Harmony of the gospels
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. In verse 16 we see Jesus passing along by the Sea of Galilee. He catches this glimpse of Christ in action. The casting of the net literally means casting on both sides, now on one side, now on the other. In verse 17 we see the Lord saying that they would become fishers of men. The conversion from fishermen to fishers of men would be a slow and long process, but Jesus could and would do it. He would undertake to make fishers of men out of fishermen. 19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Mark adds a little detail here that Jesus went a little further. John and James were mending their nets. There were hired servants as well so it appears that they ran a profitable fishing business. James and John left the boat and their father with the hired servants. The business would go on while they left all and became permanent followers of Jesus. LUKE 5:1-11 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, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 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. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And 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. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. KEY WORDS
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 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, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. Here we see the keenness of the folk coming to hear the great teacher at the lake of Gennesaret. It is noted that Luke correctly calls it a lake rather than a sea which is the word used by Matthew and Mark. Luke in his gospel and the book of Acts uses five verbs for washing: this one “apopluno” for cleaning the nets, apomasso for wiping the dust from one’s feet in Luke 10:11, ekmasso of the sinful woman wiping Christ’s feet with her hair Luke 7:38, 44, apolouo of washing away sins as in Acts 22:16 and louo of washing the body of Dorcas Acts 9:37 and the wounds of the prisoners Acts 16:33 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. In this verse the Greek shows that after he embarked he asked that the boat which had been there for a long time be moved offshore. He then sat down and kept on teaching the crowd from Peter’s boat. As Plummer remarks “Christ uses Peter’s boat as a pulpit whence to throw the net of the Gospel over His hearers” 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. After He had finished His address He spoke to Peter who was captain of the boat that He had been using and commanded him [second person singular] to launch out into the deep or go further offshore. However when Jesus Christ orders the nets to be let down it is in the second person plural and is therefore talking to the whole crew. Peter was startled at this command as they had worked all night and had not caught a thing. He addressed Jesus as master. Only Luke uses this in relation to Christ [Luke 8:24, 45, 9:33, 49, 17:13]. It was used in the ancient world for an overseer and indicates that Peter acknowledged Jesus Christ’s authority. By using this word Peter is implying that he recognises the authority of the Lord but in this particular case is very sceptical as to His order as Peter considers as a professional fisherman he would have more knowledge than the Lord. Peter says that they had grown weary in toil. It used to be said that the notion of weariness in toil appears only in the Septuagint and New Testament but archaeological finds now give examples from inscriptions on tombstones quite in harmony with the use in the New Testament. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. The phrase “their net brake” in the Greek actually means that the net was about to break or filled with fish to breaking point. If their nets had actually “broken,” as our English word seems to suppose, the fish would have obviously escaped. Reading on in the next couple of verses clearly shows that this did not happen. 7 And 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. These four disciples were fishermen and were partners. As they had gone out into the deep they beckoned their partners, they gave signs perhaps because they could not be easily heard. Dr. Thomson in his publication “The Land and the Book,” describes such events as happened above in the following way “Again, there is the bag-net and basket-net, of various kinds, which are so constructed and worked as to enclose the fish out in deep water. I have seen them of almost every conceivable size and pattern. It was with some one of this sort, I suppose, that Simon had toiled all night without catching anything, but which, when let down at the command of Jesus, enclosed so great a multitude that the net broke, and they filled two ships with the fish until they began to sink”. “Peter here speaks of toiling all night; and there are certain kinds of fishing always carried on at night. It is a beautiful sight. With blazing torch the boat glides over the flashing sea, and the men stand gazing keenly into it until their prey is sighted, when, quick as lightning, they fling their net or fly their spear. Often you see the tired fishermen come sullenly into harbour in the morning, having toiled all night in vain. Indeed, every kind of fishing is uncertain. A dozen times the angler jerks out a naked hook; the hand-net closes down on nothing; the drag-net brings in only weeds; the bag comes up empty. And then again, every throw is successful - every net is full; and frequently without any other apparent reason than that of throwing it on the right side of the ship instead of the left, as it happened to the disciples here at Tiberias.” 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. When Peter saw what had happened he fell down in front of Jesus in amazement, wonder and gratitude recognising without doubt the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ in all things m Peter felt totally unworthy in the presence of the Lord whom he saw as a holy and high being sent from God. He asked Jesus to leave him and his boat not realising that the person he was talking to would never leave nor forsake him. In verse 10 Jesus promises them that they shalt catch men. The Greek word catch is “zogreo” which means to catch alive, not to kill. So then Peter is to be a catcher of men, not of fish, and to catch them alive and for life, not dead and for death. He also tells Peter not to fear. The verb phobeo is in the present middle imperative, the middle voice showing that Peter would benefit from not fearing The day of Pentecost will one day prove that Christ’s prophecy will come true. Much must happen before that great day. But Jesus foresees the possibilities in Simon and he joyfully undertakes the task of making a fisher of men out of this poor fisher of fish. In verse 11 they forsook all. It was not “much” that they left; a couple of small boats and their nets; but it was all they had, even all their living. By this they showed their love of Jesus, and their willingness to deny themselves. |