CHAPTER 5
Luke 5, 1-11 = Matt. 4, 18-22; Mark. 1, 16-20.
Regarding the identity of the events recounted here by the three Synoptic Gospels, see the commentary on Matthew. St. Matthew and St. Mark provide only a brief outline of this episode; St. Luke, on the other hand, is very thorough: hence the notable differences in his narrative. Concerning the sequence of events, we prefer the order adopted by St. Mark, according to which the definitive calling of the first disciples preceded the healings described in the preceding paragraph. See our Gospel Harmony.
Luke 5.1 Now, one day, pressed by the crowd who wanted to hear the word of God, he was standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, – Pressed by the crowd. A touching detail, vividly depicting the people's love and enthusiasm for the Savior. The following words show the spirit of faith with which the crowds sought Jesus: they asked him not only for miracles, but also for the bread of the divine word, which he broke so abundantly and sweetly to all. He was standing on the edge of the lake. The text seems to suggest that Our Lord had already stood for some time on the hardened white sand beach, such as exists around Capernaum, when he got into Simon Peter's boat to escape the crowd. See the description of the Sea of Galilee in Matthew. While the other two Synoptic Gospels call it the "Sea of Galilee," Luke usually uses this expression, which is less ambiguous for his non-Jewish readers and is also used by the Septuagint, Josephus, and the geographers Strabo and Ptolemy.
Luke 5.2 He saw two boats moored near the shore; the fishermen had gone ashore to wash their nets. Another painting by St. Luke. After the crowd pressing around Jesus on all sides, eager to hear his words, we see fishermen washing their nets beside their boats, which they had carefully pulled halfway onto the shore. The fishermen clean their nets once their work is done. They remove the mud, stones, and weeds that have accumulated in them, then hang them up to dry. Our evangelist assumes that Jesus' future disciples were all outside the boats, busy washing their nets; according to St. Matthew and St. Mark, only two of them, James and John, were in the boat mending their nets, while Peter and Andrew cast their nets into the lake. But these contradictions are only apparent; they are easily explained by the reason given above. The first two Synoptic Gospels shorten the narrative to immediately bring the reader to the words, "I will make you fishers of men." The facts, thus condensed, have been slightly altered.
Luke 5.3 So he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the shore, and then, sitting down, he taught the people from the boat. – Third scene admirably depicted: Jesus gets into Peter's boat, and from this new kind of pulpit, he teaches the crowd standing on the shore. Later still, when he expounds the parables From the kingdom of heaven, Our Lord will resort to this solution. Matthew 13:2. Mark 4:1.
Luke 5.4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, «Put out into the deep sea and let down your nets for a catch.» – After this preamble, we come to the most important parts of this entire story: the miraculous catch of fish and the catch of souls. Advance into the open sea. New technical expression. Jesus gives this order in the singular because he was addressing himself more specifically to Peter, the owner of the boat; but he then speaks in the plural, the fishing to be carried out by all those who were present.
Luke 5.5 Simon answered him, «Master, we have worked all night and caught nothing, but because you say so, I will let down the nets.» – In his response, Simon already appears to us as the man of faith, the devoted follower of Jesus, whom the rest of the Gospel narrative will reveal to us more and more. The title of master The term "Rabbi" (which he gives to Our Lord) usually replaces the Hebrew expression "Rabbi" in the third Gospel. We worked all night. Nighttime has always been considered more suitable than daytime for the work of fishermen. Without taking anything. St. Peter was subtly implying that a new attempt would be less likely to succeed in broad daylight. Nevertheless, he added resolutely, Jesus' words would be an order he wanted to obey immediately, convinced that this time his efforts would not be in vain. Note the use of the pronoun I Simon speaks like the leader of the expedition.
Luke 5.6 Having cast it, they caught such a large quantity of fish that their net began to break. 7 And they signaled to their companions, who were in the other boat, to come to their aid. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. – The net, by virtue of Jesus' divine foreknowledge, had fallen into the midst of one of those enormous schools of fish found in all seas, and particularly in the Sea of Galilee. The end of verse 6 and the entirety of verse 7 contain details intended to enhance the splendor of the miracle: 1° Their net broke : there was in fact a beginning of a break: the timely assistance (v. 7) alone prevented the net from tearing completely. 2° They signaled …According to Theophylact and Euthymius, Peter and those in his boat were forced to resort to sign language. But this explanation seems a bit far-fetched. It is simpler to say, with most exegetes, that signals were used because the other boat was too far away for spoken words to be easily heard. 3. They filled both boats; 4. Not only were both boats filled with fish, but they were so full that they were almost submerged, so heavy was the load.
