Luke 5 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Luke 5

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5:1 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, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”¹ 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy.² And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus³ stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.⁴ 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”⁵

Footnotes

[1] 5:10 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women
[2] 5:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
[3] 5:13 Greek he
[4] 5:17 Some manuscripts was present to heal them
[5] 5:39 Some manuscripts better

Commentary

v1-3: Jesus taught the people from the boat. This was both a practical arrangement, and an eyewitness detail.

v4: Christ's command to the fishermen was His initiative; He had not asked them about the success of their night's fishing. It also presents an illustration of their later ministry.

v5: 'Last time it didn't work!' they had worked all night, but caught nothing. Nevertheless, Simon took Jesus at His word.

v6-7: The reward for Simon's obedience and faith. Their net was full to overflowing, and they sought help from their partners to bring in the catch.

v8-9: The miracle demonstrated Jesus' greatness and power; and therefore exposed men's sin. Any fruitfulness in our lives must make us humble, not proud; any vision of Christ will reveal sins, unbelief, and poor attitudes.

v10: Jesus called the fishermen into His service, "you will catch men". In catching men, we may need to return to a particular place, or repeat a particular work, but always in obedience to God.

v11: On the Day of Pentecost, God gave a generous 'catch'; and then men and women were added daily.

Luke points out that James and John were partners of Simon, and were therefore used to working together. Later they worked together as leaders in the church.

v12: The man was "covered with leprosy" (or "full of leprosy"); this is perhaps a medical term. It certainly indicates a thorough, well-established disease (compare Is 1.6). The man's desperate state met with the limitless power of Jesus Christ. His prayer was about Christ's willingness; Christ was willing, and therefore he would be cleansed.

v13: "I am willing"; Christ remains willing to answer our prayers.

Christ touched the man, indicating His compassion and power. Under Jewish law a man touching a leper would become unclean; but Christ's power meant that the leper became clean. Human contamination did not spread to Him.

v14-16: Jesus directed the man to the priest to offer the sacrifices required of by the law. This may be the same incident recorded in Mark 1.40-45; Mark records that the man disobeyed the command, and instead spread the news of the power of Jesus.

Certainly news about Jesus did spread. Crowds of people came to Him. His response was to withdraw to lonely places and pray. It seems, in these early months of His ministry, that Jesus sought to avoid publicity, and to shun popularity.

v17: The first clash with the Pharisees; see v30, 33; 6.2, 7, 11. The earlier incident at the Synagogue in Nazareth was a foretaste of later conflicts. Such conflicts continued throughout Christ's ministry, and into the early history of the church.

There is a detail here; Jerusalem was recognised as a seperate administrative district. Luke knows this, which is why he mentions Jerusalem alongside Judea. Another evidence of the accuracy of the text.

The power of the Lord was present to heal and, later, to forgive (v24). This is a proof of Christ's deity, as in 6.19; no human teacher has such power in himself.

v18-19: Luke presents details of the incident. We understand the packed house, and the men's determination to bring their friend to Jesus.

v20-21: Jesus brought the new wine of forgiveness. This was the free offer to all men; forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ. The Pharisees were in no doubt about the claim that was implicit within these words. They realised that God alone could give forgiveness.

v22-24: Jesus knew their thoughts; He had made the 'outrageous' claim to be able to forgive sins; He knew what their response would be. He demonstrated His power (ability, Gk: DUNAMIS) and authority (divine right, Gk: EXOUSIA) by healing the man. In contrast, the Pharisees had neither power nor authority.

Here is confidence for us; for He is able to bring victory into our defeated lives.

v25-26: Immediately the man rose up and walked, and no one present could doubt Jesus' power. Luke emphasises the response of the ordinary people; they were all amazed.

v27: Jesus called an ordinary man as a disciple; his training was simply to be with Jesus; the Twelve were described as uneducated and untrained men, Acts 4.13, yet they had been with Jesus.

v28: Levi, like others, v11, left all to follow Jesus.

v29: His feast was generous and costly; yet he had been captivated by Jesus; nothing else mattered to him now.

There is a pattern of Christ ministering at meals. He used ordinary, formal, occasions, to minister to those around Him.

v30-32: The Pharisees, with their legalistic righteousness, criticised Jesus who ate with tax collectors. Yet Christ had come for such as these; He came to call sinners to repentance.

The Pharisees were, of course, equally in need of Jesus, yet they thought they needed no repentance.

v33-35: The physical presence of Jesus was a temporary thing; therefore the disciples' behaviour was different. In particular, they would have fasted after He had left them.

v36-39: The parable of the new wine. The basic truth would be clear; new wine had to be put into new wineskins.

The truth was about forgiveness and discipleship, the new way of life, contrasted with the old religion. There could be no compromise between old and new. Jesus demanded a change of life; tax collectors and fishermen had left all to follow Him, and He expected others to do the same.