English · KJV

Luke 5:3

“The Miraculous Catch of Fish”Luke 5:1–11

King James Version
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.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
And G1161 he entered G1684 into G1519 one G1520 of the ships G4143, which G3739 was G2258 Simon's G4613, and prayed G2065 him G846 that he would thrust out G1877 a little G3641 from G575 the land G1093. And G2532 he sat down G2523, and taught G1321 the people G3793 out of G1537 the ship G4143.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
And he entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes out of the boat.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
And he entred into one of the ships, which was Simons, and required him that he would thrust off a litle from the land: and he sate downe, and taught the people out of the ship.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
and having entered into one of the boats, that was Simon's, he asked him to put back a little from the land, and having sat down, was teaching the multitudes out of the boat.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
25 Greek words
  1. ἐμβὰςembasHaving climbedG1684V-2AAP-NSMVerb 2nd Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
  2. δὲdethenG1161CONJConjunction
  3. εἰςeisintoG1519PREPPreposition
  4. ἓνhenoneG1520A-ASNAdjective Accusative Singular Neuter
  5. τῶνtōnof theG3588T-GPNDefinite article Genitive Plural Neuter
  6. πλοίωνploiōnboatsG4143N-GPNNoun Genitive Plural Neuter
  7. ὃhowhichG3739R-NSNRelative pronoun Nominative Singular Neuter
  8. ἦνēnwasG1510V-IAI-3SVerb Imperfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  9. τοῦtouof theG3588T-GSNDefinite article Genitive Singular Neuter
  10. ΣίμωνοςSimōnosSimon’sG4613N-GSM-PNoun Genitive Singular Masculine Individual
  11. ἠρώτησενērōtēsenHe askedG2065V-AAI-3SVerb Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  12. αὐτὸνautonhimG846P-ASMPersonal pronoun Accusative Singular Masculine
  13. ἀπὸapofromG575PREPPreposition
  14. τῆςtēstheG3588T-GSFDefinite article Genitive Singular Feminine
  15. γῆςgēslandG1093N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
  16. ἐπαναγαγεῖνepanagageinto put offG1877V-2AANVerb 2nd Aorist Active Infinitive
  17. ὀλίγονoligona littleG3641A-ASNAdjective Accusative Singular Neuter
  18. καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
  19. καθίσαςkathisasHaving sat downG2523V-AAP-NSMVerb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
  20. ἐκekfromG1537PREPPreposition
  21. τοῦtoutheG3588T-GSNDefinite article Genitive Singular Neuter
  22. πλοίουploiouboatG4143N-GSNNoun Genitive Singular Neuter
  23. ἐδίδασκενedidaskenHe was teachingG1321V-IAI-3SVerb Imperfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  24. τοὺςtoustheG3588T-APMDefinite article Accusative Plural Masculine
  25. ὄχλουςochlouscrowdsG3793N-APMNoun Accusative Plural Masculine
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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In the KJVVerse 25,111 of 31,102 · 80.7%

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This verse

Jesus steps into Simon’s boat, asks him to push out a little from the shore, and sits and teaches the crowd from the water.

“And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s,”

Jesus chooses the boat of the man he is about to call.

“and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land.”

“Prayed” means asked. A short distance was enough to give him room and let his voice carry.

“And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.”

The teacher’s posture, with a fishing boat for a pulpit. Simon sits close enough to hear every word before Jesus gives him a command.

Passage studyLuke 5:1–11

The Great Catch and the Call to Catch Men

Summary

Crowds press around Jesus on the shore of the lake of Gennesaret to hear the word of God, so he steps into Simon’s fishing boat and teaches them from the water. Then he tells Simon, who has worked all night for an empty net, to put out into deep water and let down the nets. Simon obeys “at thy word”, and the catch is so great that the net begins to tear and two boats begin to sink. Peter falls at Jesus’ knees and confesses that he is a sinful man. Jesus answers, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men,” and Simon, James and John bring their boats to land, leave everything and follow him. The passage shows the authority of Jesus’ word over the sea and over the lives of men, the grace that keeps a confessing sinner close, and the beginning of the work of gathering people into God’s kingdom.

The crowd presses to hear the word of God

Jesus’ name was spreading through Galilee. Luke has just told how he taught with authority in Capernaum, cast out demons, healed the sick and went on to preach the kingdom of God in other towns (Luke 4:31–44), and now a crowd gathers on the shore. Luke opens the scene with “it came to pass”, his usual way of beginning a new event, and says that the people “pressed upon him to hear the word of God.” The verb, epíkeimai, means to lie on or be laid upon, and here it describes a crowd pushing in close around him.

