Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Luke
Chapter 5: From Henceforth Thou Shalt Catch Men
Luke 5 gathers the first disciples and displays the Saviour's power to save. After a night of empty nets, Peter obeys Jesus' word, 'at thy word I will let down the net,' and takes so many fish the nets break, so that, overwhelmed by his own sinfulness, he falls at Jesus' knees and hears, 'Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.' Jesus touches and cleanses a man 'full of leprosy,' and forgives and heals a paralytic let down through the roof, proving 'that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,' a thing the scribes rightly said God alone can do. He calls Levi the tax collector from his booth, eats with 'publicans and sinners,' 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,' and teaches that His gospel is new wine that cannot be poured into old wineskins. The chapter shows the Saviour who calls sinners, cleanses the unclean, forgives sins as God, and makes fishermen into fishers of men.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Luke chapter 5. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus calls the first disciples, cleanses a leper, forgives and heals a paralytic, calls Levi, and speaks of new wine. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
At Thy Word
Peter obeys, the nets fill and break, and he is called to catch men.
I Will: Be Thou Clean
Jesus touches the untouchable and cleanses him with a word.
Thy Sins Are Forgiven
He forgives sins as God, and heals to prove His authority.
New Wine, New Bottles
He calls Levi and sinners, and brings the new wine of the gospel.
They Forsook All, and Followed Him (Luke 5:1-11)
A miraculous catch overwhelms Peter with his own sinfulness and calls him to a new work: catching men for Christ.
Depart from Me; for I Am a Sinful Man
"And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him."
Word Study
"catch," Greek zogreo (ζωγρέω). The word means to take alive, to capture living, not to kill. Jesus tells Simon, "from henceforth thou shalt catch men", literally "take men alive." It is a striking contrast with fishing, where the fish are caught to die; the disciples would catch men not to their death but to their life. To be caught by the gospel is to be taken alive out of the sea of sin and death and brought into the life of Christ. The fishermen's old trade becomes a picture of their new calling: to bring men and women alive into the kingdom.
Explanation
After a fruitless night, Peter obeys Jesus' word to launch out, and the nets fill to breaking -- and the catch undoes him: "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." A miracle over the deep exposes the depth of his own heart, for the nearer Christ's holiness draws, the more a man sees his sin. Jesus answers not with departure but with commission: "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." The One who fills empty nets will fill empty lives, and the fishermen leave all to follow the Lord who called them from their labor into His.
Gospel Focus
Jesus borrows Peter's boat as a pulpit, and then repays him with a lesson he would never forget. After teaching, He tells the exhausted fisherman, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets." Peter, the expert, has toiled all night and caught nothing, and daytime is the worst time to fish, yet he yields: "nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." That is the turning point, obedience to Christ's word against his own experience and reason. The result is overwhelming: a catch so great "their net brake" and both boats "began to sink." Peter's response is the mark of a true encounter with the holy: he "fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." The nearer we come to the holiness and power of Christ, the more we feel our own sinfulness; a real sight of Jesus produces not casual familiarity but humble, trembling awareness of sin. And here is the grace: Jesus does not depart. He says, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." The One who convicts also calls; the confession of sin is met not with rejection but with commission. Christ takes a man overwhelmed by his own unworthiness and makes him a fisher of men. Notice the whole pattern of discipleship in miniature: Jesus' word obeyed against reason, an abundance that only God could give, conviction of sin, gracious calling, and then, "they forsook all, and followed him." They left the greatest catch of their lives on the shore to follow the One who gave it. This is the call still: hear His word, obey it even when it cuts against your experience, own your sin before Him, receive His "Fear not," and follow. The Saviour who filled the nets will make you a catcher of men.
The Son of Man Hath Power to Forgive Sins (Luke 5:12-26)
Jesus touches and cleanses a leper, and forgives and heals a paralytic, revealing His power over defilement, disease, and sin.
I Will: Be Thou Clean
"And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day."
