Luke 05

The Call of the Disciples

5:1 Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God.

The crowds were growing so large, that the towns could not contain them. Therefore, Jesus went to the Lake of Gennesaret. The crowds were pressing upon Jesus, because they wanted to hear the Word of God. 

5:2 He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

Jesus needed a new way to teach the growing crowds.

5:3 He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

Jesus would have to step out into the boat, row away from the shore, and teach from the boat. Otherwise, He would have been mobbed.

Notice that Jesus taught sitting down. When rabbi read the Scriptures, they stood up. When they interpreted the Scriptures, they sat down. Jesus followed this same rabbi teaching method.

5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Jesus was responsible for feeding His disciples. He decided to feed them a fish dinner.

5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.”

Simon Peter was a professional fisherman. He thought that since he was a fisherman and Jesus was only a carpenter, that he would give Jesus some fisherman advice. If Peter, the professional fisherman, was not able to catch fish in the dark, then it would be even more impossible during the day, because they would sink deeper into the sea. However, Simon Peter obeyed Jesus, because he recognized the messianic authority of Jesus over his fisherman's experiential knowledge.

5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.

Jesus was right and Peter was wrong. This will happen many more times.

5:7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.

They had so many fish, that it almost sunk two boats.

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Simon Peter recognized that Jesus was sovereign over all of nature.

5:9 For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,

These professional fishermen were very experienced and had seen some great catches, but this catch left them astonished. 

5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

All of these professional fishermen were astonished at the size of the catch. Jesus told Simon Peter that he would become a fisher of men. Peter would be snatching them out of the Lake of Fire.

5:11 So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

These were professional fishermen who possessed a very prosperous fishing business. They left their business and followed Jesus. This was a big step, as Jesus was now in control of supporting them with food, shelter, and clothing.

Healing a Leper

5:12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Leprosy was a disease that created chaos in the family and the community. Leprosy was highly contagious. It was so deadly, that the Mosaic Law spent two entire chapters on how to deal with leprosy in the community. Judaism taught that leprosy was a curse from God. The Mosaic Law demanded that the leper be examined physically by a priest. If he was found to be infected, then he was pronounced "unclean" by the Jewish priest. He was moved to a leper colony. He was excommunicated from the temple rituals. Any time that he entered a city, he had to shout "unclean! unclean!"

The leper had observed the healing ministry of Jesus. The leper knew that Jesus could heal him.

The Greek for "covered with leprosy" was πλήρης λέπρας (players lepros), a medical term, meaning an advanced form of leprosy which was about to take the life of the infected. Notice that the leper did not ask Jesus to heal him. He asked Jesus to "make him clean.' The rabbi taught this leper that the disease was caused by some kind of terrible sin that he had committed.

5:13 So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

If one touched a leper, he could be infected. Earlier, Jesus had healed the son of a Capernaum official from twenty miles away. Therefore, Jesus did not have to touch this leper, but He did. This was most likely the first time that the leper had been touched since being pronounced unclean by the Jewish priests. The touch instantly healed the leper, even in his advanced stage.

5:14 Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, “Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

After a leper was cleansed, there was a Mosaic Law which required the leper to be checked by a Jewish priest for seven consecutive days. Each day, the priest would ask the leper three questions.

First, "did you have leprosy?" The answer would be "yes."

Second, "were you healed of leprosy?" The answer would be "yes."

Third, "who healed you?" The answer would be Jesus of Nazareth.

This Mosaic ritual of leprosy healing had never taken place in the history of Israel, because there had never been a leper who had been healed. The rabbi taught that only the Messiah could heal a leper. Now that this leper was healed, Jesus commanded him not to make a public announcement. A public announcement would cause large crowds to come to Jesus for the sake of miracles. Jesus commanded the healed leper to report to the priest, as instructed in Leviticus 14 and 15. The priest would have to report this to the Jewish leadership. In turn, the Jewish leadership would have to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

5:15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses.

Other gospels recorded that this leper did not do as Jesus commanded. Instead, he went out and told everyone the good news and it caused crowd problems for Jesus. People were now coming to see a miracle worker rather than a teacher.

5:16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.

To escape from the crowds, Jesus had to withdraw to the wilderness in order to pray.

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

5:17 Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

After everyone heard that Jesus had performed the messianic miracle of healing the leper, then everyone came out to see H  im. Notice that all of the Pharisees and all of the teachers of the law from every single village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem came to Capernaum to see Jesus. When Jesus performed a messianic miracle, this required serious investigation. People were beginning to believe that He was the Messiah. All of the rabbi walked a three days’ distance to observe this new Messiah. They were still engaged in the first level of their investigation. This means they were allowed to observe, but they could not say anything or ask any questions. 