Luke 5.8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinner."« – Throughout the narrative, Simon Peter appears to us as the main hero. He presided over the fishing operations, just as he will one day direct the great mystical fishing in the Church of Jesus; he is the one who experiences and expresses the strongest emotion; he is the one who speaks on behalf of all; it is to him that Our Lord will address himself in a more special way. He fell at Jesus' feet… a graphic detail, which denotes Simon's ardent soul. To this genuflection he added an exclamation full of faith andhumilityIsaiah, when he was admitted in his ecstasy to contemplate the heavenly abode, the angels And God cried out, overcome by his profound unworthiness: Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, etc. (Isaiah 6:5-9). It is a similar sentiment that leads St. Peter to say: Stay away from me. Not that he truly desired to distance himself from Our Lord; but the great miracle he had just witnessed had revealed to him more and more the power and holiness of Jesus; and he felt unworthy of the closeness of a man united to God by such close ties. In essence, his words echoed those of the centurion: «Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.» Therefore, far from taking this literally, as he later did with the miserly Gadarenes (8:37), Jesus instead strengthened the bonds that already united him to Simon Peter.
Luke 5.9 For terror had seized him and all those who accompanied him because of the catch of fish they had made, 10 The same was true of James and John, sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. – Terror had seized him… The evangelist explains, through this reflection, what might have seemed extraordinary in the conduct of St. Peter. He had acted and spoken under the influence of the religious awe aroused in him and all his companions by the miraculous catch of fish.
Luke 5.10b And Jesus said to Simon, «Do not be afraid, for from now on you will be catching men.» What a sweet and kind reply will flow from the Messiah's divine lips! After reassuring Simon with a word we will often hear him utter on similar occasions, Don't be afraid, He suddenly elevates him to a sublime dignity, transforming the humble fisherman of Bethsaida into a fisher of men. The turn you will take This signifies the permanence of the action, and the action itself, according to the full force of the Greek text. What a sublime metaphor and what a beautiful role attributed to St. Peter! «The apostolic instruments are indeed the nets of fishermen, which do not destroy the catch but preserve it. They draw it from the ocean depths to bring it to light; and they lead to the heights those who floated in hell.» St. Ambrose. «A new method of fishing, certainly,» writes St. John Chrysostom, Hom. In Matth. 4:19, «for fishermen pull fish out of the water to kill them; but we cast our nets into the water, and those we catch are brought to life.» St. Augustine draws an interesting parallel between hunting and fishing on this subject: “Why did the apostles not bother or coerce anyone? Because the fisherman casts his net into the sea and takes in what is caught (everything therefore happens gently).” As for the hunter, he roams the forests, scrutinizes every bush, and only drives the game into the nets by sowing terror and dread everywhere. He insists it not go this way, not that way; to achieve this, he says, "Come here, strike there, raise the alarm further on; let it not escape, let it not flee" (everything is done with violence). From "The Usefulness of Fasting," ch. 9. After the second miraculous catch of fish, John 21:16, Jesus, using another image to express the same role, will say to the Prince of the Apostles: Feed my sheep, feed my lambs. Although the promise These are men you will take. Although addressed directly to Simon Peter, it implicitly fell upon his companions, as can be seen from the other two accounts: "I will make you fishers of men.".
Luke 5.11 Immediately, bringing their boats back to shore, they left everything and followed him. They generously renounced everything to become disciples of Jesus. No doubt their riches were not very considerable; but, as St. Augustine says, Enarrat. 3 in Psalm 103:17, "He who renounces not only what he had, but also what he desired to have, renounces much." Consequently, adds St. Gregory, Hom. 5 in Evang., "They gave up much, since they renounced everything, however little that 'everything' may be. We, on the contrary, cling to what we have, and eagerly seek what we do not have. Peter and Andrew therefore gave up much when they both renounced the mere desire to possess; they gave up much, since in renouncing their possessions, they also renounced their covetousness." They followed him, In a habitual and definitive way, for while St. John recounted the calling of the first disciples in 1:37 ff., the Synoptic Gospels here expound the vocation to the apostolate. – An ancient hymn of the Church, composed in honor of St. Peter, admirably summarizes in a few verses the miracle of the miraculous catch of fish and its results: «Grace has caught you, fisher of fishermen, so that you may use your loom for a better catch. You abandon everything, you cast off the ship so that you may appreciate the whole world at its true value.» But the greatest fisher of men par excellence is Our Lord Jesus Christ. We have an admirable painting of the miraculous catch by Raphael.
