Luke | Chapter 5

Luke 5:1-3

 Every Pulpit is a fishing boat

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 1-3 A boat by the lake

 

 

Introduction

 

As all of you are well aware, the chapter divisions and verse numbering were all added at a much later date and not a part of the writer’s original manuscript. Their purpose in adding the chapter and verse divisions was to make it easier for the future readers to find and remember the texts that we study.

While I have no problem with the division given this chapter as it relates to the previous, I do think that the 44th verse of the 4th chapter ought to be read at the start of our study into the 5th chapter as I believe that it is intended to start this chapter instead of concluding the previous one. So I would prefer this chapter to start with, “And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.” Followed by, “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the Word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret” (also known as the Sea of Galilee).

Luke is clearly still focused upon the power and authority of the Word of God as taught by Jesus, but there is a clear difference, a contrast, found in chapter five when compared with chapter four. The contrast is not the activity of teaching the Word of God but rather it is found in the location of the teaching both geographically as the 44th verse states that Jesus did so in synagogues then we find Jesus still engaged in the activity of teaching only now in the 1st verse He is doing so by the Sea of Galilee. But the contrast is also between the great crowds to that of individuals, from corporate teaching to individuals done personally.

I believe that in the 5th chapter Luke wants to emphasize that Jesus’ teaching although powerful and authoritative never lacked the personal and specific touch that appealed to individuals. This is important as it relates to the Greek mindset and supernatural power as it is often associated with grand displays, but such grand displays often bypass the individual personal needs of humanity, and Luke wants his readers to understand that this was NOT the case with Christ. We are given this view in the 5th chapter as Jesus will meet personally with four specific individuals all of which will cause the Pharisees to issue two complaints to Jesus about those that were following Jesus in verses 30-39 and those complaints are indirectly related to the personal nature of His ministry of the Word.

  • 1-11 Jesus and Peter (failure of commitment)
  • 12-16 Jesus and a Leper (hopeless situation)
  • 17-26 Jesus and a Paralytic (lack of personal mobility)
  • 27-29 Jesus and Levi (Matthew) the tax collector (social outcast)
  • 30-39 Scribes and Pharisees two complaints against Jesus’ ministry…you are hanging around the wrong people (too personal) and you aren’t religious enough.

 My general observation is how personal Jesus’ teaching was even when it was given to large crowds. We are prone to think in terms of the size and grandeur things and the larger they are the more effective they are. Yet what I see in the 5th chapter is that Jesus always seemed interested in the individual even when teaching the crowds that gathered. Jesus’ teaching style was such that a person could have been in a crowd but still felt as though they were alone in a quiet room with Him. In the modern church I’m afraid that the teaching is more often than not aimed at the multitude to develop a large following and popularity instead of the individual and perhaps it’s for this reason that most modern teaching reaches neither. Transformational teaching is that quality that causes each and every person that hears it to experience Jesus’ presence and truth in such a way that they think that He was speaking to them individually and personally.

 

 Vs. 1-3 A boat by the lake

 

Vs. 1 It is always a great moment in a person’s life when they experience the call of God upon their life and these 11 verses record such a call upon Peter’s as well as the two brothers who were the sons of Zebedee, namely James and John. In this case Luke reveals the occasion of this which includes the location as well as the event that surrounded the call. With regards to the location, Luke tells us that it was upon the lake called Gennesaret which is another name for the Sea of Tiberias also the same body of water as the Sea of Galilee. This body of water is not very large as it is around 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. Geographically it lies in a dip in the earth service which places it a 680 feet below sea level and creates both a tropical climate as well as a lake very prone to sudden and extreme weather conditions and storms. We are also told that a great crowd had gathered so much so that they were pressing into Jesus so that He had need to commandeer a boat in which there were two near Him.

I love how J. Vernon McGee refers to this section when He quipped, “Every pulpit is a fishing boat, a place to give out the Word of God and attempt to catch fish (men).” And in this case although Jesus was teaching by the Sea and a great multitude was all about Him, His message was aimed at a fisherman named Peter. Though fisherman were not thought of as a good ground for disciples Jesus viewed them very differently.

  • These commercial fisherman that fished the Sea of Galilee had to have great courage and daring to navigate the lake.
  • They needed to great patience and determination to fish along the seashore from a boat.
  • They need to work together well with others as they used nets to fish with which required multiple fisherman to be successful.
  • They had to be efficient and faithful in the tasks at hand as fishing wasn’t determined by luck but by faith and skill, faith that the Lord would direct them to the right spot and skill once they were at the right sport to haul in the catch.
  • According to John 21:1-3 there may have been as many as 7 of the 12 that were commercial fisherman. Peter said to the 7 other disciples gathered by the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection and prior to the ascension when Jesus met them there, “I’m going fishing! They all said we are going with you also.”

