Jesus Calls the First Disciples
5:1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
Jesus Calls Levi
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” (ESV)
24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
26Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,
28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Only God and Jesus Christ has the power to forgive sins. Everyday, we should be filled with awe to God. we should be ready to get up from what we are doing and follow Christ, if we aren’t already doing it.
First post!
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
I love this verse because it makes me think about what we do as christians. When we become a christian, we turn away from our sins, leave everything behind and follow him. Its just a cool thought
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
This is soooo true and such a cool analogy. We need to encourage our fellow Christians yet, but since they are already “healthy” we need to go and heel the “sick” (nonchristians) I dont know i just thought it was cool!
I love love love this passage…so many people coming all over the place to be healed because of their ultimate faith in God.
verse 5…”Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
What an awesome act of obedience!! They diciples had been working hard and trying to catch fish for hours….but when Jesus asked them to try one more time they did not hesitate in believing he would help. We need to dive into tasks like this, head first and not doubting anything when God is with us.
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Even though Jesus constantly had people around Him, He still found the time to go and talk with His heavenly father…This leaves no excuse for us! even in our busy schedules we can put aside time to talk with our perfect God.
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
This verse reminds me not to be quick to judge…The Pharisees are being quite hypocritical and not taking time to reflect on their own actions. They are so worried about finding faults in others that they do not even realize the wrong they are doing themselves!
Darn it i need to change andrew to Ashlynnn again!!!
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
The disciples left EVERYTHING and followed Jesus! They left their jobs, their families, their friends, their home, etc. When Jesus told them to follow him, they didn’t say, “well if I follow you I want to bring ____, ____, and ____ along with me” or “I like you Jesus and I think you are cool, but there are some better things for me to do here than follow you.” (sorry if that didn’t make any sense). The disciples didn’t question Jesus and they didn’t hold on to other things. So many people today, say I will become a Christian later so I can live my life now and do the things, or rather hold on to the things, that I like now. People don’t want to leave their sinful life behind to follow Jesus, but we must evangelize to those, and tell them of the coming judgment and that there isn’t time left.
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Jesus, who is God, often left the world behind and went to secluded places to pray. He set the example for us to follow! It is very clear that if Jesus needed to pray often, so do we. We must ask ourselves how often we pray in secluded places where our whole focus is on communicating with the Lord. If the only prayer time we ever have is before meals or right before we fall asleeo when we are lying in bed, that is falling short of Christ’s example.
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
I agree with you Haley, and yes that did make sense to me haha.
We need to be willing to give up EVERYTHING to follow Christ. People that are “Christians” do not necessarily think they need to leave everything….. but in order to follow God, you need to leave your sinful desires and life behind!
Jenaee, I think thats a cool anology too, it always made a lot sense to me.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Jenaee, I think thats a cool anology too, it always made a lot sense to me.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Jenaee, I think thats a cool anology too, it always made a lot sense to me.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Peter had the right response to seeing the glory of God. As soon as He believed Jesus was the Messiah we was humbled and disguted by his sin in the presence of a holy God. Our response should be the same way, completely humbled and torn by our sin, wanting to change. Our sin is what stands between us and a holy God, but praise be to Jesus because of the sacrafice He made for us so that His holy life can be acredited to our sinful life. Instead of sin, God sees Jesus, instead of perversity, God sees holy purity because of Jesus. He deserves all the praise and glory forever!
oops…my bad
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
The right response to God’s call has been the same since the calling of the first disciples. Repentance and faith are not just things we say but are things we do with TOTAL commitment. Leaving our old way of life behind and trusting completely in Christ requires nothing less than leaving everything else behind in comparison. Sometimes we are tempted to think that we can be partially a Christian and partially something else. We can be Christians here (ex. Church) but not there (ex. school or work). We think we can be Christians yet still hold on to some part of our old life that we like or are just not willing to give it up. Jesus made it clear that this is not the case.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)
These verses encourage me to follow Christ with total commitment and leave everything else behind!
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him
Good comment Haley! Another one of Ty’s songs that he played at Revival o9′! Yeah I agree we have to leave everything behind to follow Christ, I remember Pastor Mike preached this that we had to leave everything like family, home, and things we owned. We can’t be like the rich young ruler who had a lot of money and would not give up his money and everything he owned to follow Christ.