Luke 5, 12-16 = Matt. 8, 2-4 = Mark. 1, 40-45
Luke 5.12 While he was in a town, a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell with his face to the ground and begged him, «Lord, if you are willing, you can make me well.» – In a city This is a detail specific to St. Luke. The city that witnessed the miracle was located, according to the context (cf. 4:43), in the province of Galilee, where Jesus was then undertaking a kind of pastoral tour. Our evangelist alone noted that the supplicant was covered in leprosy: his entire body was therefore afflicted with this dreadful disease, which we have described elsewhere (cf. commentary on St. Matthew 8:2), and which, at such a degree, was completely incurable. He prostrated himself. St. Matthew: he loved it ; St. Mark: he threw himself to his knees. Three different expressions to describe the same event: the leper's prostration at Jesus' feet. If you want, you can heal me. The three synoptic Gospels quote this prayer full of faith in the same terms.
Luke 5.13 Jesus, stretching out his hand, touched him and said to him, "I will it, be healed," and at once his leprosy disappeared. – According to St. Mark, it was the compassionate heart of Jesus that guided his all-powerful hand. I want it, be healed. «A response that beautifully answered the question» (Fr. Luke). No sooner had the Savior spoken these words than the leprosy left the sick man forever. Indeed, «nothing can come between the work of God and the commandment, because the commandment is a work,» St. Ambrose. St. Matthew considers the healing from a ceremonial point of view; that is why he refers to it with the verb «was healed.» St. Luke speaks as a physician: «The leprosy left him.» St. Mark combines the two perspectives: «The leprosy left him, and he was healed.».
Luke 5.14 And he forbade him to speak of it to anyone, but said: «Go,» he said, “show yourself to the priest and offer for your healing what Moses prescribed, to testify to it before the people.” – The three synoptic narratives present, in almost identical terms, the two orders contained in this verse: 1° Don't tell anyone (see in St. Matthew, the reasons for this prohibition which at first seems surprising); 2° Go, show yourself…By thus abruptly shifting from indirect to direct speech, St. Luke brought great life to the narrative. Classical authors often resorted to this technique.
Luke 5.15 His fame spread more and more, and large crowds came to hear him and to be cured of their illnesses. – A passage from St. Mark explains why Jesus' reputation spread with such rapidity: "his fame spread rapidly." Large crowds... to hear him. We are happy to read that the crowds did not only flock to Jesus for selfish reasons, to be healed, but also to receive from his mouth the divine word, which they were holy and eager for.
Luke 5.16 For him, it was a matter of retreating to the deserts and praying. – He was withdrawing The Greek phrase would correspond to "he was in retreat," and better describes the habits of retreat adopted by Our Lord for as long as the popular excitement sparked by the healing of the leper lasted. And prayed. See, on this characteristic detail of the third Gospel, 3, 21 and the explanation. When Jesus was prevented from engaging in preaching, which was then his work par excellence, he withdrew to the solitudes that surround the lake, and he spent long hours there in prayer.
Luke 5, 17-26. = Matt. 9, 5-8. = Mark. 2, 1-12.
On the true location of this incident: see the commentary on St. Matthew. St. Luke's account here bears a very close resemblance to that of St. Mark: St. Matthew only provides a summary.
Luke 5.17 One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the Law from all the villages of Galilee, as well as from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting around him, and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. – A day (Special detail) is a rather vague date, the formula for which is borrowed from the Hebrew language. sitting around him. A picturesque detail, also unique to St. Luke. We know from the other two Synoptic Gospels that the scene took place in Capernaum, Jesus' new homeland, in a house that was probably St. Peter's. Opposite Jesus, the evangelist-painter shows us, also seated, Pharisees and teachers of the law (St. Matthew and St. Mark mention only the latter), who, he adds, had come from all the villages of Galilee and Judea, and even from the holy city. The presence of these influential figures proves that the Savior already enjoyed immense esteem: this official world, which governed Judaism at that time, would not have deigned to make the trip for an ordinary Rabbi. However, these new listeners were not at all benevolent towards Jesus: on the contrary, they had come with the express purpose of scrutinizing his actions, of seeing if his doctrine conformed to their traditions; That is why we find them in the front rank among the enormous crowd that had gathered around Our Lord that day. (cf. Mark 2:2) Those among them who had made the journey from Jerusalem to Capernaum for this purpose were, in all likelihood, delegates of the Sanhedrin. The power of the Lord was manifested … «Lord» here refers to God, whose omnipotence, communicated to his Christ, helped him to accomplish at that moment healings that were as numerous as they were astonishing.
