they will never forget of the magnificent success that will attend the ministry for the love of which He invites them to forsake all; and in order that it may be more deeply graven on their hearts, He takes this emblem from their daily calling.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Did as it were lie upon him, so desirous they were to see him, and hear him, and therefore he taught them out of a ship.

Christ advertiseth the four disciples, which he had taken unto him, of the office of the Apostleship, which should hereafter be committed unto them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

CHAPTER V.

The miraculous draught of fishes at the lake of Gennesaret,

1-11.

Christ heals a leper, 12-14.

His fame being published abroad, he withdraws to the desert,

15, 16.

He heals a paralytic person, at which the scribes and Pharisees

murmur, but the people glorify God, 17-26.

He calls the publican Levi, who makes a feast for Christ, to

which he invites a great number of publicans and others, at

which the scribes and Pharisees murmur, and our Lord vindicates

his conduct, 27-32.

The question about fasting answered, 33-35.

The parable of the new piece of cloth put on the old garment,

and the new wine in old bottles, 36-39.

NOTES ON CHAP. V.

Verse 1. The people pressed upon him] There was a glorious prospect of a plentiful harvest, but how few of these blades came to full corn in the ear! To hear with diligence and affection is well; but a preacher of the Gospel may expect that, out of crowds of hearers, only a few, comparatively, will fully receive the truth, and hold out to the end.

To hear the word of God] Του λογον του Θεου, The doctrine of God, or, the heavenly doctrine.

The lake of Gennesaret] Called also the sea of Galilee, Mt 4:18, and Mr 1:16; and the sea of Tiberias, Joh 6:1. It was, according to Josephus, forty furlongs in breadth, and one hundred and forty in length. No synagogue could have contained the multitudes who attended our Lord's ministry; and therefore he was obliged to preach in the open air. But this also some of the most eminent rabbins were in the habit of doing; though among some of their brethren it was not deemed reputable.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

V.

(1-11) And it came to pass . . .—See Notes on Mat_4:18-22. The narrative here has so many points in common with that in St. Matthew and St. Mark (Mar_1:16-20) that it has been supposed by most commentators to be a different report of the same facts. It is supposed to be all but incredible that the call to the four disciples, the promise that they should be “fishers of men,” their leaving all and following their Master, could have been repeated after comparatively so short an interval. On the other hand, St. Luke places it after the healing of Simon’s wife’s mother; St. Mark and St. Matthew place what they relate before, and the miraculous draught of fishes and Peter’s confession are singularly distinctive features. Their narrative, again, is unconnected with our Lord’s preaching to the people, with which this opens. On the whole we cannot go farther than saying that there is a slight presumption against the hypothesis of identity. On the assumption of difference we may infer that while our Lord went by Himself to preach the gospel of the kingdom to “the other cities,” the disciples returned, as they did after the Resurrection, to their old manner of life, and were now called again to their higher work.

The lake of Gennesaret.—St. Luke is the only Evangelist who thus describes the Sea of Galilee. On the land of Gennesaret, see Note on Mat_14:34.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

Ver. 1. As the people pressed upon him] This was both an argument of the truth of his humanity (that he was thronged and thrust together by the unmannerly multitude) and a part of his passion.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The people pressed upon his - Multitudes came to hear. There were times in the life of our Saviour when thousands were anxious to hear him, and when many, as we have no reason to doubt, became his true followers. Indeed, it is not possible to tell what “might” have been his success, had not the Pharisees and scribes, and those who were in office, opposed him, and taken measures to draw the people away from his ministry; “for the common people heard him gladly,” Mar 12:37.

The Lake of Gennesaret - Called also the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Tiberias. “Gennesaret was the more ancient name of the lake, taken from a small territory or plain of that name on its western borders. See Num 34:11; Jos 19:35, where, after the Hebrew orthography, it is called Chinnereth” (Owen). The plain lying between Capernaum and Tiberias is said by Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 536) to be a little longer than thirty, and not quite twenty furlongs in breadth. It is described by Josephus as being, in his time, universally fertile. “Its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty. Its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all sorts of trees there; for the temperature of the air is so well mixed that it agrees very well with those several sorts; particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty. One may call this the ambition of nature, where it forces those plants which are naturally enemies to one another to agree together. It is a happy conjunction of the seasons, as if every one laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruits beyond people’s expectations, but preserves them a great while. It supplies people with the principal fruits; with grapes and figs continually during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits, as they become ripe, through the whole year; for, besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain.”

