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Luke 5:1. One day, when the people were crowding around Him to hear the word of God, and He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, Luke 5:2. He saw two boats standing on the lake; and the fishermen, leaving them, washed their nets. Luke 5:3. Entering one boat, which was Simon's, He asked him to sail a little from the shore and, sitting down, taught the people from the boat. The Lord runs away from glory, and it pursues Him all the more. When the people were crowding around Him, He boarded the ship to teach those standing on the seashore from the ship, so that everyone was in His presence, and no one went behind Him. Luke 5:4. When he had stopped teaching, he said to Simon, “Sail out into the deep and let down your nets to catch.” Luke 5:5. Simon answered Him; Mentor! We toiled all night and caught nothing, but at Your word I will let down the net. Luke 5:6. Having done this, they caught a great many fish, and even their net was broken. And because He taught from the ship, He did not leave its owner without reward. He even doubly blessed him: he gave him many fish and made him His disciple. Marvel at the sight of the Lord, how He attracts everyone through a means characteristic and akin to him, for example: the wise men - through a star, and the fishermen - through fish. Notice also the meekness of Christ, how He begs Peter to sail from the earth, for he “asked”, meaning, instead of “begged” ****, and how humble Peter was: He accepted a man whom he had not seen on his ship and obeys him in everything. When this one told him to sail to the depths, he was not burdened, did not say: I worked all night and gained nothing, and now will I listen to You and go into new labors? He did not say anything like that, but on the contrary: “according to Your word I will let down the net.” So Peter was warm in faith even before faith! Luke 5:7. And they gave a sign to the comrades who were on the other boat to come help them; and they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. That’s why he caught so many fish that he couldn’t pull them out alone, but by signs he invited his accomplices, that is, accomplices who were on the other ship. He invited them with signs because, amazed by the extraordinary catch, he could not speak. Luke 5:8. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said: Depart from me, Lord! because I am a sinful person. Further, Peter, in deep reverence, asks Jesus to get off the ship, saying about himself that he is a sinner and unworthy to be with Him. Luke 5:9. For horror seized him and all those who were with him from this fishing of fish they caught; Luke 5:10. also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's companions. And Jesus said to Simon: Do not be afraid; From now on you will catch people. Luke 5:11. And, having pulled both boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him. If you want, understand this in a figurative sense. The ship is a Jewish synagogue. Peter represents the type of teachers of the Law. The teachers who were before Christ worked all night (for the time before the coming of Christ is night) and achieved nothing. And when Christ came and the day came (Rom. 13:12), then the apostles, placed in the place of teachers of the law, “according to the word,” that is, according to His commandment, cast down the net of the Gospel and caught a multitude of people. But the apostles alone cannot pull out the net with fish, but invite their accomplices and accomplices, and drag them along with them. These are the essence of the shepherds and teachers of churches of all times; They, teaching and explaining the apostolic teaching, help the apostles to catch people. Pay attention to the expression: “let me cast the net.” For the Gospel is a network that has a humble presentation of speech, simple and close to the simplicity of the listeners; that is why it is said that it is abandoned. If someone says that casting a net signifies the depth of thoughts, then we can agree with this. So the word of the prophet was fulfilled, who said: “Behold, I will send a multitude of fishermen, says the Lord, and they will catch them; and then I will send a multitude of hunters, and they will chase them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the rocks” (Jer. 16:16). He called the holy apostles fishermen, and the rulers and teachers of the church of subsequent times as fishers. Luke 5:12. When Jesus was in a certain city, a man came covered with leprosy and, seeing Jesus, fell on his face, begging Him and saying: Lord! if you want, you can cleanse me. This leper is worthy of surprise, because he has a thought about the Lord worthy of God, and says: “If you want, you can cleanse me.” This shows that he thinks of Christ as God. For he came not as to a doctor (since leprosy is incurable by the hands of doctors), but as to God; for He alone is able to heal from such diseases. Luke 5:13. He stretched out his hand, touched him and said: I want you to be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. The Lord “touches” him for a reason. But since, according to the Law, he who touched a leper was considered unclean, then, wanting to show that He does not need to observe such small prescriptions of the Law, but He Himself