Luke 5 Commentary

Jesus begins to recruit His disciples. As Jesus walks along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He sees two sets of brothers who are fishermen: Simon and Andrew, and James and John. After He finishes His teaching, Jesus tells Simon to cast off from shore and let down his nets to fish. Simon obeys and they catch two boats full of fish. Simon recognizes that Jesus is the Christ and He tells him that from now on Simon will be catching men instead. After returning to shore, the four men leave everything and follow Jesus.

A leper comes to Jesus, asking to be made clean. Jesus touches and miraculously heals the leper instantly. Jesus commands the man to tell no one and to show himself to the priest to make an offering for his cleansing.

Luke makes the observation that it was Jesus’s practice to often slip away to the wilderness so He could spend time by Himself with God, praying.

Jesus publicly and dramatically heals a paralytic. Before Jesus heals this man, He tells him that his sins are forgiven, which causes some of the scribes and Pharisees in the crowd to silently accuse Jesus of blasphemy in their hearts. Jesus calls out their blasphemous unbelief and demonstrates that He is Who He claims to be by healing the paralytic, telling him to get up and go home. Accordingly, the crowds are amazed and begin glorifying God.

Jesus calls Levi (Matthew), a despised tax collector, to follow Him. Levi does. Later Jesus is reclining at a table in Levi’s home with other tax collectors and sinners when the Pharisees ask Jesus’s disciples why their master associates with vile people. Jesus responds to them with a parable about how physicians spend their time with those who are sick rather than those who are healthy.

The Pharisees confront Jesus about why His disciples do not fast and pray (like they and the disciples of John the Baptizer do). Jesus answers them by parable, explaining that it is not appropriate for the attendants of the Bridegroom to fast when he is with them. That is the time for celebrating. But once he leaves, then will come the days for fasting.

Jesus shares two parables about the incompatibility between the old patterns of righteousness as taught by the Pharisees, and the new way of life that He has come to offer.