Luke 5

¹Now it happened that as the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret. ²He saw two boats moored at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, he asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then, sitting down, he taught the crowds from the boat.

⁴When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Push out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵Simon answered, "Master, we labored through the whole night and caught nothing. But at your word, I will let down the nets." ⁶When they did this, they enclosed such a great quantity of fish that their nets were beginning to tear. ⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats so full that they were starting to sink.

⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus's knees, saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" ⁹For astonishment had seized him and all those with him at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰and likewise 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 people alive." ¹¹And when they had brought the boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

¹²Now it happened that while he was in one of the towns, there was a man covered with a skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean." ¹³And stretching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be cleansed." And immediately the disease left him. ¹⁴Then he ordered him to tell no one: "But go, show yourself to the priest and bring the offering for your purification, just as Moses commanded, as evidence to them." ¹⁵Yet the report about him spread all the more, and large crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. ¹⁶But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

¹⁷Now it happened on one of those days that he was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there—they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal. ¹⁸And look: men came carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed, and they were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. ¹⁹But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him through the tiles, mat and all, into the middle of the room, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰When he saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."

²¹The scribes and the Pharisees began reasoning to themselves, saying, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God alone?" ²²But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, responded to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³Which is easier—to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? ²⁴But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he said to the paralyzed man—"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go to your home." ²⁵And immediately he stood up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. ²⁶Astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today!"

²⁷After this he went out and observed a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post, and he said to him, "Follow me." ²⁸And leaving everything behind, he rose and began following him.

²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. ³⁰The Pharisees and their scribes were grumbling at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" ³¹And Jesus answered them, "Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do. ³²I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

³³Then they said to him, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink." ³⁴Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? ³⁵But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."

³⁶He also told them a parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new one, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸Rather, new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹And no one who has drunk aged wine wants new wine, for he says, 'The aged wine is better.'"