is the Lord of the Law, and that the clean is not in the least defiled by what is apparently unclean, but that mental leprosy is what defiles, for this purpose He touches, and at the same time in order to show that His holy Flesh has the Divine power to cleanse and give life, as the true Flesh of God the Word. Luke 5:14. And He commanded him not to tell anyone, but to go and show himself to the priest and offer a sacrifice for his cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. He commands the leper not to tell anyone about Him in order to teach us not to seek praise from those to whom we do good; but he says: go, show yourself to the priest and bring a gift as a testimony to them. For the Law was such that the priest examined the lepers and determined whether they were cleansed, and if the leper was cleansed in seven days, he remained within the city, but if not, he was expelled (Lev. 13). That is why the Lord said: go, show yourself to the priest and bring a gift. What was the gift? Two birds (Lev. 14). What does it mean: “for a testimony to them”? This means - to expose them and condemn them; so that, if they accuse Me as a transgressor of the Law, they will be convinced that I do not break it, they will be convinced from the command to you to bring the gift commanded by Moses. By the way, we can also talk about how these two birds were offered to God. One bird was slaughtered, and its blood was taken into a new clay vessel; then both wings of the other bird were dipped in blood and thus the bird was released alive. This depicted what was to come true in Christ. The two wings are the two natures of Christ, Divine and human, of which one was slain, that is, human, and the other remained alive. For the Divine nature remained impassive, anointing itself with the blood of the suffering nature and taking the suffering upon itself. The blood of the Lord was received by a new clay vessel, that is, a new people of the pagans, capable of accepting the New Testament. Look: when someone has already been cleansed of leprosy, then he is worthy to offer this gift, that is, to slaughter Christ and perform the sacrament. For a leper and unclean in soul cannot be honored to offer such gifts, that is, to offer the Body and Blood of the Lord, united with the Divine nature. Pay attention also to the unspeakable advantage the Lord has over Moses. Moses, when his sister was stricken with leprosy, could not heal her, although he prayed a lot (Num. 12:10-15), and the Lord cleansed the leper with one word. Luke 5:15. But even more so, the rumor about Him spread, and a great multitude of people flocked to Him to listen and to be healed of their illnesses by Him. Luke 5:16. But He went into deserted places and prayed. Notice also the humility of the Lord, how He, when the people wanted to touch Him, especially willingly spent time in the deserts and prayed. Thus, He gave us a model in everything - to pray alone and shy away from glory. Luke 5:17. One day, while He was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from all the places of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord appeared in healing the sick, - Luke 5:18. behold, some brought a man who was paralyzed on a bed, and tried to carry him into the house and lay him before Jesus; Luke 5:19. and, not finding where to carry him because of the crowd, they climbed onto the top of the house and through the roof lowered him with his bed into the middle before Jesus. Luke 5:20. And He, seeing their faith, said to the man: Your sins are forgiven you. Before the gathering of enemies, the Lord needed to perform some new sign. Therefore, He heals a person suffering from an incurable disease, so that through the healing of such a disease He can also heal the incurable madness of the Pharisees. First, He heals the illnesses of the soul, saying: Your sins are forgiven you, so that we know that many illnesses are born from sins; then he heals the weakness of the body, seeing the faith of those who brought it. For He often saves others through the faith of some. Luke 5:21. The scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying: Who is this that blasphemes? who can forgive sins except God alone? And the Pharisees say: Why does He blaspheme? “Who can forgive sins except God alone?” They say this, condemning Him to death. For the Law commanded that anyone who blasphemes against God should be punished with death (Lev. 24:16). Luke 5:22. Jesus, understanding their thoughts, answered and said to them, “What are you thinking in your hearts?” The Lord, in order to show them that He is the true God and does not present Himself as God out of vanity, convinces them with another sign. He Himself will know what they were thinking about within themselves. From here it is absolutely clear that He is God, for it is characteristic of God to know hearts (1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 6:30). Luke 5:23. What is easier to say: your sins are forgiven you, or to say: get up and walk? Luke 5:24. