Luke 5 - Fasting and other thoughts
Around Galilee[1]
Jesus left and traveled around Galilee,
preaching in the synagogues, and teaching about the good news of the kingdom of
God. He continued to heal the diseases of the people.
One day, standing beside the lake of
Gennesaret, Jesus had gathered a large crowd and they were pressing in on Him,
wanting to hear everything He had to say. Nearby were two boats and the
fishermen mending their nets. He got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked
if he would put the boat a little way into the water. From there, Jesus began
to instruct the people. Jesus said to Simon Peter, "go out to where the
water is deep and put your nets into the water to catch some fish." Simon
answered Jesus saying, "We spent all night fishing and caught nothing, but
You are the Master and because you have asked, I will drop the nets
again." When the men in the boat dropped the nets in the water, they
collected a large number of fish and their nets started to overfill. They
called to their partners to come help them and they ended up filling both boats
so much that they began to sink. Simon Peter responded to this miracle by
falling down at the feet of Jesus and begging Him, "I am a sinful man,
please leave me, O my Lord!" Simon was amazed along with all of his
companions because there were so many fish, they could not contain them all.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were his partners were also
overwhelmed. Jesus spoke to Simon so that the others could hear, “Do not be
afraid of this but in the future, you will be fishing for men.” When Simon and
James and John landed their boats and all the fish, they left everything behind
to follow Jesus.[2]
Jesus and Simon have a history by this point.
They have talked a lot and Jesus has been over to his house and healed his
mother-in-law. Today, He needs a boat to get away from the pressing crowd. And
apparently, He wants to show those gathered another miracle. The news of this
miracle will travel from this spot throughout the region and more will begin to
believe in Him.
Miracles demonstrate the power of God to those
who believe, and it also adds another confirmation of faith to those who have
seen God’s involvement with this life before. Keep in mind, even a small
“mundane” miracle can add to a person’s faith and instill confidence in a
follower of Jesus.
By this time in His life of teaching, Jesus is
amassing a crowd of followers; not just people who want to listen and watch,
but also, many who choose to believe in Him as the Messiah. They seem to follow
for at least three reasons. They appreciate His teaching. They see an authority
in Him that they do not see in their regular teachers. And they are amazed by
His miracles.
C4 – Luke 5:10-11; Bear testimony to what you
have seen and heard. He calls the fishermen to become fishers of men.
M4 - Luke 5:6; The people see the enormous
catch of fish.
SUGGESTED APPLICATIONS:
·
Peter’s
encounter with Jesus when he recognizes Jesus’ superiority and his own lack,
encourages us to be aware of our own sin and the wonder of Jesus.
·
Here
we see the story of Peter casting his nets at Jesus’ suggestion, even though he
has been trying unsuccessfully to catch fish all night. Sometimes we also need
to be willing to do something again, even though it does not make sense to us,
but if Jesus suggests it is a good idea, we need to obey. Many times, we are
unable to see the miracle because we are unwilling to try again.
·
Peter
commands Jesus to leave him. Jesus will not leave. In other parts of the
gospels, Jesus says He will never leave us or turn His back upon us. He does
not give up on us even when we sin. He does not run off when things get
difficult.
·
To
become fishers of men is often the call of the disciple of Jesus, but Jesus
said that to the fishermen. I believe He calls us to use the skills and passion
we have to serve other people. Since I was called to follow Jesus when I was
designing restaurants, I like to think that He called me to be a designer of
men; an encourager of men to help others make changes that will draw them
closer to maturity in Jesus.
In one of the cities, a man with
leprosy recognized Jesus and fell on His knees before Him saying, "Please
make me well, I know you can do this if you are willing." Jesus reached
out to the man with great compassion, touched him, and said, "I am more
than willing, be healed and cleansed." The leprosy disappeared and he was
healed. Jesus warned him before He let him go, saying, "Don't talk about
this to anyone. First thing I want you to do is to go to the priests and show
them you are clean and make an appropriate offering so they can see that you
are thankful to God." But instead, the man could not stop talking about it
to everyone. It became so difficult for Jesus to be in the public places
because of all the people. Even so, when He was in the countryside, people
found their way to Him. Jesus often slipped away to be alone and pray.[3]
Jesus heals many people but not all. Few
miracles could take place in Nazareth because of their unbelief. Here the man
asks if Jesus is willing. Is He always willing? Do we stand in the way of our
healing or are there other reasons? One man was lame from birth and Jesus said
his sickness was for the glory of God.
