The Gospel According to Saint Luke
Luke 5
Chapter V · Vol. IV, pp. 159–160
1 Christ teacheth the people out of Peter's ship: 4 in a miraculous taking of fishes, showeth how he will make him and his partners fishers of men: 12 cleanseth a leper: 16 prayeth in the wilderness: 18 healeth one sick of the palsy: 27 calleth Matthew the publican: 29 justifieth his eating with publicans and sinners: 33 foretelleth the fastings and afflictions of the apostles after his ascension: 36 and likeneth faint-hearted and weak disciples to old bottles and worn garments.
1 And ita came to pass, that, as the people pressedb upon him to hear the word of God, he cstood by the lake of Gennesaret,1
2 And saw two ships standing2 by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
2 The word equivalent to standing is applied to a ship, both in the Greek and Latin tongues, either when at anchor, or made fast to the land; in English, it is also applied, in some cases, to a ship when sailing.—C.
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.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, dLaunch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
A.M. cir. 4034. A.D. cir. 30.
d Jn.21.6.
5 And Simon, answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and ehave taken nothing: nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.
e Jn.21.3. Hag.1.6. Ps.127.1,2. Eze.37.11,12. Ec.9.11.
6 Andg when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and htheir net 3brake.4
h Jn.21.11.
3 Their net brake. Rather, 'had begun to brake.'—C.
4 Trench well remarks on this passage:—'Christ here appears as the ideal man, the second Adam of Ps. viii.: 'Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things under his feet; . . . the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever walketh through the paths of the seas.' The end and aim of Christ's universal sovereignty, as Mediator, appear in such cases as this. All things in earth, air, and sky he can so order as to instruct, encourage, and defend his people.—P.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and ihelp them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, jhe fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 Fork he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
k ch.4.32,36. Ps.8.6,8.
10 And so was also lJames and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch5 men.
12 Andp 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 qbesought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou rcanst make me clean.
p Mat.8.1-4. Mar.1.40-45. 2 Ch.26.21. Le.xiii. 2 Ki.5.25.
q ch.18.1-13. Mat.7.7,11. Ps.50.15;91.15.
r Ge.18.14. Je.32.17,27. He.7.25. Is.63.1.
13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, sI will; be thou clean.6 And timmediately the leprosy departed from him.
s Ho.13.9. Is.46.12,13. 2 Ki.5.10,14.
6 I will; be thou clean. The manner of our Lord's miracles as clearly intimates his Godhead as any formal doctrine could possibly do. 'I will,' implies a consciousness of inherent power which no mere creature can possess. It is the peculiar language of 'the Word that was with God and was God.'—C.
t ch.4.39;8.55. Mat.15.28. Jn.4.50,54. Ps.33.9.
14 And he charged him to utell no 7man: but go, and vshow thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
15 Butx 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.
16 Andy he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
A.D. cir. 31.
y Mar.1.35,45;6.46. Mat.6.6;14.23. ch.6.12.
17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were zPharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and athe power of the Lord was present8 to heal them.9
z ver.21,30; ch.7.30;11.53,54;15.2. Jn.3.21.
a ver.15. Je.18.18. Mat.11.5;4.23,24;9.35;12.15. He.7.25.
8 The power of the Lord was present. Present is supplied by the translators; but the phrase supplied should rather be 'put forth;' for power is always present, but not always exerted.—C.
9 To heal them. Not to heal the Pharisees who believed not the mission of Jesus, and sought not to be healed by him; but to heal the multitudes (ver. 15) who came to hear and be healed.—C.
18 And,b 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.
19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the chouse-top, and let him down through the tiling,1 with his couch,2 into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he dsaw their faith,3 he said unto him, Man, ethy sins are forgiven thee.
d Ge.22.12. Jn.2.25;21.17. He.4.13. Re.2.23.
3 Their faith. The faith both of the bearers and of the paralytic. Their faith was not the blind confidence of fanatics, produced and supported by their own mere internal persuasion, without evidence; nor was it founded in the ignorance that credits every high-sounding assertion, promise, and imposture; nor was it the superstition that attributes miraculous influences and effects to things inanimate, to places, and to persons unaccredited by heaven; theirs was faith in the word of the living God, which had testified of Messiah, descending for future miracles on the visible, public, and unquestionable evidence of miracles already wrought.—C.
e Mat.9.2. Mar.3.5. Ac.5.31. Is.38.17;44.22;53.11. Ep.1.7. Jn.5.14. Ps.103.3.
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, gWho is this which speaketh blasphemies? hWho can forgive sins, but God alone?
22 But when Jesus iperceived their thoughts, he, answering, said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24 But that ye may know that the jSon of man hath kpower upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) lI say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay,4 and departed to his own house, nglorifying God.
