Greek
1
ΕΓΕΝΕΤΟ δὲ ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τοῦ
Θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἑστὼς παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρέτ, 2 καὶ
εἶδε δύο πλοῖα ἑστῶτα παρὰ τὴν λίμνην· οἱ δὲ ἁλιεῖς ἀποβάντες ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν
ἀπέπλυναν τὰ δίκτυα. 3 ἐμβὰς δὲ εἰς ἓν τῶν πλοίων, ὃ ἦν τοῦ
Σίμωνος, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπαναγαγεῖν ὀλίγον· καὶ καθίσας
ἐδίδασκεν ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου τοὺς ὄχλους. 4 ὡς δὲ ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν,
εἶπε πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν
εἰς ἄγραν. 5 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Σίμων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἐπιστάτα, δι᾿
ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ρήματί σου χαλάσω
τὸ δίκτυον.
6
καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες συνέκλεισαν πλῆθος ἰχθύων πολύ· διερρήγνυτο δὲ τὸ
δίκτυον αὐτῶν. 7 καὶ κατένευσαν τοῖς μετόχοις τοῖς ἐν τῷ
ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ τοῦ ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἦλθον καὶ ἔπλησαν
ἀμφότερα τὰ πλοῖα, ὥστε βυθίζεσθαι αὐτά. 8 ἰδὼν δὲ Σίμων
Πέτρος προσέπεσε τοῖς γόνασιν Ἰησοῦ λέγων· ἔξελθε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ
ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, Κύριε· 9 θάμβος γὰρ περιέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ
πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ τῶν ἰχθύων ᾗ συνέλαβον, 10
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην, υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ
Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπε πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν
ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν. 11 καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν
γῆν ἀφέντες ἅπαντα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
English
5:1 While the people
pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of
Gennesaret.
2And he saw two
boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were
washing their nets.
3Getting into one
of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from
the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4And when he had
ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down
your nets for a catch."
5And Simon
answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your
word I will let down the nets."
6And when they had
done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were
breaking,
7they beckoned to
their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came
and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8But when Simon
Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for
I am a sinful man, O Lord."
9For he was
astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they
had taken;
10and so also were
James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus
said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men."
11And when they had
brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Larger Thought Unit
Today’s reading is a self-contained thought
unit. What is interesting here is where Luke places the call of the
disciples as opposed to the other three gospels. Here Jesus has already
performed three miracles as a prelude to his call to Peter and others.
Peter having witnessed these miracles and the power of Christ and his word
is bound to heed it even though he says, “we have toiled all night and
caught nothing.” It is this power which ultimately convicts Peter and
brings him to a confession of his own sinfulness. It is Peter commissioned
in his weakness and sin to be an apostle that is most significant and
certainly reflects the Pauline experience as well.
Notes
This reading is one the richest and clearest
pericopes concerning the call of Jesus’ disciples to carry out the gospel to
the entire Roman empire. In spite of the apparent failure of the mission,
they are to continue their “fishing.” They are to believe that the word of
the gospel is the only way of salvation to all, Gentiles as well as Jews.
Consequently, Simon is asked to go further “into the deep” (v.4), i.e., not
just along the eastern Mediterranean, the area of the Jewish diaspora, but
as far as possible toward Rome, the capital of the ‘nations.’ Indeed, the
Lord has many “fish” there, even beyond the disciples’ expectations. All the
disciples have to do is to put their trust in the “word of God” Jesus is
preaching and not to be afraid of the Roman adverse power. They are to leave
“everything,” including their reticence, and follow Jesus “into the deep,”
away from the ‘security’ offered by Jerusalem. Only by realizing his “sin,”
which is to have misunderstood the gospel, Simon becomes Peter, ‘the Rock.’
Further resource
Charles H. Talbert, Reading
Luke, Smith & Helwys Publishing, Macon, GA, 2002; pp 61-64.
Paul Nadim Tarazi, New
Testament Introduction, Vol.2: Luke and Acts, St Vladimir’s Seminary
Press, Crestwood, NY, 2001; pp.49-50.
Paul Nadim Tarazi, New
Testament Introduction, Vol.1: Paul and Mark, St Vladimir’s Seminary
Press, Crestwood, NY, 1999; pp.141-43.
Paul Nadim Tarazi, New
Testament Introduction, Vol.3: Johannine Writings, St Vladimir’s
Seminary Press, Crestwood, NY, 2004; pp.259-263.