5.18 And then some people, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, were trying to bring him in and place him in front of him. 19 And not finding a way because of the crowd, they went up onto the roof and, through the tiles, lowered the sick man with his stretcher into the midst of everyone, in front of Jesus. – cf. commentary on St. Matthew. When the sick man and the four friends who were carrying him saw that it was absolutely impossible for them to enter, by ordinary means, the house that held their salvation, they must have experienced a painful shock; but their faith was stronger than natural obstacles, and it taught them to overcome them. They climbed onto the roof Such was the first act. It was easily accomplished, thanks to the exterior staircase with which dwellings in the East are generally equipped. (cf. Matthew 24:17) The second act of the bearers is contained in abbreviated form in the words "by" the tiles. A few tiles removed from the flat roof of the house soon left an opening wide enough for the sick man to pass through. Then, They carried him down on the stretcher., using ropes which they were easily able to obtain. The Greek text refers to a poor stretcher, or, as St. Mark says, the sick man's bed.
Luke 5.20 Seeing their faith, he said, «Man, your sins are forgiven.» – Only unbelief displeased Jesus: the faith of supplicants never found his heart unmoved; and the Gospels contain few examples of faith as fervent as that of the paralytic and his humble friends. Far from complaining, therefore, of having been interrupted in the middle of a discourse to which the circumstances (cf. v. 17) lent exceptional gravity, the good Master forgot everything else to focus solely on the sick man. Without even giving him time to utter his request, he said to him with a tone of inexpressible gentleness: Your sins are forgiven. The even gentler apostrophe that we read in St. Matthew, trust, son, was probably the one Jesus used. The Savior first forgives the sins of the paralytic, because there was an intimate connection between them and the external illness, which his divine gaze penetrated, cf. commentary on St. Matthew.
Luke 5.21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason and say, «Who is this who utters blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?» This formula of absolution, which came so unexpectedly, deeply impressed everyone present; but it immediately produced in the Pharisees and Scribes mentioned above the particular impression of great scandal. The sacred narrative allows us to read this sentiment in the depths of their hearts. "Who is this man," they asked themselves, "who claims a power reserved for God alone?" Perhaps some of them remembered the text of 2 Samuel 12:13, where Nathan, that famous prophet, simply announces to David that the Lord had forgiven him his sin. And here, Jesus' words amounted to saying: "I forgive you your sins.".
Luke 5.22 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, spoke to them and said, «What are you thinking in your hearts? Jesus did not give his adversaries time to develop their internal accusations of blasphemy against him. Addressing them directly, he victoriously upheld, first through reasoning, then through a striking miracle, his right to speak as he had just done. What do you think in your hearts? According to Hebrew psychology, it is the heart, not the head, that is the primary laboratory of thoughts.
Luke 5.23 Which is easier, to say: Your sins are forgiven, or to say: Get up and walk? – On this vigorous argument, be St. Matthew. To say, repeated twice, is the key word. An imposter could easily claim to be able to grant the remission of sins; but who would dare to claim, unless they felt invested with divine power, that they could cure the diseases of the body?
Luke 5.24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—he said to the paralytic, »I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” – To the question Our Lord addressed to them, the Pharisees and the Scribes had nothing to answer. He then continued after a short pause: So you know…As has been said, a miracle thus announced takes on the value of an important demonstration. «He showed sufficiently by this very act and by these words that if he performed these works on bodies, it was in order to lead men to believe that he delivered souls through the remission of sins; in other words, he wanted by his visible power to inspire faith in his invisible power,» St. Augustine, Exp ad Rom, §23. On the title Son of man, cf. commentary on St. Matthew. – he said to the paralytic… The narrative becomes as vivid as the scene itself. Moreover, in this instance it hardly varies in the three synoptic Gospels, proof that tradition had perfectly preserved the memory of the miracle and all its circumstances.