What they want is “the word of God”. The Greek lógos means something said, a message, and Luke uses it for Jesus’ teaching because what Jesus teaches is God’s own word. Later in the Gospel Jesus explains the parable of the sower with the words “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Man lives “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3), and Amos had warned of a famine of hearing the words of the LORD (Amos 8:11). On this shore that hunger is being met. Peter himself will one day say to Jesus, “thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

The place is real and named. The lake of Gennesaret, Gennēsarét, a name that comes from Hebrew, is the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. It was a large freshwater lake, busy with fishing and trade, with towns and villages along its shores. Jesus teaches here in the open air, wherever the people gather, which fits the mission he announced at Nazareth, to preach the gospel to the poor (Luke 4:18–19).

The one the crowd presses to hear is himself the Word. John begins his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1), and Hebrews says that God, who spoke in times past by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:1–2).

Two boats on the shore after an empty night

Jesus “saw two ships standing by the lake”. The verb is eídō, which properly means to see, with the eyes or with the mind, and Luke uses it again when Peter sees the catch in verse 8. The “ships” were small open fishing boats, beached or tied up at the water’s edge. Their owners, the fishermen (halieús, a word built on the Greek for salt or the sea, used of those who fish for a living), had stepped out and were washing their nets.

To wash, apoplýnō, is to rinse off. Nets of linen or hemp gathered weeds, scales and dirt during a night’s work, and cleaning them kept them from rotting and made them ready for the next trip. This was the close of the night’s work, and verse 5 tells us the night had been empty. Jesus finds these men at the most ordinary moment of their trade, tired and finishing a failed night, and that is where he calls them. God called Moses in the same way, while he was keeping a flock, when the bush burned before him (Exodus 3:1–2).

There are two boats because these fishermen worked as partners. One belonged to Simon, and verse 10 names James and John, the sons of Zebedee, as his partners. Jesus’ call will reach a group of men already joined by their work.

Jesus teaches from Simon’s boat

Jesus “entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s”. The verb embaínō means to step aboard a vessel. Luke names the owner because Simon is the man this whole story is about. Jesus “prayed him”, the KJV’s old way of saying he asked him, to “thrust out a little from the land”. He makes a request and leaves the boat in Simon’s hands. The verb for thrusting out is epanágō, to put out from shore, and it is the same verb Jesus uses in the next verse when he says “Launch out into the deep.”

Then “he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.” Sitting was the usual posture of a rabbi teaching with authority, and the verb didáskō, to teach, stands in a tense that describes continuing action: he went on teaching them. The people are the óchlos, the crowd or throng, a great mass of ordinary men and women. Matthew records another day when Jesus taught the multitude from a boat while they stood on the shore (Matthew 13:2).

Why did Jesus teach from a boat?

The boat gave him room to speak. The crowd was pressing so hard on the shore that teaching was difficult, and a short stretch of water set a space between him and them. The water also helped his voice carry to the people on the bank, so that the shore became an open-air amphitheatre. Jesus used what lay at hand, a working fishing boat, to make sure the word reached everyone who had come.

The boat also put Jesus in Simon’s company before the miracle began. Simon lent what he had, and he heard the teaching at close range. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), and Jesus says of his own words that “they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Moses had promised that the LORD would raise up a Prophet like him, whom the people must hear (Deuteronomy 18:15), and here that Prophet, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), sits in a fisherman’s boat and teaches.

Launch out into the deep

“Now when he had left speaking”, Jesus turns from the crowd to one man: “he said unto Simon”. The command has two parts. “Launch out”, epanágō, is to put out from shore into open water, and “the deep”, báthos, is the deep water of the lake, away from the shallows by the shore. “Let down your nets for a draught” names the purpose. A draught, ágra, is a catch or a haul of fish. Jesus sends Simon out for a catch, so the command already carries a promise.

To Simon it made little sense. Fishing on the lake was done chiefly at night, and these men had just worked through the night for an empty net. Now a carpenter who had become a teacher was telling seasoned fishermen to go out again by daylight, against everything their trade had taught them. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9), and his word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please” (Isaiah 55:11). Mary told the servants at Cana, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5), and the same simple rule meets Simon here.

Believers have long taken the deep water as a picture of leaving what is shallow and familiar for a place where we must rely on Jesus’ word. The picture rests on the story itself, where Simon goes out at Jesus’ command beyond what his own skill would advise. Peter will one day step out of a boat at a single word: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.” (Matthew 14:28–29).

