Luke 5
DODDLuke 5:1-11
St. Luke gives a more particular account of a miraculous draught of fishes, by which Peter and his three partners were prevailed upon statedly to follow Christ. Luke V. 1—11.
LUKE V. 1. SECT. THE calling of those four celebrated aposxxxiv. tles, Peter and Andrew, and James and Luke John, was briefly related above; but, consid- V. 1 ering the important part which most of them bear in the following history, we shall here give a more particular account of it.ᵃ Now it came to LUKE V. 1. AND it came to pass, that as the
ᵃ We shall here give a more particular account of it.] Mr. Whiston (in his Harmony, p. 251 and 254) supposes, with some others, that this is a distinct story from that of the calling of these disciples which we have in the preceding section, and that they were then called only to an occasional, but now to a stated, attendance on Christ. But I could not acquiesce in this for the following reasons: (1) There are many leading circumstances the same in the narrations of both; as, for instance, that Peter, Andrew, James and John, left their ships, their nets, and their father; or, as Luke expresses it, left all, to follow Christ, on his promise that he would make them fishers of men. (2) There is no circumstance of the story we have now before us which may not be reconciled with the other; as the attentive reader will perceive by my paraphrase, especially on ver. 11; where (as in many other cases) I have chosen in a few words to suggest the solution of seeming inconsistencies, rather than to state the difficulties and answers at large. (3) If this interpretation be not allowed, then neither Matthew nor Mark have given us any
hrist comes to the lake of Gennesareth.
pass, that while Jesus continued to reside at Capernaum, when the multitude pressed upon him with eagerness to hear the word of God; as he stood by the lake of Gennesareth, on the banks of which he had been walking, (Mark i. 16, sect. xxxiii.) He saw two little vessels standing by the side of the lake, but with no person in them; for the fishermen, after the labour of a very unsuccessful night, were gone out of them, and were washing their nets in the sea as they stood on the shore. And entering into one of the vessels, which belonged to Simon Peter, with whom, as well as with his brother Andrew, we have already seen that he had formed some acquaintance on the banks of Jordan, while John was baptizing there, (John i. 37—42, sect. xxi) he desired him that he would put out a little way from land, that he might thus avoid the crowd, and at the same time be more conveniently heard; and at a proper distance he sat down, and taught the multitude out of the vessel.
And when he had made an end of speaking to the people, he said to Simon, Put out yet farther
account of Christ’s calling these four illustrious persons and intimate friends of Matthew to a stated attendance on him. And (4) There seems no reason to believe that these four disciples forsook Christ again within a few days, or even a few hours, after that call which Matthew and Mark have recorded. Yet this Mr. Whiston must suppose; for it is plain Christ left Capernaum and proceeded on his progress the very next day after those cures which so directly followed that call of these disciples which is related by those two evangelists; see note on Mark i. 18, p. 192; and compare Mark i. 35—39; and Luke iv. 42—44, sect. xxxvi.
b The lake of Gennesareth.] This is the same with what is elsewhere called the sea of Galilee, (Mark i. 16,) and the sea of Tiberias (John vi. 1,) being distinguished by these names, as it was situated on the borders of Galilee, and the city of Tiberias lay on the western shore of it. And for its other name Gennesareth, as Herod had a palace near Tiberias, there were delightful gardens on the banks of it, which possibly might be the reason of this name, which me would have to be derived from
GENET SARUM, the gardens of princes: though others rather think it to be only a corruption of the word Cinnereth, or Cinneroth, which is the name by which the sea was called in the Old Testament, (Numb. xxxiv. 11; and Josh. xii. 3.) It was a large collection of waters, through which the river Jordan passed, and was continually supplying it with a fresh quantity of water. Josephus tells us it was an hundred and forty furlongs long, and forty broad: (Joseph. de Bell. Jud. lib. iii. cap. 10 (al. 18,) § 7, p. 257. Havercamp.) And it was usual with the Jews to call such places seas where there was such a large extent of water; see Lightfoot’s Harmony, and Dru-sius in loc.
c His brother Andrew.] The name of Andrew is omitted by St. Luke in the relation that he gives us of this story; but it is plain from the account of it that we have just now had from Matthew and Mark in the foregoing section, that Andrew was then present with Simon, and that they both were called at the same time.
d He had formed some acquaintance on the banks of Jordan.] See note on Mat. iv. 18, p. 192.
