👨🏽 Luke – Chapters 5 and 6

🙏 Our Dear Heavenly Father, as we study how Jesus calls His disciples and teaches them about His identity as well as their identity in the Kingdom, open our heads and our hearts to understand and to hold onto Your Word.  Remove the distractions and worries of this life to help us embrace true life.  We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Points to Ponder: Again, we see that for God, people matter.  Before we think of the Peter in Acts, we’re introduced to him as the fisherman who doubts Jesus’ suggestion. Maybe Peter just respects the position that Jesus holds as a religious teacher, but the miracle of the catch is enough to shake Peter’s perspective, that somehow, this Jesus is different… this Jesus is more. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, we will see many of Jesus’ miracles, signs, and wonders as well as hear of Jesus’s tough teachings (TT) that challenge our perspective of religion and culture. In this Gospel, emphasis is placed on how people will choose to respond to Jesus.  Consciously or not, we do so as well. Peter responds with humility, fear, and awe. Jesus comforts him.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Points to Ponder: An unnamed leper is healed and told to follow the required law of Moses thus enabling him to rejoin the community, fulfill the law, and be a living, walking testimony to the priests.  We notice the man’s posture of unworthiness associated with his condition, when he asks Jesus if He would be willing to clean him.  How sad it is when a person has a self-image of being unclean, when they were created in the image of God.  How much sadder when that person feels they have no one to go to for help.  Jesus sends him to the priests… those who were tasked with the responsibility of interceding on behalf of these people.  We’re told of Jesus’ habit to separate Himself for a time of prayer. This story highlights Jesus’ compassion for man and His communion with the will of the Father.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Points to Ponder: Jesus goes to the next level here.  His audience now includes another unnamed sick man and the priests are among the witnesses to the occasion. Jesus grabs their attention by announcing the forgiveness of this man’s sins.  (No one asked if Jesus was willing to heal, they knew!  Their certainty was demonstrated by breaking the roof!)  Faith granted the man forgiveness of sins, Jesus’ primary mission.  The presence of the Pharisees results in the miracle, but after Jesus addresses the hypocrisy of religion that is just words.  He tells these religious leaders that He is claiming God’s authority here on earth.  This is huge.  The Son of Man title links the Old Testament prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel.

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

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, but sinners to repentance.”

Points to Ponder: Now we see the calling of a rejected man, Levi.  As a tax collector, he is despised by the Jewish nation.  Jesus calls him anyway. The isolation that Levi found himself in was a consequence far worse than the benefit of the money he made in his position.  He left everything and threw a feast.  Of course, only folks like him would attend, but after the last healing incident, the Pharisees can’t help themselves, their own identities are threatened and they are compelled to stalk Jesus.   People who think they are righteous also think they have no need for repentance.  If you cannot recognize yourself as a sinner, you have no need for a savior.  Like a leper, a tax collector, would be lonely and left out.

I found it shocking that when I repented and asked Our Lord for forgiveness, others around me started to accuse me of being ‘holier than thou.’  I try to remember verse 31 to be able to respond gently with, ‘No, Jesus calls sinners… and calls… and calls… I just finally recognized my need to answer the call. 💕

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

Points to Ponder: We see the Pharisee’s jealousy and resentment begin to grow.  At Levi’s feast, they now complain that Jesus’ disciples do not fast.  They even try to strengthen their argument by adding that John the Baptist’s disciples behave like the Pharisees. But Jesus invokes the Old Testament reference where God promised to be a husband to the faithful Israel nation.  (Isaiah 54:5, Hosea 2:16, Jeremiah 31:32, Ezekiel 16:32)  But Israel was unfaithful and the prophets warned Israel for being unfaithful; for being a wicked, adulterous nation.  This should have made the Pharisees uneasy.

Subtlety, Jesus doesn’t call Himself the husband, but the bridegroom.  This gives the Pharisees a ‘not-yet, but-soon’ element to his mission and these not-fasting people are a part of it.  In case they didn’t pick up on the husband-bridegroom reference, He also gives them the wineskin parable.  He is doing something new (Isaiah 43:19), but He knows the Pharisees will say, ‘The old is better.’ 😔 The Pharisees are hearing His words and seeing His integrity of putting those teachings into action by how He interacts with people.  People the Pharisees would rather keep distant… the least, the lost, the left-out.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Points to Ponder: The Pharisees are still tailing Jesus.  (I’m reluctant to say they’re following Him.) This narrative shows that the Pharisees are trying to call Jesus out for violations of their law.  In the last section we saw the traditional thoughts around ‘fasting’ being questioned, here we see proper observance of the Sabbath and the laws involved in ‘honoring’ the Sabbath, being looked at as well.  Jesus shows us here and elsewhere, that He is Lord of the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was made for man.  Man was not made for the Sabbath.  Being legalistic about the Sabbath approaches idolatry – worshiping the law instead of God, who created the law.  Jesus questions the Pharisees about their priorities… would they honor their laws for the Sabbath over honoring the human that was made in the image of God.

It is interesting that in Leviticus, and Numbers, that after God gives Moses the Law, situations arise where the law must be modified. (See Leviticus 10, Numbers 36).  ‘The Law’ is given for the benefit of the community.  We see today, that without law, chaos reigns and some call it freedom.  Following the law does not make us good.  It is sometimes valuable to just study the law and wonder about its intent. (We recognize that the law is good – it reveals our sin and our need for a savior.)