Vs. 2-3 Some wrongly assume that this a part of the synoptic gospels and the call of Peter, James and John on the Sea of Galilee is the same encounter that is also found in Matthew 4:20 and Mark 1:16-20. Before I show you why that is not the case in the text let’s go back and trace Jesus’ encounters Peter prior to this event before us as the two of them had met and knew each other well.

  • Their first meeting is found near the time of Jesus’ baptism in John 1:29-42. It is here that we read that John the Baptist saw Jesus along the Jordan river as he was baptizing and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Then we are told in verse 1:35 that the next day that John the Baptist stood with two of his disciples and again Jesus was near them as John the Baptist said again, “Behold the Lamb of God.” And this must have been understood as an invitation as the two disciples left following John the Baptist and began following Jesus we are told in 1:37. We know the identification of one of those disciples was Andrew, Peter’s brother (1:40), and it is believed that 2nd disciple present that day was the apostle John. It is either later that day or the next that Andrew finds his brother Simon and tells him that they have “found the Messiah” and when Simon comes to meet Jesus where Jesus says, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas.” Literally verse 42 reads, He looked down into Peter and said, “You are….then He said….You shall be”. Our Lord peers down into what Peter was at that moment and says, “I know who you are, ah but I also know what you shall be.” Jesus saw Simon He said, “I know you; you are shifting sand (Simon) but I also know what you will be, Peter the rock”. Jesus knew that Simon was a person “easily influenced by what others are saying and doing around him.” Ah but Jesus didn’t stop with what Peter was, instead, He saw what he would become, an anchor, a rock, a steadying influence for all around him. From this time forward Peter was part of those numbered among Jesus’ followers, but the early part of their discipleship was not a constant following as later they would become part of the 12.
  • The second encounter and the one that is often confused with this one before us in Luke 5:1-11 is found in Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20. Both Matthew and Mark record the same encounter as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, and it could be the reason that Luke chooses a different name for the Sea of Galilee calling it the lake called Gennesaret as to distinguish these two encounters. The differences are very evident for the Bible student: Both Matthew and Mark first describe Jesus seeing the activity of the two brothers Simon and Andrew as they were engaged in “casting a net into the sea”. When compared to Luke’s different account, Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee as the above story but in Matthew and Mark there is no mention of a great multitude that Jesus was teaching that pressed into Him. Neither is there any immediate mention of the two brothers engaged in fishing upon the lake and instead Luke says that what Jesus’ saw was two empty boats near the shore, and the fishermen were gone as they were involved elsewhere in washing their nets. This fact in the narrative indicates a different time of day as well as a different day as fishing was done in the evening near the shore and washing nets was done near mid-day to take advantage of the drying sun. Biblical fishing nets were primarily made fromlinen or flax fibers. They had to be carefully cleaned and dried after each use to prevent them from rotting. These are two different stories that have the similarity of location as well as people involved but are nonetheless very different. I have no doubt that the fishermen were close by as Jesus engages Peter in a conversation. And Peter goes back to the boat they had left the night before after fishing without success, verse 5. The washing of nets had followed the night of failure and that is a key part of the story.
  • The third encounter is one that we noticed in Luke chapter 4:38-39 and clearly this story indicates that Jesus and Peter had a relationship as He went to Simon’s house.

The chronology of Peter and Jesus’ relationship as it relates to Luke 5:1-11 is best understood when you look at Matthew and Mark as the four fishermen are called in which is linked with Jesus first year of ministry whereas the event of Luke 5:1-11 is associated with the 2ndyear of ministry.

There is no mention of Jesus rebuking Peter for still being employed as a fisherman a year or so after Jesus called in Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20 but clearly this fact changes our understanding of the passage as well as the calling upon Peter. They had left their fishing nets to go when Jesus had first called them a year prior, but they had gone back to those same boats when they ought to have been empty as Jesus had found them that day. They had gone back to their vocation at the expense of their calling and as we note in verse 5 they had “toiled all night and caught nothing!” It is then in the story that Jesus came by engaged in their calling by teaching the multitude by the shore of Galilee, and what does Jesus do? Well He quietly commandeers Peter’s boat and invites him to join Him. There is a great parallel between what Jesus does for Peter and the miracle of the gathering of fish as both required the same three things one with fish and the other with people:

  • Both must see what others won’t see, fish in the daylight hours in deep water where there shouldn’t be any and a Rock when everyone including Peter only saw shifting sand.
  • Both require us to continue when others will quit. They had parked their boats near the shore and were washing their nets and letting them dry because they had failed. Peter had quit on himself, but Jesus wasn’t quitting on him.
  • Both require us to do what others believe is impossible cause that which is unfruitful to become fruitful! Jesus had told Peter to launch out into the deep and let down the nets, plural. But Peter was obedient only partially at Jesus’ word as he went out into the deep but only let out one net. This shows us that the problem from Peter’s perspective wasn’t Jesus but what He had to work with namely Peter and why he responds the way he does in verse 8 saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”.