The miraculous draught of fishes.
into the deep water, and then let down your nets into the lake for a draught of fishes. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have been labouring all night and have caught nothing; nevertheless I will let down the net, and make another trial at thy word, both in obedience to it, and in dependence on it. And accordingly when they had done it, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; so that their net brake in several places as they were drawing them up. And they beckoned to their partners James and John, who were at some distance from them in the other vessel, to come and assist them; and they came and filled both the vessels, so that they were overloaded, and drew so much water that they seemed ready to sink.
Now Simon Peter seeing [this] fell down before the knees of Jesus in amazement, and, covered with confusion, said, Lord, what am I, that thou shouldst come into my vessel to me? let me entreat thee now to go out from me; for I am such a sinful man, O Lord, that I am utterly unworthy to receive and entertain thee, nor dare I to continue in the presence of so great and holy a prophet. For this amazing proof that Jesus had now given of his power was such, that astonishment seized him and all that were with him on account of the vast draught of fishes which they had taken: And in like manner also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners in the trade with Simon, were struck with wonder and amazement at the sight of this surprising miracle. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not fear; for, 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
e Go out from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.] Peter could not but conclude here was some peculiar presence of God with a person who could perform such a miracle; and a consciousness of sin made him afraid to appear in the presence of such an one, lest some infirmity or offence should expose him to some more than ordinary punishment. (Compare Jud. vi. 22; xiii. 22; and 1 Kings xvii. 18.) It is also well known that the ancients thought it
improper and unsafe (where it could be avoided) for good men to be in the same ship with persons of an infamous character; nor would the heathens sometimes permit the very images of their deities to be carried in the vessel with such, or even with those concerning whom there was any strong suspicion. See Elmer. Observ. Vol. I. p. 202, 203.
f Thou shalt captivate men.] This is the exact English of בְּשִׁבְטִי, which is so
tions on the call of Peter and his partners.
abundance than those fishes which thou now hast caught.
And when they had brought their vessels to land, they, (that is, first Peter and Andrew, and presently after them James and John, who were mending their broken nets with Zebedee their father) upon Christ’s repeating the call, left their vessels and nets, with the fish they had taken, even all they had in the world, and followed him; being now determined to attend statedly upon his ministry, that they might thus be fitted for the great work in which he intended to employ them.
IMPROVEMENT.
How wonderful a choice does Jesus make of those who were Verso to be the chief ministers in his kingdom! Surely the same Divine 11 power which prevailed on these honest fishermen to leave their little all to follow him, could with equal ease have subdued the hearts of the greatest and wisest of the nation, and have engaged them to have attended him in all his progress through the country, with the exactest observance and the humblest reverence: but he chose rather to preserve the humble form in which he at first appeared, that thus he might answer the schemes of Providence, and by the weak things of the world confound them that are mighty. (1 Cor. i. 27.)
Yet we may observe that he does not go to call them that stood 4,5 all the day idle; but, on the contrary, confers this honour upon honest industry; on them that had been toiling all the night in the proper duties of their station and profession in life. Let us pursue our business with vigilance and resolution; assuring ourselves that, however mean it be, Christ will graciously accept us in it; and let us fix our dependence on his blessings, as absolutely necessary to our success.
These pious fishermen let down their nets at Christ’s word, and it was not in vain. How vast was that power which brought such a multitude of fishes into it! but how much greater and more 6 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! (See Acts ii. 41.)
