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 New Version (Traditional)
呼召四個門徒(A)
5 耶穌站在革尼撒勒湖邊，眾人擁擠他，要聽 神的道。 2 他看見兩隻船停在湖邊，漁夫離開船洗網去了。 3 他上了西門的那一隻船，請他撐開，離岸不遠，就坐下，從船上教導眾人。 4 講完了，就對西門說：“把船開到水深的地方，下網打魚！” 5 西門說：“主啊，我們整夜勞苦，毫無所得，不過，我願照你的話下網。” 6 他們下了網，就圈住很多魚，網幾乎裂開， 7 就招呼另外那隻船上的同伴來幫助，他們就來把兩隻船裝滿，甚至船要下沉。 8 西門．彼得看見這種情景，就俯伏在耶穌膝前，說：“主啊，離開我，因為我是個罪人。” 9 他和跟他在一起的人，因這網所打的魚，都十分驚駭。 10 西門的夥伴，西庇太的兒子雅各、約翰也是這樣。耶穌對西門說：“不要怕！從今以後，你要作得人的漁夫了。” 11 他們把兩隻船攏了岸，撇下一切，跟從了耶穌。
治好痲風病人(B)
12 有一次，耶穌在一個城裡，突然有一個滿身痲風的人看見他，就把臉伏在地上，求他說：“主啊！如果你肯，必能使我潔淨。” 13 耶穌伸手摸他，說：“我肯，你潔淨了吧！”痲風立刻離開了他。 14 耶穌囑咐他不可告訴任何人，“你只要去給祭司檢查，並且照著摩西所規定的，為你得潔淨獻祭，好向大家作證。” 15 但他的名聲卻越發傳揚出去，成群的人來聚集，要聽道，並且要使他們的疾病痊愈。 16 耶穌卻退到曠野去禱告。
治好癱子(C)
17 有一天，耶穌正在教導人，法利賽人和律法教師也坐在那裡，他們是從加利利和猶太各鄉村，並耶路撒冷來的；主的能力與他同在，叫他能醫病。 18 有人用床抬著一個癱子，想送進去，放在耶穌跟前。 19 因為人多，沒有辦法進去，就上了房頂，從瓦間把癱子和床往當中縋下去，正在耶穌跟前。 20 他看見他們的信心，就說：“朋友（“朋友”原文作“人”），你的罪赦了。” 21 經學家和法利賽人就議論起來，說：“這人是誰，竟然說僭妄的話？除 神一位以外，誰能赦罪呢？” 22 耶穌知道他們的議論，就對他們說：“你們心裡為甚麼議論呢？ 23 說：‘你的罪赦了’，或說：‘起來行走’，哪一樣容易呢？ 24 然而為了要你們知道，人子在地上有赦罪的權柄，（他就對癱子說：）我吩咐你，起來，拿起你的床，回家去吧。” 25 那人立刻當眾起來，拿著他躺過的床，頌讚 神，回家去了。 26 眾人都驚奇，頌讚 神，並且十分懼怕，說：“我們今天看見了不平常的事。”
呼召利未(D)
27 事後，耶穌出去，看見一個稅吏，名叫利未，坐在稅關那裡，就對他說：“來跟從我！” 28 他就撇下一切，起來跟從了耶穌。 29 利未在自己家裡，為他大擺筵席，有許多稅吏和別的人一起吃飯。 30 法利賽人和經學家埋怨他的門徒，說：“你們為甚麼跟稅吏和罪人一起吃喝呢？” 31 耶穌回答：“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，而是要召罪人悔改。”
新舊的比喻(E)
33 他們說：“約翰的門徒常常禁食、祈禱，法利賽人的門徒也是這樣，而你的門徒卻又吃又喝。” 34 耶穌說：“新郎跟賓客在一起的時候，你們怎麼可以叫賓客禁食呢？ 35 但日子到了，新郎要被取去，離開他們，那一天他們就要禁食了。” 36 他又對他們設個比喻說：“沒有人會從新衣服撕下一塊布，補在舊衣服上，如果這樣，不但新衣服撕破了，而且新撕下的布，也和舊的不調和。 37 也沒有人會把新酒裝在舊皮袋裡；如果這樣，新酒就會把皮袋脹破，不但酒漏掉，皮袋也損壞了； 38 人總是把新酒裝在新皮袋裡。 39 喝慣陳酒的人，就不想喝新酒，他總說陳的好。”
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
