Luke 5
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 5
Jesus Calls the First Disciples.[a] 1 One day, as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with people crowding around him to hear the word of God, 2 he caught sight of two boats at the water’s edge. The fishermen had gotten out of the boats and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard throughout the night and caught nothing; but if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught such a great number of fish that their nets were beginning to tear. 7 Therefore, they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats to the point that they were in danger of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” 9 For he and all of his companions were amazed at the catch they had made. 10 So too were Simon’s partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men.” 11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
12 Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy.[b] In one of the towns that he visited, a man appeared whose body was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate before him and pleaded for his help, saying, “Lord, if you choose to do so, you can make me clean.” 13 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately, the leprosy left him.
14 He then instructed him to tell no one. “Just go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as prescribed by Moses. That will be proof for them.” 15 However, the reports about him continued to spread, so that large crowds assembled to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
17 Jesus Pardons and Heals a Paralyzed Man.[c] One day, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem. And he possessed the power of the Lord to heal.
18 Then some men appeared, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They tried to bring him in and set him down in front of Jesus. 19 However, finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up onto the roof and lowered him on the bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd surrounding Jesus.
20 On perceiving their faith, Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to ask each other, “Who is this man uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus discerned what they were thinking, and he said in reply, “Why do you entertain such thoughts in your hearts? 23 Which is easier—to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say: ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But that you may come to realize that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I say to you, stand up, and take your bed, and go to your home.” 25 Immediately, the man stood up before them, picked up his bed, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all overcome with amazement, and they praised God as, awestruck, they said, “We have witnessed unbelievable things today.”
27 Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew).[d][e]After this, he went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting at his customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” 28 and, leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
29 Jesus Dines with Sinners. Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for him, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”[f] 31 Jesus said to them in reply, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but rather those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
33 A Time of Joy and Grace.[g] Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast frequently and pray often, and the disciples of the Pharisees do likewise, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then, in those days, they will fast.”
36 He also told them this parable: “No one tears a piece from a new cloak and sews it on an old cloak. If he does, the new cloak will be torn, and the piece from it will not match that of the old. 37 Nor does anyone pour new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and spill out, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 Rather new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one who has been drinking old wine will wish for new wine, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Footnotes
- Luke 5:1 This passage demonstrates the art of the writer. Luke inserts the call of the first disciples into a context of preaching and performing mighty deeds. He slightly weakens the abrupt character that the event retains in Mark (1:16-18) and gives a greater human plausibility to the response of these men. But he stresses just as much the demands of the apostolic task. Trying to draw people away from the evils that assail them entails many difficulties. God requires humans to participate in this endeavor and to carry out their missionary work as a team in which all must share the pain. In this passage, Peter already occupies a representative place. Nonetheless, upon meeting Christ he discovers how much he himself is the victim of evil and sin. Jesus expects those who are his to be totally committed to the Word and, if necessary, to renounce their profession, their situation, and their security.
- Luke 5:12 When duly confirmed as the Law requires (see Lev 14:2-3), the cure of a leper will attest to the priests the power of Jesus over an evil that destroys humans.
- Luke 5:17 The description of the miracle worked for the paralyzed man is vivid, as in Matthew and Mark, even if, in order to make it more intelligible to his readers, Luke speaks simply of a roof instead of a Palestinian roof-terrace.
- Luke 5:27 No one could be regarded as more of a sinner in the time of Jesus than the tax collectors (also translated as “publicans”) sitting at their customs post. Christ, more than once, created a scandal in the eyes of right-thinking people, who were quick to distinguish between the righteous and sinners. The Church recalls these occasions to keep herself from becoming a closed sect. The lesson is still valid today: to refuse to associate with others because we have catalogued them as sinners and because we consider ourselves to be in the ranks of the righteous is opposed to the Gospel. We must all regard ourselves as sinners and rejoice over the salvation that Jesus offers everyone. Moreover, only those receive salvation who loyally acknowledge the need of being saved.
- Luke 5:27 See notes on Mt 5:46 and Mk 2:14.
- Luke 5:30 Sinners: see note on Mk 2:15.
- Luke 5:33 For the moment, Jesus refuses to impose on his disciples the ascetic and devout practices of Judaism. (See note on Mk 2:20.) The Messiah is here—it is a time of joy. God, so to speak, becomes the Spouse of all people. The three Synoptic Gospels add other sentences, which underline the newness of the Gospel. It is not a rearrangement of ancient law and doctrines; the New Covenant requires a new mentality and a new openness.
The last verse, proper to Luke, alludes to the refusal to accept the Gospel on the part of the teachers of the law. They rejected the wonderful newness of the Gospel and were content with the teachings to which they were accustomed.
