Luke 5:1-11

1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me — I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Comments

This is a pattern we are going to see throughout Luke: Jesus speaks (the word of God in v.1), then demonstrates the authority of his word with a display of power, people respond in faith to the word and power, then follow Jesus. The miracle here is unlike the ones so far (healings and exorcisms); here Jesus shows authority over nature. The catch of fish is even more amazing when you consider that these were trammel nets used especially for night fishing. They were visible to fish during the day and had to be washed after each use. The fishermen had worked all night and caught nothing and then Jesus asks them to throw down a now visible net into water they know is empty of fish. Simon’s response of incapability and yet a willingness to obey echoes Mary’s response to the angel in chapter 1 – ‘what you’re saying isn’t really possible, but okay, here goes…’

Peter then identifies himself as a sinner, one not worthy to be in the presence of such a powerful prophet. This is another Lukan theme – Jesus is the friend of sinners. Not only does he not leave Peter alone, Jesus ends this scene the way he began it, speaking an authoritative word over Peter. The miraculous catch of fish foreshadows another amazing catch – of people on the Day of Pentecost.

One final thing here. Mark and Matthew have abbreviated accounts of Jesus calling these disciples (the only other Gospel story close to this one is the post-resurrection story in John 21), so there is not much to compare to Luke. Except that Matthew only says they left their nets, while Mark only says they left their boat (with their father and servants). Luke makes a point of telling us they left everything. Leaving everything to follow Jesus is another theme that runs through Luke (and into Acts) as the proper response of the person who responds in faith to Jesus’ authoritative words and powerful deeds.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Luke 4:31-44

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon — an evil spirit  began shouting at Jesus, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Comments

This sequence of events appears in Mark 1 and Luke follows Mark closely, with a few significant alterations, ones that help accentuate Mark’s point of establishing Jesus’ teaching authority. Luke works to establish that (perhaps more strongly) while also grounding it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke adds the Greek term logos here – the word of Jesus has authority. This is going to be a recurring theme in Luke (and also in Acts, and it may have influenced John’s beginning: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…”) – placing emphasis on the authority contained in what Jesus says.

Luke works here to juxtapose Jesus’ authoritative word from what the demons say. The demon in verse 34 says the same thing as in Mark 1.24. But in the many exorcisms that follow that evening, Mark only says Jesus would not permit them to speak. Luke agrees but still records them blurting out “You are the Son of God!” in verse 41. Luke accomplishes two things here. First, he reinforces the claim that Jesus is the Son of God. Even the demons know it. What they say is true enough, but their word does not carry authority. They are speaking truth, but Jesus muzzles them (literal translation of v.35). Speaking the truth is not enough. Speaking the truth is no guarantee that the word being spoken carries authority. We can fall into the trap of thinking that if someone says the right things that is enough. Luke shows us here this is not the case.

Luke also understands that authority is not automatic or guaranteed. It comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mark only has Jesus speaking with authority. Luke has “authority and power” in v. 36, the latter word (dunamis) is Luke’s way of grounding Jesus’ authority in the power of God’s Spirit, while still keeping the focus on Jesus. This is important for Luke because the authority of Jesus word is not just grounded in the Spirit’s power, it is the conduit of the Spirit’s power. Mark tells us Jesus healed Simon’s mother by holding her hand and lifting her up. Luke changes that. He has Jesus rebuke the fever, using the authority of his word to release the healing power of the Holy Spirit into the woman’s body. This is exactly the same way Jesus delivers the people who are demon-possessed in v.34 and v. 41.

Two take aways from this. First, the people listening to Jesus teach notice the difference between a word that carries authority and power from a word that is merely true. Their ears can tell the difference. I think ours can too if we are honest about it. Second, the same power that Jesus taught and healed by, the same authority his word carried, is available to us. Not guaranteed. Not automatic. But very much available to those willing to teach and work only in the power of the Holy Spirit.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.