Leprosy is not that common in America today,
but there are plenty of people who are outcast, untouchable, persecuted, talked
about, hated, and disregarded just like those who had leprosy in Jesus’ day.
All of us have some form of “leprosy” in our lives. Many of us have been healed
of some of our illnesses and have a story to tell. What is your story and who
are the priests that Jesus would send to, so that they could be amazed by the
power of Jesus?
T37 – Luke 5:16 It is beneficial for even the
best of us to go away and be recharged often. Especially when we feel the
pressure coming our way.
C5 –Luke 5:14; When God does a miracle in our lives,
we are commanded to tell the appropriate people. The leper was to tell the
priests; the demoniac was to go to his family; the disciples were to go to
Jerusalem, Judea, and the ends of the earth. Who can you tell that might need
to know that Jesus is still working, doing miracles?
M5 – Luke 5:13; Jesus willing to heal the
leper. I believe He is willing to heal us all in some way. Are we willing to
ask and believe?
SUGGESTED APPLICATION:
·
We
could tell other people about how Jesus has healed us, changed our lives in
some way. Whether we are talking to our loved ones, friends, religious leaders,
or strangers, people need to hear how Jesus has impacted our lives for the
better. And of course, speaking about our faith reinforces our faith.
One day at His home in Capernaum, amongst the crowd
of people from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem, were some Pharisees and teachers
of the law. Jesus had the power of Yahweh present in order to perform healings.
A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by his four friends who wanted to set Him
at Jesus’ feet. Since they could not get into the room through the front door,
they took him up on the roof and lowered the stretcher down through the tiles
and into the crowd in front of Jesus. He recognized the faith of this man’s
friends and said, “I forgive your sins.” This raised some questions in the
Pharisees and scribes about Jesus. They reasoned that He spoke blaspheme
because only God had the power to forgive sins. Jesus, knowing what they were
whispering about, said to them, “What makes you question what I have done? Let
me ask you a question. Don’t you think it is easier for me to say, ‘your sins
are forgiven’ than to say, ‘get up and walk?’” Jesus continued talking to them,
“I want to demonstrate to you that the Son of Man has the needed authority here
on earth to forgive sins.” Then turning to the paralytic, He said, “Stand up
right now, pick up your bed, and go on your way.” Without any hesitation the
man stood up, picked up the stretcher his friends carried him on, and went out
of the room glorifying God. The people who saw this happen stood around in
amazement giving glory to God and said, “What we have seen today is beyond our
wildest dreams.”[4]
Notice that “Jesus
had the power of Yahweh present to perform healings.” The religious
leaders of His day were often critical, skeptical, and proud. They saw the
significance of Jesus’ comments and chose not to believe at first. The miracle
of the healing was not something they could deny. Whether or not Jesus could
forgive sins was their biggest issue. Jesus was claiming to have the power of
God, who alone could forgive sins according to the religious teachings of
Judaism in that day. That means either Jesus is claiming to be God, or Jesus is
crazy.
Note that the faith that Jesus notices is not
so much that of the man he healed but more so the faith of his friends who
brought him to Jesus. They were willing to carry the man to find Jesus and go
to the extra effort to lower the man on his stretcher through the ceiling.
God hears the faith of people on behalf of
other people who might not have faith on their own. We call that intercessory
prayer. We can ask God to help others whether they have faith or not. It might
be a good practice to ask them what they would like us to pray for. That way,
when it comes true, they might be willing to believe God helped them through
our prayers and they will give God all of the praise and thanks for what has
happened.
C3 - Luke 5:24; Jesus has the authority to
forgive sins and He has given us that authority as well and commands us to
freely forgive others.
R21 – Luke 5:24; Jesus refers to Himself as
"Son of Man" when demonstrating to the religious leaders that He has
the power to forgive sins and heal men.
M6 -Luke 5:24; Jesus heals the lame man by
speaking words to him and commanding him to get up and walk.
29 – Levi and Fasting
Jesus continued walking along the
seashore where crowds were gathering around Him to hear His teachings. He came
across a tax-gatherer named Levi son of Alphaeus sitting in his tax booth. He
said to Levi, "Come along with me." And Levi rose up, left it all
behind, and went along with Jesus. He invited Jesus, His disciples, and a lot
of his friends to his house for a party. Among his friends were other tax
collectors and various people in the community.