4 An eastern bed or couch consists of a stuffed coverlet, so large that while reclining upon part of it, the rest can be thrown over the limbs or body when necessary. It is light and easily carried. The fact that the man took up his bed in obedience to Christ's command showed that he was perfectly healed.—P.
n Ps.103.1-3;107.1,15,22;115.1. ch.18.43.
26 Ando they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day.
27 Andp after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, qFollow me.
28 Andr he left all, rose up, and followed him.
r See ver.11. Jn.6.63. 1 Ki.19.19-21.
29 Ands 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.
s Mat.9.10. Mar.2.15. 1 Ki.19.21. ch.15.1,2.
30 But ttheir scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?5
31 And Jesus, answering, said unto them, uThey that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
A.M. cir. 4035. A.D. cir. 31.
u Mat.9.12,13. Mar.2.17. Je.8.22. 1 Ti.1.15,16. Is.1.18;35.7;45.22. Ho.13.9. ch.19.10. Ac.5.31. ch.18.10-14. Ro.5.6,8,20,21.
32 Iv came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
v ch.15.7,10. 1 Co.6.9-11. 1 Ti.1.15. 2 Pe.3.9.
33 And they said unto him,6 Whyx do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; ybut thine eat and drink?
6 The question here is, by grammatical construction, attributed to the Pharisees; but in Mat.9.14 it is attributed to the disciples of John. Is there not here a contradiction? None; for it appears from Mar.2.18, that the question was asked by both; and Matthew mentions the one, Luke the other—both recording as much truth as was necessary to introduce the question and the answer; neither suppressing any, though each omitting a part.—C.
x Mat.9.14-17. Mar.2.18-22. ch.18.12. Jn.3.25. Mat.6.5,16. Ro.10.2,3;9.31;2.17-24.
y ch.7.34,35.
34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom7 is with them?
35 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be ataken away from them, and then shall they bfast in those days.
36 And he spake also a parable unto them; cNo 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 dagreeth not with the old.
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.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway8 desireth new: for he saith, 9The eold is better.1
8 But, Job 17.9. Pr.4.18. 2 Pe.3.18;1.4-10.
9 The power of religion is better than bodily services in religion, Col.2.23. 1 Ti.4.8.
e Je.6.16.
1 This verse is peculiar to Luke. It contains a farther illustration of the truth embodied in the preceding verses (see note on Mat.9.17). The words are closely connected with ver.33. The old wine is the Jewish economy; the new the gospel. The point of the passage is not to draw any comparison between the two systems, but simply to show the natural preference of the Jews for that to which they were accustomed.—P.
Notes
Ver. 8. Every man of intellect judges best in his own profession. Had Peter been a landsman he would not have been at all so affected by the miracle; but as an experienced fisherman, he sees its full extent. But the narrative educes another trait of character. Had Peter been covetous he would have entreated our Lord never to leave him; had he been superstitious (as fishermen are often found to be) he would have ascribed the miracle to good fortune, or some prevalent charm or talisman; but being neither superstitious nor covetous, he beholds in the miracle the evidence of our Lord's holiness and divinity, which contrasting with his own sinfulness, he falls down and worships, and entreats him to depart, not because he desired to be freed from his presence, but counted himself unworthy of the honour. C.
Ver. 26. They were all amazed, &c. That is, the multitudes,
but not the Pharisees, who, though they might be amazed, did not glorify God for the works done by Christ. C.
Ver. 36. The differences between this parable, as recorded by Matthew and as recorded by Luke, can neither be tortured into contradictions (for the meaning is the same), nor be attributed to mere variety in the memories of the evangelists, nor to an ideal instead of a real inspiration. The differences can be accounted for upon a principle much more simple, and in perfect accordance with the doctrine of full and perfect divine inspiration—that is, upon the most natural of all suppositions—that our Lord repeated the parable more than once, and varied his expressions to aid in the exposition of his meaning. C.
Reflections.—The most diligent and laborious have often little success. And all that comes is vanity and vexation of spirit. How base and polluted men appear to themselves when viewed in the light of Christ's glory! But nothing is more absurd or wicked than to make our sinfulness a reason against fellowship with him who is the Saviour from sin. Great is his power, who can command multitudes of fishes into a net, and multitudes of souls into a reception of the gospel. None who taste his goodness can forbear following him. The firm faith of his ability betokens our deliverance at hand, and promotes a regard to his ordinances. Great is the mercy that his prayers are powerful, and his mercy present to save men; and that he readily grants remission and healing to such as believe. If he forgive us, neither envious men nor malicious devils can reverse his sentence. And every mercy to ourselves and others should fill our hearts with wonder and praise. If the chiefs of sinners heed his call, none can keep or shut them out from his favour.—But unbounded is his condescension to become their husband, upon whose presence all their joys depend, and to proportion their duties to their strength and circumstances.