Dr. Thomson describes it now as “preeminently fruitful in thorns.” This was the region of the early toils of our Redeemer. Here he performed some of his first and most amazing miracles; here he selected his disciples; and here, on the shores of this little and retired lake, among people of poverty and inured to the privations of fishermen, he laid the foundation of a religion which is yet to spread through all the world, and which has already blessed millions of guilty and miserable people, and translated them to heaven.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

What St. Luke here gives till ver. 10, is mentioned purposely to shew on what occasion, and by what miracle, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, were called. (Maldonatus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It is by many interpreters thought that Luke in this history, to Luk 5:11, doth but give us a larger account of what Matthew, Mat 4:18, and Mark, Mar 1:16, told us shortly. The sea of Galilee (as they call it) and the lake of Gennesaret were both the same, receiving the different denomination from the opposite coasts between which it was. παρὰ τὴν λίμνην had been better translated upon, or at, than by the lake, for without doubt the two ships here mentioned were upon the water, though possibly fastened as usually to the shore.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Miraculous Draught of Fishes. The Palsied Man

1-11. First miraculous draught of fishes (peculiar to Lk). Many critics identify this incident with that recorded in Mat_4:18 and Mar_1:16. But there are important considerations on the other side: (1) the persons are different (there four disciples, here Peter is addressed); (2) the words used, though similar in sense, are very different in form; (3) the disciples are not said to have 'left all' in Mt, but only to have left their father in the ship. Moreover, in Mt and Mk the disciples are fishing, here they are washing their nets before putting them away. Besides, if Mt and Mk really describe the same event, why do they omit the most striking incident of all, the miraculous draught of fishes? See on Mat_4:18.

The incident was probably a miracle, but it is possible to give a plausible natural explanation of it. Tristram says: 'The thickness of the shoals of fish in the Lake of Gennesareth is almost incredible to any one who has not witnessed them. They often cover an area of more than an acre; and when the fish move slowly forward in a mass, and are rising out of the water, they are packed so close together, that it appears as if a heavy rain was beating down on the surface of the water.' Fish so closely packed as this could not easily escape.

5. Master] implying that he was already a disciple. This particular word is peculiar to St. Luke.

8. Depart from me] 'Peter perceived that His command was effectual beyond expectation, and that He was a divine and supernatural man, and, therefore, feeling himself unworthy, begged Him to depart' (Euthymius). It is natural for the sinful soul to shrink from the presence of the all-holy God. The nearness of God had been brought home to St. Peter by the miracle which he had just witnessed: cp. Exo_20:18, Exo_20:19.

10. Catch men] lit. 'catch them alive.' The apostles are to catch men for life, not for death, by means of their preaching. In the works of Clement of Alexandria, 200 a.d., there is a beautiful hymn to Christ as the fisher:

'Fisher of mortal men, Even of those that are being saved.

Ever the holy fish From the wild ocean Of the world's sea of sin By thy sweet life thou enticest away.'

12-16. The leper cleansed (Mat_8:1; Mar_1:40). See on Mt.

16. And prayed] Peculiar to Lk, who more often than any other evangelist mentions our Lord's prayers.

17-26. The Paralytic (Mat_9:1; Mar_2:1). See on Mt.

27-39. Call of Levi, and the controversy as to fasting (Mat_9:9; Mar_2:13). See on Mt.

39. (Peculiar to Lk.) Christ means that He cannot expect the disciples of John and of the Pharisees, who have tasted the old wine of the Law, and found it good, to receive at once and without difficulty the new teaching.

The old is better] So AV and RM; but RV 'the old is good.'

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When St. Luke compiled his Gospel, many of the circumstances connected with the early relations of the leaders of Christianity with their Founder were so well known, and had been so often repeated, that it seemed unnecessary to rehearse them afresh; hence to us the seeming abruptness of the introduction of Simon (Peter), James, and John in the scene now about to be related. In the preceding, the healing of Simon"s wife"s mother of a great fever is related without any explanation, as though Simon Peter"s connection with the Lord was a fact too well known to require any comment or explanation.

The association of Jesus and these chosen men seems to have commenced as follows: Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew (sons of Jona), John and James (the sons of Zebedee and Salome), belonged to fisher families dwelling on the banks of the Lake of Gennesaret. They seemed to have been fast friends, at times even partners in their occupation. Sharers with many others of the youth of Israel of their time, in a passionate hope that the hour of the long-promised deliverance from the yoke of their foreign oppressors was at hand, the four became disciples of the Baptist, and by him they were referred to Jesus, who in mysterious but exalted terms was pointed out by the great desert preacher, John, as "the Lamb of God," the Glorious, the Expected One. (Joh_1:35-43) They joined the Master at the bidding of John, and for a time were associated with him. Still at first they were only with him apparently at times, leaving him and returning to their homes and occupations, waiting for some definite and imperative summons to join his cause permanently. The summons in question is related in this chapter. The time was now come when the Lord deemed it fitting that he should surround himself with a company of disciples or pupils who should be constant witnesses of his works, hearers of his words, and thus be trained up for the great task of continuing his mission when he should have returned to his home in heaven.