Nevertheless at thy word

Simon’s answer is one of the best-loved sentences in the Gospels: “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

He calls Jesus “Master”, epistátēs, a word for one set over others, an overseer or commander. Luke is the only Gospel writer who uses it for Jesus. Alongside didaskalos, teacher, and kýrios, Lord, it stresses the right to give orders, and on Simon’s lips it grants Jesus that right even over fishing.

“We have toiled all the night” uses kopiáō, to grow weary, and so to labour hard. Simon is giving an honest report of a long, heavy night as an experienced fisherman knows it, and his plain account of the facts makes the turn that follows all the clearer.

The turn comes with “nevertheless”. The Greek word is dé, the ordinary connective that can mean “and”, “now” or “but”, and here it marks the contrast between what Simon knows and what he will do. He will let down the net “at thy word”. Verse 1 spoke of the lógos of God, and here the word is rhēma, that which is said, a saying, the particular thing Jesus has just told him to do. Simon has heard Jesus teach, and now he trusts the Teacher’s word above his own judgment: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

The word Simon trusts carries the power that made the world. God spoke and there was light (Genesis 1:3), and Jesus’ word would later call Lazarus out of the grave (John 11:43–44). The empty night pictures every human attempt to win life with God by our own labour, for “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). Fruit comes at the word of the one Peter would later preach as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).

A catch that broke the net and sank the boats

“And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” The fishermen do as Jesus said, and at once the net is full. To inclose, synkleíō, is to shut together, to trap the fish inside the net. The “multitude” is plēthos, a great number or crowd. The verb for “brake” is diarrhḗssō, to tear apart, and Luke puts it in a tense that pictures an action under way: the net was tearing, beginning to give way under the weight of fish still crowding in. Men who had worked all night for an empty net now hold a greater mass of fish than their gear can bear.

So “they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship”. To beckon, kataneúō, is to nod or make signs, a signal made across the water by gesture. The partners here are métochos, sharers or associates, men used to working with them. They came, “and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.” The verb bythízō means to sink, or to go under. Small open boats could be swamped by a heavy load, and these two were filled to the point of going down.

This abundance comes from Jesus’ word alone. God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), and like the psalmist’s cup the boats run over (Psalm 23:5). The gift also needed more than one crew. “Two are better than one”, for if one falls the other will lift him up (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10), and the body of Christ grows as every part does its share (Ephesians 4:16). The Lord by whom all things were created (Colossians 1:16) gives this overflowing catch, and he came that his people might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). After his resurrection he will give these fishermen another miraculous catch (John 21:1–6).

The catch also points ahead to the harvest of people the apostles would gather when they preached, as Jesus himself makes plain in verse 10. On the day of Pentecost thousands were added to the church (Acts 2:41).

Depart from me, for I am a sinful man

“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees”. The verb is eídō, the same verb used when Jesus saw the boats in verse 2. Peter looks at the fish and understands what they show about the one who sent him out for them. He falls at Jesus’ knees, a gesture of deep respect, of pleading and of worship, given to those with great authority.

“Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” The word for sinful is hamartōlós, a sinner, from a root that means to miss the mark. Peter’s confession is about himself as a whole: he calls himself a sinner, a man whose life falls short beside the holiness he now sees. Isaiah confessed his unworthiness in the same way when he saw the LORD (Isaiah 6:5), and Job, when his eye saw God, repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:5–6). Paul cried out over the sin that troubled him and gave thanks to God through Jesus Christ (Romans 7:24–25). “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and the nearer a man comes to God, the plainer that becomes.

Peter also changes how he addresses Jesus. In verse 5 he said “Master”. Now he says “O Lord”, kýrios. The word can be a polite “sir”, but after this miracle and this confession it carries far greater weight, a first recognition that Jesus acts with the authority of God.

Why did Peter tell Jesus to depart?

Peter spoke out of awe and a sudden sense of how unworthy he was to stand near such holiness and power. Overwhelmed, he feels as a sinner should feel in that presence, that he ought to be sent away. The grace of the passage is that Jesus stays. He came to call sinners, as he says later in this chapter: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). Paul wrote that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). Peter’s confession is the very place where Jesus begins his work with him.

Amazement at the catch

Luke explains Peter’s words: “For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken”. The noun behind “astonished” is thámbos, amazement or wonder, a feeling of being overwhelmed that can carry a measure of fear. The Greek says that amazement held him, using periéchō, to hold all around, as though it closed in on him. Everyone in the boat shared it. The “draught” is ágra, the same word Jesus used in verse 4 when he sent them out “for a draught”, so the catch they marvel at is the one he promised. The fishes are ichthýs, the ordinary word for fish.

