The passage
      v1. Jesus is standing beside lake Gennesaret, or as it is more commonly known, lake Galilee, while a large crowd pushes in to hear him proclaim the message of the kingdom. The excitement of the crowd contrasts beautifully with the tranquility of the lake and of the fishermen cleaning up after their night of fishing.
      v2-3. Beside the lake Jesus sees two boats where the fishermen are mending their nets. Due to the push of the crowd he decides to put one of the boats into service as a rostrum for preaching. The one he chooses belongs to Simon Peter. The boat is pushed out a little from the shore, and as is the custom, Jesus sits to teach while the crowd stands to listen.
      v4-5. The sermon finished, Jesus asks Peter to undertake some more fishing. Peter is less than enthusiastic, but is willing to submit to Jesus. Note the address "master", rather than rabbi/teacher. Peter accepts his authority.
      v6-7. The sign of the fish is now described in the terms of an amazing haul of fish, so large that the two boats begin to sink with the weight of the catch.
      v8-10a. Peter (a shortened form of Simeon), along with his partners James and John, is "astonished" at the catch. He sees the catch as evidence of a messianic sign, a sign which demonstrates the authority of Jesus. If Jesus commands the fish, then he clearly has authority over mankind. Peter's recognition of Jesus serves only to expose his own inadequacies in the face of God. In the presence of the "Lord" Jesus, Peter's sinful nature is exposed. He prostrates himself and asks Jesus to step back from this unworthy servant.
      v10b. Although divine power resides with Jesus, Peter and the others need not be afraid, cf. Lk.1:13, 20. A person's recognition of their unworthiness before God is the very basis of their acceptance by God. Yet there is more, the divine authority that gathered the fish, will gather people ("men") into the kingdom and Peter and his friends will share in this gathering of humanity. Under God's sovereign grace, Christ will do the gathering and if the disciples are willing to place themselves in the centre of his will, then they will become "fishers of men."
      v11. Clearly this small group of disciples accept Christ's assurance. They have nothing to fear and everything to gain. So, they set out with Jesus. Although this verse is often taken to mean that they abandoned everything they owned to follow Jesus, we know that the disciples continued to own property, including boats. The phrase simply indicates where their priorities in life now lie.

A confession and a commission
      The substance of this story lies in the confession of Peter and his commissioning by Jesus.
      Peter's confession is a powerful one. Long before Peter actually calls Jesus the "Christ" (messiah) at Caesarea Philippi, he recognizes his messianic credentials. In the presence of Jesus, Peter cannot stand upright. "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man." He senses his unworthiness in the face of Jesus. Even more significantly, he gives Jesus the messianic title "Lord". The Lord of the fish is the Lord of mankind.
      Peter's commission is one which is repeated often in the New Testament, Lk.9:20, 22:32, Jn.21:1ff, Matt.16:16ff. He and the other disciples are given the privilege of sharing in Christ's work of gathering a people to the living God. As they shared in gathering the fish, so now they will share in gathering "lost" humanity.
      As Peter's confession is the "rock" upon which Christ builds his church, so his commission is the foundation task of the church. We are called to worship, and we are called to witness.
        i] The lost are called to gather in adoration. We are called to bow before our Lord in recognition of our sin, but then to lift our heads in the comforting words "be not afraid." We should gather with Jesus in the sure knowledge of our eternal acceptance in his sight, by grace through faith. In this privilege we share.
        ii] The lost are called to proclaim their faith. We are called to witness for Jesus, to proclaim his gospel of grace to a lost and broken world. We are called to witness, in the sure knowledge that the lost are gathered by the sovereign grace of God operative through his proclaimed word. In this privilege we share.

v1
      egeneto (ginomai) aor. "one day" - it happened, it came about. Used to indicate a new section in the gospel.
      hn eJstwV "was standing" - had been standing. The imperfect of the verb to-be with the perfect participle forming a periphrastic pluperfect. Subordinate to "he saw", v2. Jesus "stood beside the lake", Moffatt.
      en tw/ + inf. "as" - on the [to press in on .... to hear]. The preposition followed by a dative articular infinitive of "to press in on" and "to hear", probably forming a temporal clause; "while the crowd was pressing in on (him) and listening to the word of God", NAB. Subordinate to "stood beside the lake." "The crowd pressed near him, straining to hear him", Bock.
      ton legon tou qeou "the word of God" - Possibly a subjective genitive, "the message God reveals", rather than objective, "the message about God", although better, a genitive of source, "the message from God that Jesus proclaims." A common descriptive of Jesus' preaching and of the apostolic preaching in Acts. "The word coming from God", Fitzmyer.

