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Luke 5:1
ESV On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
NIV One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.
NASB Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;
CSB As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God's word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.
NLT One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.
KJV And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

What does Luke 5:1 mean?

Although Luke places his overall Gospel in historical context (Luke 3:1–2), his "orderly account" (Luke 1:3) is not chronological in every detail. Even more than Matthew and Mark, Luke arranges events in Jesus' Galilean ministry by theme. This was a common feature of ancient writing. The theme of Luke 5:1—6:16 is the call of the Twelve to discipleship and the introduction of the new covenant.

Jesus is on the shores of the "lake of Gennesaret," another name for the Sea of Galilee, surrounded by a crowd. Jesus gets distance from the throng by jumping in Peter's boat. For his trouble, Jesus makes sure Peter gets a good catch (Luke 5:2–7). While Luke gives more detail about the fishing, Matthew gives more detail about the "word of God." The theme of Jesus' teaching is "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17), a continuation of John the Baptist's call (Matthew 3:11).

Scholars debate over whether Luke 5:1–11 records the same event as Matthew 4:18–22 and Mark 1:16–20. The order of Jesus' teaching at the synagogue, His healing of Peter's mother-in-law, and the calling of the fishermen are slightly different in each. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The Gospel writers do not promise strict chronology and we can learn much about their themes and priorities by how they ordered their stories.
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