Jesus Calls His First Disciples
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,
2 and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them andwere washing their nets.
3 And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, andasked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down andbegan to teachthe crowds from the boat.
4 And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 And Simon answered andsaid, “Master, although weworked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.”
6 And when theydid this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear.
7 And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come andhelp them, and they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink.
8 And when hesaw it,Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!”
9 For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught,
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!”
11 And after theybrought theirboats to the land, they left everything andfollowed him.
A Leper Cleansed
12 And it happened that while he was in one of the towns, there wasa man covered with leprosy.And when hesaw Jesus, he fell down on his face andbegged him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”
13 And extending hishand he touched him, saying, “I am willing; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy went away from him.
14 And he ordered him, “Tell no one, but go andshow yourself to the priest and bring the offeringfor your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.
15 But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear himand to be healed of their illnesses.
16 But he himself was withdrawing in the wilderness and praying.
A Paralytic Healed
17 And it happened that on one of the days as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had comefrom every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was there in order for him to heal.
18 And behold, men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and place himbefore him.
19 And when theydid not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof andlet him down through the roof tiles with the stretcher into the midst of them, in front of Jesus.
20 And when hesaw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?”
22 But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered andsaid to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’
24 But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher andgo to your home.’ ”
25 And immediately he stood up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, andwent away to his home, glorifying God.
26 And amazement seized them all, and they began to glorifyGod. And they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen wonderful things today!”
Levi Called to Follow Jesus
27 And after these things, he went out and saw a tax collector namedLevi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!”
28 And leaving everything behind, he got up andbegan to followhim.
29 And Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining for the meal with them.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes began to complainto his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
31 And Jesus answered andsaid to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
On Fasting
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and make prayers—likewise also the disciplesof the Pharisees—but yours are eating and drinking!”
34 So hesaidto them, “You are not able to make the bridegroom’s attendantsfast as long as the bridegroom is with them, are you?
35 But days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
36 And he also told a parable to them: “No one tears a patch from a new garment andputs iton an old garment. Otherwise, he will have torn the new also, and the old will not match the patch that is from the new.
37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled and the wineskins will be destroyed.
38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins.
39 And no one afterdrinking old winewants new, because he says, ‘The old is just fine!’ ”
—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/38/32k/LUK/5-cee9e9558722340b46c4b77d9c409d82.mp3?version_id=90—