Luke 5:8
But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Simon was a common Biblical name. Since there were two disciples named Simon, they were distinguished as Simon Peter and Simon the zealot (Luke 6:15). In addition, the New Testament names seven other Simons including Simon the step-brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55), Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6), Simon of Cyrene (Matt. 27:32), Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36–40), Simon, the father of Judas Iscariot (John 13:2), Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9), and Simon the tanner (Acts 10:6).
Luke 5:10
and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”
(a) James, the son of a fisherman called Zebedee, was one of Jesus’ first disciples. He is always mentioned with his brother John, and he is always listed first suggesting that he was the older of the two. James and John must have been rowdy and passionate men because Jesus called them “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). James was the first apostle to be martyred and the only apostle whose death is recorded in scripture (Acts 12:2). He was executed by Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, around AD44.
(b) John, the son of Zebedee, was a fishermen like his brother of James. Their mother was probably Salome (Matt. 27:56) who was probably Mary’s sister (Mark 15:40, John 19:25). If so, James and John, were Jesus’ cousins. Their family lived in Capernaum (Mark 1:21) and they were prosperous enough to own a fishing business (Mark 1:20). Like his brother, John walked away from all that to follow Jesus. Following the ascension of Jesus, John became a prominent leader within the church.
(c) Simon; see entry for Luke 4:38.
(d) Catching men. Jesus calls to us, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). You may think you lack the personality or skills to win souls, but Jesus will make you into fisher of men. Jesus is the wise winner of souls, and he wins souls through you. Our part is follow or trust him.
Luke 5:15
But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
(a) Large crowds. The crowds were like an army besieging Jesus; see entry for Matt. 11:12.
(b) Hear him. People were drawn to Jesus because he spoke the words of eternal life (John 6:68). The law-teachers put heavy yokes on people while the rabbis baffled them with manmade tradition, but Jesus spoke with authority and led people in the way of life.
(c) Their sicknesses. The original word (astheneia) means feebleness or weaknesses. It includes mental illness as well as physical infirmities.
Luke 5:17
One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
(a) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(b) Teachers of the law, that is, scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
Luke 5:20
Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
(a) Seeing their faith. Jesus saw the actions that accompanied the faith of those who carried the paralyzed man. The four men risked the rebuke of others by removing the roof of the house. They did this because they believed that Jesus could help their friend.
(b) Your sins are forgiven. Jesus forgave the paralyzed man to show us that God freely forgives us on account of grace and without any regard for our behavior (Eph. 1:7). Jesus died for us while we were sinners, and he forgave us while we were sinners (Col. 2:13). Before you repented, confessed, or did anything, the Lamb of God carried away all your sins – past, present, and future. See entry for Luke 23:34.
Luke 5:21
The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
(a) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
(b) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(c) Who can forgive sins; see entry for Forgiveness.
Luke 5:23
“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
Your sins have been forgiven; see entry for Luke 5:20.
Luke 5:24
“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”
(a) The Son of Man; see entry for Matt. 8:20.
(b) Forgive sins; see entry for Luke 5:20.
Luke 5:27
After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Levi the son of Alphaeus was probably Matthew the tax collector (Matt. 9:9, Mark 2:14).
Luke 5:30
The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
(a) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
(b) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(c) Tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors were revenue collectors for the hated Roman occupiers, while sinners were the irreligious and those considered unrighteous (Matt. 9:13). The word “sinner” in the Gospels, typically refers to someone who does not keep the law (John 7:49).
Luke 5:32
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
(a) The righteous are those who trust in their own righteousness (Luke 18:9). Self-righteous religious people, in other words.
(b) Sinners. If the original language did not lack punctuation marks, the word “sinners” would be in quotation marks. Religious people called them sinners; Jesus called them lost sheep (Matt. 10:6, 15:24).
(c) Repentance is the ability to receive the truth that sets us free. It’s a change of mind that causes us to see as God sees and think as God thinks.
Jesus is not saying that he expects sinners to put on sackcloth and ashes and flagellate themselves for their mistakes. He is saying, “I have come to bring the good news of God’s grace. The self-righteous will not receive it, but those who know they are lost are going to love it.”
Luke 5:33
And they said to him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
(a) They said to him. The Pharisees and scribes complained that Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:30). Now they grumbled that his disciples feasted while theirs fasted. Jesus responds with a rhetorical question (see next verse) and the short parables of the New Cloth and the New Wine (Luke 5:36–39).
(b) The disciples of John. Some of John’s disciples left him to follow Jesus (John 1:35–37), but others did not. They stayed with John, choosing the herald over the King. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, some were still preaching John’s baptism of repentance in distant places such as Ephesus (Acts 19:1–3).
(c) John was the last and greatest prophet of the old covenant (Matt. 11:11, 13). Of Jesus, John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). By this he meant that the old covenant ministry he represented had to give way to the new covenant ministry of Christ. The old covenant had served its purpose, but now that Jesus had come, it was obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
(d) Often fast. Ironically, John’s disciples had more in common with the disciples of the Pharisees than with the disciples of Jesus. Both groups were known for their frequent fasting and long prayers. Such reputations may impress people, but they do nothing to improve our standing before God (Matt. 6:5, 16).
Under the Law of Moses, one day each year was set apart for fasting: the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–31; 23:27–32). On that day, the Israelites were commanded to “afflict themselves,” and this was traditionally understood to mean abstaining from food and drink. However, the disciples of John and the Pharisees fasted far more often, presumably to afflict their bodies or demonstrate their devotion to God. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Pharisee even boasted that he fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12).
