Luke Chapter 5: 1-11 Peter is told where to fish…

The hymn is under worship at the end now

Blue = Words from heaven

Orange = human interaction

Green = Saints speaking by the Holy Spirit

Brown = devils

Black = narrative.

He stood by Lake Gennesaret, to teach them and the people were so eager to hear Him as He spoke, that they pressed against Him. ²As He saw two empty fishing boats by the lake with the fishermen on shore washing their nets, ³He got in the one that belonged to Simon and asked to be pushed out a little bit from the shore. Then He sat down and taught from the boat. ⁴When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,

“Let’s go fishing”. 

⁵Simon answered,

“Sir, all night long we tried and failed. Anyway, as it is You who is asking, I’ll obey You and drop the net”. 

⁶Having done that, they found that their net was so full of fish that it was breaking. ⁷They waved to their partners who were in the other boat to come and help. There were so many fish that although they came to help, in fact even two boats weren’t enough, as both of them started sinking. ⁸When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus, saying, 

“Just leave a sinful man like me behind, Lord”. 

⁹He and those with him could hardly believe their eyes at how many fish they had caught, ¹⁰including his business partners, James and John, the sons of Zebadee. Jesus put his mind at rest by saying,

“Don’t be afraid Simon, from now on, you will be catching men!” 

¹¹As soon as they had landed the boats at the shore, they simply left them behind and followed Him.

¹²Later on, when He was in another city, a leper fell on his face as soon as he saw Jesus, and said, 

“Lord, you could heal me if you wanted to”.

¹³And so He touched the man, saying,

“I will. Be clean”. 

And just like that, the leprosy was gone.¹⁴Anyway, He told the leper,

“Don’t tell anyone, except you do have to go the priest and show yourself to him, and make the offering to God for your healing that Moses told you to do, in order to be a witness to them.”

 15-16 The common people loved Him…

¹⁵The more He did, the more famous He became. The crowds just got bigger and bigger as they wanted to hear Him speak and to be made well. ¹⁶Just in order to be alone, He had to go out into the wilderness, which is where He prayed.

17-26 Jealous religious leaders

¹⁷One day when He was teaching, there were the religious leaders and Doctors of ‘The Law’ present, who had come from all the towns around Galilee, from Judea and from Jerusalem. The Lord’s power was powerfully present for healing. ¹⁸A man who couldn’t use his arms and legs was brought in on a bed, and they had wanted to put him down right before Jesus, ¹⁹but they couldn’t find any space to do it, because there were too many people. So they went up onto the roof and lowered the bed down, with him on it, so it was right in front of Jesus. ²⁰Well, when Jesus saw their faith, He said right there and then, 

“Man…your sins are forgiven”.

²¹But all the religious leaders could do was to immediately question, 

“Who is this who is blaspheming by putting himself in the place of God, when only He can forgive sins?”

²²But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said,

“What is this that you are thinking? ²³What is easier to say? ‘Your sins are forgiven! ’ or, ‘ Get up and walk!’. ²⁴You will know now from this that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” 

Turning to the sick man, He said,

“I say to you, get up, take your bed with you and go home.” 

²⁵Immediately the sick man got up and went home, giving glory to God. ²⁶The people were so amazed that they too gave glory to God and became afraid, saying “We can hardly believe what we have seen today”.

²⁷After this He saw a tax man, called Matthew, taking taxes, and He said to him, 

“Follow me”. 

²⁸He got up, leaving everything behind, and followed Him. ²⁹So, Matthew had a big feast in his house, inviting all his friends including many tax collectors, and any others that were prepared to eat with him. ³⁰But the religious leaders criticised His disciples too, saying; 

“Why are you eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹But it was Jesus who answered the question, 

“Those that are healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do. ³²I did not come to call those already right with God, but sinners to repent.”

³³Then they replied,

“Why do John’s disciples fast and pray, regularly, (and, we might add, ours do too, of course), but you don’t fast do you? Why is that?”

³⁴He said to them;

 “Do the guests at a wedding feast, celebrate by eating or fasting when the bridegroom is there? ³⁵However, the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away, then they will fast”. 

³⁶Then, He told this parable; 

“No-one puts a patch of new cloth onto an old one, or it will tear off, making the tear even worse than it was before. ³⁷In the same way, no-one puts new wine into an old wine-skin bottle or the new wine will burst out of the old skin, wasting the wine and the skin. ³⁸New wine must go into new wine bottle skins, and then both are saved. ³⁹No-one who already knows the taste of old wine prefers new wine immediately, and will always say ‘The old is better’.”

—-Summary

³²I did not come to call those already right with God, but sinners to repent.”

• Today’s Verse…

Who is Jesus? 

Well, when Jesus saw their faith, He said right there and then, 

“Man…your sins are forgiven”.

• Today’s Challenge

“What is this that you are thinking? ²³What is easier to say? ‘Your sins are forgiven! ’ or, ‘ Get up and walk!’. ²⁴You will know now from this that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” 

What do you say of Jesus?

Prayer suggestions;-

1. The world. (ie ‘For those in authority.’)
2. The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
3. Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)

“… He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23. 

Jesus taught His disciples what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’; (Luke 11).

Listen here to Albert Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, 

thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever;- Amen.

Jesus walks on water…