The Word Made Fresh
1On another occasion Jesus was walking beside Lake Gennesaret (another name for the Sea of Galilee), with a crowd surrounding him to hear God’s word. 2He saw a couple of boats near the shore where the fishermen were cleaning their nets. 3He climbed into the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way off shore. Then he sat in the boat and taught the crowds. 4When he had finished, he said to Simon, “Move on out to the deep water and cast your nets there.”
5Simon protested, “Master, we fished all night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll lower the nets again.” 6They lowered the nets, and caught so many fish the nets were tearing. 7They called for their partners in the other boat to help them, and they came. Both boats were so full they began to take on water. 8When Simon Peter saw it he fell at Jesus’ knees and cried, “Go away from me, Lord! I’m a sinful man!” 9He and all who were with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught – 10including James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were fishing partners with Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you’ll be catching men.” 11They pulled their boats ashore and then left everything there and followed Jesus.
12Another time in one of the other towns, there was a man with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he bowed face down before him and begged, “Lord, if you want to you can heal me.”
13Jesus reached out and touched him and said, “I want to! You are healed!” And immediately the leprosy was gone. 14He told the man not to tell anyone, but to “Go and show yourself to the priests as Moses commanded, and make an offering in appreciation for your healing.”
15But even more people came as the word got around about Jesus. Crowds would gather to hear him, and people were healed of their diseases. 16But then he would slip away to a deserted place to pray.
17One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and experts in the law of Moses from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were sitting nearby. The LORD’s power to heal was with him. 18Some men came while he taught, carrying a stretcher with a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him inside to Jesus, 19but couldn’t get in because of the crowd. So, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roofing tiles into the midst of the crowd in front of Jesus.
20When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Mister, your sins are forgiven.”
21The legal experts and Pharisees were asking, “Who does this man think he is? What he said is blasphemy! No one can forgive sins but God alone!”
22Jesus overheard what they were saying, and answered, “Why are you so disheartened by such questions? 23Which is easier to say; ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24But just to let you know that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralyzed man, “I say you can stand up and take your bed home.”
25In a flash the man was standing. He gathered up his stretcher and left for his home, praising God on the way. 26The crowd was amazed and awestruck. They gave glory to God and said, “We have seen strange things today!”
27After this Jesus went outside. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his collection booth. He said, “Follow me.” 28And Levi immediately got up and followed Jesus, leaving everything behind.
29Levi hosted a huge banquet in his home to honor Jesus. A big crowd of tax collectors and others gathered with them. 30The Pharisees and scribes complained to his disciples. They were asking, “Why do you gather together to eat with these people?”
31Jesus heard them, and answered, “Someone who is well has no need of a doctor; only those who are ill. 32I have come to call sinners to repent, not those who are righteous.”
33Then they questioned him about John’s disciples. “They are like the Pharisees and are always fasting and praying, but your disciples eat and drink all they want.”
34Jesus answered, “You can’t ask the wedding guests to fast while the bridegroom is there, can you? 35The days are coming when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from new clothes to sew onto old clothes. If they do, the new cloth will be torn, and it won’t be a good match for the old clothes. 37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they do the new wine will split the skins and everything will be spilled, and the skins will be worthless. 38New wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39And no one wants new wine once they’ve tasted the old. They’ll tell you the old is better.”
Commentary
1-11: Lake Gennesaret is usually called the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberius. Gennesaret means “harp.” The lake is about 700 feet below sea level and quite salty, covers 65 square miles and is vaguely in the shape of a lap harp. Luke is the only New Testament writer to call it Gennesaret, and uses that name only here. Elsewhere he simply calls it “the lake.” This scene takes place in Capernaum, a town on the northern shore of the lake. Jesus uses Simon’s boat as a teaching platform; sound carries especially well over water. When he finishes the lesson he tells Simon to put out a little further and cast his nets. Simon protests, but only mildly. Real fishermen are always willing to cast one more time. So many fish are caught that another boat is brought to help, and both boats are nearly overloaded. Peter responds by falling to his knees and worshiping Jesus. I have always found some humor in Jesus’ response, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be fishing for people.” Translation — “You’re obviously inept at knowing where to catch fish; you’d better get a land job.”
Now here’s a curious thing: the way Luke tells the story we must conclude that Simon is the only other person in the boat with Jesus. So, when Luke says, “They put out the nets,” he’s referring to Simon and Jesus. Jesus helps him set out the nets. Jesus helps him pull them in. Jesus joins him in calling James and John to come help. And Jesus catches all three of them!
