Luke 5:14

And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. For the exposition, see the notes at Matthew 8:1....

12-16 This man is said to be full of leprosy; he had that distemper in a high degree, which represents our natural pollution by sin; we are full of that leprosy; from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there is no soundness in us. Strong confidence and deep humility are united in the words of this leper. And if any sinner, from a deep sense of vileness, says, I know the Lord can cleanse, but will he look upon such a one as me? will he apply his own precious blood for my cleansing and healing? Yes, he will. Speak not as doubting, but as humbly referring the matter to Christ. And being saved from the guilt and power of our sins, let us spread abroad Christ's fame, and bring others to hear him and to be healed....

Verse Luke 5:14. _AND OFFER FOR THY CLEANSING_] A Hindoo, after recovering from _sickness_, presents the _offerings_ he had _vowed_ when in _distress_, as a goat, sweetmeats, milk, or any thing directed by the Shaster. All nations agreed in these gratitude-offerings for benefits received from the object of their worship....

See the notes at Matthew 8:2....

EXPOSITION When St. Luke compiled his Gospel, many of the circumstances connected with the early relations of the leaders of Christianity with their Founder were so well known, and had been so often repeated, that it seemed unnecessary to rehearse them afresh; hence to us the seeming abruptness of the introduction of Simon (Peter), James, and John in the scene now about to be related. In the preceding, the healing of Simon's wife's mother of a great fever is related without any explanation, as though Simon Peter's connection with the Lord was a fact too well known to require any comment or explanation. The association of Jesus and these chosen men seems to have commenced as follows: Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew (sons of Jona), John and James (the sons of Zebedee and Salome), belonged to fisher families dwelling on the banks of the Lake of Gennesaret. They seemed to have been fas...

AND HE CHARGED HIM TO TELL NO MAN,.... Of his cure, and by whom he received it; BUT GO SHOW THYSELF TO THE PRIEST. The Syriac and Persic versions read, "to the priests: and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses has commanded, for a testimony unto them"; Matthew 8:4....

Luke 5:1. _And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets._ Before folding them up, as if they intended to do no more with them just then, as they had been working all night in vain. Luke 5:3. _And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land._ It is very difficult to speak effectively when the people come too close to the speaker; and, sometimes, a little inconvenience like that may interfere with the flow of the speaker's thoughts and words. Even the Saviour seems to have felt that he needed a little breathing space between himself an

CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The Miraculous Drought of Fishes. (Luke 5:1)_ 2. The Leper Healed. (Luke 5:12) 3. The Paralytic Healed. (Luke 5:17) 4. The Call of Matthew and the Feast (Luke 5:27) 5. The Scribes and Pharisees Answered (Luke 5:30) 6. The Parable of the Garment and the Bottle. (Luke 5:36 .) Luke 5:1 Two miraculous draughts of fishes are found in the Gospels. The one he

THE HEALING OF A LEPER (Mark 1:40 *, Matthew 8:1 *). Lk. keeps closely to Mk., but adds (Luke 5:16) that Jesus in His retirement gave Himself to prayer. It is characteristic of him also to speak of Jesus simply as he; perhaps the disciples did so (_cf._ 1 John 3:3; 1 John 3:5), as was the case with the followers of Socrates and Pythagoras....

THE CONDITIONS OF A MIRACLE (Luke 5:1-11)...