We read these Gospels as the story of the Master"s life often without thinking how much of that life is never told. After all, we only possess a few representative incidents the events which the twelve and their first friends had selected as the themes of their sermons and discourses in Jerusalem, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, and the great centres of early Christian activity. Here, after the story of one sabbath day"s blessed toil in Capernaum, follows a sentence which passes over, in a word or two, many days of quiet teaching in populous towns and villages of the once rich Galilee, and then the evangelist gives us with some detail the account of a morning by the lake, where he preached from a boat to the crowds on the shore, and then went out a-fishing, and, after the fishing, bade the fishermen leave all and come with him, and he would give them a new work.

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God. His fame as a great Teacher was evidently now firmly established. If it were known that he intended speaking in public, a crowd of listeners would gather quickly round him, whether in the synagogues, or by the lake-shore, or in the market-place. He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret. On this occasion, as he taught by the quiet lake waters, the throng was so great that he borrowed the fishing-boat of one of his friends, and, just pushing out from the shore, spoke to the multitude from the little craft as it rocked on the wavelets of the lake. Dean Stanley calls it "the most sacred sheet of water which the earth contains." The rabbinical derivation is interesting: Gannesarim, garden of princes;" but it is more probable that Gennesaret is but a reproduction of the old Hebrew name Chinneroth, (Jos_12:3) so called from its harplike shape. It is a beautiful sheet of water, twelve or thirteen miles long and nearly seven broad at one portion of the lake. The Jordan flows through it. In our Lord"s time it was surrounded by the richest and most populous district of the Holy Land; large and flourishing towns were built along its shores. Capernaum, as has been said, was the junction of the great roads leading from Syria and the far East to the Mediterranean on the west, and Jerusalem and Egypt on the south. The lake was famous for its fish, and was crowded with all descriptions of craft. The whole scene is now changed. Scarcely a rude boat is ever seen on the blue silent waters. Desolate ruins fringe the deserted shores, with here and there a crumbling mud village, inhabited by the poorest and least enterprising of peasants, so sadly changed is this beautiful and wealthy district, which the rabbis used to love to speak of as the one among the seven seas of Canaan which God had reserved for himself.

Vers. 1-11. The call to be fishers of men.

Each of the missionary circuits of Christ has its special features of interest. The first of these circuits is distinguished by three miracles significant of his work as the Christ of God. Look at the miracle of the draught of fishes, with the narrative to which it is related, as a record illustrative first of personal conversion, and secondly of the ministry of the New Testament.

I AN ILLUSTRATION OF PERSONAL CONVERSION.

1. There is already a faith. The four men whom the Lord calls had heard his voice on the banks of Jordan, (Joh_1:35-43) and had followed him. They had journeyed with him in Judaea, and even, it would seem, had baptized in his Name. But, after the return of Jesus to Galilee from the Passover-keeping noticed in John 5., they had gone back to their homes and their usual callings. They believed in him, but they did not realize the constraint of a supreme influence. They did not hold themselves as solemnly engaged to him. It was this engagement to be his, going where he went, and dwelling where he dwelt, which was the work of the day by the Lake of Gennesaret. Now, see in this a reminder that there may be a belief sincere and true so far as it goes, which prepares for, but which is not, the faith unto salvation. It establishes a certain intellectual relation to Christ, but nothing more. The effectual call is still wanting the call, i.e. , to an entire self-surrender, leaving all and following him.

2. There is a sovereignty of grace in this call. Of this sovereignty there is much to remind us in the passage under review. The great crowd is before the Teacher as he stands by the lake. Of the many boats drawn up on the beach, he selects two; of the two he chooses Simon"s. Another evangelist reminds us that out of the multitude he saw two brethren, and again he saw other two brethren. He saw and he spoke; there is the look and there is the word. "The Lord looked on Gideon, and said, Go in this thy might." All that is done is done so easily. Almost a chance, it might be said. There is he, and there are they; he at his work, and they at theirs. It was no chance. It was Christ"s opportunity; it was their opportunity. "Follow me!" is the command of his royalty. Such was he then, such is he still. In the crowd he individualizes. The soul found by him asks," Whence knowest thou me?" He knows his sheep, and is known of them. He calleth his own sheep by name.

