Not the Righteous but Sinners

Observation

Setting. Jesus stands by the lake of Gennesaret with a crowd pressing to hear the word of God (v1). He teaches from Simon’s boat, sends Simon into deep water, and calls Simon, James and John (vv1–11). In “one of the cities” He cleanses a leper (vv12–16). “One day,” with Pharisees and teachers of the law from Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem listening, He forgives and heals a paralyzed man let down through the roof (vv17–26). He calls Levi from the tax booth and eats at his feast, then answers questions about fasting with parables of new cloth and new wine (vv27–39).

Structure:

• vv1–11 — the catch and the call: teaching from Simon’s boat (vv1–3); “Put out into the deep water” — “we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say” (vv4–5); nets breaking, boats sinking (vv6–7); “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (v8); “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men” (v10); they left everything and followed Him (v11).
• vv12–16 — the leper: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (v12); He touched him — “I am willing; be cleansed” (v13); go to the priest (v14); crowds grow, Jesus slips away to pray (vv15–16).
• vv17–26 — the paralytic: the power of the Lord present to heal (v17); friends, the crowd, the roof, the tiles (vv18–19); “Friend, your sins are forgiven you” (v20); “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (v21); which is easier? (vv22–23); the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (v24); he goes home glorifying God; “remarkable things today” (vv25–26).
• vv27–39 — Levi and the new wine: “Follow Me” — he left everything (vv27–28); the big reception (v29); “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” (v30); the physician and the sick; not the righteous but sinners to repentance (vv31–32); fasting and the bridegroom (vv33–35); new patch, new wine, old wine (vv36–39).

Repeated words, with counts:

• “sin / sins / sinful / sinners” ×7 — vv8, 20, 21, 23, 24, 30, 32.
• “new” ×7 — vv36 (×3), 37 (×2), 38, 39; “old” ×5 — vv36 (×2), 37, 39 (×2).
• “Simon” ×6 — vv3, 4, 5, 8, 10 (×2).
• “boat(s)” ×6 — vv2, 3 (×2), 7 (×2), 11.
• “wine / wineskins” ×6 — vv37 (×3), 38 (×2), 39.
• “fishermen / fish / catch / catching” ×6 — vv2, 4, 6, 9 (×2), 10.
• “crowd(s)” ×5 — vv1, 15, 19 (×2), 29.
• “forgive / forgiven” ×4 — vv20, 21, 23, 24.
• “nets” ×4 — vv2, 4, 5, 6.
• “Pharisees” ×4 — vv17, 21, 30, 33.
• “God” ×4 — vv1, 21, 25, 26; “glorifying God” ×2 — vv25, 26.
• “eat / drink” ×4 — vv30 (×2), 33 (×2); “fast” ×3 — vv33, 34, 35.
• “left” ×3 — vv11, 13, 28; “follow(ed)” ×3 — vv11, 27, 28; “everything” ×2 — vv11, 28.
• “Lord” ×3 — vv8, 12, 17.
• “clean / cleansed / cleansing” ×3 — vv12, 13, 14; “healed / healing” ×2 — vv15, 17.
• “reason / reasoning(s)” ×3 — vv21, 22 (×2).
• “tax collector(s)” ×3 — vv27, 29, 30; “bridegroom” ×3 — vv34 (×2), 35.

Contrasts: All night and nothing ⟷ at Your word, nets breaking (vv5–6). “Master” ⟷ “Lord” (vv5, 8). Catching fish ⟷ catching men (v10). Unclean ⟷ cleansed; untouchable ⟷ touched (vv12–13). Crowds ⟷ wilderness and prayer (vv15–16). Easier to say ⟷ harder to prove (v23). Well ⟷ sick; righteous ⟷ sinners (vv31–32). Bridegroom present ⟷ taken away (vv34–35). New ⟷ old (vv36–39).

Shape of the chapter: two calls (Simon, vv1–11; Levi, vv27–32) frame two healings (the leper, the paralytic). Each scene puts a sinner in front of Jesus, and each time Jesus speaks a word that changes him. The opposition enters halfway (v17) and the questions sharpen as the chapter goes.

Chapter theme (my words): Jesus calls, cleanses and forgives the people who know they are sinners — and only those. His authority to forgive is God’s own, and the life He gives is too new to be patched onto the old.

Interpretation

Why did Peter say “Go away from me”? The catch showed him who was in his boat. Like Isaiah (“Woe is me, for I am ruined!” Isa 6:5), he saw holiness and saw himself. Sproul: every sinner feels that discomfort, yet “What Peter needed more than anything in the world was a Savior.” Guzik: Jesus answers with “Do not fear,” because God relates to us on love, not cowering fear.

Is this the same call as Mark 1:16–20? Matthew and Mark give a short account of Jesus calling the fishermen by the sea; Luke gives the fuller story with the catch. Many commentators take them as the same event told from different angles; some see Mark’s as an earlier first call. Either way, Luke shows why the men left everything: they had seen His power and their sin.

“If You are willing” — unbelief or humility? Sproul defends the leper: he was right about Jesus’ power, and submitting a request to God’s will is not a lack of faith — a “no” is still an answer. Guzik: we usually doubt God’s love more than His power. Henry: “He is as willing to cleanse leprous souls as they can be to be cleansed.”

Why touch him? Why send him to the priest? Jesus could have healed with a word (Guzik), but the touch healed the loneliness too. Sending him to the priest kept the Law (Lev 14) and was “a testimony to them” — official proof that a leper had been cleansed.

Whose faith did Jesus see? “Seeing their faith” (v20) — at least the friends’, and likely the man’s as well, since he let them carry him. Guzik: “There is something lacking in faith if it can never be seen.” Spurgeon: some men will only come to Christ when several believers carry them together.