v2
      eiden (oJraw) aor. "he saw" - Main verb. Jesus spots two boats on the edge of the lake, one of which can serve as a preaching platform, given that the crowd is crushing in on him. Note, as usual, Jesus sits to teach.
      eJstwta (iJsthmi) perf. part. "at" - standing [beside the lake]. In the sense of simply "being" at the lake, so "at" as NIV. "He saw two boats drawn up on the lake-side", Barclay.
      de "-" - but, and. Here continuative, "and the fisherman disembarked, washing their nets."
      apobanteV (apobainw) aor. part. "left" - having gone away, departed, disembarked.
      eplunon (plunw) imperf. "who were washing" - were washing. The imperfect is durative, denoting the ongoing action of washing (Mark has "repairing") their nets following a night of fishing.

v3
      SimwnoV (Simwn) gen. "belonging to Simon" - Simon's. The genitive is possessive, it was Simon's boat. "Christ uses Peter's boat as a pulpit, whence to throw the net of the gospel over his hearers", Plummer.
      epanagagein (epanagw) aor. inf. "to put out" - to bring, to return. Here as "to put out to sea."
      kaqisaV (kaqizw) aor. part. "then he sat down" - having sat down. Probably forming a temporal clause, "when he sat down."
      edidasken (didaskw) imperf. "taught" - he was teaching. Possible an inceptive imperfect, "he began teaching the people", or durative, "he went on teaching", NEB.

v4
      lalwn (lalew) pre. part. "speaking" - A not so common complementary participle, completing the thought of the verb "finished".
      proV + acc. "[said] to [Simon]" - The command is addressed "to" Simon. This may imply that he was steering the boat, so Plummer, or better, it was his boat.
      epanagage (epanagw) aor. imp. "put out" - bring, return. "Push out into deep water", Williams.
      to baqoV "deep water" - the deep. The presence of the article may imply a particular spot on the lake. "The son of a carpenter is telling the fisherman where to toss their nets!", Bock. Yet, the sense is probably that the boat was "a little from the shore", v3, but now it is to go into deeper water where fish are found.
      calasate (caletw) aor. imp. pl. "let down" - The plural command implies that it is addressed to Peter and those with him in the boat.
      eiV "for [a catch]" - Here expressing purpose, "in order to catch."

v5
      epistata (hV ou) voc. "Master" - chief, master. Probably an expression of respect, but possibly a recognition of Jesus' authority. Note how Matthew and Mark prefer the term "teacher", or "rabbi".
      kopiasanteV (kopiaw) aor. part. "we've worked hard" - having labored. The word carries the sense of "wearisome work", BAGD. The participle is probably concessive, forming a participle phrase describing what the disciples did, and is followed by a result clause; "although we have worked hard throughout the night we have caught nothing."
      dia + gen. "all [night]" - through (in time). "Throughout the night."
      epi "[but] because [you say so]" - [but] upon, on [the word of you]. In the sense of "in reliance upon." Probably expressing "reluctant obedience", TH., but more likely a recognition of Jesus' authority; "all the same, if you say so ...", Barclay.
      calasw (calaw) sing. fut. "I will let down" - The singular obviously referring to Peter's personal response to Jesus' command.
      ta diktua (on) "the nets" - Nets (plural) used for deep water fishing.

v6
      poihsanteV (poiew) aor. part. "when they had done [so]" - having done [this]. The participle forming a temporal clause, as NIV. "After they did this ..."
      sunekleisan (sugkleiw) aor. "they caught" - they shut up. "They did so and made such a huge catch of fish", REB.
      polu adj. "a large number" - many, much. Emphasizing the "great multitude of fish", and thus the miraculous nature of the catch. It is unclear what type of miracle it was. Does it display Jesus' knowledge (he knew where the fish were without seeing them), or does it display his will (he caused the fish to be there)? Some have argued that Jesus could see the fish from where he was standing, but the response of Peter discounts this view.
      icquwn (uV oV) gen. "of fish" - The genitive is descriptive.
      "that" - The clause is consequential, so NIV; So "that their nets began to split", REB.
      dierrhsseto (diarrhssw) imperf. pas. "began to break" - were being burst, split, torn. The imperfect is probably inceptive where the emphasis is placed at the beginning of the action, so NIV.