路加福音 5
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
呼召門徒
5 一天，耶穌站在革尼撒勒湖邊，眾人團團圍著祂，要聽上帝的道。 2 祂看見湖邊停著兩條船，漁夫離了船正在洗網， 3 就上了西門的那條船，請西門把船稍微划離岸邊，然後坐在船上教導眾人。 4 耶穌講完之後對西門說：「把船划到水深的地方去撒網捕魚。」
5 西門說：「老師，我們勞碌了一整夜，一無所獲，但既然你這樣吩咐，我就照你的話做。」 6 他們把網撒下去，果然捕獲很多魚，差點把網撐破了， 7 於是招呼另一條船上的同伴來幫忙。他們一起把兩條船都裝滿了魚，船幾乎要沉下去了。
8 西門·彼得見狀，便跪倒在耶穌膝前說：「主啊，離開我，我是個罪人！」 9 他和所有同伴們對捕到這麼多魚感到非常驚訝， 10 包括西庇太的兩個兒子雅各和約翰。耶穌對西門說：「不要怕，從今以後，你將成為得人的漁夫。」 11 於是他們把船靠岸後，撇下一切跟從了耶穌。
潔淨痲瘋病人
12 有一次，耶穌在一個小鎮遇見一個渾身患痲瘋病的人，那人一看見耶穌，就俯伏在地上懇求說：「主啊，如果你肯，一定能使我潔淨。」
13 耶穌伸手摸他，說：「我肯，你潔淨了吧！」他身上的痲瘋病立刻消失了。
14 耶穌又囑咐他：「不要把這事告訴別人，要去讓祭司察看你的身體，照摩西的規定獻上祭物，向眾人證明你已經潔淨了。」
15 結果耶穌的名聲傳得更廣了，成群的人聚集到祂那裡聽祂講道、求祂醫病。 16 不過，祂還是常常退到曠野去禱告。
叫癱子行走
17 有一天，耶穌在教導人，旁邊坐著來自加利利、猶太和耶路撒冷各地的法利賽人和律法教師，主的能力伴隨著耶穌，使祂能醫治病人。
18 有人用擔架抬著一個癱瘓的人想進到屋裡，把他放在耶穌面前。 19 可是人太擠了，無法進去，他們就爬上屋頂，掀開瓦片，把那病人連人帶擔架縋到耶穌面前。 20 耶穌看見他們那麼有信心，就對癱子說：「朋友，你的罪得到赦免了！」
21 那些法利賽人和律法教師開始議論起來：「這個說話褻瀆上帝的人是誰啊？除了上帝以外，誰能夠赦罪？」
22 耶穌知道他們的想法，就問：「你們為什麼心裡議論呢？ 23 說『你的罪得到赦免了』容易呢，還是說『你起來行走』容易呢？ 24 如今我要讓你們知道人子在世上有赦罪的權柄。」於是對癱子說：「我吩咐你起來！收拾你的擔架回家去吧。」
25 那人立刻當眾站了起來，拿起他躺臥的擔架回家去了，不住地讚美上帝。 26 眾人都十分驚奇，一同讚美上帝，心裡充滿了敬畏，說：「今天我們看到神蹟了！」
呼召利未
27 後來耶穌外出時，看見一個名叫利未的稅吏坐在收稅站裡，就對他說：「跟從我！」 28 利未就起來，撇下一切跟從了耶穌。
29 隨後，他在家設宴款待耶穌，赴宴的人中有許多稅吏和其他人。 30 法利賽人和律法教師就向耶穌的門徒抱怨說：「你們為什麼跟稅吏和罪人一起吃喝呢？」
31 耶穌答道：「健康的人不需要醫生，有病的人才需要。 32 我來不是要召義人悔改，乃是召罪人悔改。」
論禁食
33 他們說：「約翰的門徒常常禁食禱告，法利賽人的門徒也是一樣，可是你的門徒卻又吃又喝。」
34 耶穌說：「新郎還跟賓客在一起的時候，豈能讓賓客禁食？ 35 但有一天新郎將被帶走，那時他們就要禁食了。」 36 耶穌又給他們講了一個比喻，說：「沒有人會從新衣服上撕下一塊布來，補在舊衣服上。否則，不但新衣服撕破了，舊衣服和新補丁也不相稱。 37 同樣，沒有人把新酒裝進舊皮囊裡，否則新酒會把舊皮囊漲破，酒也漏了，皮囊也毀了。 38 所以新酒一定要裝在新皮囊裡。 39 但是，沒有人喝過陳年老酒後，還願意喝新酒，因為他會說，『還是陳年老酒好。』」
