Luke 5
Contemporary English Version
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
(Matthew 4.18-22; Mark 1.16-20)
5 (A) Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,[a] teaching the people as they crowded around him to hear God's message. 2 Near the shore he saw two boats left there by some fishermen who had gone to wash their nets. 3 Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to row it out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down[b] in the boat to teach the crowd.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he told Simon, “Row the boat out into the deep water and let your nets down to catch some fish.”
5 (B) “Master,” Simon answered, “we have worked hard all night long and have not caught a thing. But if you tell me to, I will let the nets down.” 6 (C) They did this and caught so many fish that their nets began ripping apart. 7 Then they signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. The men came, and together they filled the two boats so full that they both began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this happen, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, don't come near me! I am a sinner.” 9 Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised at all the fish they had caught. 10 His partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised too.
Jesus told Simon, “Don't be afraid! From now on you will bring in people instead of fish.” 11 The men pulled their boats up on the shore. Then they left everything and went with Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Man
(Matthew 8.1-4; Mark 1.40-45)
12 Jesus came to a town where there was a man who had leprosy.[c] When the man saw Jesus, he knelt down to the ground in front of Jesus and begged, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.”
13 Jesus put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man's leprosy disappeared. 14 (D) Jesus told him, “Don't tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest. Offer a gift to the priest, just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”[d]
15 News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk
(Matthew 9.1-8; Mark 2.1-12)
17 One day some Pharisees and experts in the Law of Moses sat listening to Jesus teach. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem.
God had given Jesus the power to heal the sick, 18 and some people came carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. They tried to take him inside the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they went up on the roof,[e] where they removed some tiles and let the mat down in the middle of the room.
20 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the experts began arguing, “Jesus must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking this? 23 Is it easier for me to tell this man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? 24 But now you will see that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” Jesus then said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk home.”
25 At once the man stood up in front of everyone. He picked up his mat and went home, giving thanks to God. 26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. What they saw surprised them, and they said, “We have seen a great miracle today!”
Jesus Chooses Levi
(Matthew 9.9-13; Mark 2.13-17)
27 Later, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector[f] named Levi sitting at the place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 28 Levi left everything and went with Jesus.
29 In his home Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus. Many tax collectors and other guests were also there.
30 (E) The Pharisees and some of their teachers of the Law of Moses grumbled to Jesus' disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with these tax collectors and other sinners?”
31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn't come to invite good people to turn to God. I came to invite sinners.”
People Ask about Going without Eating
(Matthew 9.14-17; Mark 2.18-22)
33 Some people said to Jesus, “John's followers often pray and go without eating,[g] and so do the followers of the Pharisees. But your disciples never go without eating or drinking.”
34 Jesus told them, “The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.”
36 Jesus then told them these sayings:
No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. The patch would shrink and make the hole even bigger.
37 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would swell and burst the old skins.[h] Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. 38 New wine must be put only into new wineskins.
39 No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. They say, “The old wine is better.”
Footnotes
- 5.1 Lake Gennesaret: Another name for Lake Galilee.
- 5.3 sat down: Teachers in the ancient world, including Jewish teachers, usually sat down when they taught.
- 5.12 leprosy: See the note at 4.27.
- 5.14 everyone will know that you have been healed: People with leprosy had to be examined by a priest and told they were well (that is, “clean”) before they could once again live a normal life in the Jewish community. The gift that Moses commanded was the sacrifice of some lambs together with flour mixed with olive oil.
- 5.19 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth. Luke says that the roof was made of (clay) tiles, which were also used for making roofs in New Testament times.
- 5.27 tax collector: See the note at 3.12.
- 5.33 without eating: See the note at 2.37.
- 5.37 swell and burst the old skins: While the juice from grapes was becoming wine, it would swell and stretch the skins in which it had been stored. If the skins were old and stiff, they would burst.
Luke 5
International Children’s Bible
Jesus’ First Followers
5 One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee. Many people were pressing all around him. They wanted to hear the word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, the one which belonged to Simon.[a] Jesus asked Simon to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down in the boat and continued to teach the people on the shore.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water. If you will put your nets in the water, you will catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, but we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water; so I will.” 6 The fishermen did as Jesus told them. And they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. 7 They called to their friends in the other boat to come and help them. The friends came, and both boats were filled so full that they were almost sinking.
8-9 The fishermen were all amazed at the many fish they caught. When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were amazed too. (James and John were Simon’s partners.)
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be fishermen for men.” 11 When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
12 One time Jesus was in a town where a very sick man lived. The man was covered with a harmful skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he bowed before Jesus and begged him, “Lord, heal me. I know you can if you want to.”
13 Jesus said, “I want to. Be healed!” And Jesus touched the man. Immediately the disease disappeared. 14 Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go show yourself to the priest.[b] And offer a gift to God for your healing as Moses commanded.[c] This will prove to everyone that you are healed.”
15 But the news about Jesus was spreading more and more. Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often slipped away to other places to be alone so that he could pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
17 One day Jesus was teaching the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were there, too. They had come from every town in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. The Lord was giving Jesus the power to heal people. 18 There was a man who was paralyzed. Some men were carrying him on a mat. They tried to bring him in and put him down before Jesus. 19 But because there were so many people there, they could not find a way to Jesus. So the men went up on the roof and made a hole in the ceiling. They lowered the mat so that the paralyzed man was lying right before Jesus. 20 Jesus saw that these men believed. So he said to the sick man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, “Who is this man? He is saying things that are against God! Only God can forgive sins.”
22 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, “Why do you have thoughts like that in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up! Take your mat and go home.”
25 Then the man stood up before the people there. He picked up his mat and went home, praising God. 26 All the people were fully amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with much respect and said, “Today we have seen amazing things!”
Levi Follows Jesus
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 28 Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.
29 Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus. The dinner was at Levi’s house. At the table there were many tax collectors and other people, too. 30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to the followers of Jesus. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. It is the sick who need a doctor. 32 I have not come to invite good people. I have come to invite sinners to change their hearts and lives!”
Jesus Answers a Question
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often give up eating[d] and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them, “When there is a wedding, you cannot make the friends of the bridegroom give up eating while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then his friends will give up eating.”
36 Jesus told them this story: “No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. If he does, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth. 37 People never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will spill out. Then the leather bags for holding wine will be ruined. 38 People always put new wine into new leather bags. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine because he says, ‘The old wine is better.’”
Footnotes
- 5:3 Simon Simon’s other name was Peter.
- 5:14 show . . . priest The law of Moses said a priest must say when a Jew with a harmful skin disease was well.
- 5:14 Moses commanded Read about this in Leviticus 14:1–32.
- 5:33 give up eating This is called “fasting.” The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness.
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