Fishers of Men and the Leper's Faith (Luke 5:1-16)
The crowd is pressing in so tightly that Jesus steps into a fishing boat belonging to a man named Simon and asks him to push out a little from shore. He sits down and teaches from the water. When He finishes, He tells Simon to go out into the deep water and let down the nets. Simon is tired. He has been fishing all night and caught nothing. But he obeys.
The nets fill so fast they begin to tear. Simon has to wave for another boat to come help, and both boats start sinking from the weight of the fish. Simon falls to his knees on the deck and says, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." He is not asking Jesus to leave. He is saying: you are holy, and I am not. Jesus responds with words that will define the rest of Simon's life: "Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching people." Simon, his brother Andrew, and their partners James and John pull the boats ashore, leave everything behind, and follow Jesus.
Not long after, a man covered in leprosy approaches Jesus and falls on his face. Leprosy was not just a disease. It made a person ceremonially unclean, cut off from the temple, from their family, from every normal part of life. This man says: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." He does not doubt what Jesus can do. He only wonders if Jesus will. Jesus reaches out His hand, touches him, a thing no one was supposed to do, and says, "I am willing. Be clean." The leprosy disappears immediately. Jesus tells him to go show himself to the priest and offer the sacrifice Moses commanded, then to tell no one. But the news spreads anyway, and even larger crowds come to hear Jesus and be healed. Jesus regularly withdraws to lonely places to pray.
A Curious Question
Simon had worked all night and caught nothing. He was tired and probably a little embarrassed when Jesus told him to go back out and try again. But he did it anyway, and the nets almost broke from all the fish. When it happened, Simon did not say "I knew it would work!" He fell down and said he was a sinful man. Why do you think seeing Jesus do something impossible made Simon feel more aware of his own sin rather than more proud of himself?
Old Testament Connection
The moment Simon Peter fell to his knees and said "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" echoes one of the most important moments in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord on His throne, surrounded by seraphim crying "holy, holy, holy." Isaiah's immediate response is the same as Peter's: "Woe is me, for I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips." Both men, face to face with true holiness, feel the weight of their own sinfulness instantly. And in both cases, God does not send them away. He cleanses them and calls them.
The healing of the leper also carries deep Old Testament significance. Under the Law of Moses, a leper was ceremonially unclean. Anyone who touched a leper became unclean themselves. That is why the man's words were so careful: he said "if you are willing," not "if you are able." He knew Jesus had the power. He was asking about His heart. When Jesus reached out and touched him, He reversed the flow entirely. Instead of Jesus becoming unclean, the leper became clean. This is exactly what the cross would later accomplish at a cosmic scale: Jesus took our uncleanness upon Himself so that we could be made clean. The leper's healing is a picture of the Gospel written in skin and sinew.
Discussion Questions
- Simon worked all night and caught nothing. When Jesus told him to try again, Simon obeyed even though it did not make sense. Can you think of a time God might ask you to do something that does not seem to make sense? What makes it hard to obey in those moments?
- The leper said "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." He was sure about Jesus' power but not sure about Jesus' heart. What does Jesus' answer, "I am willing," tell you about how Jesus feels about people who are hurting and left out?
- After catching the enormous haul of fish, Simon and his partners left their boats and nets and followed Jesus. They walked away from their whole livelihood. What do you think was going through their minds as they walked away? What do you think made it worth it?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
The leper came to Jesus when everyone else avoided him. He did not wait to be worthy. He came with honest words: "If you are willing." This week, bring one honest, specific request to Jesus in prayer. Do not dress it up. Do not wait until you feel good enough. Write it down on a piece of paper, say it out loud to God, and tell one trusted person what you prayed. Practice coming to Jesus the way the leper did: honestly, humbly, and fully trusting that He is willing.
Memorize God's Word
Luke 5:10b: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
Hand Motions:
- Do not be afraid: Hold both hands out in front of you, palms facing outward, as if gently stopping something from coming at you.
- from now on: Point one finger forward and sweep it slowly ahead of you, like pointing down a road toward the future.
- you will be catching: Mime casting a net outward with both arms, then pull your hands back toward your chest as if hauling in a catch.
- people: Open both arms wide and bring them in toward yourself in a big gathering motion, like pulling a crowd into a hug.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, thank You that You are willing. Thank You that when the leper came to You broken and cut off from everyone, You reached out and touched him. Thank You that You do the same for us. Help us to come to You honestly, just like the leper did, without pretending we have it all together. And like Simon, help us to obey You even when it does not make sense. Make us brave enough to follow You and trust that You know what You are doing. In Your name, Amen.
Craft: A Fishing Net with a Name
Children will create a simple paper fishing net to remind them that Jesus calls each of us by name, just as He called Simon, and that He is always willing to pull us in close.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- Give each child a sheet of blue construction paper to represent the Sea of Galilee.
- Have children glue several strips of white yarn in a criss-cross grid pattern across the lower half of the paper to form a fishing net.
- Place small fish stickers or pre-cut fish shapes inside the net as if they were just caught.
- On one of the fish, have each child write their own name. This is the fish that represents them being called by Jesus.
- At the top of the page, write the memory verse: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." Luke 5:10
- Decorate the water around the net with waves, a simple boat, or other details from the story.
Effective Teaching Techniques
Before telling the story, ask children if any of them have ever tried really hard at something and failed, then had someone tell them to try again. Let one or two share briefly. That setup makes Simon's exhausted obedience feel personal. When you reach the moment of the enormous catch, make it physically dramatic: stand up, mime pulling on a net with two hands, stagger under the imaginary weight, look alarmed. Children imitate what they see, and if their teacher is fully in the story, they will be too. The hardest moment in this lesson is usually explaining leprosy. Keep it simple: leprosy meant you could not go to church, could not hug your family, and had to warn people to stay away from you. That description lands with children at a visceral level without needing medical detail. When Jesus touches the leper, pause and ask: "What should have happened when Jesus touched him?" Let them answer. Then ask: "What actually happened instead?" The reversal is the theological point, and children who identify it themselves will remember it far longer than if you simply tell them.