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic: I say to you, get up, take up your bed and go to your house. Luke 5:25. And he immediately stood up before them, took what he was lying on, and went to his house, praising God. Luke 5:26. And horror seized everyone, and they glorified God and, being filled with fear, said: “We have seen wonderful things today.” So, He says: what seems more convenient to you - to forgive your sins or to give your body health? Of course, in your opinion, the remission of sins seems more convenient as an invisible and undeniable matter, although it is more difficult, and the recovery of the body seems more difficult as a visible matter, although in essence it is more convenient. However, I will do both, and through the healing of the body, which seems most difficult for you, I will also confirm the healing of the soul, which, although difficult, seems convenient to you, as if invisible. Look: sins are left on earth. For while we are on earth, we can atone for our sins, but after we move from the earth, we ourselves can no longer atone for our sins by confession: for the door is locked. But we spoke more extensively about this subject in the explanation of other evangelists (see Matt. 9, Mark 2). Luke 5:27. After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collection office, and he said to him, “Follow Me.” Matthew does not hide, but directly announces his name, saying: “Jesus saw a man sitting at the toll office, whose name was Matthew” (Matthew 9:9). But Luke and Mark, out of respect for the evangelist, give him another name, namely Levi. Luke 5:28. And he, leaving everything, stood up and followed Him. Marvel at God’s love for mankind, how He steals the vessels of the evil one. For the publican is a vessel of the evil one and a wicked beast. Those who have experienced the cruelty of the collectors know this. For publicans are those who buy off people's taxes, in order to thereby acquire benefits and pay duties for their own souls. Luke 5:29. And Levi made a great feast for Him in his house; and there were many publicans and others who sat with them. The Lord not only acquired Matthew, but tried to acquire other tax collectors with whom He dined. For He then deigned to eat with them in order to attract them too. Luke 5:30. The scribes and Pharisees murmured and said to His disciples: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Luke 5:31. Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick; Luke 5:32. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Look what the Pharisees who accused Him hear. “I,” he says, “did not come to call the righteous, that is, you who make yourselves righteous, but “I came to call... sinners,” not, however, so that they would remain in sin, but so that they would repent. And otherwise: I did not come to call the righteous, because I do not find them, since all have sinned (Ps. 13:1-3); If the righteous could be found, I would not come. A publican is also anyone who works for the ruler of the world and contributes a tax to the flesh. A glutton pays the tribute of the flesh with food, a fornicator with unclean connections, and another with another. When the Lord, that is, the Gospel Word, sees him “sitting at the toll gate,” that is, not prospering, not moving forward and not striving for greater evil, but as if inactive, he will raise him up from evil, and he will follow Jesus and receive the Lord into the house of his soul. And the Pharisees, arrogant and cut off demons (for Pharisee means cut off from others), murmur that He eats with sinners. Luke 5:33. They said to Him: Why do John’s disciples fast often and say the prayers of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink? Luke 5:34. He said to them, “Can you force the sons of the bridal chamber to fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Luke 5:35. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. We talked about this in the explanation of the Gospel of Matthew (see Chapter 9). We will say briefly that he calls the apostles sons of marriage. The coming of the Lord is likened to a marriage, because He accepted the Church as His Bride. Therefore, the apostles no longer need to fast. John's disciples must fast, since their teacher practiced virtue with difficulty and illness. For it is said: “John came, neither eating nor drinking” (Matthew 11:18). And My disciples, as those who are with Me - God the Word, now do not need the benefits of fasting, because from this very thing (being with Me) they have been blessed and are preserved by Me. When I am taken, and they are sent to preach, then they will fast and pray, as if they were preparing for great deeds. Luke 5:36. At this he told them a parable: no one puts patches on old clothes after tearing them off new clothes; Otherwise, the new one will be torn apart, and the patch from the new one will not fit the old one. Luke 5:37. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and flow out on its own, and the skins will be lost; Luke 5:38. but new wine must be put into new wineskins; then both will be saved. Luke 5:39. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately wants new, for he says: old is better. And otherwise: now, being weak and not yet renewed by the Spirit, they are like old furs and old clothes. Therefore, they should not be burdened with any very difficult way of life, just as new patches should not be sewn on worn-out clothes. So, you can accept that the apostles are likened to old wineskins because they are still weak, but you can understand that the Pharisees are likened to them.