New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Luke 5
1
One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him and listened to the word of God.
Reference
2
Jesus saw two boats at the edge of the water. They had been left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
Reference
3
He got into the boat that belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to go out a little way from shore. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the people.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 4:18
4
When he finished speaking, he turned to Simon. He said, "Go out into deep water. Let the nets down so you can catch some fish."
Reference
5
Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
Reference
6
When they had done so, they caught a large number of fish. There were so many that their nets began to break.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 15:58
7
So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
Reference
8
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees. "Go away from me, Lord!" he said. "I am a sinful man!"
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 1:17
Judges 13:22
Job 40:4
Exodus 20:19
Matthew 17:6
References Jesus
John 11:32
References Lord
Isaiah 6:5
1 Samuel 6:20
2 Samuel 6:9
Sin
1 Kings 17:18
10
So were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who worked with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will catch people."
Reference
12
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along. He had a skin disease all over his body. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground. He begged him, "Lord, if you are willing to make me 'clean,' you can do it."
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 50:15
Luke 17:16
Hebrews 7:25
Psalm 91:15
References Jesus
Matthew 9:28
Matthew 26:6
References Lord
Exodus 4:6
Genesis 18:14
13
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing to do it," he said. "Be 'clean'!" Right away the disease left him.
Reference
14
Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone. Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be a witness to the priest and the people that you are 'clean.' "
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 17:14
Matthew 9:30
Matthew 12:16
Sin
Mark 1:44
Leviticus 13:2
Witness
Matthew 8:4
15
But the news about Jesus spread even more. So crowds of people came to hear him. They also came to be healed of their sicknesses.
Reference
17
One day Jesus was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. They heard that the Lord had given Jesus the power to heal the sick.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 6:19
Luke 8:46
Acts 19:11
Acts 4:30
Mark 5:30
John 3:21
Resurrection
Matthew 11:5
Mark 7:1
Matthew 15:1
18
Some men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. They tried to take him into the house to place him in front of Jesus.
19
They could not find a way to do this because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. Then they lowered the man on his mat through the opening in the roof tiles. They lowered him into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 2:4
21
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to think, "Who is this fellow who says such an evil thing? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Reference
22
Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 24:38
Isaiah 66:18
Acts 5:3
Psalm 139:2
Revelation 2:23
Hebrews 4:12
1 Chronicles 28:9
References Jesus
Mark 8:17
Matthew 9:4
Matthew 12:25
24
I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he spoke to the man who could not walk. "I tell you," he said, "get up. Take your mat and go home."
Reference
25
Right away, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mat and went home praising God.
Reference
References God
John 9:24
26
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with wonder. They said, "We have seen unusual things today."
Reference
27
After this, Jesus left the house. He saw a tax collector sitting at the tax booth. The man's name was Levi. "Follow me," Jesus said to him.
Reference
29
Then Levi gave a huge dinner for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 15:1
30
But the Pharisees and their teachers of the law complained to Jesus' disciples. They said, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
32
I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to turn away from their sins."
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 19:10
Acts 3:26
Repentance
2 Peter 3:9
Acts 17:30
Acts 20:21
Righteousness
Luke 15:7
Sin
Luke 15:10
Acts 3:19
Luke 24:47
Acts 2:38
33
Some of the people who were there said to Jesus, "John's disciples often pray and go without eating. So do the disciples of the Pharisees. But yours go on eating and drinking."
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 18:12
34
Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the groom go without eating while he is with them?
Reference
35
But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. In those days they will fast."
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 17:22
36
Then Jesus gave them an example. He said, "People don't tear a patch from new clothes and sew it on old clothes. If they do, they will tear the new clothes. Also, the patch from the new clothes will not match the old clothes.
Reference
37
People don't pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will burst the skins. The wine will run out, and the wineskins will be destroyed.
Reference
Chapter Summary
Luke 5 marks a major expansion of Jesus' public ministry because His authority is now demonstrated not only through teaching and healing but also through the calling of people who will become His closest disciples and through His willingness to challenge established expectations about religious life.
The chapter begins beside the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus teaches a large crowd from Simon's fishing boat before instructing Simon to take the boat into deeper water and lower the nets.
Although Simon and his companions have worked throughout the night without catching anything, Simon follows Jesus' instruction, and the result is an enormous catch of fish that fills two boats to the point where they begin to sink.
The miracle causes Simon Peter to recognize his own unworthiness, but Jesus reassures him and tells him that from now on he will "catch people," transforming Simon's ordinary occupation into an image for the future work of gathering people into God's kingdom.
Simon, James, and John then leave everything and follow Jesus, establishing the beginning of a close group of disciples who will accompany Him throughout His ministry.
Jesus next encounters a man suffering from a serious skin disease, traditionally described as leprosy, who asks to be cleansed.
Jesus responds by touching him and healing him immediately, demonstrating both compassion and authority while also instructing the man to follow the appropriate Jewish procedure of presenting himself to a priest so that his restored condition can be officially recognized.
Despite Jesus' instructions, reports about Him spread rapidly, and crowds begin gathering to hear Him and receive healing.
Luke then emphasizes an important feature of Jesus' ministry by explaining that Jesus repeatedly withdraws to lonely places to pray, showing that His increasing popularity does not replace His dependence upon God.
The chapter then records one of Jesus' most important early confrontations with religious leaders when friends bring a paralyzed man to Him but cannot enter through the crowded doorway.
They lower the man through the roof, and Jesus first tells him that his sins are forgiven, which immediately raises a theological question because the religious teachers understand forgiveness as belonging ultimately to God.
Jesus knows their thoughts and asks whether it is easier to say that sins are forgiven or to tell the man to stand and walk, then heals him publicly as visible evidence of His authority.