We will take up the remainder of these 11 verses next week and you can read ahead from

verse 4-11 where we will notice:

  • 4-7 Nets of obedience
  • 8-11 From failure to follower

 

 

 

Luke 5:4-11

“Fishing with the Shepherd”

 

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 4-7 Nets of obedience
  • 8-11 From failure to follower

 

 

Introduction

As I mentioned last week I believe that the 5th chapter is a continuation of Luke’s emphasis upon the power and authority of the ministry of the Word of God by Jesus with the notable difference in not only the locations but also the personal and intimate way in which Jesus taught. All four of the examples Luke gives illustrate this fact. As does the two complaints that were lodged against Him by the religious leaders:

  • 1-11 Jesus and Peter
  • 12-16 Jesus and a Leper
  • 17-26 Jesus and a Paralytic
  • 27-29 Jesus and Levi (Matthew) the tax collector
  • 30-39 Scribes and Pharisees two complaints against Jesus’ ministry…you are hanging around the wrong people and you aren’t religious enough.

As this relates specifically with the first 11 verses and Peter we noted that this story I believe is not the same as found in Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20 as those both describe an earlier encounter that appears to have happened during Jesus first year of His ministry in obscurity sometime shortly after His baptism by John and His temptation in the wilderness which Luke writes about in 4:1-13. This is also seen in the stark differences between the two encounters as seen in the activities of Peter and his brother as both Matthew and Mark describe these two brothers casting a net into the sea while Luke says that they were not in the boat but rather a distance away washing and drying the nets after having failed to catch fish the night before. This fact would illustrate a different time of day at very least. Furthermore, neither Matthew nor Mark mention that Jesus was engaged in teaching a large multitude that was pressing into to Him thus the need for the boat where Luke does. The only conclusions you can make in the discrepancies between these two stories if you maintain that they are indeed the same story is that one of the gospel writers is wrong concerning the details which means the bible is not inspired by God or they have left out or added some pertinent details that the other didn’t, but that still doesn’t account for the different time of day based upon the different activity of Peter and Andrew. The other possibility is what I have concluded and that is that these are two different callings as two different times. This is the best answer for me as it fits the context of this passage. It is clear that Jesus had already established a relationship with Peter by the time of this meeting as we have three known encounters:

  • Their first meeting was soon after Jesus’ baptism in John 1:29-42. It was then that Andrew finds his brother Simon and tells him that they have “found the Messiah” and when Simon comes to meet Jesus where Jesus says, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas.” Literally verse 42 reads, He looked down into Peter and said, “You are….then He said….You shall be”. From this time forward Peter was part of those numbered among Jesus’ followers.
  • The second encounter and the one that is often confused with this one before us in Luke 5:1-11 is the Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20, and it could be the reason that Luke chooses a different name for the Sea of Galilee calling it the lake called Gennesaret as to distinguish these two encounters.
  • The third encounter is one that we noticed in Luke chapter 4:38-39 and clearly this story indicates that Jesus and Peter had a relationship as He went to Simon’s house.

There are three parts of this story that are intertwined throughout these 11 verses:

  • The sermon from the shore and boat
  • The miracle of the calling forth of a great many fish
  • The call of Simon

 

Vs. 4-7 Nets of obedience

Vs. 4 We are not given the amount of time that Jesus had been teaching before He had to stop speaking and commandeered Peter and his boat nor are we given the length of time Jesus taught before He stopped talking and told Peter to “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” There are several things in this story that perfectly illustrate what I believe was going in Peter’s heart with regards to Jesus’ calling him into ministry a year or so prior and what was about to take place on this very day:

  • First notice the request and then the command in verses 3-4. The request by Jesus was Him asking Peter to get in the boat as he wasn’t in the boat but a short distance away washing nets followed by the request asking him to “put out a little from land” as Jesus sat down and taught the multitude. This was followed by the command in verse 4 to “launch out into the deep.”

Those two different statements fit exactly Peter situation with regards to Jesus calling him into ministry. As recorded for us in Matthew and Mark, Peter had only put out a little from his old life and in such putting out a little had allowed him to continue in the fishing business catching fish but as seen he had been doing this all night and had caught nothing. There is a good number of people that have put out a little from land with regards to God’s call upon their life. They have tried but experienced failure when trying to navigate even shallow water close to shore. Half commitments and superficial promises will never suffice as we will have too much of Jesus to be successful in the world and too much of the world to accomplish God’s purposes.

