27 And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.
And he went out again by the seaside; and all the people came to him, and he gave them teaching. And when he went by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and he said to him, Come with me. And he got up, and went with him. And it came about that he was seated at meat in his house, and a number of tax-farmers and sinners were at table with Jesus and his disciples: for there were a great number of them, and they came after him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was taking food with the tax-farmers and sinners, said to his disciples, Why does he take food and drink with such men? And Jesus, hearing it, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill: I have come not to get the upright but sinners. And John's disciples and the Pharisees were taking no food: and they came and said to him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees go without food, but your disciples do not? And Jesus said to them, Will the friends of a newly-married man go without food while he is with them? as long as they have him with them they will not go without food. But the days will come when the husband will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food. No man puts a bit of new cloth on an old coat: or the new, by pulling away from the old, makes a worse hole. And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins: or the skins will be burst by the wine, and the wine and the skins will be wasted: but new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.
And he said to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And straight away they let go the nets and went after him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the boat with their father, stitching up their nets; and he said, Come.
And when Jesus was going from there, he saw a man whose name was Matthew, seated at the place where taxes were taken; and he said to him, Come after me. And he got up and went after him. And it came about, when he was in the house taking food, that a number of tax-farmers and sinners came and took their places with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master take food with tax-farmers and sinners? But on hearing this he said, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill. But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings: for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners. Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees frequently go without food, but your disciples do not? And Jesus said to them, Will the friends of the newly-married man be sad as long as he is with them? But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then will they go without food. And no man puts a bit of new cloth on an old coat, for by pulling away from the old, it makes a worse hole. And men do not put new wine into old wine-skins; or the skins will be burst and the wine will come out, and the skins are of no more use: but they put new wine into new wine-skins, and so the two will be safe.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax-farmer; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;
And Jesus, hearing it, said to him, One thing you still have need of; get money for your goods, and give it away to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven; and come after me.
If any man is my servant, let him come after me; and where I am, there will my servant be. If any man becomes my servant, my Father will give him honour.
Now this he said, pointing out the sort of death by which he would give God glory. And after saying this, he said to him, Come after me. Then Peter, turning round, saw the disciple who was dear to Jesus coming after them--the disciple who was resting on his breast at the last meal, and said, Lord, who is it who will be false to you? Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, What about this man? Jesus said to him, If it is my desire for him to be here till I come back, what is that to you? come yourself after me.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 5
Commentary on Luke 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Lu 5:1-11. Miraculous Draught of Fishes—Call of Peter, James, and John.
Not their first call, however, recorded in Joh 1:35-42; nor their second, recorded in Mt 4:18-22; but their third and last before their appointment to the apostleship. That these calls were all distinct and progressive, seems quite plain. (Similar stages are observable in other eminent servants of Christ.)
3. taught … out of the ship—(See on Mt 13:2).
4. for a draught—munificent recompense for the use of his boat.
5. Master—betokening not surely a first acquaintance, but a relationship already formed.
all night—the usual time of fishing then (Joh 21:3), and even now Peter, as a fisherman, knew how hopeless it was to "let down his net" again, save as a mere act of faith, "at His word" of command, which carried in it, as it ever does, assurance of success. (This shows he must have been already and for some time a follower of Christ.)
6. net brake—rather "was breaking," or "beginning to break," as in Lu 5:7, "beginning to sink."
8. Depart, &c.—Did Peter then wish Christ to leave him? Verily no. His all was wrapt up in Him (Joh 6:68). "It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for Thee." (Compare Isa 6:5.)
10. Simon, fear not—This shows how the Lord read Peter's speech. The more highly they deemed Him, ever the more grateful it was to the Redeemer's spirit. Never did they pain Him by manifesting too lofty conceptions of Him.
from henceforth—marking a new stage of their connection with Christ. The last was simply, "I will make you fishers."
fishers of men—"What wilt thou think, Simon, overwhelmed by this draught of fishes, when I shall bring to thy net what will beggar all this glory?" (See on Mt 4:18.)
11. forsook all—They did this before (Mt 4:20); now they do it again; and yet after the Crucifixion they are at their boats once more (Joh 21:3). In such a business this is easily conceivable. After pentecost, however, they appear to have finally abandoned their secular calling.
Lu 5:12-16. Leper Healed.
(See on Mt 8:2-4.)
15. But so, &c.—(See Mr 1:45).
Lu 5:17-26. Paralytic Healed.
(See on Mt 9:1-8).
17. Pharisees and doctors … sitting by—the highest testimony yet borne to our Lord's growing influence, and the necessity increasingly felt by the ecclesiastics throughout the country of coming to some definite judgment regarding Him.
power of the Lord … present—with Jesus.
to heal them—the sick people.
19. housetop—the flat roof.
through the tiling … before Jesus—(See on Mr 2:2).
24. take up thy couch—"sweet saying! The bed had borne the man; now the man shall bear the bed!" [Bengel].
Lu 5:27-32. Levi's Call and Feast.
(See on Mt 9:9-13; and Mr 2:14.)
30. their scribes—a mode of expression showing that Luke was writing for Gentiles.
Lu 5:33-39. Fasting.
(See on Mt 9:14-17.)
The incongruities mentioned in Lu 5:36-38 were intended to illustrate the difference between the genius of the old and new economies, and the danger of mixing up the one with the other. As in the one case supposed, "the rent is made worse," and in the other, "the new wine is spilled," so by a mongrel mixture of the ascetic ritualism of the old with the spiritual freedom of the new economy, both are disfigured and destroyed. The additional parable in Lu 5:39, which is peculiar to Luke, has been variously interpreted. But the "new wine" seems plainly to be the evangelical freedom which Christ was introducing; and the old, the opposite spirit of Judaism: men long accustomed to the latter could not be expected "straightway"—all at once—to take a liking for the former; that is, "These inquiries about the difference between My disciples and the Pharisees," and even John's, are not surprising; they are the effect of a natural revulsion against sudden change, which time will cure; the new wine will itself in time become old, and so acquire all the added charms of antiquity. What lessons does this teach, on the one hand, to those who unreasonably cling to what is getting antiquated; and, on the other, to hasty reformers who have no patience with the timidity of their weaker brethren!