Matius 4:19

4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹ 

Matius 13:47-50

13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 13:48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 13:49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, ²  where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Markus 1:17

1:17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ³ 

Lukas 5:4-10

5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower ⁴  your nets for a catch.” 5:5 Simon ⁵  answered, ⁶  “Master, ⁷  we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word ⁸  I will lower ⁹  the nets.” 5:6 When ¹⁰  they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. ¹¹  5:7 So ¹²  they motioned ¹³  to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. ¹⁴  5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ¹⁵  for I am a sinful man!” ¹⁶  5:9 For ¹⁷  Peter ¹⁸  and all who were with him were astonished ¹⁹  at the catch of fish that they had taken, 5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. ²⁰  Then ²¹  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on ²²  you will be catching people.” ²³ 

Yohanes 21:3-11

21:3 Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they replied. ²⁴  They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

21:4 When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 21:5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, ²⁵  do you?” ²⁶  They replied, ²⁷  “No.” 21:6 He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” ²⁸  So they threw the net, ²⁹  and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

21:7 Then the disciple whom ³⁰  Jesus loved ³¹  said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it), ³²  and plunged ³³  into the sea. 21:8 Meanwhile the other disciples came with the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards. ³⁴ 

21:9 When they got out on the beach, ³⁵  they saw a charcoal fire ready ³⁶  with a fish placed on it, and bread. 21:10 Jesus said, ³⁷  “Bring some of the fish you have just now caught.” 21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and pulled the net to shore. It was ³⁸  full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three, ³⁹  but although there were so many, the net was not torn.

[4:19]  ¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[4:19]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 18; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life.

[13:50]  ² sn An allusion to Dan 3:6.

[1:17]  ³ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[1:17]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 16; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life.

[5:4]  ⁴ tn Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”

[5:5]  ⁷ tn The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).

[5:5]  ⁸ tn The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.

[5:5]  ⁹ tn Or “let down.”

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:6]  ¹¹ tn In context, this imperfect verb is best taken as an ingressive imperfect (BDF §338.1).

[5:7]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate consequential nature of the action.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn That is, “they signaled by making gestures” (L&N 33.485).

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn This infinitive conveys the idea that the boats were at the point of sinking.

[5:8]  ¹⁵ sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.

[5:8]  ¹⁶ sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.

[5:9]  ¹⁷ sn An explanatory conjunction (For) makes it clear that Peter’s exclamation is the result of a surprising set of events. He speaks, but the others feel similarly.

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:9]  ¹⁹ sn In the Greek text, this term is in an emphatic position.

[5:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “business associates.”

[5:10]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:10]  ²² sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.

[5:10]  ²³ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[5:10]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing, which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:461). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life. With the statement “You will be catching people” Jesus turns the miracle into a metaphor for mission.

[21:3]  ²⁴ tn Grk “they said to him.”

[21:5]  ²⁵ tn The word προσφάγιον (prosfagion) is unusual. According to BDAG 886 s.v. in Hellenistic Greek it described a side dish to be eaten with bread, and in some contexts was the equivalent of ὄψον (oyon), “fish.” Used in addressing a group of returning fishermen, however, it is quite clear that the speaker had fish in mind.

[21:5]  ²⁶ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “do you?”).

[21:5]  ²⁷ tn Grk “They answered him.”

[21:6]  ²⁸ tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:6]  ²⁹ tn The words “the net” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the disciple, that one whom.”

[21:7]  ³¹ sn On the disciple whom Jesus loved see 13:23-26.

[21:7]  ³² tn Grk “for he was naked.” Peter’s behavior here has been puzzling to many interpreters. It is usually understood that the Greek word γυμνός (gumnos, usually translated “naked”) does not refer to complete nudity (as it could), since this would have been offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context. It is thus commonly understood to mean “stripped for work” here (cf. NASB, NLT), that is, with one’s outer clothing removed, and Peter was wearing either a loincloth or a loose-fitting tunic (a long shirt-like garment worn under a cloak, cf. NAB, “for he was lightly clad”). Believing himself inadequately dressed to greet the Lord, Peter threw his outer garment around himself and dived into the sea. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 580-81) offered the explanation that a greeting was a religious act and thus could not be performed unless one was clothed. This still leaves the improbable picture of a person with much experience around the water putting on his outer garment before diving in. R. E. Brown’s suggestion (John [AB], 2:1072) seems much more probable here: The Greek verb used (διαζώννυμι, diazwnnumi) does not necessarily mean putting clothing on, but rather tying the clothing around oneself (the same verb is used in 13:4-5 of Jesus tying the towel around himself). The statement that Peter was “naked” could just as well mean that he was naked underneath the outer garment, and thus could not take it off before jumping into the water. But he did pause to tuck it up and tie it with the girdle before jumping in, to allow himself more freedom of movement. Thus the clause that states Peter was naked is explanatory (note the use of for), explaining why Peter girded up his outer garment rather than taking it off – he had nothing on underneath it and so could not remove it.

[21:7]  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[21:7]  ³³ tn Grk “threw himself.”

[21:8]  ³⁴ tn Or “about a hundred meters”; Grk “about two hundred cubits.” According to BDAG 812 s.v., a πῆχυς (phcu") was about 18 inches or .462 meters, so two hundred πηχῶν (phcwn) would be about 100 yards (92.4 meters).

[21:9]  ³⁵ tn The words “on the beach” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[21:9]  ³⁶ tn Grk “placed,” “laid.”

[21:10]  ³⁷ tn Grk “said to them.”

[21:11]  ³⁸ tn The words “It was” are not in the Greek text. Here a new sentence was begun in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences. For this reason the words “It was” had to be supplied.

[21:11]  ³⁹ sn Here the author makes two further points about the catch of fish: (1) there were one hundred fifty-three large fish in the net, and (2) even with so many, the net was not torn. Many symbolic interpretations have been proposed for both points (unity, especially, in the case of the second), but the reader is given no explicit clarification in the text itself. It seems better not to speculate here, but to see these details as indicative of an eyewitness account. Both are the sort of thing that would remain in the mind of a person who had witnessed them firsthand. For a summary of the symbolic interpretations proposed for the number of fish in the net, see R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:1074-75), where a number are discussed at length. Perhaps the reader is simply to understand this as the abundance which results from obedience to Jesus, much as with the amount of wine generated in the water jars in Cana at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (2:6).