3. There is an instant response. Christ"s call is "Now;" "To-day if ye will hear his voice." The answer is "Now;" "Today;" "Lord, here am I; send me an unreserved, uncalculating surrender, body, soul, and spirit, to Jesus. The net is left, and, mark, the net that has just been or is just being cast into the sea the net on which so much had been spent, Net and father.too. He will not come with them. "Farewell, then; not less do we love you; but he is nearer than father and mother, and his word is, "Follow me! This is conversion the turning of the face of the life to the eternal Lord; the acceptance of God"s Beloved, in the consciousness of acceptance in the Beloved; the election, as the mark towards which to press, of the calling of God in Christ Jesus. "Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy power.

II But, secondly, see in the miracle which follows A PICTURE OF THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

1. A c onviction which gives intensity to it. Simon Peter, in the light of Jesus" presence and power, falls down at his knees, crying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" The cry in its matter was foolish, but the spirit which prompted it was true. For the first time he had realized his own unworthiness. Had he not all but given Jesus up? Had he not lived a poor, dull, earthly life? Who was he, that the Lord of glory should have sat in his boat, that he should have been in any way identified with him? It is not the "depart" of a will that refuses the Lord; it is the self-loathing heart-cry, "Lord, I am vile; what canst thou see in me?" The same heart-cry as that which burst from Isaiah when he saw the Lord and heard the antiphon of the seraphim, "Woe is me!, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." It is in such prostration that the lips are touched by the seraph, and the live coal is laid on them, and the "Fear not; thine iniquity is taken away" is spoken, and the hitherto unprophetic tongue is loosed. In the service which springs out of this humility there is always the sign of the baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

2. An incident which declares the secret of ministry.

(1) Its inspiration. "Nevertheless at thy word." Is not the word sufficient? The improbabilities are all on the one side. The time for fishing has passed. All night, and nothing; what could there be in the morning? "Nevertheless at thy word." "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

(2) Its power, not in the worker and not in the net. The worker had utterly failed; a charm might have been attributed to the net the net was broken. No; the sufficiency is of God. The one human condition is an absolute self-resignation. "There is a Stay and we are strong; Our Master is at hand. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you.

(3) Its nature. The fisher caught, and lying on the shore. This is the parable. The work is to catch men. The power is with the Spirit; but he calls for the hand to cast the net. This fishing for men is a holy art, in which the fishers must be trained. When the three thousand were added at Pentecost, Simon saw again the miracle of Gennesaret, heard anew the loving voice, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

(4) The co-operation to which it summons. When Simon"s boat is full, he and Andrew beckon to James and John, their partners in the other ship, to come and help them. Is not this a hint as to the evangelical alliance which should distinguish all in the various boats that fish the sea? Why should they ply their task as rivals? Why should they envy the good estate, the success of any boat? Where Christ can be clearly seen, where the power is manifestly his, forbid that narrow jealousies hinder the recognition of the work. Verily there is need for all willing-hearted workmen, and there is enough and to spare for all the boats. If only the aim were simply to catch men, not for the boat, but through the boat for the Lord, how different would be the aspect of Churches and ministries!

3. Finally, an action which manifests the eternal loving-kindness. To obey the Master is no thankless service. Leave the net; yes; but we follow him to whom the spacious sea belongs. Could the brethren whom he called doubt that he was able to make all grace abound always in all things? Have not we the certainty that there is a love which sees us as "We watch our nets alone In drenching spray, and driving shower, And hear the night-bird"s moan"?

We toil; let us ask our hearts if they have been satisfied, How many confess, even in the midst of abundance, that the toil has been only "vanity, and a striving after wind"! Nay; but let Christ enter the life, let him be the Leader and Commander, let him indicate whether the net should be cast; then shall the emptiness be filled out of an infinite fulness.

HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-11. Fishers of men.

