Note 14 — Chapter V · THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS.

We have hitherto examined only two accounts of the vocation of Peter and his companions; there is a third given by Luke (v. 1–11). I shall not dilate on the minor points of difference14 between his narrative and that of the first two Evangelists; the essential distinction is, that in Luke the disciples do not, as in Matthew and Mark, unite themselves to Jesus on a simple invitation, but in consequence of a plentiful draught of fishes, to which Jesus has assisted Simon. If this feature be allowed to constitute Luke’s narrative a separate one from that of his predecessors, we have next to inquire into its intrinsic credibility, and then to ascertain its relation to that of Matthew and Mark.