Word Study
"touched," Greek hepsato (ἥψατο). The word means to touch, to take hold of. A leper was unclean and untouchable; the law required all to keep away, and anyone who touched him became defiled. Yet Jesus "put forth his hand, and touched him." Instead of Jesus being made unclean by the leper, the leper was made clean by Jesus, His holiness and power overcoming the defilement. This is the gospel: Christ is not contaminated by our uncleanness; He cleanses it. He touches the untouchable, draws near to the outcast, and where sin has made us unclean, His touch makes us whole.
Explanation
Two healings display the same authority reaching body and soul. A leper begs, "if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," and Jesus touches the untouchable and cleanses him. Then, to a paralytic lowered through a roof by determined friends, He says first, "thy sins are forgiven thee" -- and when the Pharisees rightly note that "God alone" can forgive, He proves His divine authority by healing the man's body. Luke wants the reader to see it plainly: the One who cleanses lepers and forgives sins does what only God can do, and the crowds go home "filled with fear," having seen "strange things to day."
Gospel Focus
Two miracles reveal the Saviour's power over what most defiles and binds us. First, "a man full of leprosy," a walking picture of sin: defiling, isolating, incurable by human hands. He comes with humble faith, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." He does not doubt the power, only the willingness. And Jesus answers both: "I will: be thou clean", and He does the unthinkable, He "touched him." No one had touched this man in years, but the touch that would defile another cleanses him, for Jesus' purity is stronger than the leper's uncleanness. Here is Christ's heart toward every sin-defiled outcast: He is willing, and His touch makes clean. Second, a paralytic is let down through the roof by determined friends, and Jesus, seeing "their faith," goes first to the deeper need: "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." At once the scribes object in their hearts, and their theology is exactly right: "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" Only God can forgive sins, for all sin is against Him. So when Jesus forgives, He is either a blasphemer or He is God. Jesus proves which by a test they cannot dispute: anyone can claim to forgive, since no one can see it, but to say "Rise up and walk" and have it happen is proof visible to all. "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins," He heals the man instantly. The visible healing is the receipt for the invisible forgiveness, and both declare that Jesus wields the authority of God. The scribes were right that only God forgives sins; they were wrong to miss that God stood before them. The One who touches the leper and forgives the paralytic is God in flesh, and His willingness is toward you: bring your defilement and your guilt to Him, for He is able and willing to make you clean and to forgive your sins.
I Came to Call Sinners to Repentance (Luke 5:27-39)
Jesus calls a tax collector, feasts with sinners, and teaches that His gospel is new wine that cannot be poured into the old forms.
New Wine Must Be Put Into New Bottles
"And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better."
Word Study
"old," Greek palaios (παλαιός). The chapter ends with a proverb: "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." The word palaios means old, aged, worn. Jesus gently exposes a real danger of the human heart: having grown used to the old, the familiar religion of forms and traditions, people are slow to want the new wine of the gospel. Comfort with the old can make us resist the new work of God. It is a warning against a settled preference for the familiar over the fresh, living reality Christ brings; the Pharisees loved their old wineskins and could not receive the new wine of grace.
Explanation
Jesus calls Levi the tax collector from his booth, and Levi throws a great feast for his disreputable friends -- exactly the company the Pharisees despise. Jesus answers their grumbling with His mission: "they that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The new joy He brings cannot be poured into the old wineskins of ritual religion; something new has come. The Great Physician seeks the sick, and the table of sinners is precisely where He means to be found.