Luke 5.25 At that moment, he got up in front of them, took the bed on which he had been lying, and went home, glorifying God. – The healing was immediate, and everyone present could attest to it. – A touching detail, no less picturesque: the one who had been the object of the miracle, moreover obeying Jesus' command (v. 24), He took the bed he was lying on and left.…The mat had taken hold of the man; now, it was the man who carried the mat. The stretcher, which had once been the sign of his infirmity, suddenly became clear proof of his healing. We are happy to learn that the paralytic, to whom Jesus had thus miraculously restored health, was not ungrateful, and that he returned home. glorifying God. We owe this detail to St. Luke.
Luke 5.26 And they were all amazed; they glorified God and, filled with awe, said, «We have seen wonderful things today.» The impression made on the witnesses of the miracle was immense. It consisted of a perfectly natural mixture of admiration and holy fear, mentioned together by the three Synoptic Gospels. 1. The admiration is expressed in forceful terms (the Greek speaks of ecstasy). It resulted in everyone praising God. 2. The fear was also great, and everyone expressed it by saying to those around them: "We have seen prodigious things today." The Greek text uses an adjective here which, taken literally, would mean "strange, paradoxical things." But the classical authors also use it to designate wondrous events.
The Vocation of St. Matthew and Related Events 5:27-39
Here again, there is a very strong resemblance between the accounts of St. Mark and St. Luke. We will therefore limit ourselves, for the most part, to noting the particularities of our evangelist. For a detailed explanation, we refer the reader to our commentaries on the first two synoptic Gospels.
Luke 5, 27-28. = Matt. 9, 9; Mark. 2, 13-14.
Luke 5.27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector's booth, and said to him, «Follow me.» In all three accounts, the call of the tax collector Levi to the apostleship is linked to the healing of the paralytic. Jesus, having left the house where this miraculous healing had taken place, came immediately to the lake he loved (Mark 2:13), and it was there that he lived a publican named Levi. The Greek verb implies attentive and prolonged observation. On the identity of St. Matthew and Levi, see the commentary on St. Matthew. Levi had been the name of the tax collector; Matthew (gift of the Lord) became that of the Apostle of Jesus. The newly chosen one was fully engaged in his duties, abhorred by the Jews, when the Messiah deigned to attach him to his divine person. Jesus thus showed how little he feared the prejudices of his compatriots. See verses 30 ff.
Luke 5.28 And he, leaving everything behind, got up and followed him. – leaving everything This is a touching detail, unique to St. Luke. It proves that Levi was worthy of being associated with Peter and Andrew, James and John, who, at a word from the Savior, had likewise abandoned everything to follow him. St. Matthew therefore renounces his hopes of fortune and happily clings to the one who had not a stone on which to lay his head.
Luke 5, 29-32. = Matt. 9, 10-13 Mark 2, 15-17
Luke 5.29 Levi gave him a great feast in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. – The sumptuous banquet (St. Luke alone mentions this detail) given by St. Matthew in honor of his new Master likely took place several days after the summons: this was already Tatian's opinion in his Diatessaron; but it is understandable that the Synoptic Gospels wanted to link it to this event in their narratives. – There was a large crowd of tax collectors… «The tax collectors had gathered around him as around a colleague and a man practicing the same trade. But he, so proud of Christ's presence, summoned them all,» St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 31 in Matthew. A small detail to note: the first two Synoptic Gospels add that at Levi's table, «sinners» were seated in the company of Jesus and the tax collector; but St. Luke initially refers to this other category of guests only with the vague expression «and others.» In his narrative, the Pharisees bear the full brunt of the odiousness of the epithet "sinners." See verse 30. The pronoun them directly refers to Jesus and Levi, indirectly to the first four disciples of Our Lord, according to the other two narratives.
Luke 5.30 The Pharisees and their scribes murmured and said to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and the fishermen ? » – They murmured (a detail specific to St. Luke): the Pharisees, and the scribes who accompanied them as official legal experts to spy on Jesus' conduct. cf. 5:17. By addressing the disciples, they intended, according to the judicious observation of St. John Chrysostom, to arouse suspicions against their Master.
Luke 5 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but the fishermen. » Perhaps Jesus' friends would have been embarrassed to answer the Pharisees' insidious question; therefore, he hastens to defend their conduct and his own. Of the two sentences that make up his apology in our Gospel, the first, verse 31, consists of a popular saying, the second, verse 32, of a characteristic summary of Our Lord's role. St. Luke quotes the proverb with a nuance that recalls his status as a physician: he replaces it with a technical term, patients, the more general word of St. Matthew and St. Mark, those who are unwell.
