Luke 5, Part One

The calling of the first four apostles (vs. 1-4)—Luke adds some information about the call of Peter, Andrew, James, and John that Matthew and Mark don’t have (in fact, Luke doesn’t mention Andrew at all). A multitude “pressed about Him to hear the word of God” (v. 1), and apparently pressed so closely, that He was forced out into one of the fishermen’s boats (v. 2). The boat was Simon Peter’s (v. 3), who had been cleaning his fishing nets (v. 2). After He taught the people, He instructed Simon to “launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4). Peter told that they had had no success all night in their fishing, but he would do as Jesus commanded (v. 5). A great haul resulted (vs. 6-7). Jesus was obviously working a miracle here to help substantiate His message to the crowd. It awed, and scared, Peter who, realizing he was standing in the presence of someone special, besought the Lord to “depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (v. 8). Whether Peter was simply overwhelmed by what had happened, or whether he truly recognized Jesus’ deity is debatable; probably the former. As I mentioned earlier, this event is in the second year of Christ’s ministry; John’s gospel indicates that the four fishermen had met Jesus the previous year, so this wasn’t the initial contact He had with them. We learn in verse 10 that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were partners with Simon (and Andrew, although again, the latter is omitted here from Luke’s record). Jesus tells them, “do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men" (v. 10). And they make the decision: “they forsook all and followed Him” (v. 11). The word “forsook” in the Greek is an interesting one. It’s basic meaning is “to send off,” and is found 146 times in the New Testament. It is variously translated “leave,” “forgive,” “allow,” “let,” “forsake,” “let alone.” These first four apostles didn’t just “leave” their profession, they “sent it off.” A curious concept.

Jesus heals a leper (vs. 12-16)—Jesus then passed on to “a certain city” and was met by a man “who was full of leprosy” (v. 12). The man fell on his face and “implored Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (v. 13). He had it correct. The Lord can do whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115:3), and we should also “implore” Him in our requests. But then realize that sometimes, for His own reasons, He is not willing. Faith is necessary, and this leper demonstrates such. Jesus told him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” The healing was immediate, and Jesus then instructed the man to go to fulfill the Law of Moses’ diktats on the healing of leprosy. These are found in Leviticus 14. Whether the man did it or not we don’t know, but we do know that Jesus healed many more at this time (v. 15). But Luke also tells us that He took time from His busy schedule: “He Himself withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (v. 16). If He could find time to pray, why can’t we?

The healing of the paralytic (vs. 17-26)—This is detailed in Matthew 9:1-9. Here are my comments at that location: “Jesus was teaching in a house in Capernaum when this event took place (Mark 2:1). There were so many people there that nobody else could get in. The friends of a certain paralytic, full of faith and determination, went up to the roof, removed the tiles, and lowered the sick man down to Jesus. The Lord, perceiving their faith, pronounces the man’s sins forgiven. That caused consternation among some of the scribes who thought Jesus was blaspheming—only God can forgive sins. Which is true. Which means Jesus is God. The Lord knew what these scribes were thinking, so, in order to prove that He had the authority to forgive sins, He healed the paralytic as well. In other words, He confirmed His word with the miracle. That was largely the purpose of the miracles—to authenticate who He was. Of course, forgiveness was by far the greater of the two blessings, and that’s why Jesus bestowed it upon the man first.” The usual reaction followed such an event: “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today!’" (Luke 9:26). Strange, indeed. Things never seen before or since.