Gospel Focus
Jesus does the unthinkable again: He calls a tax collector. "Levi," also called Matthew, sat "at the receipt of custom," a traitor and extortioner in the eyes of his people, yet to him Jesus says, "Follow me," and "he left all, rose up, and followed him." Then Levi throws "a great feast," inviting his fellow "publicans and sinners" to meet Jesus, the first thing a new disciple does is bring his old friends to Christ. The scribes and Pharisees murmur, "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" and Jesus gives one of the clearest statements of His mission: "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He is the Physician who goes where the sickness is; the sin-sick are exactly whom He came to save, and the tragedy of the Pharisees is not that they were too sinful but that they thought themselves too righteous to need Him. When they object that His disciples feast instead of fasting, Jesus points to Himself as the bridegroom, His presence is cause for joy, not mourning, though the day would come, at the cross, when "the bridegroom shall be taken away." Then He gives the parables of new cloth and new wine: the gospel is not a patch on the old religion of the Pharisees, nor can it be contained in the old wineskins of their traditions. It is new wine that needs new wineskins, a new covenant, new hearts, a new birth. And He closes with a searching proverb: "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." The heart grows comfortable with the old and resists the new work of God. This was the Pharisees' fatal preference. The chapter's whole sweep answers it: Christ came for sinners, cleanses the unclean, forgives as God, and pours out the new wine of grace. Do not cling to the old wineskins of self-righteousness and dead religion; receive the new wine, the new heart only He can give, and follow Him as Levi did, leaving all.
Chapter 5 in Review
Luke 5 gathers disciples and displays the Saviour's power to save. After empty nets, Peter obeys, "at thy word I will let down the net," and the overwhelming catch brings him to his knees, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord," and to his calling, "from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Jesus touches and cleanses a leper, "I will: be thou clean," and forgives and heals a paralytic, proving "that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins," which the scribes rightly said "God alone" can do. He calls Levi from his tax booth, feasts with "publicans and sinners," "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," and teaches that His gospel is new wine that cannot be poured into old wineskins.
For the Apostolic reader the chapter reveals Jesus as the Saviour who calls, cleanses, and forgives, God in flesh. He calls ordinary sinners, Peter overwhelmed by his sin and Levi despised by his people, and makes them His own, teaching us that a true sight of Christ produces conviction of sin, and that His grace meets that conviction with a call. He touches the untouchable leper, showing that His holiness cleanses rather than being defiled, good news for every outcast made unclean by sin. He forgives the paralytic's sins, doing what only God can do, and heals him to prove it, quietly declaring His deity. And He brings the new wine of the gospel, which cannot be patched onto the old religion of self-righteousness; it requires a new heart. Do not, like the Pharisees, prefer the old wineskins and murmur at His grace to sinners. Come as Peter and Levi came, own your sin, hear His "Fear not" and "Follow me," receive His cleansing touch and His forgiving word, and let Him make you new.
- Obedience to Christ's word against our own reason opens the way to His blessing (5:5).
- A true sight of Christ brings conviction of sin, which He meets with a gracious call (5:8-10).
- Christ touches the untouchable; His holiness cleanses rather than being defiled (5:13).
- Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus forgives them, proving His deity (5:21, 24).
- Christ is the Physician who came for the sin-sick, not the self-righteous (5:31-32).
- The gospel is new wine needing new wineskins; beware preferring the old (5:37-39).
Questions for Reflection
- Will you obey Christ's word even when it cuts against your own experience?
- Has a sight of Christ's holiness brought you to honest conviction of your sin?
- Have you brought your defilement and guilt to the One whose touch cleanses and who forgives as God?
- Are you clinging to the old wineskins of dead religion, or receiving the new wine of grace?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Conviction in the presence of the holy: Isaiah 6:5; Job 42:5-6. The cleansing of lepers and the law: Leviticus 13-14; Leviticus 14:2-4. God alone forgives sins: Isaiah 43:25; Psalm 103:3; Micah 7:18. Christ the Friend of sinners: Luke 15:1-2; 1 Timothy 1:15. The new covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34; 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The miraculous catch and the call of the fishermen: Luke 5:1-11; Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; John 21:1-11.
- The leper and the paralytic: Luke 5:12-26; Matthew 8:1-4; 9:1-8; Mark 1:40-2:12.
- The call of Levi and the new wine: Luke 5:27-39; Matthew 9:9-17; Mark 2:13-22.