Luke 5.33 Then they said to him, «Why is it that the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast and pray often, but yours eat and drink?» – According to St. Mark's account, which is the most complete and therefore the most accurate, it was not exactly the same people who addressed this second question to Jesus: it was posed to him jointly by the Pharisees and by the disciples of the Forerunner. For what is omitted by the most authoritative witnesses. In that case, there would have been no actual interrogation: Our Lord's adversaries would have simply pointed out the fact. This lesson might make the contrast between the austere fasts of the Joannites (disciples of Saint John the Baptist) and the lavish meals for which Jesus was criticized even more striking. Prayers : these words, which are found only in the third Gospel, represent special and prolonged prayers, which have always been associated with fasting to make it more meritorious.
Luke 5.34 He answered them, «Can you make the friends of the Bridegroom fast while the Bridegroom is with them?” 35 The days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and they will fast on those days.» – The divine Master's reply to this new objection is divided into two parts in the Gospel of Luke. The first part, verses 34 and 35, simply aims to prove that it would be inappropriate to make Jesus' disciples fast at this time; the second, verses 36-39, demonstrates that they are not capable of fasting. Would you have the heart to condemn to fasting those who are joyfully celebrating a wedding feast? In this way, the inappropriateness of fasting is highlighted. The groom's friends, or, rather, according to the Greek, the sons of the bridal chamber: a Hebrew expression to indicate the groom's closest friends. By this charming metaphor, borrowed moreover from the very language of John the Baptist (cf. John 3(29), Jesus compares his presence among his disciples to the joyous ceremonies that accompanied Jewish weddings for eight days. However, he adds in a tone of solemn gravity, I will not always remain among my own, and then they will be able to fast without inconvenience.
Luke 5.36 He offered them this further comparison: "No one puts a piece taken from a new garment onto an old garment: otherwise the new garment is torn and the piece from the new garment does not fit the old garment well. – He offered them more… This formula serves as an introduction to the second part of the reply. The two new images used by NS clearly illustrate the incompatibility that existed between the strict prescriptions of Pharisaism and the still imperfect formation of Jesus' disciples, or better, to put it more broadly, the incompatibility of the Old Law and the religion of Christ. Nobody puts …By comparing the Gospel of Luke with those of the other Synoptic Gospels, the reader will notice a nuance in expression that is not without interest. Matthew and Mark speak of an old garment simply mended with a new piece; the third Gospel presents two garments, one entirely new, from which a piece is taken by an incompetent tailor to patch the other, already worn, thus creating two ruined garments. The image thus acquires greater force, for a new garment has more value than a piece of new cloth.
Luke 5.37 No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and spill out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But the new wine must be put into new wineskins and both will keep. Another figure of speech illustrates that, from a moral and religious standpoint, as well as from a material one, the old and the new do not mix, and that both would be spoiled by attempting to combine them indiscriminately. The young and generous wine of the Gospel, by its expansive force, would burst the old Pharisaical wineskins.
Luke 5.39 And no one, after drinking old wine, immediately wants new wine, because it is said: 'Old wine is better.'» This new comparison, no less picturesque than the previous ones, is a peculiarity of St. Luke. It also seems drawn from the situation: the meal was over, and the wine was being passed around. Nothing could be clearer than its direct meaning. What man, after drinking old wine for some time, would suddenly think of asking for new? On the contrary, he would tell himself, and usually with good reason: the old is better, because old wine is generally sweeter and more flavorful. Morally, this means that all changes are difficult, that one does not become accustomed in an instant to a completely new way of life or set of ideas; our mind gradually acquires, under the influence of old habits, a habit that is then very difficult to break. Now, this is precisely what Jesus wanted to indicate with this image. The old wine he speaks of represents the ancient Mosaic religion in the rigid form given to it by the Pharisees; the new wine symbolizes the Christian religion. Would it have been natural for the Jews to suddenly renounce ideas and prejudices with which they had long been imbued, in order to fully embrace the teachings of the Savior? Thus, as we see, this verse contains a kind excuse for their conduct and their unbelief. "Let our accusers continue," Jesus seemed to be saying to his disciples: "Their resistance is natural. But they will eventually become accustomed to the new wine of the Gospel, which, moreover, will itself grow old." – The Rabbis also sometimes use this comparison of old and new wine figuratively. For example, Pirkei Avot 4:20: "What is he like who has old men for teachers? He is like a man who eats ripe grapes and drinks old wine. And what is he like who has young men for instructors?" To a man who eats green grapes and drinks verjuice (acidic juice of unripe grapes).
