Session: Luke 5
Summarize
Jesus calls Peter (1-11)
a. Jesus initiates a relationship with Peter (1-3)
b. Jesus gives Simon the opportunity to trust Him (4)
c. Simon doubts but obeys Jesus (5)
d. Jesus provides Simon and his team with more fish than expected (6-7)
e. Simon recognizes Jesus' power and his own sinfulness (8)
f. Jesus repurposes Simon and his team; they follow Jesus (9-11)Jesus performs ministry (12-26)
a. Jesus encounters a man with leprosy (12)
b. The leprous man begs Jesus to heal him (12)
c. Jesus touches the leper and heals him (13)
d. Jesus instructs the leper to present himself for cleansing but to keep who healed him a secret (14)
e. People talked about the work of Jesus and sought Him to be healed (15)
f. Jesus sought solitude in the wilderness to pray (16)
g. People from all over, including Pharisees, come to hear Jesus teach and perform healings (17)
h. Men try to bring a paralyzed man on a stretcher to be healed by Jesus (18)
i. Unable to get through the crowds, the men lower the stretcher through the roof (19)
j. Jesus rewards their faith and tells the lame man his sins are forgiven (20)
k. The scribes and Pharisees think Jesus is a blasphemer because Jesus claims authority that belongs to God (21)
l. Jesus reads the Pharisees’ minds and confirms His divine authority by commanding the lame man to pick up his stretcher and go home (22-24)
m. The lame man gets up immediately and goes home glorifying God. Others praise God for what they have seen (25-26)Jesus calls Matthew (27-32)
a. Jesus sees Matthew at the tax booth and calls him to follow (27)
b. Matthew leaves everything and follows Jesus (28)
c. Matthew holds a great feast for Jesus at his house with other tax collectors (29)
d. The Pharisees and their scribes complain about Jesus eating with sinners (30)
e. Jesus explains that the healthy don't need a doctor, but the sick do (31)
f. Jesus declares His mission is to call sinners to repentance (32)Jesus Addresses fasting (33-39)
a. The Pharisees ask why Jesus' disciples don't fast like John's disciples and the Pharisees (33)
b. Jesus uses the analogy of wedding guests not fasting while the bridegroom is present (34-35)
c. Jesus gives the parable of not putting a new patch on an old garment (36)
d. Jesus gives the parable of not putting new wine into old wineskins (37-38)
e. Jesus notes that people accustomed to the old do not immediately desire the new (39)
Analyze
Read Luke 5:1-11
What does Jesus tell Simon to do after a long, unsuccessful night of fishing? (v. 4)
a. What is Simon's initial response, and what does he ultimately do? (v. 5) Why is Simon's obedience, despite his professional experience telling him it's pointless, an act of faith?
Cultural/Historical Note: Fishermen on the Sea of Galilee knew that the best fishing was done at night in the cool, deep waters. Jesus’ command to go back out into the deep in the heat of the day would have seemed illogical and fruitless to an experienced fisherman like Peter.
b. When Simon Peter sees the miraculous catch of fish, he falls at Jesus' knees and says, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (v. 8). What does this reaction reveal about what he now understands about Jesus?
c. Jesus tells Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men" (v. 10).
ci. What is an area of your life where obeying Jesus feels illogical or counter-intuitive?
cii. What "nets" might He be asking you to leave behind to follow Him in a new way? (v. 11)
Read Luke 5:12-26
2. What does the man with leprosy ask of Jesus? (v. 12) What is significant about Jesus touching him before healing him? (v. 13)
Cultural/Historical Note: According to Old Testament law (Leviticus 13-14), leprosy made a person ceremonially "unclean." They were social and religious outcasts, and anyone who touched them also became unclean. By touching the man, Jesus shows radical compassion and demonstrates that His power to make clean is greater than the power of disease to make unclean.
a. After healing the man, Jesus gives him specific instructions. What are they, and why would Jesus tell him to see a priest? (v. 14)
b. In the next story, what extreme measures do the friends of the paralyzed man take to get him to Jesus? (v. 18-19)
bi. What does this teach us about the nature of faith that pleases God? (v. 20)
c. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving the man's sins (v. 21). How does Jesus prove that He has the authority to forgive sins? (v. 22-24)
Theological Note: In Jewish law, only God could forgive sins. When Jesus claimed this authority, the Pharisees correctly understood that He was claiming to be God. Forgiving sins is invisible, but healing paralysis is visible. Jesus performs the visible miracle to prove He has the authority to perform the invisible one.
d. The friends of the paralytic were determined to bring their friend into the presence of Jesus. Who in your life needs to be brought to Jesus? What practical, even radical, steps can you take to help them encounter His healing and forgiveness?
Read Luke 5:27-32
3. What was Matthew's (also called Levi) profession, and what was his immediate response to Jesus' call? (v. 27-28)
a. Why was it considered scandalous for Jesus, a religious teacher, to associate with and eat in the home of a tax collector? (v. 29-30)
> Cultural/Historical Note: Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman Empire. They were viewed as traitors to their own people and were infamous for their corruption, extorting extra money for personal gain. Pious Jews, especially the Pharisees, would never share a meal with them.
b. How does Jesus' response in verses 31-32 define the purpose of His entire mission?
c. Jesus came "to call the sinners to repentance." This means we must first recognize we are spiritually "sick." In what areas of your life is it difficult to admit your need for the "physician"? How can you follow Jesus' example of showing hospitality and love to those society might label as "sinners"?
Read Luke 5:33-39
4. What is the question that the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus regarding the practice of fasting? (v. 33)
a. Jesus responds with two analogies: a new patch on an old garment (v. 36) and new wine in old wineskins (v. 37-38). What is the central point Jesus is making with these illustrations?
> Explanation: Jesus is teaching that the new covenant of grace and life He brings cannot simply be added to the old, rigid structures of religious legalism. The "new wine" of the Gospel is so powerful and expansive that it requires a "new wineskin"—a new heart and a new way of relating to God, not based on external rules but on an internal relationship with Him.
b. How might we be tempted to put the "new wine" of our life in Christ into "old wineskins" of legalism, fear, or past habits? What would it look like to fully embrace the new life Jesus offers? (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Contextualize
Jesus demonstrates His divine authority over nature (the fish), disease (leprosy), paralysis, and sin itself.
A true encounter with the holy presence of Jesus reveals our own sinfulness and profound need for His grace.
Following Jesus means responding to His call with obedient faith, leaving behind old identities to join His mission of seeking and saving the lost.
Actualize
This chapter is filled with people taking bold, faith-filled risks. Peter cast his net into empty water. The leper approached Jesus when he should have stayed away. The friends tore a hole in a roof. Matthew left a lucrative career in an instant.
This week, identify one area where God is calling you to take a risk of faith. It could be a person He wants you to share your story with, a habit He wants you to leave behind, or a step of radical generosity He is prompting you to take. Pray for the courage to move beyond your comfort zone and act on His call.
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