Their awe is the right answer to the power of God at work. “He spake, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9), as at the creation (Genesis 1), and God’s eternal power is clearly seen in the things that he has made (Romans 1:20). Later, when Jesus walked on the water, the disciples in the boat worshipped him (Matthew 14:33).

Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men

Luke now names the partners: “James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon.” They were as amazed as Simon was. In verse 7 the partners were called métochos, and here Luke uses koinōnós, a sharer or associate, for men who shared the work, the risk and the profit of the business. The KJV gives both Greek words the English “partners”.

Then “Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not”. The verb phobéō means to be alarmed or afraid, and with the negative it tells Simon to stop being afraid. Jesus answers the man who asked him to go away with the comfort God gives his people throughout Scripture, the promise that he is with them (Isaiah 41:10).

“From henceforth thou shalt catch men.” From this moment Simon’s work changes. The verb is zōgréō, to take alive, a word also used for capturing prisoners of war alive. A fisherman’s catch dies, and the men Simon will catch are taken alive, brought out of darkness into the life and light of Christ. Jesus turns the very skills of their trade to the work of his kingdom. Matthew and Mark tell how Jesus called these fishermen to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18–22, Mark 1:16–20).

The call comes from Jesus. A student in those days usually sought out a rabbi to learn from, and here the Teacher chooses his men and calls them himself. God sent his Son to save the world (John 3:17), and Jesus said that when he is lifted up he will draw all men to himself (John 12:32). These fishermen are the first he sends to share that work.

What does it mean to catch men?

Catching men means bringing people to Christ, so that they come into the kingdom of God, are saved and grow in faith. Jesus gives this work to all his followers when he sends them to make disciples of all nations and promises to be with them always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:19–20). It is done by telling others what Christ has done, by a life that shows his character, by inviting people to hear the word, by serving those in need, and by a loving and truthful witness in daily life. As a fisherman brings his catch to shore, the one who catches men brings them to safety in Christ. The work is Christ’s own, and he supplies the power for it.

They forsook all and followed him

“And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” The land, gē, is the shore, the ground where their old trade was carried on and where they now leave it. They bring in the boats that had just been filled to sinking, and then they walk away from them.

To forsake, aphíēmi, is to send away, let go or leave behind. “All” (Greek hápas) takes in boats, nets, the family business and the living it gave them. To follow, akolouthéō, is to accompany someone, and in the Gospels it means to go with Jesus as his disciple, to learn from him and share his work. These men have heard his teaching, seen his power, confessed their sin and received his call, and they answer at once. Leaving one’s trade to follow a teacher was unusual, and it shows how much they had come to see in him.

Jesus would later teach the crowds that following him means counting the cost and forsaking all that one has (Luke 14:25–33). Simon, James and John show what that looks like on the first day. Their leaving is a small likeness of what Christ himself gave up. He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6–7). The Son of man came to minister and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and he came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The men who follow him now share that mission.

The Lord who fills empty nets and calls sinners

This passage shows us who Jesus is. His word carries the authority of God over the fish of the sea, and the same word reaches the hearts of the men in the boat. He meets ordinary people at their ordinary work, on the morning after a failed night, and fills their boats beyond anything their own skill could haul in. When a sinner falls at his knees and asks him to go away, he says “Fear not” and gives him a calling.

Simon’s “nevertheless at thy word” still marks the way of faith. Jesus’ word is enough to act on when long experience points the other way, and the fruit that follows is his gift. Every believer has a part in the work he began on that shore, the gathering of people alive into his kingdom, and the Lord who filled two boats on the lake of Gennesaret is still the Lord of that harvest.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Luke 5:1–11. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 11 verses
Passage under commentLuke 5:1–11
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

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, Matthew 4:18, and Mark 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, John 20:30, John 20:31. Observe here,

I.What vast crowds attended Christ's preaching:

The people pressed upon him to hear the word of God (Luke 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 (Genesis 22:17), and yet of them but a remnant shall be saved, Romans 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 (Luke 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, Luke 5:2. At first, Christ saw Peter and Andrew fishing at some distance (so Matthew tells us, Matthew 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, Proverbs 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 (John 1:40, John 1:41); they were with him at Cana of Galilee (John 2:2), and in Judea (John 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, Luke 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, Luke 5:4, Luke 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 (Luke 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, Luke 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, Psalm 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, Malachi 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 (Luke 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 (Luke 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, Luke 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 (Luke 5:10), and soon after to James and John (Matthew 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 (Luke 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.