The paralyzed man immediately rises, takes his mat, and goes home praising God, while the crowd responds with amazement and reverence.
This episode is particularly important because Jesus does not merely claim to possess healing power; He connects the physical miracle with His authority to forgive sins, introducing a much deeper claim about His identity and mission.
Jesus then calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow Him, and Levi immediately leaves his occupation and becomes a disciple.
Levi celebrates by holding a large banquet at his home, inviting many tax collectors and other people who were regarded as sinners or socially undesirable.
The Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with such people, but Jesus responds with the image of a doctor and sick people, explaining that His mission is specifically directed toward those who recognize their need for repentance and restoration.
The chapter concludes with a discussion about fasting, in which Jesus explains that His disciples are like guests celebrating while the bridegroom is present.
He indicates that there will later be a time when the bridegroom is taken away and fasting will become appropriate, anticipating His future suffering and departure.
Jesus then uses the illustrations of a new patch on an old garment and new wine in old wineskins to explain that His ministry cannot simply be treated as a minor adjustment to existing expectations.
The new work of God's kingdom requires people to recognize that something fundamentally significant is happening through Jesus, rather than attempting to force His ministry into existing categories without change.
Historically, Luke 5 belongs approximately to AD 27–30, during the early years of Jesus' public ministry under Roman rule, when Galilee was governed by Herod Antipas and the Sea of Galilee supported important fishing communities.
The chapter also reveals several features of first-century Jewish society, including the importance of fishing, the social stigma surrounding tax collectors, the authority of priests in determining ritual cleanliness, the influence of Pharisees and religious teachers, the importance of fasting, and the use of boats, rooftops, wineskins, and communal meals in everyday life.
Luke 5 ultimately presents Jesus as a teacher with extraordinary authority, a healer who restores people physically and socially, a forgiver of sins who possesses divine authority, and a leader who calls ordinary and socially marginalized people into radical discipleship, while His teaching about new wine and old wineskins signals that the kingdom He brings cannot simply be reduced to another version of the established religious order.
The chapter begins beside the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus teaches a large crowd from Simon's fishing boat before instructing Simon to take the boat into deeper water and lower the nets.
Although Simon and his companions have worked throughout the night without catching anything, Simon follows Jesus' instruction, and the result is an enormous catch of fish that fills two boats to the point where they begin to sink.
The miracle causes Simon Peter to recognize his own unworthiness, but Jesus reassures him and tells him that from now on he will "catch people," transforming Simon's ordinary occupation into an image for the future work of gathering people into God's kingdom.
Simon, James, and John then leave everything and follow Jesus, establishing the beginning of a close group of disciples who will accompany Him throughout His ministry.
Jesus next encounters a man suffering from a serious skin disease, traditionally described as leprosy, who asks to be cleansed.
Jesus responds by touching him and healing him immediately, demonstrating both compassion and authority while also instructing the man to follow the appropriate Jewish procedure of presenting himself to a priest so that his restored condition can be officially recognized.
Despite Jesus' instructions, reports about Him spread rapidly, and crowds begin gathering to hear Him and receive healing.
Luke then emphasizes an important feature of Jesus' ministry by explaining that Jesus repeatedly withdraws to lonely places to pray, showing that His increasing popularity does not replace His dependence upon God.
The chapter then records one of Jesus' most important early confrontations with religious leaders when friends bring a paralyzed man to Him but cannot enter through the crowded doorway.
They lower the man through the roof, and Jesus first tells him that his sins are forgiven, which immediately raises a theological question because the religious teachers understand forgiveness as belonging ultimately to God.
Jesus knows their thoughts and asks whether it is easier to say that sins are forgiven or to tell the man to stand and walk, then heals him publicly as visible evidence of His authority.
The paralyzed man immediately rises, takes his mat, and goes home praising God, while the crowd responds with amazement and reverence.
This episode is particularly important because Jesus does not merely claim to possess healing power; He connects the physical miracle with His authority to forgive sins, introducing a much deeper claim about His identity and mission.
Jesus then calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow Him, and Levi immediately leaves his occupation and becomes a disciple.
Levi celebrates by holding a large banquet at his home, inviting many tax collectors and other people who were regarded as sinners or socially undesirable.
The Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with such people, but Jesus responds with the image of a doctor and sick people, explaining that His mission is specifically directed toward those who recognize their need for repentance and restoration.
The chapter concludes with a discussion about fasting, in which Jesus explains that His disciples are like guests celebrating while the bridegroom is present.
He indicates that there will later be a time when the bridegroom is taken away and fasting will become appropriate, anticipating His future suffering and departure.
Jesus then uses the illustrations of a new patch on an old garment and new wine in old wineskins to explain that His ministry cannot simply be treated as a minor adjustment to existing expectations.
The new work of God's kingdom requires people to recognize that something fundamentally significant is happening through Jesus, rather than attempting to force His ministry into existing categories without change.
Historically, Luke 5 belongs approximately to AD 27–30, during the early years of Jesus' public ministry under Roman rule, when Galilee was governed by Herod Antipas and the Sea of Galilee supported important fishing communities.
The chapter also reveals several features of first-century Jewish society, including the importance of fishing, the social stigma surrounding tax collectors, the authority of priests in determining ritual cleanliness, the influence of Pharisees and religious teachers, the importance of fasting, and the use of boats, rooftops, wineskins, and communal meals in everyday life.
Luke 5 ultimately presents Jesus as a teacher with extraordinary authority, a healer who restores people physically and socially, a forgiver of sins who possesses divine authority, and a leader who calls ordinary and socially marginalized people into radical discipleship, while His teaching about new wine and old wineskins signals that the kingdom He brings cannot simply be reduced to another version of the established religious order.