Was Jesus claiming to be God? The scribes said, “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Sproul: “We know that only God has the authority to forgive sins.” Jesus did not correct their theology; He proved His authority by healing what could be seen. And He called Himself “the Son of Man” — Daniel 7’s heavenly figure who receives dominion.

What do the wineskins mean? Sproul: legalism multiplied fasts the Law never required; the new covenant cannot be patched onto old structures — “Conversion means nothing less than complete transformation.” Henry reads the same verses as Christ’s gentleness, not loading young disciples with exercises beyond their strength. Verse 39 is a sad, realistic word: people comfortable with the old do not want the new.

Word study (Greek):

• Master — epistatēs (G1988): overseer, boss; only Luke, always of Jesus.
• catching — zōgreō (G2221): to take alive; Luke 5:10; 2 Tim 2:26.
• leprosy — lepra (G3014): Luke alone, “full of leprosy.”
• slip away — hypochōreō (G5298): to withdraw; a habit of prayer (5:16; 9:10).
• forgiven — aphiēmi (G863): send away, release; perfect tense in vv20, 23.
• authority — exousia (G1849): the right and power to act (v24).
• remarkable things — paradoxos (G3861): beyond expectation; only here in the NT.
• tax collector — telōnēs (G5057): a toll contractor (vv27, 29, 30).
• repentance — metanoia (G3341): a change of mind and life; Luke alone has it in v32.
• new — neos (G3501) / kainos (G2537): new wine (young) / fresh wineskins (new in kind).

Key insights to carry (from the Deep Dive):

1. From “Master” to “Lord” — obedience opened Simon’s eyes (vv5, 8).
2. The fish obeyed before Peter did (Sproul).
3. Caught alive — zōgreō, out of one captivity into life.
4. We doubt His love more than His power (Guzik).
5. Busy ministry, more prayer — v16; Spurgeon’s locust.
6. The greater need first — forgiveness before walking.
7. The critics had the right doctrine — only God forgives.
8. They could hold a rope (Spurgeon).
9. Sinners — to repentance (v32).
10. New wine, new skins — not a patch but a new life.

Cross-references: Lev 13:45–46; 14:1–32; Ps 32:1–5; Isa 6:5; 43:25; 62:5; Dan 7:13–14; Matt 4:18–22; 8:1–4; 9:1–17; Mark 1:16–20, 40–45; 2:1–22; John 21:1–14; 2 Cor 5:17; 1 Tim 1:15; 2 Tim 2:26.

Application

Command to obey — “Put out into the deep water.” Simon had fished all night and had nothing to show for it, and Jesus told him to go back out. I know men who have tried to get clean, tried to rebuild a marriage, tried to pray, and caught nothing. The word to us is the same: “I will do as You say.” This week I will do the thing Jesus has told me to do even though last time it didn’t work.

Sin to confess — keeping Jesus at arm’s length. When Peter saw who Jesus was, he wanted Him to leave. I have done that — kept Him out of the room because I felt too dirty for Him to be there. That is pride dressed up as humility. Jesus answered Peter, “Do not fear.” I will stop being a fugitive and come close.

Promise to trust — “I am willing; be cleansed.” The leper was sure Jesus could, but not sure He would. Most of the men I sit with are the same: they believe God is powerful; they doubt He wants them. Jesus touched the man nobody would touch. He is willing. And the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins — mine included, all of them, now.

Example to follow — four men and a rope. I can’t fix my friend, but I can carry my corner of the mat. I will name one man this week whom I will help bring to Jesus — a ride to group, a call, a prayer with him — and I will not stop at the first crowded doorway.

Truth to face — He came for sinners. The Pharisees grumbled that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. That is the best news in the chapter: if I were well, I would not need the Physician. I need Him, and He came for exactly my kind. And He doesn’t patch me; He makes me new.

Questions for the table (from the Deep Dive):

1. Simon had “worked hard all night and caught nothing” and still said, “I will do as You say.” Where is Jesus telling me to let down the nets again after I have given up? (5:4–6) When Jesus directs our work, it makes all the difference (Guzik).
2. When Peter saw who Jesus was, he said, “Go away from me.” In what ways do I keep Jesus at arm’s length because I feel too sinful to be near Him? (5:8–10; Isa 6:5) You stop being a fugitive (Sproul).
3. The leper was sure Jesus could, but not sure He would. Which do I doubt more about God — His power or His love? (5:12–13) He stretched out His hand and touched him.
4. Who is the man I could help carry to Jesus, and what “roof” might we have to open to get him there? (5:18–20) They could not preach, but they could hold a rope (Spurgeon).
5. Jesus forgave the man before He healed him. What guilt is paralyzing me that only forgiveness can cure? (5:20–24; Ps 32:5) There is only one cure for guilt, and that is forgiveness (Sproul).
6. Am I trying to patch Jesus onto my old life, or has He given me new wine that needs new wineskins? (5:36–39; 2 Cor 5:17) Conversion means nothing less than complete transformation (Sproul).

Worship. The Lord who commands the fish sat in a fisherman’s borrowed boat. The Holy One let a sinful man fall at His knees and told him not to fear. He touched a leper, forgave a paralyzed man before He healed him, and sat down to dinner with tax collectors. He is the Son of Man with authority on earth to forgive sins, the Physician of the sick, and the Bridegroom who would be taken away for us.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, I have worked all night and caught nothing; at Your word I will let down the nets. I am a sinful man — do not go away from me. If You are willing, make me clean; You have said You are willing. Forgive my sins, lift me off this mat, and send me home glorifying God. Make me a man who holds the rope for his friends, and who leaves everything to follow You. Pour Your new wine into a new heart. Amen.