We left Jesus itinerating through Galilee and preaching in the synagogues. But his centre seems to have been the Lake of Gennesaret, and especially Capernaum. The synagogues have become too small for his audiences, and so he has to take to the seashore, and there meet popularity as best he can. The pressure of the people is great, and it is to hear the Word of God they have come. A great Prophet, they feel, has risen up among them, and so they are eager to know what are the latest tidings from the Most High. There are two ships floating near; they are empty, for the fishermen have returned after a fruitless night, and are washing their nets on shore. Into one of the ships he enters, which happens to be Simon"s, and he sits down to teach the mighty multitude which rises tier upon tier above him on the land. We have thus presented to us

I THE GREAT FISHER OF MEN. (Vers. 1-3) For out of this boat he is really casting his net to catch men. His word spoken is to draw souls into sympathy and service. The art of preaching as thus exercised by Jesus Christ was the fishing for men. The miracle of subsequent success was to throw light really upon this primary attitude of Jesus. Now, let us consider here:

1. The substance of Christs preaching. It was doubtless about the kingdom of God, about membership in it, and about its prospects in the world. But we must remember besides that he could not, in the very nature of the case, preach the cross. Hence his preaching was the purest morality backed up by a perfect life. So that once, at all events, the preaching of morality got a chance of being most favourably tested. The success thereof we shall mention presently. But Jesus could preach himself as the Saviour of sinners. And this, indeed, is the sum and substance of all preaching. The people, however, did not understand the full meaning of his message at the time.

2. The success of Christs preaching. There was interest and excitement. But the result of that day"s preaching seems to have been very like the night"s fishing on the part of the disciples. Ah! this is what illustrates the wonderful consideration of the Saviour. Some one must prepare the way, some one must do the pioneer work. The Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, and Jesus prepared the way for the disciples. It is at Pentecost, after the Crucifixion, when the full gospel can be proclaimed, that the real success begins. The miracle of the fishes subsequent to the preaching of the Master was the type of the order which the good Lord has ordained. The "greater works" done by believing disciples are the spiritual miracles which began in such numbers at Pentecost, and which have been happening ever since. (Joh_14:12)

II THE MIRACLE OF SUCCESS. (Vers. 4-7) Our Lord, having been accommodated in Simon"s boat, proceeds to show his gratitude for the obligation. He tells the fishermen to "launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." Simon honestly owns that they have toiled all the night, and taken nothing; still, though appearances are against it, he will at Christ"s word let down the net. No sooner has he done so than success comes so overpowering in character that the net breaks. The result is that they have to beckon for the second boat, and both boats are filled, so that they begin to sink. Here, then, is success "exceeding abundantly above all they can ask or think". (Eph_3:20) This is to show them that success waits upon the word of Jesus. It is, of course, mere temporal success success which in a few moments they are enabled to despise; yet it is success obeying Christ"s word. We need not inquire into the nature of the miracle. It was most likely a miracle of knowledge. There are great shoals of fish manifesting themselves in inland lakes just in the way demanded by the narrative. But Jesus, in giving the direction at the proper moment and securing the draught at the time that the fish were within reach, showed his command of all the circumstances. So that, as Robertson thought, this miracle, more perhaps than all others, shows the personality of God in Christ Jesus. The laws of nature hold on their way, but the Author of them can calculate to a nicety their working, and accommodate himself or his people through their operation. He is King among his own arrangements, at home among his own laws. The "hierarchy of laws," as they have been called, acknowledge him as High Priest. But we should further notice how he arranges for the disciples" success rather than for his own. As already intimated, his spiritual success was not great, considering the splendid powers he exercised. As Bersier somewhere remarks, no one ever had so little proportional success as he. No wonder that such a passage as Isa_49:4, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain," may have been often on his lips. But he handed on the elements of success to his successors. They reaped the harvest of which his apparent failure and early death were the seed. The whole arrangement reflects glory on the consideration of the Master.

III THE EFFECT OF THE SUCCESS UPON THE FISHERMEN. (Vers. 8-10) They were all filled with astonishment. This is the prime effect of a miracle. It astonishes people. It brings them suddenly face to face with superhuman power. They stare. But after the astonishment comes, and it may be very swiftly, sober thought. It was so here. Peter is broken down at the sight. Goodness has led him to repentance. His sin is now uppermost, and he cries, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Did Peter wish to be separated from the Master? Nay; but he felt he deserved to be. And here we may notice how prayer is answered. Peter cries to be separated from his Saviour; but in heart he hopes to remain beside Jesus still. Hence Jesus answers the heart, and heeds not the literal meaning of his prayer. The Lord does not depart from him, but abides with him; nay, more, arranges for Peter being always with him. Goodness is meant to break sinners" hearts. (Rom_2:4) Success of all kinds should have this effect. It is sad when "Jeshurun waxes fat and kicks". (Deu_32:15) It is blessed when, like Peter, in presence of unexpected good fortune, we humble ourselves before him who has sent it, acknowledging that we do not in any wise deserve it. ()

IV THE CALL OF THE FISHERMEN TO THE MINISTRY. (Ver. 10) Peter was not the only penitent on board the sinking ships, we may be sure. He was first and chief; but the sons of Zebedee and Andrew were, we may be quite sure, penitent too. Fear predominates; their notion is that they might justly be cast from Christ"s presence for ever. This is just the spirit in which special work for God begins. And now let us see how Jesus deals with them. He says to Peter first, but the result shows that the others were included in his call, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." They are to be promoted from being fishermen to be "fishers of men." It is a call, not to the apostolic office which comes later, but to the ministry.

