1Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” 6When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. 7They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”
11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.
12While he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
13He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.”
Immediately the leprosy left him. 14He commanded him to tell no one, “But go your way and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing according to what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
15But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16But he withdrew himself into the desert and prayed.
17On one of those days, he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come out of every village of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal them. 18Behold, men brought a paralyzed man on a cot, and they sought to bring him in to lay before Jesus. 19Not finding a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the middle before Jesus. 20Seeing their faith, he said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
22But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered them, “Why are you reasoning so in your hearts? 23Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk?’ 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, arise, take up your cot, and go to your house.”
25Immediately he rose up before them, and took up that which he was laying on, and departed to his house, glorifying God. 26Amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God. They were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”
27After these things he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and said to him, “Follow me!”
28He left everything, and rose up and followed him. 29Levi made a great feast for him in his house. There was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them. 30Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
31Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
33They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”
34He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast in those days.”
36He also told a parable to them. “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old garment, or else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not match the old. 37No one puts new wine into old wine skins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. 38But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved. 39No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
One receives several items of information from this short account of the healing of an Israelite man. First, this is the second occasion in the Bible of an Israelite being healed. The other example is in the Old Testament, in Numbers 12:10-15, in which Miriam, sister of Moses, had opposed Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. Since she did so, Yahweh struck her with leprosy. God healed her due to the intercession of Moses, but was required to be quarantined from the camp of Israel for seven days.
Second, the interchange between Jesus and the leper is important to consider. The text reveals a strong faith in the heart of the leper. He worshipped Jesus and expressed complete belief that Jesus was capable of healing him, if he chose to do so. In view of this Jesus replied, "I want to," a direct response to the statement of the leper, "if you want to, you can make me clean." God does not always choose, or want to, heal someone, or do a miracle, because this does not fit within His plan. Simply because someone wants God to do something, such as healing, is not an indication that this request is answered "yes" by God. The kind of faith that this man expressed is found in the account of the three Hebrew men who faced a fiery furnace because of obeying God by not worshipping an idol (Dan 3:1-30). When faced with punishment for this refusal, they responded "If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace . . . But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up" (Den 3:17, 18). The lesson is plain in both instances. Even if people of great faith ask God for a miracle, whether God chooses to perform one does not indicate a lack of faith, and not due to His inability. God does not do His works in the world but according to His own purposes (see Eph 1:3-12).
Third, in this text Jesus violates the Old Testament prohibition against touching a person with leprosy. According to the rules on touching a leper there would be a ceremonial defilement (Lev 14:45; Num 5:2, 3; Deut 24:8), though it is clear medically that a casual touch or contact does not pass the disease. What is unique is that touching the leper made the "person of faith" physically, and told him to make the long journey from the Sea of Galilee to the city of Jerusalem to fulfill his obligations of the law by seeing a priest and giving a gift for the healing (Lev 14:4-32). The leper was healed through his faith, and the sovereign will of God, but this faith was to be demonstrated through obedience.
Last of all, there is a matter to resolve in whether Jesus wanted to hide His identity from the authorities (sometimes called the Messianic secret), by telling the man "to tell nobody" or whether He was desiring to focus the healed man to his duties of the law rather than talking about who did it.