This is also seen by the two words, THEN in verse 3 speaking of getting into the boat and the WHEN of verse 4 speaking of the timing of Peter being ready to launch out into a deeper commitment. If Peter hadn’t obeyed the easier request he would never have been able to participate in the miraculous life with Jesus in ministry. This was perhaps the first time Peter heard that the instruments of his ordinary life can be turned into being useful for his new calling if he would but just obeyed and gave his time and talent over to the Master. That is often the way of Jesus a request to trust a little where they are new and unsure, followed by a command to launch out into the deep. Our talents and time must find a new Master as left to ourselves we will toil all night in vain. And when we yield our time and talent to the Lord we will be astounded at our Lord’s success where there was once just labor and failure.

  • Second is the manner of letting down the nets as Luke uses the plural form of the word in the Greek for “nets”. The word is used else where to mean to slacken or to loosen as one would do with the reigns of a horse. Five of the seven times the word is used in the New Testament it is by Luke and was a familiar medical term as it denoted relaxation of the limbs or the loosing of bandages. As such it speaks of a slower more natural motion. When Peter uses the word for “net” in verse 5 it is the general term for net and is in the singular and describes a mechanical approach. I think in some ways this describes Peter’s struggle with commitment and that was he was prone to do so on emotions and self-effort.

Peter had at his first calling left the fishing and nets to go with Jesus when He had asked him too, but he had gone back and was now back at fishing with those same nets and was experiencing failure.  Yet with that said, notice that with Jesus there was no personal rebuke, no verbal sign of disappointment. Instead, what follows is a further invitation to come on board and go deeper with the promise and expectation of greater fruitfulness in life as well as ministry. Jesus comes and gets on board in the very area that Peter had gone back to, and He takes command.

Vs. 5 Jesus had finished teaching the multitudes that had gathered on the shore and now it was time for the lesson to continue with Peter. I just love the fact here that after Jesus had called them to leave those boats and nets and that even though they have returned to them Jesus comes and goes fishing with them! He does so by taking possession of the boat and teaches from it and when finished He joins them in their fishing business. Peter understood this based upon his title given to Jesus in verse 5 as he calls Him “Master or captain” not “rabi or teacher”! That is how Peter started his statement back to Jesus’ command and I’ve got to say that Peter was an experienced fisherman who knew well the best time and best location to catch fish, and it wasn’t at noon out in the deep waters. Peter’s brief protest after calling Jesus the Captain of the fishing boat is to tamper down the expectations by saying, “I was out fishing at the best time and in the right spot and didn’t catch anything even after being out all night”. That was Peter’s estimation not just of fishing but of what he thought of Jesus opinion of who he was. It seems to me the perfect illustration of Peter tampering down the expectations as he saw only his failings. We are reminded of that back in John 1:29-42 where Jesus says, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas.”  or, He looked down into Peter and said, “You are….then He said….You shall be”.

Vs. 6-7 Oh how surprised we are at what God can do through our lives when we but let Him have control over our hearts! The miracle of the great catch of fish was so much that it was overwhelming not only the nets but both boats! Peter was going to learn a lesson of identity and that it is NOT how we see ourselves that matters but rather how the Lord sees us! I wonder how often Peter would think of this story throughout his life? How the strain of life and the improper view of ourselves can hinder the work God can do in us and through us and the first step is always to believe in how He sees us. As Peter might have remembered this story years later he would remember that it all started with him beginning anew at the Word of Jesus. He would remember as well how he was astonished at the success and how those the nets could handle the blessing, and the boats didn’t sink under the weight of God directions. I’m also blessed to see that Peter wastes no time in calling for others to help in the blessing as he signaled to his partners in the other boat to come help them.

Peter may have told this story by saying that he was never more convinced of the futility of going out fishing at the wrong time of day in deep water and how certain he was that it would have yielded no fish, but “I let the net down anyway doubting it as I cast it out, boy was I wrong!” Such a lesson was one that Peter needed and so do I, that education and experience is no match to obeying the Lord’s prompting. To do so means that we will need to, like Peter, give up on what we in education and experience are most sure of!

 

 Vs. 8-11 From failure to follower

Vs. 8-11 Peter who appears to be a passionate man as well as a bit reckless had already spent time with Jesus and it seems as though those encounters with Jesus made Peter well aware of his failures. He had listened to Jesus teach and had no doubt seen His miracles and each encounter made him feel more like Jesus could do far better than him as a follower. But faced with this miracle Peter was a broken man, it was Jesus’ goodness in spite of Peter’s own estimation of himself that broke him that day as he cried out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” There are many who well up in self-righteous pride and turn against God as they proclaim their own goodness. Speak to most people and ask them if when they die whether or not they will be in heaven and they will say they are a good person. When you hear a person talk like that you can be certain of one thing, they have never been in the presence of God! Simon Peter knows that he is in the presence of the Son of God and says rightfully and brokenly so, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” “Jesus, I recognize that I am NOT FIT to be associated with You.” Oh how thankful I am that Jesus never sends a soul away when we come to Him like this! And instead of driving Peter away Jesus first words to Peter are “Do not be afraid…” Peter, you’ve got it right, I don’t need you I want you and “from now on you will catch men.” The fact that Peter recognized that he was a sinful man was the very thing that now made him useful for the kingdom. You aren’t going to catch living fish Peter and cause them to die, you are going to be catching dead people and because of Me they will come alive! Jesus has committed the work of reaching lost sinners to people who themselves were lost sinners!