5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Wow, Simon couldn’t even catch one fish, then Jesus tells him to do it again and there were so many fish that they began to sink and call another boat to stop it from sinking. That’s just amazing! I agree with Hunter this is the right response to Christ because he realizes that Jesus is the messiah that He is the Lord. Peter realizes his sin.
wow this chapter isso enouraging. everytime i read it amazes me even further. In the begining, when the men could not catch one fish, as soon as jesus told them to go back out, and as soon as they put a little faith in Him, they caught so many their nets were breaking and ther boats were sinking! We all need to be putting our faith, and our entire trust into our heavenly father daily. with that who knows what amazing things God can use us for!
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
This verse really stuck out to me and is one of my favorites. I loved what janae said about this too! We need to be encouraging our Christian friends, but even more so, we need to be healing the sick, nonchristians.
(:
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
So true. The people who need to hear about the Gospel the most are the people who seem the least likely to accept it – we need to look at it this way while evangelizing people.
MHHMMM Haley, Brooke, Kyle, and Dan!!!
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
As I read this I just started singing….”I’ll leave it all to follow you Christ, I’m losing this world and gaining your life!” The disciples left everything they had ever known to follow Christ! Like Dan said, it has to be a total 100% commitment to be a follower of Christ. We need to give it our all! The disciples weren’t questioning or clinging to the things of this world, they were fully entrusted to follow Christ and do His will. Like Paul says in Philipians 3…”I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him” This was the disciples mindset, we need to follow this example, and give it our everything and all for the sake of the Kingdom of God!!!
31 Jesus answered them, ” It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”
i love this analogy! it really stuck out to me. i just thought it as really cool.
i also love how in the beginning of this chapter, when Jesus was talking to the men in the boat. and when they got back onto shore, they left eveything where it was and followed jesus. i think that it shows us, as Christians, how we follow jesus. when he shows or tells ussomething, we need to put all of our faith and trust in him and know that he is doing the right thing for us.
i totally agree with you too jordan!!!! i love how you worded everyhting:)
5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
These verses are amazing because when jesus said to put their nets back in the water and they will get fish they did. They coght so many fish it began to break the nets and sink the boat. This is amazing because it proves that God can do anything.
S.
C.
32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
This is such a great verse because none of us are righteous. We should never be like the Pharisees, hypocritically only looking at other peoples’ sin, but instead see the sin our own life, being disgusted with it like Peter in verse 8, and repent of it. This verse also shows us that we need to evangelize to everyone, even people like the Pharisees, because they are in need of Christ just as much as everyone else.
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him
this verse is so cool, how the disciples left everything to follow jesus, i agree with what haley said!! we should be evangalizing to those who are not willing to let go of there sinful lifes right now, we should also be leaving everthing behind to follow christ our selves
Wow there are so many great miracles performed in this chapter by Jesus.
But one of my favorite verses in this chapter is verse 11 because this is exactly what we need to be doing as Christians, leaving the world behind and following Christ with our whole lives.
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
I thank God that He has provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him through repantance. He came to save us and loved us while we were still sinners! I am so amazed and grateful for His patience and long-suffering.
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
People are always making excuses everyday about why they didn’t read their Bible, why they didn’t post on Scripture of the Day, or why they haven’t prayed to God. They say that they are to busy, or that they simply forgot. Jesus im sure was very busy, but he still made time to pray!! This verse should encourage us so much because if jesus can do it, so can we! We have to make sure that we are making time for God everyday, he deserves every bit of our time.
I like verse 27 because of what it must have represented at the time. As we all know tax collectors were lower than Dachsands stomach 2000 years ago. And of course this tax collector (Levi) goes on to write the gospel of Matthew.
Then after the banquet Jesus tells the pharisees that “it’s the sick that need a doctor”
Amen for this free gift of salvation.
Oops that was me, just got a little gender confused there… Have a great time at true north tonight.
