Jesus Shows His Authority and Calls a New People

5:1 Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. 5:2 He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 5:3 He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch." 5:5 Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets." 5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. 5:7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 5:9 For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." 5:11 So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. 5:12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 5:13 So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. 5:14 Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, "Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 5:15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 5:16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. 5:17 Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 5:18 Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. 5:19 But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus. 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." 5:21 Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, "Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 5:22 When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, "Why are you raising objections within yourselves? 5:23 Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? 5:24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the paralyzed man - "I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home." 5:25 Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. 5:26 Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen incredible things today." 5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. 5:28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind. 5:29 Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 5:30 But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" 5:31 Jesus answered them, "Those who are well don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 5:33 Then they said to him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink." 5:34 So Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast." 5:36 He also told them a parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 5:37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 5:38 Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 5:39 No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is good enough.'" 6:1 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 6:2 But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?" 6:3 Jesus answered them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry - 6:4 how he entered the house of God, took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for any to eat but the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?" 6:5 Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." 6:6 On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was withered. 6:7 The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 6:8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and stand here." So he rose and stood there. 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?" 6:10 After looking around at them all, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." The man did so, and his hand was restored. 6:11 But they were filled with mindless rage and began debating with one another what they would do to Jesus. 6:12 Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. 6:13 When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 6:14 Simon (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 6:15 Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 6:16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

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Luke 5:1–6:16 shows Jesus speaking and acting with unique authority. He calls Simon, cleanses a leper, forgives and heals a paralytic, calls Levi, defends his disciples’ behavior, heals on the Sabbath, prays, and chooses the Twelve. His authority calls for trust, repentance, and leaving old loyalties behind.

The crowd gathers to hear the word of God, so Jesus’ teaching stays central. From Simon’s boat, Jesus teaches and then tells him to let down the nets again. Simon obeys, and the catch is so large that the nets begin to break. This miracle does not end in wonder alone. It leads Simon to fear, confession, and a new call. Jesus tells him not to be afraid and says that from now on he will be catching people. Simon, James, and John leave everything and follow him.

Next, Jesus meets a man covered with leprosy. The man does not ask whether Jesus can heal him. He asks whether Jesus is willing to make him clean. Jesus answers, touches him, and the man is cleansed at once. Jesus then tells him to show himself to the priest and offer what Moses commanded. This shows that Jesus does not treat the law lightly, even as he acts with greater authority than ordinary purity rules.

Then Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man. Some men lower him through the roof because the crowd blocks the way. Jesus sees their faith and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” The teachers of the law object, because only God can forgive sins. Jesus responds by healing the man so that they may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The healing proves the truth of the forgiveness.

Jesus then calls Levi the tax collector. Levi gets up and follows him, leaving everything behind. When Levi gives a banquet for Jesus, the Pharisees complain that Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus answers that sick people need a physician, not the healthy. He says that he has not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. His table fellowship is meant to restore and call people to turn from sin.

When the issue of fasting comes up, Jesus says that guests do not fast while the bridegroom is with them. His presence creates a new situation. He also gives two pictures: a new patch on an old garment and new wine in old wineskins. Both show that his ministry cannot be forced into old patterns without damage. People who are used to the old often resist what is new.

The Sabbath controversies continue the same pattern. Jesus’ disciples pick grain on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees accuse them. Jesus points to David eating the sacred bread when he was hungry. Then he says that the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. On another Sabbath, he heals a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. The leaders watch in order to accuse him, but Jesus asks whether it is lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath. He heals the man, and they respond with anger instead of worship.

Before choosing the Twelve, Jesus spends the night in prayer to God. Then he selects twelve disciples and names them apostles. This is not just administration. It shows that Jesus is forming a renewed people around himself. As opposition grows, he gathers a new community centered on his own authority.

Across the whole section, Jesus shows authority over work, uncleanness, sin, fellowship, fasting, and the Sabbath. He also prays, and his ministry is marked by communion with the Father. The right response is not admiration only, but repentance, trust, obedience, and a willingness to leave old loyalties behind.

• Jesus’ miracles confirm his teaching; they do not replace it.
• Seeing Jesus rightly leads to seeing our own sin rightly.
• Jesus cleanses the unclean without becoming unclean himself.
• Jesus has authority to forgive sins.
• Jesus calls sinners to repentance, not to moral indifference.
• Jesus’ presence changes the meaning of fasting.
• Jesus is lord of the Sabbath.
• Jesus prays before major decisions.
• The Twelve mark the gathering of a renewed people around Jesus.

• Do not read the miraculous catch as a promise of prosperity; it leads to confession, mission, and leaving everything behind.
• Do not reduce the leper’s cleansing to physical healing only; it also restores him to clean and public life.
• Do not turn the paralytic story into mere reassurance; the main issue is forgiveness of sins.
• Do not use Levi’s banquet to say Jesus approves sin without calling for change; he calls sinners to repentance.
• Do not treat the fasting and wineskins sayings as a simple praise of old ways; they explain why Jesus’ new ministry is resisted.
• Do not reduce the Sabbath scenes to kindness alone; Jesus also claims lordship over the Sabbath.
• Do not treat the choosing of the Twelve as simple organization; it signals the formation of a renewed people.

Luke shows Jesus acting with authority that belongs to God alone. He cleanses uncleanness, forgives sins, and rules over the Sabbath. He also gathers twelve apostles, which points to the forming of a renewed people around him. The repeated prayer scenes show that this work is carried out in fellowship with the Father.

Keep Jesus’ word central. Respond to him with confession, trust, repentance, and obedience. Bring needy people to Jesus with persistent faith. Welcome sinners in a way that leads toward repentance. Let spiritual habits be shaped by Christ, not by mere tradition. Do good when it is right to do so, even under pressure. Join important decisions with prayer.

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