LUKE CHAPTER 5: INTOXICATING LOVE

In preparing my heart
to start Luke Chapter 5,
I looked back to Chapter 4,
and noticed some more.
Verse 41 hit me like a ton of bricks,
because it spoke to the demons identifying him -
even before people knew about Jesus, 
the evil spirits shouted, "You are the Son of God."
How interesting is it -
the spirits are not blinded,
unlike us humans!

So let me start discussing
Luke Chapter Five,
where Jesus is healing the sick
most of the time.
One day while preaching on the shore,
of the Sea of Galilee,
crowds of people were pressing on Jesus,
He looked over, and saw two boats
then decided to step in one.
He floated out a little ways,
and continued to preach
of the coming days.

Simon Peter was with him,
and Jesus told him to go,
out to deep water to let down his nets
Simon had three responses that interested me,
three truths all wrapped up into one.
His first response was to call Jesus Master,
this showed me was already a disciple.
A disciple means that he was learning from him,
Peter must have already decided to follow him.
The second response was clouded with doubt,
Peter said, "We were already out -
we worked so hard all last night,
and we still did not catch any fish."
His third response is what mattered the most,
it showed how much he honored, and trusted Jesus.
Peter said, "if you say let them down again,
I will do exactly as you ask."

This response
made it very clear to me,
that although Peter had doubt,
in his heart - there was no rebellion.

Simon was a slave,
through and through,
he obeyed his Master,
and followed his rules.

So he let down his nets,
and when he pulled them up,
there were so many fish inside of them.
Simon's partners,
the sons of Zebedee,
were also astonished
by what their eyes did see. 

When Simon Peter saw what had happened,
he fell to his knees and said, "I am a sinful man."
Jesus offered a loving response,
and said, "Do not be afraid. 
From now on you will be fishermen of men."
I can not imagine
they knew what that meant,
but it did not matter
because they left everything to follow him.

As they traveled, they saw Jesus’s ministry
of healing the sick by rebuking disease.
Luke shares the story of a man with leprosy,
where Jesus reached out his hand,
and made the man clean.
The man approached and said,
"If you are willing, can you please heal me?"
Jesus replied quite simply,
"I am willing!, and he healed him quickly."

He asked the man to go to the priest,
and to take the healing offering
required by the law of Moses.
He said, "Let the priest examine you" 
because this would testify to the truth.

But despite his instruction,
the news got out fast
that Jesus alone was testimony enough!
People proclaimed,
"The Lord‘s healing power
is strongly with Jesus."

Then Luke shares a story about some men,
whose faith was so strong
they carried a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat
to the roof of a person's house.
Since Jesus was inside, and they could not get to him,
they took off some tiles, and lowered the man down.

Jesus was amazed at seeing their faith,
He said, "I forgive this man of his sins."
The man laid there, and did not move
until Jesus gave the command for him too.

Jesus used this opportunity to show them the truth.

Something major had to take place,
so the people would know
his words contain God's grace.

The Pharisees and teachers of religion
were standing nearby,
and could heard Jesus's words.
"Who are you to forgive a man's sins?"
"You are not the living God!"
"What kind of blasphemy is this?"
"You do not have the authority to forgive sin."

Well, I never realized it before,
but Jesus is a complete genius!
He said,
"Why do you question this in your hearts?"
"Is it easier to say your sins are forgiven,
or to stand up and walk?"
He then proceeded to tell them
that He has the authority
to forgive sin while on earth.
What a great opportunity to show
that his words have the power to let all sin go. 

Then he told the paralyzed man
to stand, pick up his mat and go home. 
Immediately, this is what happened -
and everyone was gripped with wonder and awe!
The people began to shout,
"Let us praise the Son of God!"

Later,
when Jesus was getting ready
to leave the town,
he invited a tax collector named Levi
to follow him.
Levi must have been rich
because that night
he prepared a special banquet.
He invited Jesus to be his guest.
He also invited Jesus's disciples, 
other tax collectors and other guests
to eat with them.

When the religious leaders saw this,
they approached the disciples
and asked why they ate was such a scum.
Before his students had time to reply,
Jesus answered them back with this,
"Healthy people do not need a doctor,
sick people do.
I have called not those who are righteous,
but those who are sinners and need repentance."
As zealous students of the Old Testament,
you would think the religious leaders would fall and repent.
What a great opportunity for the Jews
to repent for their rigid, religious attitudes.
But instead of repenting,
Jesus's words only added fuel.
I suppose this is the way
God will consume
by burning the chaff of this world.

Anyway, I recently learned
the difference between a disciple and an apostle.
The disciple is a student while an apostle is one who is sent.

The end of Chapter Five
speaks to the heart of a disciple,
by addressing the mind
of what they have learned.

The people wanted to know
why Jesus's disciples
did not focus on fasting and prayer.
They said, 
"John the Baptist's disciples fast and pray often,
as do the Pharisee's disciples,
but your disciples go on eating and drinking."
They wanted to know what was up with that!

Jesus responded, 
"Do wedding guests fast while celebrating the groom?
Of course not! 
But someday the groom will be taken away
and they will have plenty of time to fast."

How could they not see 
the groom standing in front of them?
It seems only his disciples had clear vision.

Jesus continued to give them
more illustration
by speaking about old garments and old wine skins.
Basically he said,
"Would you put an old patch on a new pair of pants?"
"Would you put new wine into an old container?"

And I think he meant,
"I am the new standing in front of you."
"Why would you use the old way
to contain your thoughts about the new way?
"I am the fulfillment of God's promise,
now it's time to change your heart
to get ready for the harvest!"
"Take off the old, and put on the new." 
"I am here - standing in front of you."

Before Jesus shared his body
as the bread of life,
He showed that his life
was more than enough
to overflow a cup.

I believe the vessel that he speaks of
is the heart of a person
which can contain his love.
Without Jesus,
we hold have an old wine skin.
But with Jesus,
we are born again.
Our hearts grow in size,
figuratively,
to contain the Holy Spirit
who lives inside of me.
Filled with a love 
so intoxicating -
This is the message of the wedding feast,
and his disciples got to experience this
here on earth!

In summary,
Luke Chapter Five
starts with Jesus
preaching the good news,
then stepping on a boat
to entrust men to follow him.
He goes on to heal a man with leprosy,
and then he forgives a man's sin
when his faith came through.
He challenges the religion
that is rigid and cruel,
which is founded on the Law -
commands that no human can do.
He offers opportunities
for hard hearts to turn,
by proving that He is
the Son of God.

Luke ends Chapter Five
by speaking about change hearts -
that contain the intoxicating love of our God.