1. It is a call away from a worldly occupation. For the ministry is an order of men set apart from temporal concerns for spiritual work. Worldly occupations are incompatible with it. A minister cannot do his work well if compelled to dabble in business.

2. It is a call to catch men. Now, the fisherman uses every art and artifice to get the fish into his net. He toils during the night, that the fish may not see the net nor evade his wiles. In the same way the minister is to use every art, and even guile itself, as Paul confesses, to get souls into Christ"s net. We may object to the methods some people employ to promote the gospel. They may be worldly arts advertising, music, paraphernalia of all kinds. But, before condemning enthusiastic men, we should ask ourselves the question Have we left "no stone unturned" to bring men, even by moral compulsion, under the power of Christ and his truth? (cf. Luk_14:23) But:

3. The instruction is to catch men alive zwgrwn . It is here the fishing fails us as a figure. Fish are caught and, as a rule, in the catching are killed. They lose their lives in the process. But when souls are taken in the gospel net, they are taken alive are taken to enjoy life abundantly. In truth, the greatest kindness we can confer on souls is to get them into the net. We never live in earnest till we have been brought to him who is the Life of men. Such, in brief terms, is the meaning of the ministry.

V THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE MINISTERIAL CALL. (Ver. 11) We would say, at first sight, that the success was singularly out of place. Why grant a shoal of fish, if the fishermen are to leave them without a moment"s hesitation or delay? The purpose was to assure them that temporal success was Christ"s gift; and secondly, that spiritual success must be preferred to the temporal, even when the latter is at its height. It was a greater surrender when they had been so successful at their fishing. But the noble men did not hesitate. They brought their ships to land, and then forsook all their "stock in trade" that they might follow Jesus. The fellowship with Jesus during his ministry was more precious than the world"s wealth could ever be. He was the great "Fisher of men," and it was from fellowship with him they were to learn their profession. The training of the twelve was a most real and blessed thing. It was more than any theological learning could ever afford. It was learning of Christ himself, who is the embodied Truth. And yet to this same test every soul is sooner or later brought. At death, if not before, we are all asked if we can forsake all to follow Christ into undiscovered lands. May we all stand that test! R.M.E.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. iv, 18; Mark i, 16.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Here observe, 1. That our Saviour used the sea as well as the land in his passage from place to place to preach the gospel; and the reasons why he did so might probably be these:

1. To show Nature’s intent in making of the sea: namely, to be sailed upon, as the land to be walked upon.

2. That Christ might take occasion to manifest his Deity, in working miracles upon the sea: namely, by calming of the waves and stilling of the winds.

3. It might be to comfort sea-faring men in their distresses, and to encourage them to pray to such a Saviour as had an experiemental knowledge of the dangers of the sea: it were well if sailors would consider this, and instead of inuring themselves to the language of hell when they go down into the deep, would direct their prayer unto Christ, and look up to him; who now in heaven has the remembrance of what he himself endured and underwent here on earth, and on the sea.

Observe, 2. The circumstance of time, when Christ used to put forth to sea: it was usually after he had wrought some extraordinary miracle, which set them on admiring and commending of him; as after he had fed so many thousands, with a few barley loaves and fishes, presently he put forth to sea, shunning thereby all popularity and vain-glorious applause from the multitude which he was never ambitious of, but industriously avoided.

Observe, 3. That after our Saviour’s resurrection, we never find him sailing any more upon the seas. For such a fluctuating and turbulent condition, which necessarily attends sea voyages, was utterly inconsistent with the constancy, stability, and perpetuity, of Christ’s estate when risen from the grave. The firm land better agreeing with his fixed state, he keeps upon it, till his ascension into heaven.

Observe, 4. That Christ scruples not to preach to the people in, and out of the ship: He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Sometimes we find our holy Lord preaching upon a mountain, sometimes in a ship, sometimes in a house, as often as may be in a synagogue. He that laid hold of all seasons for preaching the gospel, never scrupled any place which conveniency offered to preach in; well knowing that it is the ordinance that sanctifies the place, and not the place the ordinance.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [XXX. Jesus Calls Four Fishermen].

