Recruiting Peter
Luke 5:1-3 starts out with another time of teaching. The Jewish men were well versed in how teachers taught. There were studies at the synagogue and for some with private teachers who instructed on how to live a Jewish life. But just like today, people had thought they knew it all and it had become just something you did on a Sabbath.
When Jesus came on the scene, His teaching rocked their boats. He taught with authority, like He knew exactly what He was talking about. He explained what the scriptures really required. Indeed His sermon on the mount pushed people to live better lives and be better people than they had probably ever considered being.
And along with Jesus teaching content and methods - teaching everyone present and not segregating just the men - His ministry came with power. I know that this is an internet site, and most people in the world who come here will never see me on Earth at least. You won't see much power presented, because I just don't meet many people. But I pray, most every night, for sometimes an hour or two, that God will move in ways that lift up the name of Jesus around the world. Sometimes it is for a specific country. Sometimes it is for a particular people. And it will probably be in heaven whether I know if any of those intercessory prayers have made the kind of difference that Jesus made. But I do know that God hasn't changed, His promises are still true, and that John 14:12 said we would do greater works than Christ did, not because we are better - certainly not - but because Christ died on the cross and rose victorious to take back up His role in the Trinity.
But the net effect of Jesus ministry was that people flocked to Him, and this was no different. The mob had come and was pressing against Jesus to the extent that He probably couldn't effectively be heard over the noise of the crowd. So He called out to Peter to take Him a bit out on the lake so He could speak and everyone there would have a better chance of hearing.
If you have a ministry that you are doing for God, and not for yourself, pray that you will be filled with the Holy Spirit to be more effective in what you do. This world is full of people speaking their version of the Gospel Message. Many are doing it for less than pure motives. Let God take over your ministry. Let the Holy Spirit fill and direct your life. Start doing the work that Jesus and the disciples did. The world needs you, but only if your path is truly directed by God.
Jesus had been led to Simon for a purpose, but Jesus also paid His debts. Simon was a fisherman, and in Luke 5:4-9 after Simon recounts that they had been toiling all night without catching anything, Jesus asks them to go out again and Simon would catch a huge amount of fish.
As any commercial fisherman would do, Peter probably gave an eye roll, and a muttered "Right", but because it was Jesus, did as Christ asked. He pulled in so many fish that his net broke and he had to quickly call in the other boat to help them land their haul. As you are going about your ministry, don't forget to meet the actual needs of your followers along with their spiritual needs. Your compassion and help will make a difference.
In Luke 5:10-11, Jesus tells them that He had a higher purpose for them and that they would catch men from now on. And the Holy Spirit must have already been at work on their hearts, both from Jesus teaching and His works, that when He told them that, they gave up their work and followed Him.
Healing of the Leper and Others
Luke 5:12-15 records Jesus further ministry. A leper approaches Jesus and tells Jesus that if Jesus was willing he could be freed of leprosy. Leprosy was something that isolated those who had it. For the man to come to Jesus in the first place was a huge act of face and a breaking of the law. For Jesus to say that He was willing to heal Him, and then to touch him to do so was also against the law.
But Jesus had no fear because He knew He was doing the will of God. He was completely in tune with God due to the indwelling Holy Spirit that guided Him. It is that same indwelling that God wants to give each Christian. If the Holy Spirit tells you to pray for someone to be healed, don't be afraid. Just listen to the Holy Spirit.
While Jesus healed all who He encountered who asked to be healed, there were probably many He encountered who were too ashamed or afraid to ask. This man who was dealing with leprosy should have fallen into that category, but he was able to overcome his shame and feelings of inadequacy to ask. Jesus answered. And clearly, there were many, many people who Jesus simply never encountered as He walked on Earth. But there is no record that God failed to work through Jesus to heal any who came and asked. There is a reason that faith is both a fruit and gift of the Spirit. We need to find His faith today, and also be directed by the Spirit's words of knowledge and prophecy as to where to go to be used of Him.
When done, Jesus ordered the man to not tell anyone who had healed him, but to go to the priests to be declared cured of leprosy according to the law. Jesus wanted the man to be a testimony to the priests first, before telling everyone else.
But whether the many told others, or they simply saw him and knew something had happened, the fame of Jesus arose. Great multitudes came to be healed and to hear His teaching, and as always, Jesus healed them of all of their infirmities.
Jesus, as the son of God, and God Himself, was certainly worthy of having His fame noised abroad. But He was always careful to be sure that people understood that He wasn't doing anything under His own power, but that God was working through Him. If God decides to use you in some fantastic way, keep Jesus attitude in mind.