v7
      kateneusan (kataneuw) aor. "they signaled" - they signaled by the nodding of heads. This word is probably chosen because their hands are full and their voices would not carry to the other boat.
      toiV metocoiV (oV) "their partners" - to the partners, companion. Grundmann notes that boats usually worked in pairs so Peter and his crew are signalling to their business partners, James and John, probably still with their boat on the beach.
      tou + inf. "-" - in order [to help]. Articular infinitive with the article in the genitive, probably expressing purpose; "in order that, having come, they may help them."
      wJste + inf. "that" - Forming a consequential clause, "so that / with the result that."
      baqizesqai (baqizw) pres. pas. inf. "they began to sink" - The present tense is probably inceptive with the emphasis at the beginning of the action, so NIV.

v8
      idwn (eidon) aor. part. "when [Simon Peter] saw this" - having seen. The participle forming a temporal clause, as NIV.
      prosepesen (prospiptw) aor. "he fell at" - he fell before. "He threw himself at Jesus' feet", Barclay.
      toiV gonasin (u atoV) dat.."[Jesus'] knees" - the knees [of Jesus]. Locative dative with "Jesus" as a possessive genitive. Peter threw himself "at the feet" of Jesus. "Knees" rather than "feet" possibly indicates that Peter actually knelt before Jesus with his head level with Jesus' knees. Of course, Jesus could already be on his knees in squatting fashion, rather than standing in the boat.
      exelqe (exercomai) aor. imp. "go away" - go out. The sense "go out" as if expelling Jesus' presence from his mind, is unlikely. Lit. "go forth from me" = "go and leave me", Fitzmyer.
      kurie (oV) voc. "Lord" - Lord, master. Here, "Supreme Lord", rather than just "Sir", Nolland.
      oJti "-" - for, because. Here expressing cause or reason. In this miracle Peter recognizes something of Jesus' person and so asks Jesus to back off from him "because" he knows himself to be a sinful man. Peter's response is an interesting one. It is not a full-blown recognition of the person of Jesus, nor is it an overt act of repentance, but it does evidence a quality always found in a seeker, namely, a recognition of their unworthiness before God. This prompts an obvious question; is it necessary to begin a gospel presentation by telling the congregation they are sinners? Confronted by the grace of God in Jesus, the seeker can't help but recognize their state of loss. "For I'm only a sinful man", Phillips.

v9
      qamboV gar periscen auton "were astonished" - for astonishment had seized him [and all the ones with him]. Peter is not the only one who is shocked. "Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised", CEV.
      epi + dat "at [the catch of fish]" - concerning. Here serving to identify the particular referent that astonished them, "were astonished with respect to / with reference to the catch of fish."
      wJn gen. rel. pro. "-" - which. The tense is due to attraction to the genitive "of fish", a genitive of content.
      sunelabon (sunlambanw) aor. "they had taken" - they took. "All the fish they had caught", CEV.

v10
      omoiwV adv. "and so" - likewise.
      mh fobou (fobew) pres. imp. "don't be afraid" - This particular negation indicates that the command is to cease an action already in progress. For Jesus, a recognition of unworthiness is no ground for fear, but rather, is the very basis of approval before God.
      apo tou nun "from now on" - from the now, present. For the disciples, things will be different from this moment on. "Beginning immediately", TH.
      esh/ zwgrwn (zwgrew) pres. part. "you will catch [men]" - you will be catching alive. Probably with the sense "rescue", so "save alive", and therefore "gather for salvation." The future of the verb to-be with the present participle forming the periphrastic future. Although it is difficult to give any particular reason for the choice of a periphrastic construction rather than a simple verb, the choice is often for emphasis, and here one suspects that the choice serves to underline durative action; "you will continue to gather people for salvation." This story describes the incorporation of Peter, James and John into Jesus' mission, and so probably serves as Luke's version of the call of the disciples, cf. Mk.1, Matt.4. None-the-less, the story doesn't really describe the call of the disciples, but rather their vocation. "It's people you will be catching", NJB.
      anqrwpouV (oV) "men" - The position is emphatic emphasizing that the disciples will be catching people from now on, and not fish. "From now on you will bring in people instead of fish", CEV.