Luke 5NASB
Books
All books

Luke5

New American Standard

1Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

2and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

3And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat.

4Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

6And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;

7so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.

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

9For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

10and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”

11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

12While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

13And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14And He ordered him to tell no one, saying, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

15But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

16But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

17One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

18And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.

19But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

20And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

21The scribes and the Pharisees began thinking of the implications, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, except God alone?”

22But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts?

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

24But so 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, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

25And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

26And they were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. They were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

27After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”

28And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

29And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

30The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

31And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

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

33And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”

34And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you?

35But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

36And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old.

37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

38But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

39And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Luke 5.

Full AI study →

Chapter Summary

In this chapter: 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).

vv1-11

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.

vv12-16

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.

vv17-26

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.

Cross References

Luke 5
v12Matthew 8:2-4thematic

Parallel account of the cleansing of the leper, detailing his humble plea and Christ's healing touch.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v18Matthew 9:2-8thematic

Parallel account of the healing of the paralytic let down through the roof.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v27Matthew 9:9-13thematic

Parallel account of the calling of Levi (Matthew) the publican and the subsequent feast.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v33Matthew 9:14-17thematic

Parallel passage discussing fasting and the parables of the garments and wineskins.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v1Matthew 4:18-22thematic

Parallel calling of the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John by the Sea of Galilee.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v8Isaiah 6:5thematic

Echoes Peter's cry of sinfulness and undoing when confronted with a direct manifestation of divine glory.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v4John 21:6thematic

A highly similar post-resurrection miraculous draught of fish commanded by Jesus on the same lake.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v14Leviticus 14:2thematic

The Mosaic law commanding cleansed lepers to show themselves to the priest for ceremonial testimony.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin

v3Matthew 13:2thematic

Another instance where Jesus uses a ship as a floating pulpit to teach the crowds.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v16Mark 1:35thematic

Parallels Jesus withdrawing to solitary wilderness places early in the morning to pray.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v34John 3:29allusion

John the Baptist himself identifies Jesus as the bridegroom, mirroring Christ's bridegroom metaphor here.

Supported by John Calvin, JFB

v11Luke 14:33thematic

Matches the disciples' action of forsaking all to follow Christ with His explicit demand for discipleship.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v13Genesis 1:3thematic

Illustrates the effortless power of Christ's word ('I will; be thou clean') echoing creation.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v21Isaiah 43:25thematic

Old Testament foundation that God alone possesses the absolute sovereign prerogative to forgive sins.

Supported by Matthew Poole