Fishermen Chosen
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,
Jesus was always followed by a crowd because of his miracles and his teaching. Lake Gennesaret is also called the sea of Galilee and the sea of Tiberias.
Luke 5:2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Luke 5:3 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.
Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Matthew speaks a little of this meeting.
Mat 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Luke 5:5 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.
Luke 5:6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luke 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which 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.
Another similar time of a great catch was after the resurrection of Jesus, this time to remind them of their calling.
John 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
John 21:8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Peter knew he was in the presence of God's son. Flesh always trembles in the presence of God.
Luke 5:9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
Luke 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
This was their calling. In John 21, they had returned to fishing, so Jesus reminded them again, of his callings for them.
Luke 5:11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
They forsook all and followed Jesus, in the beginning and at the end of Jesus' ministry here on earth, they were reminded of their callings in him. We need to be reminded who we are called to serve.
1 Tim 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
The seem Lord who called you at salvation, continues with you. Each of us are called to serve our Lord and we are given Spiritual gifts. We must be reminded of this, so that we do not go back into the world. Listen to the voice of the Lord, listen to your Spiritual teachers and be all that God wants you to be.
Leper cleansed
Luke 5:12 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.
Lepers were not to come near people. They were under law to remain separated and to call out to anyone approaching, unclean, unclean. To touch a leper made someone ceremonial unclean. Yet, the leper took a chance approaching Jesus and by faith asked; if you will, you can make me clean?
Leprosy is a type of sin, which separates us from God. When we feel unclean of heart we keep separated from God, until we hear of Jesus, his miracles, his compassion, then we come to him by faith asking, if you will make me clean? forgive my sins for they are many.
Luke 5:13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
Jesus healed all who came to him. He also will forgive all sins if we come to him meekly and with faith. Jesus loves us and wants to make us free, he makes us worthy of a new clean life, eternal life in him.
Luke 5:14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Jesus wanted to be able to teach openly without a crowd always seeking him just for his miracles. Being God's son he knew the hearts of the religious leaders would be full of envy, seeking to destroy him. The leper was made clean and was to be examined by a priest, then an offering was to be made.
Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Lev 14:5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
Lev 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
Lev 14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
Even in the law, blood was required from one sacrifice to make one free of sin for a time. The sacrifice of Jesus makes us clean for all time.
Luke 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Luke 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
Jesus needed time alone to pray, not at the temple, but in the wilderness, a praying place not made by human hands. This was his favorite place to talk with God, his father who sent him to do good works and to die to bring us to God in heaven without sin.
Sins forgiven
Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
He was teaching in a home that had many religious leaders and experts of the law. The power of the Lord was present to heal them. When the power of the Lord is present we need to come to him in faith and receive. Yet, the religious leaders had their own power and pride. They came to judge, not to receive healing. We have this spirit in the church today, some who come openly to receive of the Lord and the expert judges who are looking to condemn what does not fit their learning. God may move in a new way, we should expect the unexpected.
Luke 5:18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
Luke 5:19 And when they could not find by what 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.
Such faith and ingenuity, the afflicted one had two friends that were determined to help him.
Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
The result of this unusual faith was a new thing from Jesus; your sins are forgiven. Wait Jesus? Do you not see all the religious leaders in the room waiting to judge you?
Luke 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
Luke 5:23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
Luke 5:24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
Luke 5:25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
Wow! An open display of God's power through his Son. Jesus spoke of himself as the son of man, the son of David, the one who would be the promised one from God.
Luke 5:26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
A good ending to the story, they saw and were amazed and were full of fear. Fear of God is a good thing. Flesh trembles in the presence of God, is humbled and God responds with love and grace. Fear may have another result for those who are filled with pride, they will be envious and seek to destroy that which takes away from their own self praise. This is the way the children of the devil's spirit react. They seek to destroy good and exalt themselves over God. This is how the devil was before God cast him from heaven to earth and this is the way of those who follow him. If we come to Jesus in faith and humble ourselves before God, he will heal us and forgive our sins.
Matthew called
Luke 5:27 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.
Levi is Matthew, who wrote the gospel by this name through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He was a publican, one who collected taxes for the Romans. This job was sold to the highest bidder, who then added a surcharge on the actual tax that was due from those who were taxed. He was in his place of gathering taxes, as the people came with their money. Publicans were hated by the people who were taxed, somewhat like IRS agents who earn their money by tax audits. They were looking to make money off of the poor taxed people. Jesus called Matthew to follow him.
Luke 5:28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
Amazingly, he left all behind, his money making business, to follow Jesus. He did the best thing. We will never go wrong if we choose to follow Jesus, even it means leaving behind our way of making a big income.
Luke 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.
Luke 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
The publicans own scribes and Pharisees were there at the feast, no doubt benefiting with the others, but they were murmuring against the disciples of Jesus. Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? Were we not commanded to be separate from sins? No doubt the religious leaders benefited from food and the offerings of these sinners. But they did not like them.
Luke 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Jesus is the friend of sinners. He came to make them well, to heal them and to forgive their sins.
Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Yes, Jesus came to save sinners. That was his purpose.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
New wine
Luke 5:33 And 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?
Luke 5:34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
Luke 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
Fasting and prayer is to know the will of God. Jesus was the will of God in their midst.
Luke 5:36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
Speaking of the old testament of the law and the new testament of salvation by faith in Jesus and his grace.
Luke 5:37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Luke 5:38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
They were comfortable and drunk with the old wine, their sins remained, and their old ways under the law. Jesus brings new wine, without alchohol, forgiveness of sins, joy of the Holy Ghost and a sound mind.
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