Blessed Jesus, we would humbly bow ourselves before thee as the Lord of nature and of grace; and, instead of saying with
translated, 2 Tim. ii. 26. To catch im- word carries in it, or the occasion applies something more of artifice than the to require.
Christ preaches at Capernaum on the sabbath day,
Peter, Depart from us, for we are sinful men, we would 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 and fix it for thyself!”
9, 10 That secret power which these good men felt on their souls while the words of Christ were sounding in their ears would be to them a token for good as to the success of their ministry upon others. Surely we cannot wish any thing of greater importance for the edification of the church, than that the persons who are employed in its public offices may themselves experimentally know the power of Divine grace, and be brought to a determination to follow Christ whithersoever he goeth, before they undertake to invite and persuade others to do it.
Luke 5:29
Christ, being entertained at Matthew’s house, justifies his conversing with publicans and sinners; and vindicates his disciples for not keeping so many fasts as the Pharisees and the disciples of John did. Mat. IX. 10—17. Mark II. 15—22. Luke V. 29, to the end.
LUKE V. 29.
NOW, after Jesus had continued for LXXI. a while on the seashore (as was observed, Mark v. 21,) he entered into Ca- Luke pernaum: and Matthew, or Levi, who dwelt there, and who had some time since been called from his former office of a publican, LUKE V. 29. AND Levi made him a great
he Pharisees are offended at Christ’s eating with sinners.
into the number of his stated attendants (see sect. xlv. p. 260, 261,) desirous at once to shew his respects to Christ, and to give his former companions and acquaintance an opportunity of enjoying his instructive conversation, made a great entertainment for him in his own house: and it came to pass that, as Jesus sat at table there, behold, a great number of the publicans, and such as had the general character of sinners, being invited by Matthew, came, and sat also at the table with Jesus and his disciples; and several others at that time were present; for there were many of the character above described in Christ’s train (compare Mat. xi. 12, and Luke xv. 1,) and they followed him with great eagerness, being charmed with the condescension with which he treated them, while many others shunned them with abhorrence.
But when the more reserved and stricter sort of people in that place, and in particular their scribes and Pharisees, who pretended to be most exact and scrupulous in their conduct, saw him thus openly converse and eat with publicans and sinners, they were offended, and murmured at his disciples on that account, saying, Why do you, who should be examples to others, eat and drink in such scandalous company as this? [and] especially, how is it that your Master, who sets up for such an extraordinary Prophet, will allow himself to do it? for, while our traditions teach even the students, and much more the teachers of the law,
A great entertainment for him in his own house.] Nothing has perplexed the generality of harmonies more, and nothing has thrown the authors of them into greater inconsistency with the sacred writers, than their taking it for granted, that Matthew made this entertainment on the very day that Christ called him to attend upon him. The early harmonies of Tatian and Ammonius very justly separated them. (See Chemnit. Harm. cap. 43.) And, to the many convincing arguments which Mr. Jones has brought to prove that they ought to be separated (which see in his Vindication of Matthew, p. 129-137,) I will add, that it seems to me very evident, they were not both on the same day, from this consideration (so obvious, that I wonder none should
have mentioned it:) so many things happened before the calling of Matthew, that the day must be far advanced, and there could not have been time to prepare a great feast, and invite a number of guests, at least till supper (see sect. xlv:) and so many things happened after the feast (see sect. lxxii) that we cannot suppose them to have been crowded into the little remainder of the evening after supper: on which account it is certain the feast was after the day of his calling, perhaps (as it seems by the intermediate stories) some months after, when he had made up his accounts, and regularly passed his business into other hands, which, to be sure, from a principle of justice, as well as prudence, he would take care to do.