The Twelve Apostles

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Points to Ponder: A disciple is a follower of Jesus… think apprentice. Disciples are in learning mode. Here Luke tells us that after praying, out of the crowds that are always around Jesus, He chose twelve and designated them as apostles.  Apostles are ‘sent’ to do what Jesus has been training them to do.  (This is the same concept we use in the world.  First, I do, then I do and you watch, then you do while I watch, and finally you do.)  Flashback to genealogies and generations.  God’s Kingdom is meant to be a transition of wisdom and knowledge through the generations – through families and churches.  (At theChapel, we have a similar model.  A disciple will Know God and Find Freedom… an apostle will Discover Purpose and Make a Difference.)

The choosing of the twelve is a clear parallel to the Old Testament story of the twelve tribes of Israel.  We see, again, Luke mapping out the transition from Old to New throughout his Gospel.  At this point, we don’t focus on what we know and don’t know about the Old Testament, but reflect back on the Old Testament and ask for wisdom and discernment to understand how the Old Testament was always pointing to Jesus. 

(The first Judas listed is also known as Thaddaeus and Bartholomew, as Nathaniel.)

Blessings and Woes

¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.
²² Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.

²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have already received your comfort.
²⁵ Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶ Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Points to Ponder: Tough Teaching (TT) alert!!! Being poor, hungry, sad, hated, excluded, insulted,  and/or rejected doesn’t feel like a blessing.  Culture exalts the rich, the powerful, the popular, and the beautiful. What we know vs. what we feel, helps us make more Godly choices.  Jesus reminds us that even the prophets of old experienced these negative feelings.  We are told that when other people treat us this way, it’s okay.  It’s a reflection of worldly values vs. the values of God’s Kingdom.  (The more we draw near to God and ask for His wisdom and guidance, the more we may see how broken this world is. When we pray for Him to open our eyes to see His truth, the more we may struggle with what He reveals.) 

Jesus is warning those that find comfort in this world. The woe section is so counter-cultural.  People who are rich, comfortable, well fed, amused, and/or exalted in this world are usually the first to post on Instagram… #Blessed!!!   (In the Old Testament the false prophets would proclaim, ‘Peace, peace’ when there was no peace, just to make a king happy and secure their own benefit.  (Jeremiah 6:14)  Christians know that the comforts of this world are not theirs to keep for themselves.  They are called to use them for God.

Love for Enemies

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Points to Ponder: Continuing in the counter-cultural teaching, Jesus hits us hard with how we should relate with each other, even our enemies.  (TT) We don’t get to choose who is deserving of our love. This is where Christianity makes a difference.  None of us were deserving of God’s grace, we should not be those that hide His grace from others.  This is where the ‘bumper-sticker Christianity’, the superficial, ‘Let go and let God‘, makes no sense… unless you know God first.  Unless you recognize your sinfulness and your need for a savior.  Unless you look around and realize, there’s nothing here for a child of God. Unless you look at your ‘enemies’ and remember that, you too, were once an enemy of God.

Judging Others

³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Points to Ponder: Judging others is not how we are to behave.  Embrace forgiveness for our own forgiveness is at stake.  V38 impresses that the standards we use in our relationships with others will be the standard set for ourselves.  The parable of the plank reminds us that Jesus came to save sinners.  Just because we are saved doesn’t make us wholly righteous.  We are still being sanctified – and growing to be more like Him and we are told to hold back judgment of others and forgive them.

V38 reminds us to be careful about our teachers and whoever we permit to influence us.  We will be like them, we will not rise above them nor will we fix them!  We will fall into the same pit they are heading into without the divine intervention of God!  (Remember that 10 of the 12 spies in Numbers 13-14 influenced an entire generation away from the promised land.) You don’t have to be a Christian to understand the influence of parents with their children or teachers with their students. We see the uproar now of parents against the education system. 

A Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Points to Ponder: So much packed into this paragraph.  With trees and fruit, we think of the ‘seed principle’ and ask what seed is planted in a person’s heart.  If it is resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, it doesn’t matter how they look on the outside, there is always a lack of integrity in the words they say and the things they do.  I think the purpose of this section is to build on the last one… choose wisely, wherever possible, who we are listening to and who we allow to influence us.

We are on earth with a limited amount of time, talents, and treasures.  As children of God, we are called to invest each of these with His purposes in mind.  While we were told not to judge others, we are now told that we can recognize whether another person is living a life of integrity; spending time with such people will help us mature and be fruitful! 😊 This one is tough. It would be easier to keep my distance from all ‘bad trees’, but Jesus didn’t. It takes some spiritual strength to stand firm with Jesus, shining His light, in the darkness.  

The Wise and Foolish Builders

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Points to Ponder: I get convicted every time I read this section, then praise Him for HIS faithfulness. Jesus just taught us how living now for the Kingdom is different from living in the current culture.  This is the same message that Moses gave Israel before entering the promised land (Deuteronomy 18:9)  He is not giving us wise teachings to consider; He is giving us The Way to Eternal Life in the Kingdom.  We are to submit to Him as Lord as we learn to be obedient.  We call Him, Lord. We call Him, Master.  We do not, as Judas did, (Matthew 26:25), simply call Him teacher.  As Christians, we are citizens of a new nation. We are Christ’s ambassadors.  What we say and what we do reflect how we honor Him. 

Summary:  The tough teachings of Jesus begin with a new perspective on the religious institutions of fasting and honoring the Sabbath.  Then, He tells us to reexamine our perspective on human relationships – with a focus on the Eternal Kingdom, we reconsider the thoughts, words, decisions, and actions we take here on earth.  (And we ask for His wisdom and guidance as we really learn how to live.)

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🙏 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word that brings us new life.  Help us to live this life in a way that is pleasing to You.  Let us remember first, that it was You who restored our relationship with You, so that we help to restore others.  And let us hold loosely to the things of this world as we remember that this is not our home. Amen.