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
This verse shows Jesus’ dependence on God the Father. If Jesus had to withdraw often to pray how much more should I pray? This verse is very convicting to me.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
I thought it was so neat to see Jesus at the home of a tax collector! In Bible times, tax collectors were very untruthful and deceptive, and they were not liked by many people. And yet, here is Jesus, God’s perfect, pure, humble and holy Son, sitting and eating with them! It was like Jesus was showing that the message of salvation and accepting Him as one’s Savior is open to anyone- even the “tax collectors” in our life maybe. I also thought it was another great example that Jesus did not refuse to dine with them. I mean, these men were totally “beneath” Jesus, and yet here is God’s Son eating with them! It reminded me of one of the old churches I used to go to. They didn’t really want to “associate” with non-believers because they thought that it was beneath them; they wanted to associate with Christians and Christians only. Of course, it is important that we do associate with Christians, but it is wrong when we don’t open up to those who are non-believers. I guess that’s why I found this verse really neat…
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I agree with what everyone else said on this verse! We cant be judgmental of people but if there are no fruits in a persons life or if they see christianity as only a religion not a relationship, then possibly they are not christians. In a loving and understanding way we believers will need to tell them the truth and we can help them see past their deception from satan.
5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
I love how Simon reacts to Jesus. They were probably so tired and mad because they had not caught one fish that day. Pretty much annoyed, I know I would be. But when Jesus comes up and asks them to go back out, he has such faith that God will provide, he just obeys Him on the first command. Kinda like how we should be today! We should have that same faith where we know that God will take care of us and that whatever is His will, is good. Obey His command the first time He says it. Which just reminded me of how we should be with our parents! We should obey our parents like it’s the Lord Himself, commanding us to do something (which it is if you think about it..)
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
This is a good one, your right Beth. I need to work on praying more my own prayers where my focus is on God, not just simple pre-made prayers before eating or going to sleep…
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Pastor Bobby talked last weekend about the many people who saw Jesus do all sorts of miracles, but would not repent. They just wanted to continue to see cool miracles and be amazed. This is a great example of Peter who, upon witnessing one miracle of Jesus, immediately repented of his sin and began following Christ.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!
Peter’s response to the miracle he witnessed was fearing God. Through the miracle, Christ revealed his power and Peter was amazed. He suddenly realized how sinful he was and how unworthy he was to have Christ in his presence. Peter realized the gravity of his sin and was humbled to be with Christ. We need to approach realize our own unworthiness because of our sin. While we do not deserve to be given grace, we are grateful that Christ does not leave us because of our sinfulness.
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
I agree with everyone else, this is an awesome verse. They left everything to follow Jesus without even hesitating. We should also give 100% to God and leave everything behind. Die to ourselves and obey Christ!
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
God can come and cure anyone and he is willing to do it because he is so kind and loving. we must go out a preech the word to god and be rwady for the coming day because it will come like a theif in the night.
14Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
can we say that we are like this with Christ? what if he healed one of us from sickness miraculusly? would we tell everyone that we were the subject of a miracle? what if he laid down his life for our sins? would we be telling everyone about it? Christ did in fact die for our sins, and we need to be telling others. this is so much more than just a healing. it was the ultimate sacrifice, its 100000 times better than getting healed! i am guilty of it as im sure some of us are, we need to be spreading the gospel like we just grew another limb or something!
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I love what jenaee and jordan said about this verse. I totally agree with both of there statements! Our purpose in life as christians is to spread the word of the Lord. We need to help the sick (non christians) find God, they need to find Him within themselves.
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I love what jenaee and jordan said about this verse. I totally agree with both of there statements! Our purpose in life as christians is to spread the word of the Lord. We need to help the sick (non christians) find God, they need to find Him within themselves.
32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
We need to understand that we are sick with sin so that we will turn to Jesus for salvation. It is only through Christ that our lives can really turn around!
It was great to see such a big crowd on Saturday night and looking forward to preaching it again tomorrow morning!
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Look even peter repented!!! and he realized how wiked he was no matter what he did. he got it, DID YOU????
24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….”
and i really like this second part as well. it goes along with my other point
5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
We have to be willing to stop what were doing daily and follow what Jesus says. If we see an opportunity to share the gospel, and God is putting it on our hearts to do it, then we must drop what we are doing and obey Him.
This was a great chapter, i really enjoyed reading about the miracles Jesus did!
3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
If yout ink about it this verse is actually pretty insane. There were soo many peple that Jesus had to teach from a boat!