Luke 5:1-11; the great catch of fish

This essay exposits the text for the day in a much more systematic fashion than the theological observations of the previous essay. Three points arising out of the text are: (1) Setting the Stage (1-3); (2) The Catch (4-7); and (3) The Reaction. Let's look at each.

I. Setting the Stage (1-3)

This is Luke's version of the call of the principal disciples to follow Jesus. When Mark (1:16-20) and Matthew (4:18-22) treat the same theme they only mention jesus' walking along the sea, calling the disciples, and their decision to follow him. Luke, in contrast, loads his story with many more details. Indeed, by spending so much time on the call, he shows us that the theme pursued in 5:1-11 (forgiveness) is central to Jesus' message. Here there is a great crowd that gathers. Jesus will have to put out in a boat to address the throng.There is a dramatic catch of fish. There is a dramatic confession. All witness it. Certainly something very large takes place.

The narrative is so easily visible in our mind's eyes that every detail leaps off the page at us. Weary fishermen are dejectedly cleaning their nets after a fruitless night of toil, even though the reader does not yet know of the fruitlessness of their labor. Some scholars have pointed to Luke's words as describing a "trammel net" from antiquity, which was made of linen, visible to fish during the day and so used at night, needing two to four men to unfurl and requiring washing each morning. This would fit the description we read here quite well. Jesus climbed into a boat, cast off into the water and then sat to teach. Peter already knew Jesus and perhaps was already a follower of sorts (Jesus has just healed his mother-in-law--Luke 4:38-39). But then something happens...

II. The Catch (4-7)

It is interesting that the content of what Jesus spoke to the crowd is not recorded. When Luke wants to tell you what Jesus taught, he certainly is able to do so (4:16-30); the fact that the teaching is only mentioned (v. 4) but not elaborated on tells us that the action of the narrative is still to come. And, then, it hits. Jesus asks Peter to set out into the deeper water and let down his nets again. Peter's reaction is twofold. First is the complaining word, and then is the obedient word. Or, to change it slightly; first is incredulity, then is consent. Peter's response here mirrors Mary's in Luke 1 when visited by the angel Gabriel. She first is troubled in her heart as to what kind of greeting she has received ("Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you" (1:28)) and then expresses her incredulity at the angel's word that she should bear a child: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" But after the angel speaks more to her she says, "Let it be with me according to your word" (1:38). Peter's first word is "Master." Whenever that word is used in Luke it is said as a word of faith. See, for example, 8:24, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" and 8:45, "Peter said, 'Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.." So Peter may already be recognizing Jesus' authority and even lordship, but he is complaining nevertheless. He, after all, is the expert in the fishing department. But he decides, nevertheless, to let down the nets again. He will certainly have to clean them when it is all over, but he will obey Jesus.

The language then tumbles over itself in vv. 6-7 as the action explodes. The Greek says that the nets enclosed a great catch of fish and then, as if an afterthought, uses the little word "polu," which means "very great." The imperfect tense then follows, denoting an action commencing but not necessarily completed--and that is the nets beginning to tear. We almost have a comedy of sorts on our hands. The experts get nothing; the amateur gets bursting nets. Peter and partners had a slow night; we have an incredibly "fast" morning. Then the comedy continues. Not able to take in all the fish into one boat, Peter impetuously calls to his partners. They load fish into their boat, too, and both begin to sink. So we have nets bursting and boats sinking; we have fishermen dashing about to make sure that they don't lose all this great haul. Somehow we are both astonished and amused at what we read.

Like the story of Simon's mother-in-law or the words about Jesus passing through the crowds unhurt, so we are not told here whether to interpret what happened as a miracle. We can infer that what happened was very unlikely, especially if the nets were the kind that the fish could see by day. But the point here is not the miracle of multiplied fish; it is the way this provides the context for a changed heart. That is our final point.

III. The Reaction (8-11)

These last four verses pullulate with ideas. First is the structure of confession, reassurance and commission we saw in Is. 6 and which I mentioned in the previous essay. Peter asks Jesus to depart from him; Jesus tells him not to fear; Jesus then tells him that henceforth he will be "catching" people. Second is the word "sinner," which Peter uses of himself. Unlike the crowds in Capernaum, who wanted to keep Jesus from leaving them in order to capitalize on his power (4:42), Peter wants Jesus to leave because he may be afraid of this power. But that is precisely the kind of person that Jesus wants to be with him. In this connection, the reaction of people at Capernaum may foreshadow the reaction of Simon Magus and others in Acts who want to "buy" the Holy Spirit (Acts 8). Third is that little word "lord" (kyrie) dropped in at the end of v. 8. Peter is making some kind of confession in Christ as lord, but the meaning of what he says will unfold during the rest of the Gospel. Have you ever had the feeling that someone was getting "too close" to you because they knew you thoroughly? Something like that may be happening to Peter. In the words of the great German scholar Rudolf Otto, he may have had an experience of the "mysterium tremendum." Fourth is the reaction of the crowd. They are amazed (v. 9). That Greek word (thambos) only appears in Luke-Acts. In Luke 4:36, for example, the crowds were amazed. For Luke it is crowds who are amazed, while disciples fall on their knees. Fifth is the contrast between the business partners of v. 7 who are now fellow sharers in v. 10 (mentioned in previous essay). The great catch of fish, which ought to have improved business, will now propel the men into a different "business" altogether--the business of touching and winning human hearts. Sixth is the irony of leaving the nets full of fish to follow Jesus. They get nothing all night and they faithfully return to the business by cleaning out the nets. Then they get a full haul in the day and they leave it as well as their boats to go and follow Jesus. They illustrate the lesson which shall run through all the Gospels, and that is that those who seek to save their lives will lose it, but those who lose their life for Jesus' and the Gospel's sake will save it. We have the Gospel in miniature in this passage: a call, forgiveness, commissioning, discipleship. And here they are following Jesus not because business is bad, but precisely when it couldn't be better. Now we see why this story was so important for Luke--and for us.

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