Fishers of Men

The words

Luke 5:1–11 (opens a new tab)

1. Draught

   Luke places the draught in Jesus’s instruction to Simon after teaching from his boat: move into deep water and lower the nets, despite the fruitless night Simon reports.

   Luke 5:3–5 (opens a new tab)

2. Fishermen

   Luke introduces the fishermen beside two boats, washing their nets before Jesus enters Simon’s boat; Matthew and Mark name Simon and Andrew as brothers casting a net.

   Did you know?

   The Yigal Allon Center dates a boat found near Ginosar in 1986 to between 100 BC and AD 100; the NET notes no known historical connection with Jesus or his disciples.

   Luke 5:2–3 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 4:18 (opens a new tab) · Mark 1:16 (opens a new tab) · Yigal Allon Center: ancient boat (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

3. Forsook

   Left behind.

   Luke ends the catch account with the fishermen bringing their boats to land, leaving everything and following Jesus; Mark describes Simon and Andrew leaving their nets.

   Luke 5:11 (opens a new tab) · Mark 1:18 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

4. Gennesaret

   Luke calls the waterside setting the lake of Gennesaret, where the crowd presses to hear Jesus; Matthew and Mark call their fishing scene’s setting the sea of Galilee.

   Luke 5:1 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 4:18 (opens a new tab) · Mark 1:16 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

5. Inclosed

   Enclosed; caught within the net.

   Luke’s KJV says the fishermen “inclosed a great multitude of fishes” after lowering the net; the account then describes the net breaking and the other boat being summoned.

   Luke 5:5–7 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

6. Lake

   Luke begins with a crowd beside the lake, then describes Jesus teaching from Simon’s boat a little offshore before directing him into the deep water.

   Luke 5:1–4 (opens a new tab)

7. Launch

   Put out from shore.

   Luke gives “Launch out into the deep” as Jesus’s instruction after he finishes speaking; Simon answers by recalling the empty night’s fishing and agreeing to lower the net.

   Luke 5:4–5 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

8. Mending

   Matthew and Mark place James and John in a boat mending nets when Jesus calls them; Luke’s account begins with fishermen washing nets before the catch.

   Matthew 4:21 (opens a new tab) · Mark 1:19 (opens a new tab) · Luke 5:2 (opens a new tab)

9. Nets

   Luke describes the net breaking under the catch and the fishermen calling the other boat to help; both boats fill and begin to sink.

   Did you know?

   In John 21’s later fishing scene, Peter draws a net ashore with 153 fish; John specifically says the net was not broken.

   Luke 5:6–7 (opens a new tab) · John 21:11–14 (opens a new tab)

10. Partners

    Fellow workers in the fishing business.

    Luke first describes partners in the other boat coming to help with the catch; he later names James and John, Zebedee’s sons, as Simon’s partners.

    Luke 5:7; Luke 5:10 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

11. Simon

    Luke identifies the boat as Simon’s, later calls him Simon Peter, and records Jesus telling him, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”

    Luke 5:3; Luke 5:8–10 (opens a new tab)

12. Sinful

    Luke gives “I am a sinful man” as Simon Peter’s own words when he falls at Jesus’s knees after seeing the catch; Jesus later answers, “Fear not.”

    Luke 5:8–10 (opens a new tab)

13. Toiled

    Worked hard.

    Luke records Simon saying the fishermen have “toiled all the night” without a catch; Simon nevertheless agrees to lower the net at Jesus’s word.

    Luke 5:5 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 5:1-11 (opens a new tab)

14. Washing

    Luke places the washing before Jesus enters Simon’s boat to teach the crowd; after speaking, Jesus tells Simon to move into deep water and lower the nets.

    Luke 5:2–4 (opens a new tab)

15. Zebedee

    Luke names Zebedee as James and John’s father; Mark describes the brothers leaving him in the boat with hired servants when they go after Jesus.

    Luke 5:10 (opens a new tab) · Mark 1:19–20 (opens a new tab)