1 Now it came about that while the people came pushing to be near him, and to have knowledge of the word of God, he was by a wide stretch of water named Gennesaret;
2 And he saw two boats by the edge of the water, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3 And he got into one of the boats, the property of Simon, and made a request to him to go a little way out from the land. And being seated he gave the people teaching from the boat.
4 And when his talk was ended, he said to Simon, Go out into deep water, and let down your nets for fish.
5 And Simon, answering, said, Master, we were working all night and we took nothing: but at your word I will let down the nets.
6 And when they had done this, they got such a great number of fish that it seemed as if their nets would be broken;
7 And they made signs to their friends in the other boat to come to their help. And they came, and the two boats were so full that they were going down.
8 But Simon, when he saw it, went down at the knees of Jesus and said, Go away from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner.
9 For he was full of wonder and so were all those who were with him, at the number of fish which they had taken;
10 And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were working with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from this time forward you will be a fisher of men.
11 And when they had got their boats to the land, they gave up everything and went after him.
12 And it came about that while he was in one of the towns, there was a leper there: and when he saw Jesus he went down on his face in prayer to him, saying, Lord, if it is your pleasure, you have power to make me clean.
13 And he put out his hand to him and said, It is my pleasure; be clean. And straight away his disease went from him.
14 And he gave him orders: Say nothing to any man, but let the priest see you and give an offering so that you may be made clean, as the law of Moses says, and for a witness to them.
15 But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.
16 But he went away by himself to a waste place for prayer.
17 And it came about that on one of these days he was teaching; and some Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him, to make those who were ill free from their diseases.
18 And some men had with them, on a bed, a man who was ill, without power of moving; and they made attempts to get him in and put him before Jesus.
19 And because of the mass of people, there was no way to get him in; so they went up on the top of the house and let him down through the roof, on his bed, into the middle in front of Jesus.
20 And seeing their faith he said, Man, you have forgiveness for your sins.
21 And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?
22 But Jesus, who had knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is the simpler: to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go?
24 But so that you may see that on earth the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins, (he said to the man who was ill,) I say to you, Get up, and take up your bed, and go into your house.
25 And straight away he got up before them, and took up his bed and went away to his house giving praise to God.
26 And wonder overcame them all, and they gave glory to God; and they were full of fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
27 And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.
28 And giving up his business, he got up and went after him.
29 And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?
31 And Jesus, answering, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.
32 I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.
33 And they said to him, The disciples of John frequently go without food, and make prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your disciples take food and drink.
34 And Jesus said, Are you able to make the friends of the newly-married man go without food when he is with them?
35 But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food.
36 And he said to them, in a story, No man takes a bit of cloth from a new coat and puts it on to an old coat, for so the new coat would be damaged and the bit from the new would not go well with the old.
37 And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins, for fear that the skins will be burst by the new wine, and the wine be let out, and the skins come to destruction.
38 But new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.
39 And no man, having had old wine, has any desire for new, for he says, The old is better.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 5
Commentary on Luke 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Lu 5:1-11. Miraculous Draught of Fishes—Call of Peter, James, and John.
Not their first call, however, recorded in Joh 1:35-42; nor their second, recorded in Mt 4:18-22; but their third and last before their appointment to the apostleship. That these calls were all distinct and progressive, seems quite plain. (Similar stages are observable in other eminent servants of Christ.)
3. taught … out of the ship—(See on Mt 13:2).
4. for a draught—munificent recompense for the use of his boat.
5. Master—betokening not surely a first acquaintance, but a relationship already formed.
all night—the usual time of fishing then (Joh 21:3), and even now Peter, as a fisherman, knew how hopeless it was to "let down his net" again, save as a mere act of faith, "at His word" of command, which carried in it, as it ever does, assurance of success. (This shows he must have been already and for some time a follower of Christ.)
6. net brake—rather "was breaking," or "beginning to break," as in Lu 5:7, "beginning to sink."
8. Depart, &c.—Did Peter then wish Christ to leave him? Verily no. His all was wrapt up in Him (Joh 6:68). "It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for Thee." (Compare Isa 6:5.)
10. Simon, fear not—This shows how the Lord read Peter's speech. The more highly they deemed Him, ever the more grateful it was to the Redeemer's spirit. Never did they pain Him by manifesting too lofty conceptions of Him.
from henceforth—marking a new stage of their connection with Christ. The last was simply, "I will make you fishers."
fishers of men—"What wilt thou think, Simon, overwhelmed by this draught of fishes, when I shall bring to thy net what will beggar all this glory?" (See on Mt 4:18.)
11. forsook all—They did this before (Mt 4:20); now they do it again; and yet after the Crucifixion they are at their boats once more (Joh 21:3). In such a business this is easily conceivable. After pentecost, however, they appear to have finally abandoned their secular calling.
Lu 5:12-16. Leper Healed.
(See on Mt 8:2-4.)
15. But so, &c.—(See Mr 1:45).
Lu 5:17-26. Paralytic Healed.
(See on Mt 9:1-8).
17. Pharisees and doctors … sitting by—the highest testimony yet borne to our Lord's growing influence, and the necessity increasingly felt by the ecclesiastics throughout the country of coming to some definite judgment regarding Him.
power of the Lord … present—with Jesus.
to heal them—the sick people.
19. housetop—the flat roof.
through the tiling … before Jesus—(See on Mr 2:2).
24. take up thy couch—"sweet saying! The bed had borne the man; now the man shall bear the bed!" [Bengel].
Lu 5:27-32. Levi's Call and Feast.
(See on Mt 9:9-13; and Mr 2:14.)
30. their scribes—a mode of expression showing that Luke was writing for Gentiles.
Lu 5:33-39. Fasting.
(See on Mt 9:14-17.)
The incongruities mentioned in Lu 5:36-38 were intended to illustrate the difference between the genius of the old and new economies, and the danger of mixing up the one with the other. As in the one case supposed, "the rent is made worse," and in the other, "the new wine is spilled," so by a mongrel mixture of the ascetic ritualism of the old with the spiritual freedom of the new economy, both are disfigured and destroyed. The additional parable in Lu 5:39, which is peculiar to Luke, has been variously interpreted. But the "new wine" seems plainly to be the evangelical freedom which Christ was introducing; and the old, the opposite spirit of Judaism: men long accustomed to the latter could not be expected "straightway"—all at once—to take a liking for the former; that is, "These inquiries about the difference between My disciples and the Pharisees," and even John's, are not surprising; they are the effect of a natural revulsion against sudden change, which time will cure; the new wine will itself in time become old, and so acquire all the added charms of antiquity. What lessons does this teach, on the one hand, to those who unreasonably cling to what is getting antiquated; and, on the other, to hasty reformers who have no patience with the timidity of their weaker brethren!