5:18 Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus.

There were so many rabbi there mixed with the crowd, that they could not get the paralyzed man on a stretcher to Jesus. The multitude of rabbi were causing crowd control problems.

5:19 But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus.

The men had to tear off the roof and lower the paralytic down from a stretcher. This had to anger the owner of the house.

5:20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Only God can forgive sins. Jesus had every rabbi from the surrounding regions coming out to observe a first investigation, so He revealed His true identity. He was claiming that He was God in the flesh.

5:21 Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Since the Jewish leaders were participating in a first investigation, they could not say anything or ask questions. Therefore, they were thinking in their minds that this man had just committed blasphemy. If Jesus was only a man, then He did commit blasphemy. If Jesus was God in the flesh, then He testified the truth about His identity. Rabbi could no longer sit on the fence. They had to either worship Jesus as God or declare Him a blasphemer. 

5:22 When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, “Why are you raising objections within yourselves?

Jesus not only read their minds, but He point blank told them what they were thinking. This omniscience should have caused the Jewish rabbi to kneel down and worship Him.

5:23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Jesus was going to prove His deity by performing a miracle. if Jesus was God, then He did have the power to forgive sins. However, those who were there could not see this attribute of deity visibly. Therefore, Jesus told them that He would prove His deity by making this paralyzed man walk.

5:24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralyzed man – “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.”

The purpose of this miracle was to authenticate that Jesus was God.

5:25 Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.

The man stood up, walked away, and glorified God. 

5:26 Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”

Everyone was astonished. They knew that they had seen a miracle of God.

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him.

Levi is Matthew, the same author of the gospel. He was from the tribe of Levi, meaning that he was called to be a teacher to Israel. However, instead of teaching Israel, he was fleecing them as a tax collector. He was sitting at his tax booth, meaning that he was a custom's collector. Customs collectors were the most despised of all Roman tax collectors. The Jewish tax collectors were despised by their own people, because they were seen as greedy traitors who had sold themselves out to the Roman Empire.

Notice that Jesus made an efficacious call to Levi. It was a call which could not be refused.

5:28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.

Levi immediately left his post and joined Jesus. Leaving without two weeks’ notice from a wealthy government position had to anger Rome. However, Levi chose the things of God over the wealth of Rome. This was a big step for Matthew, because he was leaving the wealthy lifestyle of Rome and exchanging it for complete dependence upon Jesus.

5:29 Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

Since Levi was despised by his own family and nation, the only friends that Levi had were other tax collectors and their like. Levi wanted to celebrate his new birth and his new position in Christ. He desired for all of his shady friends to hear the message of Jesus.

5:30 But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

The Pharisees were now in their second stage of investigation. They were asking questions, attempting to discredit Jesus and His disciples.

5:31 Jesus answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.

The Pharisees believed that they were spiritually healthy and everyone else was spiritually sick.

5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

There is no one righteous, not even the Pharisees. Jesus came to save sinners. 

The Superiority of the New

5:33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.”

According to the Oral Law, everyone was to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. The Pharisees asked Jesus why He was not keeping the Oral Law.

5:34 So Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?

Jesus was the bridegroom. The wedding guests were those who believed upon Him.  Since the Messiah was on earth with His guests, then everyone needed to be celebrating, not fasting.

5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast.”

A bridegroom’s guests do not fast while he is with them because it is a joyous occasion. It is a time of celebration. They fast later after he is gone. When the Roman soldiers take Jesus away and crucify Him, then it will be time for everyone to fast.

5:36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

A new patch of cloth is not put on an old garment, because it will tear the old garment. The teaching of Judaism and the teaching of the Messiah do not thread together. The teaching of the Messiah is a new patch that will tear the teaching of Judaism, so that the garment cannot be worn.  

5:37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

New wine is not put into old wineskins, because the fermentation will break the old skins, causing both the wine and the skins to be ruined. The teaching of Judaism and the teaching of the Messiah do not mix. The new wine of the Messiah will tear open the old wineskin of Judaism, causing the new wine to be spilt and not drinkable. 

5:38 Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins.

The teaching of the Messiah should replace the teaching of Judaism.

5:39 No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

Most people prefer the teaching of Judaism over the teaching of the Messiah.