So Jesus revealed Himself to that small group of fishermen that day by the lake in a new and fresh way and we are told that from that day forward, “they forsook all and followed Him.”

 

 

Luke 5:12-16

“The Savior of the secluded”

 

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 12 The faith of the Lepers cry
  • 13 The compassion of Christ’s touch
  • 14-16 The cleansing witness of Jesus’ command

 

 

 

Introduction

We move on to the 2nd illustration of the personal and intimate work of the Word of God in the healing of the man full of leprosy. Each of these four stories emphasize as I mentioned a few weeks back the most difficult things for people to overcome as they all cause a person to feel alone and separated from society:

  • 1-11 In Peter we are given the difficulty of personal failure
  • 12-16 In the Leper we are given the hopelessness of adverse situations
  • 17-26 In the Paralytic we see the crippling effects of life’s circumstances
  • 27-29 In Levi (Matthew) the tax collector we see how personal choices can cause us to become social outcasts

For the sake of our examination I note three movements to this story:

  • 12 The faith of the Lepers cry
  • 13 The compassion of Christ’s touch
  • 14-16 The cleansing witness of Jesus’ command

 

Vs. 12 The faith of the Lepers cry

Vs. 12 As Luke retells the story it is interesting to note that according to Matthew 8:1-4 and Mark 1:40-45 this event took place during Jesus’ 2nd year of ministry after He had relocated to Capernaum. Mark and Luke place it after Jesus had entered Simon Peter’s house and healed his mother-in-law. Mark in 2:1 tells us that after this Jesus went into Capernaum where He encounters the paralytic. Only Matthew places the story before Jesus entered Peter’s house which takes place after Jesus’ sermon on the mount which happened after Jesus’ first calling of the fishermen. The usage of the word when in Matthew, now in Mark and the phrase and it happened when by Luke all call the reader’s attention to the importance of the story and not its chronological order of appearance in the texts.

Only Luke tells us that Jesus was in a certain city which clearly matches both Matthew and Mark’s account. The city is not named but if you took Matthew’s account as the one that is the most chronological of the three and place this story in a city other than Capernaum that clearly Jesus was not yet in, then most likely it would have been the city of Hattin which was right at the foot of the hill on which Jesus had taught the Beatitudes in Matthew chapters 5-7 with this story appearing immediately afterword in chapter 8 verse 1 where we read “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him”. I think this is a strong possibility as Jesus’ sermon on the mount that day was beautiful, but the question may have been “Great message but does it work?” And right on the heels of that message is the Leper being healed and as such offers a visible illustration of what Jesus had just taught so that the people could witness the demonstration of the principal in power!

Both Matthew and Mark only refer to this man as a leper whereas Dr. Luke gives his full diagnoses saying that this man was not just a leper,he was instead a man full of leprosy. Leprosy was known among physicians under three forms identifiable by their color:

  • Dull white
  • Clear white
  • Black

 

Today one of the types of leprosy is known as Hansen’s disease that even today as recent W.H.O. reports in 2023 that there were 182,815 new cases of Hansen’s disease with the majority in Southeast Asia, Africa, Brazil, India, and Indonesia reporting the most new cases. In the United States, approximately 150 to 200 new cases are reported annually, with recent trends showing an increase, particularly in Florida.

The use of the words full of indicate that this man was full of leprosy and as bad of a case as there can be. This type of leprosy was far worse than a few patches of very bad skin and was most likely of the variety that once the infection has set in attacks the nervous system which causes the victim to not be able to feel pain on that limb which causes infections to set in and leads to irreversible degeneration of the tissue which leads to the limb becoming disformed and eventually falling of the body. Medically there are four things that make leprosy such a horrible disease:

  • It affects the whole person
  • Because of what it does to the persons outward physical appearance it is a repulsive and disgusting illness
  • It is a highly contagious and infectious disease
  • As far as human power and medicine was concerned at that time it was completely incurable. Today there is a cure if caught early enough that requires a multi-drug therapy for up to 12 months, but nothing can repair the nerve damage if not caught soon enough.

Again the phrase full of leprosy is a diagnostic term in the Greek and indicates that this man was beyond the reach  of medical help at that time and so far gone that according to Leviticus 13 this man was so full of leprosy as to be beyond contagious to others. The other aspect that made leprosy such a horrible illness is what it did to the person afflicted socially and religiously as they were separated from all human contact and social life and when they traveled, they had to cover their face and cry our “unclean, unclean” to let all know of their condition.