Christ vindicates his freedom in conversing with to avoid all commerce with such polluted and infamous persons, you see that he publicly eats and drinks with a considerable number of publicans and sinners, as if there were no scandal in being accounted their friend and companion. And Jesus, having heard that they were so offended at [it,] answered them, saying, They that are in perfect health have no need of the converse and advice of the physician, but those that are sick; and therefore, out of compassion to their need of him, he visits and converses with them, though it cannot otherwise be agreeable to him to do it: and I act on the same principles; for I am not come to call the righteous, as you arrogantly imagine yourselves to be, but such poor sinners as these, to repentance and salvation. But, if you are offended at it, you may go your way, and would do well to set yourselves to learn the meaning of that instructive [scripture,] (Hos. vi. 6) which I cited on a former occasion (see Mat. xii. 7, p. 283,) and which you Pharisees are so ready to forget, “I require mercy, and not sacrifice.” For, had you understood this saying, you would have seen that a ceremonial institution of Divine authority, and much more a mere human tradition, is to give way to the great duties of humanity and charity, even where men’s bodies, and much more where their souls are concerned. Another occurrence which happened at the same time, and bore some resemblance to the former, was this. The disciples of John the Baptist, who had himself lived so austere a life, and was now in a calamitous state of confinement, as well as the disciples of the Pharisees, used to fast often; and the latter particularly twice a week (compare Luke xviii. 12, sect. cxxix,) now, seeing Jesus at a publican’s table on a festival occasion, surrounded with so many of his stated followers, some of the disciples of John come and say unto him, Whence is it that we the disciples of John, and also those of the Pharisees, have frequently our days of solemn devotion, in which we fast, and make many prayers and supplications to God for ourselves and the people? whereas thy disciples fast not at all, that we can perceive; but, on the
y his disciples did not fast as John s did. contrary, eat and drink freely, though thou professest a righteousness superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees. (Mat.v.20,sect.xxxviii.) And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber, who are invited to attend the nuptial ceremony, with any decency mourn [and] fast, while the bridegroom is yet continuing with them? As long as they have the pleasure of the presence and company of the bridegroom among them, they cannot reasonably be expected to fast, and every one would then account it to be out of season. Now my presence and converse renders this a kind of festival to my disciples: for, as John taught you but a little before his confinement, I am the great Bridegroom of my church; you cannot therefore in reason expect I should command them to fast now, or that they should do it without such a command. But, I assure you, the days will quickly come, when, as your master is separated from you, so even I, the bridegroom, shall be taken away from them; and then they must expect to undergo a great deal of hardship, and particularly shall be obliged frequently to fast in those days; as those whom I have mentioned might do if their festival was interrupted by the removal of their beloved friend whose joys they were sharing. (Compare 1 Cor. iv. 11; 2 Cor. xi. 27.) Nor do I now think fit to lay such rigorous commands upon them, because prudence will require me at present to accommodate their trials to their strength. And, farther to illustrate this, he spake also a parable, or proposed another similitude, to them, saying, No man, when he is mending clothes, will of choice sew a piece of new cloth on an old garment; but Bridegroom of my supposed there is in Christ has used a of Canticles; and it (See Carpzov. De Bible, p. 220, 221.) reference to what John disciples so expressly iii. 29, p. 159. as interrupted, [5]. with a beautiful proved, to suppose some open during the time which the bride room should either be slain or taken pri which would damp all the joy friends, and change the scene into tation, fasting, and mourning. “New cloth on an old garment.] proper meaning of the words gxxxc a by which new cloth is here expres the original, is cloth that has not through the fuller’s hands, and wh consequently much harsher than wh been often washed and worn; and fore yielding less than that, will tea the edges to which it is sewed. This Albert has vindicated from except
Regard must be had to the mutual agreement of
rather chooses what is a little worn: for otherwise it will be found that both the new, being stronger than the other, makes a rent in the edges of it when it comes to be stretched; and the piece that was [taken] out of the new, [and] put in to mend the former rent and fill it up, agrees not in colour and form with the old; and, being improperly put together, is of no service to the garment, [but] takes away more from the old than it adds to it: and thus the rent is increased and made worse than it was before.