(e) Offer prayers. Like the Pharisees (Luke 20:47), John’s disciples made long supplications.
(f) The Pharisees were members of a devout religious and political movement. Some Pharisees also served on Israel’s ruling council, the Sanhedrin. See entry for Matt. 3:7
(g) Yours eat and drink. While John and his disciples were known for fasting, Jesus and his disciples were known for feasting (e.g., Luke 5:29, John 2:1–11). Because he dined with Pharisees, tax collectors, and others, Jesus’ critics went as far as to call him “a glutton and a drunkard” (Luke 7:34).
Luke 5:34
And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?
(a) The bridegroom. Just as God was compared to a bridegroom in the Old Testament (e.g., Is. 62:5, Eze. 16:8, Hos. 2:19), Jesus compares himself to a bridegroom in the New Testament (e.g., Matt. 22:2, 25:1).
(b) The bridegroom is with them. A wedding is a time for feasting, not fasting. It would be inappropriate for the disciples of Christ to fast while he is with them. The kingdom of heaven is a party, not a funeral.
Jesus brought life, freedom, and healing wherever he went. He opened deaf ears and blind eyes. He raised the dead and delivered the oppressed. Why would anyone fast when Jesus was around?
Luke 5:35
“But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
(a) Taken away from them. When Jesus was taken away to be tortured, crucified, and buried, the disciples were sad and did not feel like eating.
(b) They will fast. Jesus is making an observation, not issuing a command. In times of sorrow, people sometimes fast. David fasted when his child became sick (2 Sam. 12:16).
In the Old Testament, people fasted on the annual Day of Atonement and during times of grief or repentance, such as after a defeat in battle (Judg. 20:26) or when Ezra read the Book of the Law (Neh. 9:1). Fasting was a way of saying, “God, forgive us.” But in the new covenant, that prayer has been answered. In Christ, we are fully forgiven (Acts 13:38, Eph. 1:7). Fasting can be beneficial, but if it’s done to earn forgiveness, impress God, or persuade him to act, it becomes a dead work and a sign of unbelief.
Luke 5:36
And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
(a) Parable. A parable is a comparison told in the form of a short story, yet there is not much of a story here. There’s no clearly identified protagonist and not much of a plot. Still, Luke calls it a parable, and so a parable it is.
The parables of the New Cloth and the New Wine share a common message: the old and new don’t mix. Jesus is saying the old covenant religion of the Pharisees is completely incompatible with the new covenant of grace.
(b) Cloth from a new garment. Tearing cloth from a new garment to save an old one ruins both garments. New cloth stitched onto an old garment will shrink and tear at the first wash.
(c) New garment, old garment. The new garment represents Jesus and his new covenant message of grace, while the old garment represents the old covenant Law of Moses (John 1:17). The new covenant is based on the unshakable promises of God, while the old stands on the brittle promises of man. The new brings the liberty of Zion, while the old binds people with the chains of Sinai.
(d) Will not match. Grace and law don’t mix. They are incompatible. The ministry that condemns and releases death (the law) has nothing in common with the life-giving message of grace. Try to mix the two, and you will end up with the benefits of neither.
Luke 5:37-38
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.
(a) No one puts new wine into old wineskins. To emphasize his point, Jesus gives a second illustration showing how the old and new covenants cannot be combined.
New wine, which expands as it ferments, must be kept in a new wineskin that will stretch. Put new wine in an old skin that has lost its pliability, and the skin will burst. You will ruin the old skin and lose the new wine.
(b) The new wine, like the new garment, represents the new covenant message of grace and the new reality of the kingdom that was at hand (Matt. 4:17). On the Day of Pentecost, when the Lord poured out his Spirit on the new church, onlookers said, “They are filled with new wine” (Acts 2:13).
(c) Old wineskins. The old wineskins represent the old structures and traditions of rule-keeping religion. The old wineskins are not useless (see Rom. 3:1–2), but they cannot contain the new wine. The Spirit of God does not dwell in temples (or religions) made with human hands (Acts 17:24).
(d) Skins will be ruined. Whenever Jesus (representing the new wine) engaged with the priests in the temple (the old wineskin), there was conflict and aggravation. The new wine of the new covenant wouldn’t go into the old wineskin of the old covenant. And when people tried to introduce law into the New Testament church, there was discord and division (e.g., Gal. 2:12–13).
(e) Fresh wineskins. The message of grace revealed by Jesus was not embraced by the priests and temple worshipers. A new and more pliable wineskin was needed. So God provided a new temple of the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, or the church. “For we are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16).
Luke 5:39
“And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”
(a) Old wine. The rule-based religion of the old covenant.
(b) The old is good enough. Religion is intoxicating, but it will leave you spiritually numb. It will veil your mind and harden your heart to the grace of God (2 Cor. 3:14).
If you’ve invested in a system that rewards rule-keeping and good behavior (the old wine), you’ll find it hard to accept grace (the new wine). If you’re accustomed to Moses, you won’t see your need for Jesus (see 2 Cor. 3:15). If you’ve lived under constant pressure to perform, it may be difficult to enter the Lord’s rest. This is why sinners were entering the kingdom ahead of the religious (Matt. 21:31). Unacquainted with the old wine of law-based religion, the tax collectors and prostitutes were more than ready to imbibe the new wine of unconditional love and acceptance.
The new wine of grace cannot go into the old wineskin of religion. This is why we are called to repent (change our minds) and turn to God in faith. We must stop trying to make ourselves righteous and receive, by faith, the righteousness that comes from God.
Further reading: “The old is good enough”
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