It is for this reason that people who treated lepers said that they were as sick of mind as they were of body. There was such a stigma to lepers that because of their appearance it carried great shame and horror as they were often shunned and despised and frequently they became so depressed and desperate to take their own lives. The leper was hated by stranger, family and friend and soon began to hate themselves as well. Though leprosy was not caused by sin it nonetheless became associated with sin and what leprosy is to the body sin is to the soul.

  • Like sin, leprosy is deeper than skin Lev. 13:3
  • Like sin, leprosy cannot be helped by mere surface measures
  • Like sin, leprosy spreads, Lev. 13:7-8
  • Like sin, leprosy when it spread defiles, Lev. 13:44-45

Because of this the leper was kept outside of the camp of fellowship (Lev. 13:46). According to Numbers 12:12 a person who had leprosy was thought of as dead and even their garments had to be burned outside the camp.

All of that was the burden this leper carried around in his decaying life. Matthew 8:2 tells us that this leper came and worshipped Jesus. And while some may be tempted to criticize him for coming openly towards Jesus while in the crowd I’m inclined to understand his desperation and when I first see that he came and fell on his face to worship Jesus we recognize that this is the first such act recorded in Jesus’ ministry of a person coming to worship Him and we see no rebuff from Jesus.

Also note his appeal as the leper doesn’t doubt Jesus’ ability to heal while he isn’t sure of Jesus’ willingness and gives that over to the sovereignty of God as he said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” He desired cleansing but he didn’t ask for it, instead he linked it up with the sovereignty of the One whom he was asking and new could cleanse him. Furthermore he didn’t asking for healing he only asked to be cleansed which according to Leviticus 13 would allow him human fellowship and contact again.

Vs. 13 The compassion of Christ’s touch

Vs. 13 While I have no doubt that the leper broke the law by not announcing his condition publicly there are some that believe that Jesus willingly broke the law to heal this man and while I personally see no problem with Jesus willingly touching the untouchable, reaching out to a person to whom everyone else turned away from. There is tremendous truth and benefit from seeing this action from Christ this way, but that is not the way it reads in the Greek. Instead, it appears that Jesus’ words and actions were synchronized and that as Jesus stretched forth his hand to touch the leper he said the words, “I am willing; be cleansed” and at the very moment Jesus said that His hand touched the instantly healed leper so that Jesus didn’t break the law. All of this was quicker than the twinkling of an eye Luke says, “immediately the leprosy left him.”

  

Vs. 14-16 The cleansing witness of Jesus’ command

Vs. 14 We close out this section with Jesus’ command not to tell anyone as Jesus didn’t want people to seek after Him only for temporary change instead, He desired not just a cleansing but a healing which is perfectly illustrated in this leper as we are told NOT that at Jesus words that this man was “cleansed” of his leprosy but that at Jesus’ words and touch that “immediately the leprosy left him.”

Instead Jesus instructed him to go to the priests in accordance with Leviticus 14. What is interesting is that the ceremony found in that chapter is a great picture of the work of Jesus in His incarnation, His death, and His resurrection. It was done with running water which we would recognize of living water. You can search the ancient Jewish writings, and you won’t find that any priest had ever preformed this ritual for hundreds of years and perhaps never. If it had ever happened it had never be recorded as happening and it appears that this would have been the first time a priest would have carried out this ceremony. Oh they weren’t lacking lepers, but they had never had one healed prior to our Lord for hundreds of years. It’s for this reason that the 14th chapter of Leviticus was most likely the least studied portion of the Torah.

Vs. 15-16 we conclude this story with yet another indication of the priorities of our Lord as the report of this miracle only fueled His growing popularity as more multitudes came together to hear and be healed by Him. Yet with this increased popularity we see Jesus as was His practice withdrawing into the wilderness of the fellowship with His Father in prayer!

 

 

Luke 5:17-26

“The Savior of the secluded”

 

  

  • Introduction
  • 17-20 The reward offered to unorthodox faith
  • 21-24 The right logic but wrong conclusion of the Pharisees
  • 25-26 The immediate remedy of a paralyzed life

 

 

Introduction

We come now to the third installment that Luke presents that illustrate the personal and intimate work of the Word of God, and in this case, we see the healing of the Paralytic. The story of this healing appears in three of the four gospels:

  • Matthew 9:1-8
  • Mark 2:1-12
  • And here in Luke 5:17-26

As far as differences in the gospel writers as to the event they are minor. Matthew which I’m inclined to believe is the most strict when it comes to the chronology of the gospel records the timing of this event as after the leper in 8:1-4, the healing of the centurion’s servant 8:5-13 and the healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law of 8:14-15 as well as several other recorded events. Mark and Luke both use the same chronology with the difference found in Matthew declaring that this event took place after Jesus “got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city” indicating that the healing of the Leper as we noted happened at another place on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The city that Matthew calls Jesus’ own would have been what both Mark tells us was Capernaum and in THE HOUSE denoting familiarity with this particular home which Matthew 8:14 identifies as Peter’s house. For the sake of our examination I notice the passage as breaking apart into three connective parts:

  • 17-20 The reward offered to unorthodox faith
  • 21-24 The right logic but wrong conclusion of the Pharisees
  • 25-26 The immediate remedy of a paralyzed life

And based upon this division we will do our examination of the text.