Historical interpretation

Seven Centuries of Reception

7 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

7 quotes · AD 390–1107
Post-NiceneEarly MedievalMedieval
40050060070080090010001100

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 390Gregory of Nazianzusas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
(Orat. 37.) Condescending to all, in order that He might draw forth a fish from the deep, i. e. man swimming in the everchanging scenes and bitter storms of this life.
d. AD 397Ambrose of Milanas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
When the Lord had performed many and various kinds of cures, the multitude began to heed neither time nor place in their desire to be healed. The evening came, they followed; a lake is before them, they still press on; as it is said, And it came to pass, as the people pressed upon him.
d. AD 407John Chrysostomas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
(Hom. 25. in Matt.) For they clung to Him with love and admiration, and longed to keep Him with them. For who would depart while He performed such miracles? who would not be content to see only His face, and the mouth that uttered such things? Nor as performing miracles only was He an object of admiration, but His whole appearance was overflowing with grace. Therefore when He speaks, they listen to Him in silence, interrupting not the chain of His discourse; for it is said, that they might hear the word of God, &c. It follows, And he stood near the lake of Gennesaret.

This was a sign of leisure, but according to Matthew He finds them mending their nets. For so great was their poverty, that they patched up their old nets, not being able to buy new ones. But our Lord was very desirous to collect the multitudes, that none might remain behind, but they might all behold Him face to face; He therefore enters into a ship, as it is said, And he entered into a ship, which was Simon's, and prayed him.

After having performed many miracles, He again commences His teaching, and being on the sea, He fishes for those who were on the shore. Hence it follows, And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.
d. AD 430Augustine of Hippoas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
(de Quæst. Ev. 1. 2. c. 2.) From which ship He taught the multitude, for by the authority of the Church He teaches the Gentiles. But the Lord entering the ship, and asking Peter to put off a little from the land, signifies that we must be moderate in our words to the multitude, that they may be neither taught earthly things, nor from earthly things rush into the depths of the sacraments. Or, the Gospel must first be preached to the neighbouring countries of the Gentiles, that (as He afterwards says, Launch out into the deep,) He might command it to be preached afterwards to the more distant nations.
d. AD 735BedeEarly MedievalSourceOn the Gospel of Luke
But ascending into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And sitting down, he taught the crowds from the boat. Simon’s boat is the early Church, about which Paul says: "For he who worked through Peter for the apostleship of the circumcised worked also through me for the Gentiles" (Galatians II). It is aptly called one, because the heart and soul of the multitude of believers were one (Acts IV). From which he taught the crowds, because he teaches the nations today through the authority of the Church.
d. AD 735Bedeas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Early MedievalSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
The lake of Gennesaret is said to be the same as the sea of Galilee or the sea of Tiberias; but it is called the sea of Galilee from the adjacent province, the sea of Tiberias from a neighbouring city. Gennesaret however, is the name given it from the nature of the lake itself, (which is thought from its crossing waves to raise a breeze upon itself,) being the Greek expression for "making a breeze to itself." (quasi a γιννάω et ἀὴρ.) For the water is not steady like that of a lake, but constantly agitated by the breezes blowing over it. It is sweet to the taste, and wholesome to drink. In the Hebrew tongue, any extent of water, whether it be sweet or salt, is called a sea.

Now mystically, the two ships represent circumcision and uncircumcision. The Lord sees these, because in each people He knows who are His, and by seeing, i. e. by a merciful visitation, He brings them nearer the tranquillity of the life to come. The fishermen are the doctors of the Church, because by the net of faith they catch us, and bring us as it were ashore to the land of the living. But these nets are at one time spread out for catching fish, at another washed and folded up. For every time is not fitted for teaching, but at one time the teacher must speak with the tongue, and at another time we must discipline ourselves. The ship of Simon is the primitive Church, of which St. Paul says, He that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of circumcision. (Gal. 2:8.) The ship is well called one, for in the multitude of believers there was one heart and one soul. (Acts 4:32.)
d. AD 1107Theophylact of Ohridas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274MedievalSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
But the Lord seeks to avoid glory the more it followed Him, and therefore separating Himself from the multitude, He entered into a ship, as it is said, And he saw two ships standing near the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

Behold the gentleness of Christ; He asks Peter; and the willingness of Peter, who was obedient in all things.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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