You aren't doing anything. God is doing everything. As long as you keep that straight, stay humble, and keep going about the Father's work, I suspect that God will keep using you. Just be sure to give the credit where credit is due. It isn't with you. It is with the stripes that Jesus bore for our healing and the blood He shed on the cross for our salvation.
Prayer Retreat
I chose to treat Luke 5:16 separately, as it is very important. No matter what ministry you are involved in, you will need some time to recharge your batteries and still your spirit and get back in tune with God. If Jesus needed to take time to pray, don't think that you can go without it. Remember that prayer is meant to be a two way conversation. Talk with God, and not just to God.
Over and over Jesus got away from the pressing multitude to pray. It probably wasn't any easier for Him than it would be for us today. Think of any celebrity today. If famous enough, they are probably accompanied by some bodyguards to keep them from being overrun in public. While Jesus didn't have any bodyguards, He did have the Holy Spirit directing His path. How many times did some group of priests or pharisees try to kill Him, but the Bible declares that Jesus simply disappeared in the crowd.
Christian leaders today need to be as close to God as Christ. The world is a different place today than then. Guns can kill from a very long distance if you have the right gun, the right spotter, and the right person pulling the trigger. I think the record is around 2.5 miles right now. I don't blame the pope for riding in a pope mobile for protection. With television and schedules, it is much harder to just disappear into the crowd in times of danger.
But the need to get away and get close to God for Christian leaders today is very real. The Christian church has fractured in many ways over time. Splits are happening every year. A church that was fully led by God in all its parts wouldn't have ever needed to split, probably. If a split was needed, I'm pretty sure that God could have kept the splits more amicable. But the need to pray is just has big now as it ever was.
If we want God to do the works today as He did through Christ, I truly believe that God is still willing. Finding people who are willing to totally let their lives be under God's control is much harder today. Or at least it seems that way to me. Find your prayer closet and pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you and for God to make His will for you clear. Stand on the Bible. Don't stand on some other Christian or non-Christian text. Stand on His word and try to bring your part of the church closer to His ideals instead of trying to see just how close to the world you can get to bring people in. It is God's work that makes the difference. It isn't the churches embracing of evil.
Healing of the Man with Palsy
Luke 5:17-19,24-26 shows another instance of healing that Jesus did. While there are several palsy's that are described in the Bible, it seems that in this case, the man was paralyzed. His friends had heard about the great things that Jesus was doing and wanted to help their friend. When they got to the house where Jesus was, it was full, so they had to improvise. They took away some of the roofing and let the stretcher down through the ceiling. The people had to make way for the stretcher coming down on their heads.
After a discussion on forgiving sin, talked about below, Jesus says to the crowd that in order to show that He had the authority to forgive sin, He told the paralyzed man to rise up and walk, and the man did and carried his sick bed away and went back to his house glorifying God.
The people also glorified God, but were also just a bit afraid because Jesus had again pushed the boundaries of what they knew. For the Jewish believer, cleansing of sin was by the priests through a ritual sacrifice. Forgiveness wasn't done by a man who wasn't a priest. But Jesus had just laid down a gauntlet and backed it up by a powerful healing. That was bound to cause some consternation as their belief system - Jewish religion - had just been challenged.
Realize that there is going to be consternation in this day and age about any discussion of Christianity. There is a mindset today that any religion is okay and might be a way to God but that no religion, no belief, or a belief in something you can't identify is also just as okay. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light. Nobody makes it to God without Him. John 8, 14 record this in depth.
But people won't just turn their fuzzy anything is okay blinders off without help. There is just one path to God, and there is just one God. If you want to convince people of that, you need to be part of a body of believers who are doing the work of God. That includes healing and miracles and discerning of spirits, directed by words of prophecy and knowledge, and done with the divine wisdom of God. It takes faith. And if you are dealing with a person who doesn't speak your native language, it needs the gift of tongues and interpretation so you can communicate.
God provided all the tools the church needs to draw closer themselves, and then to draw the world to Him. We all just need to be willing to be used for His work.
And I don't want to leave this portion of the story without mentioning one other important thing. None of this would have happened if the man hadn't had friends. And what friends they were. They didn't give up when they saw the crowds that they had no chance to haul a stretcher through. They literally took apart the roof to make a way to get their friend in front of Jesus. Who is God calling you to be a friend to? Will you help your friends with the same single aim that the paralyzed man's friends did?
Sometimes, it isn't necessary for you to be the one doing the work. Perhaps that is for someone else, for whatever reason. But God has a part for every single Christian to perform, no matter who you are. Maybe you are the friend who will bring someone to church. Maybe you will go the extra mile, when bringing that person isn't easy! Do whatever God calls you to do, today.