Vs. 17-20 The reward offered to unorthodox faith

Vs. 17 As we read through the gospel records, we note that Jesus never stayed in a place that did not want Him and He did stay in places that did and this is perhaps the reason that He again came to Capernaum and Peter’s house.

So many had come that they spilled out into the street. Mark chapter 1 verse 28 indicates, that Jesus’ fame had spread throughout the region. Yet with that said notice that Jesus’ method had not changed in spite of His fame and popularity as we see Him employed at preaching the word to them. The word preached in the Greek is a different word than a public proclamation, instead it is a word that means a conversation, and it is in the imperfect tense which emphasizes a continuous action. So Jesus taught conversationally for an extended period of time. My point is again to show the focus of our Lord upon preaching the word.

  • No adapting His method to fit His popularity
  • No change of direction to accommodate the pressing demand of the needy people

Luke is quick to point out that people that were in need weren’t the only ones present at the home, but that Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting by, and they had come out of every town of Galilee, even beyond from Judea and even Jerusalem. They had every right to be there according to Deut. 13 and 18:15-22 it was their responsibility to prevent false teaching that would lead people astray.

This is the first time that the Pharisees are mentioned in Luke’s gospel, and their name comes from a Hebrew word that means to divide or separate. They most likely developed out of the ministry of Ezra, the Priest, who taught the people to obey the law of Moses and be separate from the Gentile nations that surrounded them. The teachers of the law would have been the scribes who also gathered in that house that day and both of these groups who at times didn’t get along were both engaged in understanding the law and applying to their lives. But soon with both groups they became very legalistic and self-righteous, and they began to lay burdens upon the people that made it impossible to serve the Lord with joy. But in the Lord’s timing they were both present that day and the events of the healing of the paralytic was a direct teaching aimed at them, as Luke says that “The power of the Lord was present to heal them.” And I may just add that that would have included the Pharisees and the scribes.

Vs. 18-19  Mark 2:3 informs us that there were four men that entered into this crowded scene determined to reach Jesus with their pressing need despite the crowd. I say their pressing need as it is never just the afflicted that suffer alone; they have family and friends who carry and bear the burden of their friend and loved one. I’m sure they wanted to see their friend healed and mobile, but it doesn’t make them any less of a friend to say that his healing would liberate them as well.

I have no doubt that these five had faith as Jesus tells us that in verse 20. But I can’t help but notice the three unorthodox traits of their faith. This may very well encourage you when you realize that you too possess faith in a different way:

Dares the difficult: The first thing I notice about these men is the degree of difficulty they were willing to go through for just the opportunity for their friend to meet Jesus. We are not told how far they have travelled carrying their friend but if it was any length greater than a few 100 feet the degree of difficulty would increase with each passing step. It is safe to think that this man weighed 150 pounds or better and carrying him on a homemade stretcher even with four men would have been quite a difficult challenge. Yet their faith is visible in the fact that they were willing to undergo such a journey without any real guarantee.

 I can only imagine what must have gone through their minds as they drew nearer to Capernaum and witnessed an increased number of people, perhaps they didn’t even know where Jesus was and asked directions only to find out that everybody they asked was going there as well for the same kind of reason. They struggle through the crowds to see a glimpse of the house and in front of it as Mark 1:33 said, months earlier that the “whole city gathered at the door”. Yet, through all those difficulties they didn’t quit but continued to press forward where others would have said, “There are way too many people here, we are never going to be able to even get a glimpse of Jesus, let alone get in front of Him”! Then I’m curious as to whose idea it was to climb up to the 2nd story of the house and start tearing off the roof? The point I’m making is that when we, in spite of the challenges and difficulty continue pressing forward to get to the place and possibility of change we are demonstrating that we have faith!

Does what is demanded: The second orthodox sign of their faith is that they did what was demanded for the situation. They didn’t limit their actions by what was normal or customary, like waiting and going through the front door! The construction of the ancient roofs reveals quite an amount of work to accomplish the task. The Greek word for uncover is a word that means to dig out, and Luke informs us that they let the paralytic down through the removed tiles. Typically these were flat roofs made up of a composition of mortar, tar, ashes and sand spread out on the roof with stone tiles placed on top. They did what was necessary to accomplish the task of getting in front of Jesus in spite of what I can only imagine would have been disapproval by Peter as it was his house that was losing a roof. Amazingly, we see that Jesus never rebuked them, He doesn’t even seem to be disturbed at the interruption. Clearly these men did what was unorthodox, risked criticism and weren’t afraid to do so. Faith is evident when we are doing what is demanded, risking rejection and overcoming obstacles to get to Jesus!

