Unit 10: Day 1

Luke 5

Introduction

Peter, James, and John were fishermen, but after miraculously catching a multitude of fish with the Savior’s help, they forsook all to follow the Savior and became fishers of men. Jesus healed a leper and a paralyzed man. He called Matthew to be a disciple and taught that He came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus also taught the parable about putting new wine in old bottles.

Luke 5:1–11

Peter, James, and John are called by the Lord to become fishers of men

Ponder the following questions: When have you been asked to do something without knowing all the reasons for doing it? Why can it be difficult to follow instructions without understanding the reasons for them?

What counsel from Church leaders or commandments of the Lord might some youth find difficult to obey if they do not fully understand the reasons for them?

As you study Luke 5:1–11, look for principles that can help when you do not fully understand why you need to follow counsel from Church leaders or a commandment of the Lord.

Read Luke 5:1–5, looking for what the Savior asked Peter (who is called Simon here; see Luke 5:8) to do after He had finished preaching. The “lake of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1) is the Sea of Galilee, and the phrase “let down your nets for a draught” in verse 4 refers to putting out their nets to catch fish. Consider highlighting in verse 5 how Peter responded to the Savior’s request.

What might Peter’s own fishing experience have led him to think when the Savior told him to let down the nets again?

Read Luke 5:6–9, looking for what happened when Peter did what the Lord asked. Consider marking words and phrases that show why we should do what the Savior asks of us, even when we do not understand why.

One principle we can learn from this account is that if we do what the Lord asks even when we do not understand why, He can provide greater blessings than we can anticipate. Consider writing this principle in your scriptures next to Luke 5:3–9.

In what ways does living this principle require us to trust Jesus Christ?

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

“This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5–7). To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.

“To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how he can possibly do it” (“Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).

1. Answer the following questions in your scripture study journal:

   1. How can you develop the kind of trust in Jesus Christ that Elder Scott described?

   2. How have you or your family received greater blessings than you anticipated by following the Lord’s directions even when you did not fully understand the reasons?

On a piece of paper, write down counsel or commandments from the Lord that you could more faithfully follow even though you do not fully understand the reasons for doing so. (If you have access to For the Strength of Youth [booklet, 2011], you could look through it for ideas.) Put the paper in a place that will help remind you of your goal to do what the Lord asks.

In Luke 5:10–11 we read that Peter, James, and John left their fishing boats to follow Jesus.

Luke 5:12–26

Jesus heals a man with leprosy and a man with palsy

What are some items that can be used to help or heal a person with an ailment or wound.

Besides a physical illness or injury, what else might someone need to be healed of?

As you study Luke 5:12–25, look for principles that teach what you can do to help yourself and others receive needed healing.

Look for Comparisons and Contrasts in the Scriptures

The scriptures often compare or contrast ideas, events, and people. These comparisons and contrasts help illustrate and emphasize gospel principles. Look for comparisons and contrasts in single verses, in chapters, and across chapters and books. For example, as you read about the Savior healing two men in Luke 5:12–25, note the similarities and differences between the healings.

2. In Luke 5:12–25 we read about the Savior healing two men. One of the men had leprosy, and the other man had palsy, meaning he was paralyzed. Read Luke 5:12–15 and Luke 5:17–25, and compare the two accounts. In your scripture study journal, create a chart like the one below, and record how the two healings are similar and how they are different.

Similarities	Differences

Ponder the role faith played in each account. Consider marking the phrase “he saw their faith” in Luke 5:20. The Savior acknowledged the faith of those who brought the man with palsy to Him.

The Joseph Smith Translation helps us better understand the question Jesus asked in Luke 5:23: “Does it require more power to forgive sins than to make the sick rise up and walk?” (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 5:23 [in Luke 5:23, footnote a]). By asking this question Jesus Christ was teaching that He had power to heal both physically and spiritually.

What can you learn from these accounts about how we can be healed and what we can do to help others be healed?