Debate Over Forgiving Sins
In the middle of this story, Jesus makes a point that He had the power to forgive people's sins. Luke 5:20-24 cover this discussion. Jesus starts out making the bold statement that the man's sins were forgiven. For the scribes and Pharisees, this was blasphemy as only God could do that, and then, only if the priests did everything the law specified, exactly correctly.
In spite of the clamor that His statement probably caused, Jesus heard the thoughts of those men were were righteously indignant. Keep in mind that these people were probably back in the peripheral areas of the house rather than right up in His face. They were observing all that was going on, but probably didn't want to be noticed.
But the Holy Spirit made clear to Jesus what they were murmuring and what was in their hearts. The Holy Spirit had led Him to say what He said in the first place, and had made clear what He was to do. So He made another bold statement. What was harder in their eyes - to simply say someone was forgiven or to heal? But He made clear that in order to ensure that they understood that the authority of God and the power of God was at work, the man who was paralyzed would be healed, and He immediately was healed.
Clearly, we don't have the authority that Jesus had. It was His sacrifice that He would make on the cross that would provide our salvation. Our works won't get us there.
But around the world today, there are unbelieving people who need to be challenged. Don't just make statements for your own sake, and expect God to back you up. That is presumptive and probably doomed to fail. But if the Holy Spirit tells you to say and do something to make an example, have faith.
In 1 Kings 18:19-40, Elijah goes up against the prophets of Baal and the groves. Let the God who answers by fire be the God we worship! That took a special kind of faith. It was especially true when Elijah doused his sacrifice in water just to ensure everyone knew He wasn't cheating. But when God answered and consumed everything with fire, the people were terrified, and the false prophets were killed. Are you the Elijah of the day?
God is still the same as He was in Elijah's and Jesus' times. His promises are still true. You won't be making a statement that you have the authority to forgive sin. But there are many other statements of fact about God and Jesus Christ that the world needs to hear. We may not have prophets of Baal and of the groves in our midst today, but there are many other false prophets and false religions. Set Christianity apart. Pray that God will bring down whatever equivalent to fire you need to persuade those around you. But be sure you are walking in His path for you before you do!
Associations
The rest of the chapter [Luke 5:27-39] deals with our associations. At the start, Jesus calls Levi to follow Him, and Levi leaves his custom duties behind and takes them to his home for a feast. The scribes and Pharisees murmured at this, complaining that it wasn't right do eat with a publican or sinner.
Self-righteousness was a thing for the Jewish, and it has been a thing for Christians for too long. Jesus answer was true. Jesus came to seek out the sinners and to get them to repent and be saved. That is what He has tasked His church with today. Seek out those who need saved, wherever they are and whatever they are doing, and give them the opportunity to choose Jesus and turn from their sin.
If I was an extrovert who liked to get out among people, I'd say I would be happier if at Jesus return He found me in a bar spreading the Good News than in a church pew, wising the worship team was a choir singing hymns again - although few bars are open on Sunday mornings at least around here.
There are a lot of things that a Christian shouldn't do. But there is a difference in going to a bar and in getting drunk. The bar is just a place where the lost congregate. Getting drunk is an activity the Bible strongly advises against. Too many in the church have taken to associating a place with an offense. You can subscribe to cable television (in my day - a streaming service for today's generation), but don't go to a movie theater. That was a thing in my parents day and it carried down to my youth. You can see good things in both places. Or you can watch crap. The Holy Spirit will tell you which is which, until you stop listening. But it isn't the place - it is the things you choose to do there. It isn't what you eat, it is what comes out of your mouth to use another analogy.
He told those assembled that there would come a time of persecution for His disciples, and it would in fact be relatively soon. But while He was there, there was reason to celebrate.
He left off at the end of the chapter with a comment about garments and wine bottles. You can't patch an old cloth with new fabric, even if it is of the same original cloth. The new will stick out. You can't put new wine in old wine bottles or else the bottles will burst during fermentation and the crop will be lost. You need to put it in new bottles.
There was no way for Christianity to be somehow poured into Judaism. This same argument would go on between Paul and the Jewish converts to Christianity for years to come. Christianity was new. What He was preaching for salvation from sin was new. The old laws didn't apply anymore. The old needed to pass away and let the new take its place. Since the scribes and Pharisees were at the pinnacle of their old profession, this wasn't what they wanted to here. The truth rarely is.
We always need to be cognizant of what God is doing now in His church. Old denominations are losing members and evangelical congregations and denominations like the Assemblies of God are gaining members. It doesn't have to be this way, but for it not to be, the old denominations need their wine skins transformed by the Holy Spirit into something that can hold new wine. And even the denominations which are now growing need to ensure that they stay in God's path and change direction with Him.