Luke 5:1-39

Miraculous Draught of Fishes. The Palsied Man

1-11. First miraculous draught of fishes (peculiar to Lk). Many critics identify this incident with that recorded in Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:16. But there are important considerations on the other side: (1) the persons are different (there four disciples, here Peter is addressed); (2) the words used, though similar in sense, are very different in form; (3) the disciples are not said to have 'left all' in Mt, but only to have left their father in the ship. Moreover, in Mt and Mk the disciples are fishing, here they are washing their nets before putting them away. Besides, if Mt and Mk really describe the same event, why do they omit the most striking incident of all, the miraculous draught of fishes? See on Matthew 4:18.

The incident was probably a miracle, but it is possible to give a plausible natural explanation of it. Tristram says: 'The thickness of the shoals of fish in the Lake of Gennesareth is almost incredible to any one who has not witnessed them. They often cover an area of more than an acre; and when the fish move slowly forward in a mass, and are rising out of the water, they are packed so close together, that it appears as if a heavy rain was beating down on the surface of the water.' Fish so closely packed as this could not easily escape.