Jesus Teaching from a Ship - Luke 5:3

The beloved physician Luke shared how, “it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God”, Jesus “stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets”, and in chapter five and verse three of his book Luke shared how Jesus, “entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “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.” Luke began with the words, “and he entered” or “and Jesus stepped and embarked” “into one of the ships” which means “in one of the two sailing vessels or boats”, “which was Simon's” or “that was Simon Peter's boat whose name means little stone or rock”, “and prayed him” which means “and asked or requested Simon” “that he would thrust out a little” or “that Simon would lead and put the ship a small distance” “from the land” which means “separated from the ground or shore”. Luke shared how Jesus embarked one of the “two boats” which was owned by “Simon”, and he requested that Simon launch the boat out into the water a little way off shore.

The verse goes on to say, “And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.” Luke continues with the words, “and he sat down” which means “and Jesus was seated, fixed and established within the boat”, “and taught the people” or “and instructed, gave didactic discourses and imparted doctrine” “out of the ship” which means “from the boat”. Luke shared how Jesus was seated within Simon's boat and continued to “teach” the people on the shore.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus not only embarked “Simon's boat”, but He continued to teach the people on the shore from the better vantage point. Jesus solved this logistic problem because He wanted to give the people on the shore the best opportunity to hear Him. Obstacles were no challenge to Jesus as He found solutions not only to spiritual problems, but also physical ones. God loves people, and He is willing to remove physical barriers so they may “hear” His “gospel” of salvation and receive His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Luke shares how Jesus, “left speaking” and “said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".