Careless about the cost: The final unorthodox sign of faith is that they must have realized that tearing apart a large hole in a roof and lowering their friend in front of Jesus was going to cost them something. There was no homeowner’s policy for paralytic roof damage. These 5 were careless in the face of the cost and that is another example that you have faith, they had accepted that and realized that even if unsuccessful they were still going to have to pay for the damage. Saints, I think the church could use more people that exhibit this kind of unorthodox faith.

  • Dares to do what is difficult
  • Willing to overcome obstacles
  • Isn’t deterred by the cost

Vs. 20 With all the effort they put into bringing their friend to Jesus, hearing His words to the Paralytic must have been a letdown to them: “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” “Hey Lord, that’s neat, but we didn’t come through all these crowds and roof just to hear some spiritual statement.” They no doubt would have much rather heard the second part of this found in verse 6. “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

There are those that suggest Jesus’ pronouncement was based upon His knowledge that this man’s paralysis was based upon some moral failure. Others go so far as to say that this man’s paralysis was all in his head, and that Jesus removed the moral failing which lifted the paralysis. Though indirectly all disease and the things that cause human suffering are sin related, due to the fall, the context of the passage is in verse 2 where we are told that Jesus was preaching the word to them, and in fact these 5 interrupted that message suggest this as well. But the truth is Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs:

  • It meets the greatest need
  • It costs the greatest price
  • It brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.

Jesus uses a very interesting word for forgiven. He could have used a word that meant to be gracious to or to overlook. Many people today want God just to overlook their sins. The implication is that the sins are still there and that Jesus just becomes blind to them. Here though, He uses the word which means to send away.

Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are sent away from you.” Jesus doesn’t overlook sin in our lives; instead, as we come to Him confessing our sin and trusting Him, He sends it away! What good was it if the man had two whole legs, and walked right into hell with them?

 Vs. 21-24 The right logic but wrong conclusion of the Pharisees

 

Vs. 21-24 The scribe’s logic was correct. They were correct in their internal reasoning, “Only God can forgive sins” and His knowing of this though they said nothing should have revealed to them that God the Son was in front of them.

God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 17:9-10 saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind…”  In Psalm 139:4 we read that “There is not a word on my tongue but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.”

The scribes observed a rabbi teaching but what they were unable to see was the Son of God standing before them, they were blind as to His identity and Jesus was going to reveal that to them twice:

  • First, the moment Jesus knew what they were thinking, you would have thought that would have been a clue to these guys that this Jesus was more than just your average person.
  • Next in verse 23 we have Jesus’ words to their thoughts:“For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk?” 

The key to understanding what Jesus meant by this question is the context. They believed that Jesus was blaspheming God because He, being man, made Himself equal to God, for only God can forgive sins. They are questioning His authority to do what He has said. So, he in turn says, “Which is easier to say? That is the key word. He does not say DO but SAY. That is easy to answer; it is easier to say, your sins have forgiven you, because that does not require any proof. But if I go over to a paralytic, say arise, take up your bed, and walk; that requires the power to heal, which again only comes from God. From man’s perspective both are impossible for us to do. For these scribes who questioned His authority in their minds, if He could heal, then He could forgive sin. Thus, His words in verse 24, “That you may know that the Son of Man has power (ability) on earth to send away sin, take up your bed, go to your house.” The One who could make the paralytic walk was the only One who sent away sin.

It is Jesus that we need; it is Him we must come to, to set us free from the things in our lives that bind us. If you yourself aren’t bound, then you can do what these friends did; you can bring those that are to Him so that He can set them free!

Vs. 25-26 The immediate remedy of a paralyzed life

 

Vs. 25-26 Notice how the paralytic responded and how those that witnessed this miracle responded.

  • First the paralytic went forward in obedience and faith.
  • Second, the multitudes were filled with wonder and awe and glorified God.

Jesus always touched people in such a way that those that witnessed it glorified the Father. All too often, we tend to praise the instrument instead of the author. The outcome of this was that all except the scribes were amazed and rejoiced praising God saying, “We never saw anything like this!” They stood amazed at the authority of the Word even though they didn’t fully comprehend His identity which was the lesson.

The use of the words by Luke in verse 26 where he writes the statement of those who witnessed this miracle as saying, “We have seen strange things today!” The words strange things in the Greek is one word and it is where we get our word in English “paradoxes” from. It simply means things we can’t understand or reconcile or seem to contradict. Yet notice even though they couldn’t make sense of all that they had witnessed, it didn’t stop their worship as they “glorified God”.