12-16: Luke tells us about a leper who begs Jesus to “make me clean.” In the Bible being clean can mean one of three things: the physical cleansing of bathing or being rid of a disease; the moral cleansing from sin; and the ritual cleansing making one fit to participate in the community. We are left to speculate exactly what it was the leper wanted of Jesus. Full blown leprosy is a dreadful and deadly disease, but in the Bible the term is widely cast and can include conditions as benign as psoriasis. Luke makes it clear that Jesus heals the leper of his illness, but refuses to pronounce him ritually clean; he can provide for the individual’s need, but the community must be responsible for restoring its members to participation. In that time and place the community did so through the function of the priesthood. Jesus touches the man, which renders Jesus unclean! Maybe that is why he asks the man not to tell. The man can’t stay quiet, though, and Jesus withdraws to the countryside, perhaps because he is “unclean” and does not wish to “contaminate” the crowds?
17-26: Compare Mark 2:1-12. Luke sets us up by stating at the outset that “the power of God was with him to heal.” What a surprise, then, when Jesus greets the paralyzed man with “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The statement seems callous to the modern reader, but in those days people were superstitious about such infirmities; they believed it was a sure sign that some terrible sin had been committed. Jesus was addressing what the scribes and Pharisees perceived as the man’s primary problem; he was paralyzed by sin. Of course, if Jesus has been healing people, he has been forgiving sins all along. In this case, for the benefit of the religious authorities, Jesus forgives the man first and then heals him. The paralyzed man goes on his way rejoicing. The crowd is amazed. One man’s freedom from paralysis has revealed the paralysis of the rest of them.
27-28: Compare Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14. Levi is introduced. In Matthew’s gospel he is called Matthew, and when Luke lists the twelve disciples he does not name Levi but does name Matthew (see 6:15), so there is some confusion about his name. All agree that he is a hated tax collector, so Luke has Jesus recruiting the most disreputable man in town. It surely makes bystanders wonder what sort of gang Jesus is gathering.
29-32: Levi throws a party for his pals to meet Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes protest, of course, but it should be clear to the reader that Jesus is systematically attacking the prejudices of the religious establishment. While acknowledging the authority of the priests to restore a person to the community (as we saw with the leper), Jesus denies their authority over an individual’s relationship with God (as we saw with the paralytic). Now he brings attention to their policy of excluding certain people. To their objections Jesus uses impeccable logic: he is in the business of turning people back to God, so he must be in contact with those who need turning. This incident with Levi is an important one because Jesus has strayed from the normal activities of an itinerant rabbi. He has been careful to teach in the synagogues and preach only to crowds who gather to hear him. This is the first time he has chosen deliberately to mix with another segment of society. He is clearly beginning to draw a wider circle.
33-39: Luke does not identify “them.” “They” are the people Levi has invited to his party. They have observed Jesus for some time, and this is their opportunity to ask questions, so the question about fasting is not motivated by suspicion but by genuine interest. Jesus’ reply, however, is radical. The form of religious expression presented by John and the Pharisees is an old form that cannot express the new faith Jesus is teaching. Their faith is in a God of judgment. Their form is ascetic, solemn, rigid, and judgmental. Jesus is preaching a new relationship with a God who is merciful, and the way to live out that faith is to celebrate and rejoice and rub elbows with the unclean, the sick and the sinners.
Don’t miss the veiled warning in the last verse. Once you’ve tasted the old wine, he says, you won’t want the new wine. Those who are comfortable with the old way of looking at God and life will have a hard time getting used to the good news Jesus is proclaiming. They’ll just keep singing, “Gimme that old-time religion, it’s good enough for me.” The main point of the passage is contained in the illustration of the bachelor party. The old view is that if you are close to God you will be solemn and rigid and disdainful of certain company. The view Jesus brings is that a close relationship with God results in celebration and rejoicing and enjoyment of life. It is when he is away from us that we should fast and pray.
Takeaway
The teaching of Jesus draws us away from the need to associate only with those who agree with us. Followers of Jesus never think that they are “better” than others. It’s okay for a Christian to be a friend to a Jew, or a Muslim, or a non-believer. Perhaps they will see in us a reason to know more about this itinerant teacher from two thousand years ago.