From these accounts we can learn that as we exercise faith and come to the Savior, He can heal us and that we can help others come to the Savior so they can be healed. Consider writing these principles in your scriptures next to Luke 5:12–25.

Healing may not necessarily mean that the Savior will remove our infirmities from us. Healing can also mean that He will give us the courage, faith, comfort, and peace we need to endure or overcome our infirmities.

Consider the following counsel from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in moving mountains—if moving mountains accomplishes God’s purposes and is in accordance with His will. Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in healing the sick, deaf, or lame—if such healing accomplishes God’s purposes and is in accordance with His will. Thus, even with strong faith, many mountains will not be moved. And not all of the sick and infirm will be healed. If all opposition were curtailed, if all maladies were removed, then the primary purposes of the Father’s plan would be frustrated.

“Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can only be received through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity” (“That We Might ‘Not … Shrink’ [D&C 19:18]” [CES devotional for young adults, Mar. 3, 2013], lds.org/broadcasts).

3. Consider the infirmities that people may need to be healed of. In your scripture study journal, answer one or more of the following questions:

   1. What could you do to help bring people to the Savior to receive His healing power?

   2. When have you or someone you know been healed through exercising faith in the Savior?

   3. When have you seen a person bring someone else to the Lord to receive the Savior’s healing power?

Ponder what you can do to exercise greater faith in Jesus Christ to be healed, forgiven, or comforted. Also consider ways you might bring a friend or someone else to the Savior.

Luke 5:27–35

Scribes and Pharisees question why Jesus eats with publicans and sinners

Read Luke 5:27–28, and look for the Savior’s invitation to Matthew (who is called Levi here; see Matthew 9:9).

What impresses you about how Matthew responded to the Savior’s invitation?

Matthew was a publican, meaning he collected taxes from his fellow Jews for the Roman government. The Jews generally hated publicans and viewed them as outcasts and sinners. In Luke 5:29–35 we read that while Jesus was eating with Matthew and others, the scribes and Pharisees condemned Him for eating with sinners. Jesus taught that He came to call sinners to repentance.

Consider how the Savior would treat those in your school today who are alone and feel outcast. Ponder how you, like Jesus did, might include those who are alone and feel outcast or who are considered less popular without compromising your standards.

Luke 5:36–39

Jesus gives the parable about new wine in old bottles

The Savior used a parable to teach the scribes and Pharisees. Read Luke 5:36–39, looking for what objects the Savior used to teach His parable. Consider marking them in your scriptures.

Imagine a hole or tear in an old piece of cloth being repaired with a piece of a new cloth. The style of the new cloth may not match that of the old cloth, or the piece of the new cloth may shrink when it is washed and make the hole or tear worse than before. In a similar way, the gospel of Jesus Christ was not just a patching up of old beliefs and practices but a complete restoration of truth.

Luke 5:37, footnote a explains that the word bottles there means “leather bags or wineskins.” New leather is soft and pliable, whereas old leather can become hard and brittle.

Wineskin

As the new wine fermented, gases would build up inside and stretch the leather bag. This stretching could cause old, brittle wineskins to burst. In the parable, the new wine represents the Savior’s teachings and gospel, and the old wine represents the practices, traditions, and beliefs of the Pharisees under the law of Moses.

In what way could the “old bottles” represent the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was teaching?

Consider how the “new bottles” could represent those people who were humble and willing to change to accept the Savior and His teachings. One principle we can learn from the Savior’s parable is that to accept the Savior and His gospel, we must be humble and willing to change.

4. To help you better understand this principle, review Luke 5. Look for examples of the following types of people, and write what you find in your scripture study journal:

   1. Individuals who were hardened and unyielding in their attitude toward the Savior and His teachings.

   2. Individuals who were humble and willing to change and grow as they followed the Savior.

5. Write the following at the bottom of today’s assignments in your scripture study journal:

   I have studied Luke 5 and completed this lesson on (date).

   Additional questions, thoughts, and insights I would like to share with my teacher: