Luke 5

1 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

2 and saw two ships that were by the shore of the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets.

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net was breaking.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, who were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down on his knees before Jesus, saying, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.

9 For he was overcome with fear, and all that were with him, at the catch of the fishes which they had taken;

10 and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from now on thou shalt catch men.

11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him.

12 And it came to pass when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

13 And he put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

14 And he charged him to tell no one. But go and show thyself to the priest and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

15 But so much the more his fame went forth, and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

16 But he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.

17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every town of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him.

19 And when they could not find any way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22 Then Jesus, knowing their thoughts and answering them said, What reason ye in your hearts?

23 What is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk?

24 But that ye may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins (he said unto the paralytic), I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy couch and go to thine house.

25 And immediately he rose up before them and took up that upon which he lay and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen marvels today.

27 And after these things he went forth and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom, and he said unto him, Follow me.

28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

29 And Levi made a great banquet in his own house and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down at the table with them.

30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

31 And Jesus answering said unto them, Those that are whole have no need of a physician, but those that are sick.

32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

33 Then they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?

34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?

35 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

36 And he also spoke a parable unto them: No one takes a piece of a new garment to mend an old one; if otherwise, then the new one is rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new does not agree with the old.

37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled and the wineskins shall perish.

38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

39 No one also having drunk of the old straightway desires the new, for he says, The old is better.

Luke 5 Commentary

Chapter 5

The miraculous draught of fishes, Peter, James, and John called. (1-11) A leper cleansed. (12-16) A paralytic cured. (17-26) Levi called, Christ's answer to the Pharisees. (27-39)

Verses 1-11 When Christ had done preaching, he told Peter to apply to the business of his calling. Time spent on week days in public exercises of religion, need be but little hinderance in time, and may be great furtherance to us in temper of mind, as to our worldly business. With what cheerfulness may we go about the duties of our calling, when we have been with God, and thus have our worldly employments sanctified to us by the word and prayer! Though they had taken nothing, yet Christ told them to let down their nets again. We must not abruptly quit our callings because we have not the success in them we desire. We are likely to speed well, when we follow the guidance of Christ's word. The draught of fishes was by a miracle. We must all, like Peter, own ourselves to be sinful men, therefore Jesus Christ might justly depart from us. But we must beseech him that he would not depart; for woe unto us if the Saviour depart from sinners! Rather let us entreat him to come and dwell in our hearts by faith, that he may transform and cleanse them. These fishermen forsook all, and followed Jesus, when their calling prospered. When riches increase, and we are tempted to set our hearts upon them, then to quit them for Christ is thankworthy.

Verses 12-16 This man is said to be full of leprosy; he had that distemper in a high degree, which represents our natural pollution by sin; we are full of that leprosy; from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there is no soundness in us. Strong confidence and deep humility are united in the words of this leper. And if any sinner, from a deep sense of vileness, says, I know the Lord can cleanse, but will he look upon such a one as me? will he apply his own precious blood for my cleansing and healing? Yes, he will. Speak not as doubting, but as humbly referring the matter to Christ. And being saved from the guilt and power of our sins, let us spread abroad Christ's fame, and bring others to hear him and to be healed.

Verses 17-26 How many are there in our assemblies, where the gospel is preached, who do not sit under the word, but sit by! It is to them as a tale that is told them, not as a message that is sent to them. Observe the duties taught and recommended to us by the history of the paralytic. In applying to Christ, we must be very pressing and urgent; that is an evidence of faith, and is very pleasing to Christ, and prevailing with him. Give us, Lord, the same kind of faith with respect to thy ability and willingness to heal our souls. Give us to desire the pardon of sin more than any earthly blessing, or life itself. Enable us to believe thy power to forgive sins; then will our souls cheerfully arise and go where thou pleasest.

Verses 27-39 It was a wonder of Christ's grace, that he would call a publican to be his disciple and follower. It was a wonder of his grace, that the call was made so effectual. It was a wonder of his grace, that he came to call sinners to repentance, and to assure them of pardon. It was a wonder of his grace, that he so patiently bore the contradiction of sinners against himself and his disciples. It was a wonder of his grace, that he fixed the services of his disciples according to their strength and standing. The Lord trains up his people gradually for the trials allotted them; we should copy his example in dealing with the weak in faith, or the tempted believer.