XXX. JESUS CALLS FOUR FISHERMEN TO FOLLOW HIM. (Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum.) aMATT. IV. 18-22; bMARK I. 16-20; cLUKE V. 1-11.

a18 And walking b16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus] saw atwo brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, bthe brother of Simon casting a net in ainto the sea [The New Testament speaks of three kinds of nets, viz.: the amphiblestron, which is only mentioned here; the sagene, mentioned only at Mat_13:47; and the dictua, which is mentioned in all other places. The dictua was a casting-net; the sagene, a seine or dragnet; and the amphiblestron was a drawnet, a circular bell-shaped affair, which was thrown upon the water, so that it spread out and [161] caught, by sinking, whatever was below it]; for they were fishers. [Though Simon and Andrew had been companions of Jesus on at least one journey, they did not as yet understand that his service would require all their time. The facts that Jesus now temporarily resided at Capernaum afforded them an opportunity to return to their old occupation, which they readily embraced. Fishing was then a prosperous trade on the lake of Galilee.] b17 And Jesus said ahe saith bunto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. [It was an invitation to follow, that they might be instructed by hearing his teaching and beholding his work. Jesus called them from a lower to a similar but higher labor. He calls all honest tradesmen in this manner. He invites carpenters to build his temple, servants to serve the great King, physicians to heal immortal souls, merchants to invest in pearls of great price, etc. The fisherman found many points of resemblance between the old and new calling, such as, 1, daily hardships and dangers; 2, earnest desires for the objects sought; 3, skill and wisdom in the use of means, etc. Disciples are fishers, human souls are fish, the world is the sea, the gospel is the net, and eternal life is the shore whither the catch is drawn.] a21 And going on from thence ba little further, ahe saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, bwho also were in the boat awith Zebedee their father, mending their bthe nets. [They also, like Peter and Andrew, were at work when Jesus found them. God calls the busy to his business. For instances where God had called the busy, see cases of Moses ( Exo_3:1, Exo_3:2), Gideon ( Jdg_6:11), Saul ( 1Sa_10:1-3), David ( 1Sa_16:11-15), Elisha ( 1Ki_19:19-21), Matthew ( Mat_9:9), Saul ( Act_9:1-6). Moreover most of these were called from lowly work, for such is God's method ( 1Co_1:26-29). We should note two reasons why God chose the lowly and unlearned: 1, their minds being free from prejudice were more ready to entertain new truth; 2, the strength of the gospel was made more apparent by the [162] weakness of its ministers ( 1Co_2:3-5, 2Co_4:7, Zec_4:6). Of these two brothers, James was the first apostolic martyr and John the last survivor of the twelve. James was beheaded about A. D. 44 ( Act_12:1, Act_12:2); and John, after upwards of seventy years of Christian service, died at Ephesus about A. D. 100.] 20 And straightway he called them [From Matthew and Mark we would suppose that Jesus was alone when he called the two sets of brothers, and that with them he immediately left the lake. But we learn from Luke that he taught and worked a miracle before leaving the lake]: c1 Now it came to pass, while the multitude pressed upon him and heard the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret [This body of water bore many names. It was anciently called Chinnereth ( Num_34:11), or Chinneroth ( Jdg_12:3), from a fortified town ( Jos_19:35) and district ( 1Ki_15:20) in Naphtali bearing that name. It is here called Gennesaret, from a plain of that name upon its northwestern shore (which may be a corruption of the old name Chinnereth.) It received its name, Galilee, from the district to which it belongs, and in later times it bore the name Tiberias ( Joh_6:1), from the city of that name on its western shore]; 2 and he saw two boats standing by the lake: but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets. [We may conceive of the fishermen, in answer to Jesus' call, drawing their boats together to the point where he stood upon the shore. Then, as Jesus stood teaching, they occupied themselves in the shallow water behind by washing their nets while they listened to him.] 3 And he entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. [He did this that he might avoid the press, and that the people might be better able both to see and to hear.] And he sat down [the usual attitude or posture of a teacher] and taught the multitudes out of the boat. 4 And when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a [163] draught. ["Put out" is in the singular, being addressed to Simon alone; "let down" is plural, being addressed generally to those in the boat.] 5 And Simon answered and said, Master, we have toiled all the night, and took nothing: but at thy word I will let down the nets. ["Master" is a broader word than "Rabbi"; it indicates a superior, but does not confine his superiority to matters of instruction. The words of Peter show a willingness to oblige or honor Jesus, but are devoid of hope as to the thing proposed. Night was the time for fishing ( Joh_21:3); and the proper place to cast the net was near the shore; but if Jesus wished to fish by daylight in the middle of the lake, Simon was not too weary to humor the wish.] 6 And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking [that is, the nets began to snap when they tried to lift them out of the water]; 7 and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. [This indicates that they were well out into the lake, where it was easier to beckon than to shout explanations. Some think the marvel wrought by Jesus made them speechless, but they were so engrossed in the magnitude and value of the catch that the full glory of the miracle had not yet come upon them.] And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. [They probably ran a second net under the one which enclosed the fishes, and by thus doubling the strength of the net were able to draw the fish up between the boats. A great load thus suddenly dumped in the side of a boat will cause it to list, dip water and threaten to sink. Such appears to have been the case here until the loads were so distributed as to right the ships.] 8 But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken [This miracle came home to the soul of Peter because it was wrought in his own boat, with his own nets, and concerned his own business. [164] Religion is only powerful as it becomes personal. Peter's request shows how deeply the miracle impressed him. It gave him that sense of the divine presence which never fails to overwhelm the hearts of men. No man can behold God in his glory and live ( Exo_33:20-23, Exo_20:18, Exo_20:19); and though there have been exceptions where men have seen God or his representatives and lived ( Exo_24:9-11, Jdg_6:21-23, Jdg_13:22, Jdg_13:23, Isa_6:1-5, Dan_10:16-19, Gen_32:30); yet no man, not even the purest, has ever stood in the presence of God or his ministers without feeling such a sense of weakness and sinfulness as to almost extinguish life-- Rev_1:17, Job_42:5, Job_42:6]; 10 and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. [Jesus here shows the purpose for which this miracle had been wrought. It was a prophetic type or picture which foreshadowed the triumphs of the day of Pentecost and other seasons when the apostles had great ingatherings of souls through the preaching of the gospel.] 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they astraightway cleft all [that is to say, Peter and Andrew], bleft the nets [but James and John], aleft the boat and their father, bZebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. cfollowed him [The four partners, boats, different kinds of nets, hired servants, etc., and the fact that Salome, the wife of Zebedee, was one of those who ministered to Christ out of her substance ( Mat_27:55, Mat_27:56, Luk_8:3), all indicate a business of respectable proportions: a fact which suggests that the church of Christ would catch more souls if all its parts were in partnership. Evidently when the four men left the boats and nets Zebedee took charge of them. While the four rightly recognized that the divine call was superior to their earthly obligations, there is nothing which leads us to imply that their sudden departure discomfited Zebedee. The call of Christ here marks a change in their relationship to him. Hitherto discipleship had not materially interfered with [165] business, but this present call separated them from their occupation, and prepared them for the call to be apostles which came later, and which required them to be his constant companions-- Mar_3:14.]

