Luke Chapter 5

The Calling of Four Fishermen

            ¹ While a crowd was pressing on him and listening to God’s message, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret ² and saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

            ³ He got in one of the boats—Simon’s—and asked him to shove it out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and started teaching the crowd from the boat. ⁴ When he finished, he told Simon to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch.

            ⁵ He answered, “We’ve worked all night and haven’t caught a thing. But, at your bidding, I’ll let down the nets.”

            ⁶ When they did, they caught such a big school of fish that their nets started to tear. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help. They came and filled both boats, so they were in danger of sinking. ⁸ When Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ knees, “Go away from me; I’m a sinful man.” ⁹ Amazement over the catch gripped him and the others that were with him, ¹⁰ including James and John, Zebedee’s sons, Simon’s partners. 

            Jesus told Simon, “You don’t need to be afraid. From now on you’ll be ‘catching’ people.”

¹¹ When they brought their boats to land, they left everything behind and went with him.  

Lk 5:1-11

Cleansing a Leper

            ¹² In one town a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell down to him, begging, “Sir, if you’re willing, you can cleanse me.”

¹³ Jesus reached out and touched him, “I’m willing; be cleansed.” Instantly the leprosy was gone. ¹⁴ Jesus told him not to keep it to himself, but to go show himself to a priest and offer for his purification what Moses commanded for a public statement. ¹⁵ Instead, he spread the news about Jesus, and big crowds came together to listen and be healed. ¹⁶ Jesus would go to places away from people and pray.     

Lk 5:12-16

Healing a Paralyzed Man

            ¹⁷ One day he was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there. They’d come from Jerusalem and every village in Galilee and Judaea. The power of the LORD was with him to do healing. ¹⁸ Men carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher were trying to get him in to Jesus. ¹⁹ Since they couldn’t because of the crowd, they got up on the roof, and let him down through the tiles on the stretcher, right in front of Jesus.

            ²⁰ When he saw their faith, he said, “Sir, I’ve forgiven your sins.”

            ²¹ The scribes and Pharisees started thinking, “Who can forgive sins but God?”

            ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking, “Why are you reasoning in yourselves? ²³ Which is easier to say, ‘I’ve forgiven your sins’ or ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ So you can know that the Son of Man has a right on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man—“Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go on home.”

²⁵ At once he stood up, picked up what he was lying on, and went home, praising God. ²⁶ Astonishment gripped them, and they were all praising God, filled with fear, “We’ve seen some incredible things today.”                    

Lk 5:17-26

Calling Matthew

            ²⁷ After that, he went out and saw Levi, a tax collector, sitting in the tax booth, “Come with me.” ²⁸ He left everything behind and went with him.

²⁹ Levi gave a big reception for Jesus in his house. A large group of tax collectors and others were reclining at table with them. ³⁰ The Pharisees and scribes started complaining to his disciples, “Why are you^pl eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; sick ones do. ³² I didn’t come so much to call good people to repentance, as to call sinners.”

Lk 5:27-32

Questions About Fasting

            ³³ People said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and offer prayers like the Pharisees’ disciples do, but yours don’t fast.”

            ³⁴ Jesus said, “You^pl can’t expect groomsmen to fast while the groom’s around, can you? ³⁵ The time’s coming when he’ll be taken away from them. They’ll fast then.”

            ³⁶ He added an illustration:

“Nobody tears a patch off of a new cloak and sews it on an old one. That would ruin something new, and the patch from the new wouldn’t match the old. ³⁷ Nobody puts new wine in old wineskins. The wine would burst the wineskins and drain out, and the wineskins would be ruined. ³⁸ New wine must be put in new wineskins.

³⁹ Nobody that drinks the old wants the new. ‘The old is better,’ they say.” 

Lk 5:33-39