Harmony of the Gospels
Lesson 31
Sermon in the Boat
Miraculous Draught of Fish
Luke 5:1-4 One time Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets.
Jesus got into one of the boats it belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore, Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd. When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, “ Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let your nets down for a catch.”
Comments: When the people are not prejudiced by false teachers they are usually eager to hear the Word. Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Christ saw two fishing boats pulled up on the beach, they belonged to Simon Peter and Andrew his brother, the other belonged to James and John the sons of Zebedee. Jesus walked over to one of the fishing boats and got in. The boat happened to be Simon Peters. He had to get in the boat because people were crowded around him so close that he could not teach. So when he had finished speaking he asked Simon to push the boat out into the water and to cast out his nets and he would catch some fish.
Luke 5:5 Master, Simon answered, “ we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets. They let the nets down and caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that they were about to sink.
When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, Go away from me Lord! I am a sinful man! He and the others with him were all amazed at the large number of fish they had caught. The same was true of Simon’s partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. They pulled the boats on the beach, left everything, and followed Jesus.
Comments: Peter had fished all night long and had caught nothing, at Christ’s word he would try again. He already was a disciple of Christ. The fish in the sea of Galilee are called shoals they travel in large schools creating black masses of swimming black fins projecting out of the water many hundred yards long just as thick as they could swim in a pack or school. It would be hard for any net of that day to hold together under that kind of weight. Peter fill down at the feet of Jesus filled with awe and reverence at the miracle that had drawn the shoal to their net. Jesus response to Peter’s outcry and to James , John and Andrew was come and I’ll show you how to catch men. The four disciples had been just disciples but now they were to become Apostles, hence forth they followed Jesus personally. These all together cast the gospel net on Pentecost and had a mighty draught of men.
Matthew 8:2-4
Matt. 8:2-4 The a leper came to him, knelt down before him, and said, “ Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I do want to,” he answered. “Be clean!” At once he was clean from his leprosy.
Then Jesus said to him, “ Listen! Don’t tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then offer the sacrifice that Moses ordered, to prove to everyone that you are now clean.”
Comments: Leprosy was a dreadful and hopeless disease. It begins as a skin disease, defies medical skill, and is a kind of living death. There are various forms of the disease, but white leprosy seemed most common among the Hebrews. With it the sufferer became white from head to foot. The leper, by the law of Moses, was regarded unclean, was separated from the people, was regarded as dead, and the disease was a type of sin. The leper call Jesus Lord which was an expression of faith, as well as the words that followed. To touch a leper was forbidden, and carried ceremonial defilement, but at the touch of Jesus the source of the defilement fled, and the leper was clean. At the touch of Jesus all impurity flees.
The leper was to tell no one until the man was officially declared to be healed. He could not enter society until the priest had so declared. To blaze the story abroad as a miracle of Jesus might prevent such a declaration on account of prejudice. Besides, the Lord often forbade noising abroad his cures, for various reasons, chiefly because the multitude so thronged him. He was to offer the gift that Moses commanded, Lev. 14:10 And on the eight day he shall take two he lambs without blemish and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
Lev. 14: 22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
Lev. 14:30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;
Lev. 14:31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.
This was done for a testimony and official proof of the miracle.
Retirement to Pray
Luke 5:16
Luke 5:15-16 But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases. But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed.
Comments: Jesus fame had spread to every quarter of Palestine and all the sick and diseased came not only to see and hear, but to be healed.
Some people brought him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw how much faith they had, and said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”
Then some teachers of the Law said to themselves, “This man is talking against God!” Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk”? I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed, and go home!” The man got up and went home. When the people saw it, they were afraid, and praised God for giving such authority as this to men.
Comments: Then they brought a helpless paralytic to the great healer. Jesus seeing the faith of the four bearers and the helpless man through the obstacles they had overcome in order to get him to Christ for help. Mark says they let him down through the roof.
Palsy is a contraction of the word paralysis. A disease which deprives the part affected of sensation or the power of motion, or both. Christ says “Thy sins are forgiven.” The Greek text has it in the past tense. Possibly he had brought his sickness upon himself by means of his sins; but was now penitent.
The scribes the expounders of the scriptures, the theologians, the jurists, the legislators, the politicians, and indeed, the soul of Israel had scented heresy from afar, and came from Jerusalem to pry into the teachings of the Prophet of Galilee, as the people called him. By professing to forgive sins, the prerogative not of man, but of God. If Christ were but a man, as they imagined, the scribes would have been right. And yet, so far, he had not said that he forgave the sins, but merely declared them forgiven. This was the beginning of the opposition that ended with the cross. On the same accusation of blasphemy, now first made, the Sanhedrim condemned him to death (Matt. 26:65).
They had said nothing out loud, but he read their hearts.
To say, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” was easy, for no visible result could test the saying. To say, “Take up thy bed and walk,” was not apparently so easy, for failure would cover with confusion. He said the last, leaving the inference, If I can do the most difficult, then I can do the easier.
By doing that which requires the most proof, I will vindicate my right and power to do that which in its very nature is incapable of being put to the proof of the senses. The Son of man cannot simply mean a man, or a mere man, since the powers in question do not belong to men as such. The true sense is determined by Daniel 7:13, where the phrase is confessedly applied to the Messiah, as a partaker of our nature.
He had power or Authority is a better rendering than power. He had authority from the Father who had sent him, and who had committed judgment to his hands on earth.
Sins are against God, and therefore only God can forgive them; for in the nature of things only he can forgive against whom the offense has been committed, but Jesus was “God manifest in the flesh.” I can forgive sins committed against myself, but not those committed against my neighbor, much less those against God. Christ’s argument here affords a fair test of all priestly claims to absolve from sin. If the priest has power to remit the eternal punishment of sin, he should be able, certainly, to remit the physical and temporal punishment of sin. This Christ did; this the priest does not, and cannot do.
The man arose and went to his house and in doing so this may be regarded as an enacted parable of sin and redemption. The paralytic typifies the sinner, by his original helplessness; faith was demonstrated by his earnestness to come to Christ in spirit of obstacles; and the power of divine grace, in the ability to obey Christ’s command, received in the very attempt to comply with it. Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
The multitude marveled, why should they not? His name shall be called Wonderful” Is.9