[FFG 161-166]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

1. The people pressed … to hear the word of God. When the people are not prejudiced by false teachers they are usually eager to hear the Word. Lake of Gennesaret. Another name for the Sea of Galilee.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus preaches from Simon Peter's boat at the lake of Gennesaret.

Now it happened

This phrase is used here to mark the beginning of a new part of the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here. (See: Introduction of a New Event)

listening to the word of God

Possible meanings are 1) "listening to the message God wanted them to hear" or 2) "listening to Jesus' message about God"

the lake of Gennesaret

These words refer to the Sea of Galilee. Galilee was on the west side of the lake, and the land of Gennesaret was on the east side, so it was called by both names. Some English versions translate this as the proper name of the body of water, "the Lake of Gennesaret."

washing their nets

They were cleaning their fishing nets in order to use them again to catch fish.

one of the boats, which was Simon's

"the boat belonging to Simon"

asked him to put it out in the water a short distance from the land

"asked Simon to move the boat farther from the shore"

he sat down and taught the people

Sitting was the normal position for a teacher.

taught the people out of the boat

"taught the people while he sat in the boat." Jesus was in the boat a short distance from the shore and he was speaking to the people who were on the shore.

translationWords

Jesus

word of God

Sea of Galilee

fishermen

Peter

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Pressed [επικεισθαι] . Lit., were laid upon.

To hear. The A. V. is correct according to the reading tou ajkouein, which it follows. The true reading is kai ajkouein, and heard. So Rev.

He stood [αυτος ην εστως] . The pronoun distinguishes him from the crowd which pressed upon him : he on his part stood. Render the participle and finite verb as Rev., was standing.

Lake [λιμνην] . An illustration of the more classical style of Luke as compared with Matthew and Mark. They and John also use qalassa, sea. See on Mt 4:18.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.