And again, on the same principles, no wise man puts new wine into old bottles, where the leather is weakened, and almost worn out, (compare Josh. ix. 4, 13, and Psal. cxix. 83;) for else, if he should, the fermentation of the new wine will soon burst the bottles, and so the wine will be spilt, as well as the bottles destroyed: But new wine must be put into new bottles, and by this means both are preserved. Now, as in the ordinary affairs of life, common sense dictates a regard to the mutual agreement and disagreement of things, it is necessary that I should attend to them in my conduct towards my disciples; and, as they have not been inured to such severities as you and the Pharisees have long practised, I do not therefore choose immediately to impose them, lest otherwise, to the great detriment of the world, they should be discouraged from attending upon me.
And you cannot surely blame me for this, when you consider how difficult it is to alter the ways of living to which people have been accustomed even in less things than these now in question. As for instance, though some may be fond of new wine, while it is yet fer-
worth mentioning here. See Albert. Observ. p. 71—76.
As you and the Pharisees have long practised.] That the Pharisees used to last twice a week is plain from Luke xviii. 12; and, no doubt, their young people were trained up to it. But it may be objected, that John’s disciples were not so trained up, and consequently might have answered, that the disciples of Christ might as well, and as soon as they, have been brought under such severities and restraints. But the truth is, it was not divinely required
of the one or the other. The character and circumstances of John laid them under some engagements not common to Christ’s disciples, as he intimates; and, considering where and how the Baptist appeared, it is very probable many of his stated disciples were Essenes, who (as it is well known) were a kind of hermit Jews, educated in great abstinence and more frequent fastings than any of the rest of them. (See Prideaux’s Connection, Part II. p. 358.) And if so, nothing could have been more convincing than this reasoning.
Reflections on the condescension and grace of Christ.
No man also having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better. menting in the vessel, yet those that have been used to drink another sort, will have no liking to it; and no man who has generally drank good old [wine] that is well ripened and refined, will immediately choose to drink new; for he says, The old is better, as being both more pleasant and more wholesome. Judge then how fit it is that I should not oblige my disciples to a new course of severities at once, but gradually form their characters to what the honour of their future profession and the usefulness of their lives may require.
IMPROVEMENT.
THERE is no reason to wonder that Matthew should gladly embrace so proper an opportunity of introducing other publicans and sinners into the presence of that condescending Saviour, from whom, though he once was numbered among them, he had received grace and the apostleship. Let us with pleasure observe how ready our blessed Lord was to receive them. Surely, whatever offence the proud Pharisees might take on such an occasion, Jesus will appear peculiarly amiable in such a circle as this. Compassionate Redeemer! thou didst, as the great Physician of souls, willingly converse with objects that must have been most hateful to thy pure and holy nature! May we each of us have a due sense of the malignity of sin, that fatal disease of the soul, that we may with a becoming temper apply to Christ for a cure! May we also, like him, be willing to condescend to the meanest and vilest, if it may be the means of winning them over to true religion and happiness! ever preferring mercy to sacrifice, and choosing rather to govern ourselves by the dictates of a benevolent heart than by the maxims of proud and censorious men.
Christ would not discourage his disciples by over rigorous institutions; and it is unfit that his religion should be burthened with them. He suits the duties of his people to their circumstances, and kindly proportions their work to their strength, with a tender regard to their weakness, till by degrees they may be fitted for the more difficult and humbling services. From his example, and the whole genius of his gospel, let us learn to make all proper allowances to those about us, that we may teach them, and train them up as they are able to bear it; not crushing them under any unnecessary load, nor denying them any indulgence which true friendship will permit us to grant them; lest the good ways of God should be misrepresented, disgraced, and abandoned, through our imprudent, though wellmeaning, severity: a caution to be peculiarly observed in our conduct towards young persons; and not to be forgotten with respect to those who, like the disciples here in question, are training up for the ministerial office.
Jairus begs Christ to come and heal his daughter.