LUKE LESSON 12

    We will begin this lesson in 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,"

    Gennesaret. The Sea of Galilee, and Chinneereth are all one and
the same. "Gennesaret" means garden of riches. There were small towns
on several sides of the lake. Caperneum was one of the towns. Jesus'
fame as a preacher and healer has really grown and now there is a
great press of people.

    Luke 5:2 "And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the
fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing [their] nets."

    These were actually fishing boats. Peter, Andrew, James, and John
were all fishermen. Peter and Andrew were brothers, and James and John
were brothers, Perhaps this is who these 2 boats belong to. Fishing
time was over, because they were washing their nets.

    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. And he
sat down, and taught the people out of the ship."

    Jesus having to get away from the heavy press of the people was
one reason for going on the boat, another reason was His voice would
carry better to a larger number of people on the water. Water acts
like a microphone. The third reason Jesus borrowed this boat was to
show these fishermen that He was the God of miracles, to build their
faith to follow Him. Jesus can teach anywhere. He taught from the ship
to the people on shore.

    Luke 5:4 "Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught."

    Jesus is about to teach Simon Peter a very important lesson. Our
toil, even if it is in the ministry, will fail unless we do it exactly
the way the Lord directs us, Simon must believe in the drought or he
will not put the nets out. Sometimes the Lord sends us to an area to
minister; and we, in the natural, believe it is hopeless. We must have
faith to throw out the net, even if we believe there are no fish,
Simon was to learn a very good lesson here. Our feelings are
deceiving. If the Lord tells you to do it, do it. Put action to your
faith, and it will happen.

    Luke 5:5 "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have
toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word
I will let down the net."

    In the physical, Simon cannot see the fish, but is obedient to the
Lord's command.

    Luke 5:6 "And when they had this done, they inclosed a great
multitude of fishes: and their net brake."
    Obedience of the Lord brings great rewards. These fish had to obey
the Lord. They had to be exactly where He wanted them. they had so
much weight in fish that the net broke.

    Luke 5:7 "And they beckoned unto [their] partners, which were in
the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came,
and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink."

    This would be James and John. Perhaps, this whole thing happened
to show James, John, Peter, and Andrew who Jesus really is. This is
enough fish to finance them for a good while.

    Luke 5:8 "When Simon Peter saw [it], he fell down at Jesus' knees,
saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

    This miracle to a fisherman sets Jesus aside as God manifest in
the flesh, Peter knew that no mere man could do this. Peter suddenly
compares himself. He looks inside and sees his errors. He bows his
knees, knowing Jesus is Messiah. Peter suddenly repents of his past
life. He calls Jesus, Lord.

    Luke 5:9 "For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at
the draught of the fishes which they had taken:"  Luke 5:10 "And so
[was] also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners
with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou
shalt catch men."

    This miracle, shown to these future disciples of Jesus, gave these
men the courage to leave their nets and go with Jesus to fish for men.
We see in this call of these fishermen that Jesus deals with us at the
level of our understanding. they understood catching fish, so He
speaks to them of catching men.

    Luke 5:11 "And when they had brought their ships to land, they
forsook all, and followed him."

    A fish even now symbolizes Christianity. This, above, just means
that they left their boats and followed Jesus.

    Luke 5:12  "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."

    Leprosy is symbolic of sin. this is the first account of Jesus
dealing with someone who is totally rejected by society. They were to
cry "unclean" when anyone came near them, This man had an humble
spirit (he knelt before Jesus). This man had great faith. He says to
Jesus. "I know that you can heal me. if you will". His faith will be
rewarded.

    Luke 5:13 "And he put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I
will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him."

    It is the will of the Lord to heal us. Just as He told this man "I
will". He will save us, too. We believe, and He will, This leprosy had
to leave when Jesus touched the man. Disease is subject to the Lord
the same as everything else.

    Luke 5:14 "And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew
thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses
commanded, for a testimony unto them."

    When a person had leprosy and was healed, he must be examined by
the priest and declared clean before he could go back around people.
In the 13th chapter of Leviticus, you can read about leprosy. In the
17th verse, it tells you that the priest must declare him clean. In
the 4th chapter of Leviticus, the 4th verse, you can see the offering
he is to make. Notice that going to the priest and the offering is for
a testimony unto the people. The man is already clean.

    Luke 5:15 "But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him:
and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of
their infirmities."

    There is no way to keep something like this quiet. It spread from
one person to the other, until the whole country heard of it. This
multitude that came wanted healing and came curiosity seeking.

    Luke 5:16  "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and
prayed."

    Jesus went aside to rest and to talk with His Father. He sought
out a private place (in the wilderness). Prayers, when you pray to God
alone. are very effective. When you pray in private to God, you are
not trying to impress anyone. Many times, public prayers are for those
people listening, and God is not impressed when we pray for that
reason. God wants to fellowship with us, When we pray privately, that
is what we are doing; fellowshiping with Him.




















                           Luke 12 Questions

1.  What lake was Jesus standing by in verse one?
2.  What other two names is it known by?
3.  What does "Gennesaret" mean?
4.  What was one of the towns near by the lake?
5.  How many ships were nearby in the sea?
6.  Who did they belong to?
7.  What were the men who owned the boats doing?
8.  Whose ship did Jesus enter into?
9.  What were three reasons why Jesus used this ship to preach from?
10. When Jesus finished preaching, what did He tell Simon to do?
11. What is Simon's other name?
12. What lesson is to be learned here?
13. What did Peter tell Jesus about putting the net out again?
14. Why did Simon do what Jesus said?
15. What happened when he let the net down?
16. What happened to the net?
17. Who did Peter call himself?
18. When Peter saw this miracle, what did he do?
19. What did Peter call himself?
20. What did Peter call Jesus?
21. What two words did Jesus speak to Simon?
22. How does Jesus deal with each of us?
23. What did they do when they brought their ships to land?
24. What does a fish symbolize?
25. What did the man with leprosy do when he saw Jesus?
26. What is leprosy symbolic of?
27. What showed the man's great faith?
28. How did Jesus answer him?
29. What happened when Jesus touched him?
30. Who did Jesus tell him to go show himself to?
31. Why?
32. Where can you find the offering he was to take?
33. What two reasons did great multitudes come to follow Jesus for?
34. After all of this, where did Jesus go?