Some Pharisees and scribes
confronted Jesus’ disciples and asked, “Why are you and your rabbi eating with
tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, saying, “Would you take a
well person to see the doctor? No. You take a sick person, don’t you? The
Writings of God says something that you might want to learn more about, ‘What I
want from you is compassion not sacrifices.’ That is why I spend time with
sinners rather than the righteous, to encourage them to repent.”[5]
SUGGESTED APPLICATION:
·
Who
do we follow? Some follow themselves and their emotions, doing whatever they
think will make them happy and they find they are disappointed more than
satisfied. Others follow various leaders, trying to live according to whatever
“rules” they say will make a person healthy and happy. They do find they
continue to look for other leaders because they do not find the answers they
seek. Many listen to their friends and follow their recommendations without
checking it out for themselves and again come up short of their hopes and
dreams.
a.
Joshua,
who led the people of Israel into the land of Israel, what they called the
promised land, said to the people as they crossed the Jordan River, “Bottom line, serve Yahweh. Be sincere in your service of
Him. Any of the gods that your fathers served in the wilderness and in Egypt
are not gods at all, just ways to serve yourself. If you cannot leave your own
lusts and passions behind, then now is the time to make a choice between what
you want to do and what Yahweh wants from you. My family and I choose to serve
Yahweh and Him alone.”[6]
b.
Jesus
is the head of the church and calls us to follow Him. He reminds us that we
cannot follow Him and the world at the same time.
c.
It
is up to each person to make their choice, and then keep making it each day.
·
Learn
from Levi, when we choose to throw a party, invite a wide variety of people,
friends from work, from church, and from the neighborhood. Authenticity comes
easy when we have all of our acquaintances with us at the same time.
C7 – Luke 5:27; Come along with Jesus, follow
Him, and make whatever changes are necessary to do that.
They responded to Jesus, saying, “John’s
disciples fast and pray often as do the disciples of the Pharisees, but your
disciples seem to just eat and drink.” Jesus said, “Would you expect the
attendants to fast during the wedding and the party afterward? No, when the
bridegroom is present, it is not the time to fast. The time will come when the
bridegroom will not be with them any longer and they will fast again.”
Then He told them a parable: “Why
would someone tear up new cloth to patch an old garment? Doing that would ruin
both of the garments and make things look wrong. Or why would someone put new
wine into old wineskins? That would ruin the old skins and when they break, the
wine would be wasted. New wine belongs in new wineskins. Also, when drinking
wine, serve the best first, otherwise the good wine will not taste good if one
has been drinking the old already.”[7]
Fasting is the practice of going without for a
set period of time, usually going without food. Jesus did not have His
disciples practice fasting while He was with them on earth but clearly, they
and we are commanded to practice fasting now that He has left earth and gone
back to heaven.
T38- Luke 5:36; Change is needed in a person’s
life, especially change from following the old ways of sin and changing to the
new ways of following Jesus’ teaching. But also in life, change of habits, job,
location, can all be beneficial if the time is right. We should embrace the
changes that come our way in life and see the hand of God working for our good.
C8 - Luke 5:35; Fast on a regular basis and
spend the time in communion with Jesus.
SUGGESTED APPLICATION:
·
Implement
times of fasting into our lives. Use the time or money “saved” to do something
for the Lord, either more time in devotional practices or more time in serving
others.
a.
One
way would be to increase our overnight fast and make the time between dinner
the night before and the morning break(ing the) fast longer, using that extra
time to read the Bible or talk with Jesus or serve others.
b.
Choose
to fast one day a week and spend some extended time in prayer, reading, or
service.
c.
Develop
a practice of fasting for longer periods of time each month or each year.
·
A
thought about applying the New Wine into Old Wineskins thoughts. When we have
the opportunity to help people change from the old way of doing things to a new
way it is helpful to try things out before making a solid change.
d.
Making
a list of the goods and bads of the old and the new.
e.
If
the old and the new are people with generational differences, seek to find a
common ground where each has something in the new where they will find comfort
and where they might also have to stretch. Help them see need and value in both
the old and the new.
“Try it out for a while” and then go back to
the drawing board; the new is not as scary once we have had a chance to “see
what it is like.”
[1] (Luke 4:44;
Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:39)
[2] (Luke
5:1-11)
[3] (Luke
5:12-16; Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45)
[4] (Luke
5:17-26; Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12)
[5] (Luke
5:27-32; Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17)
[6] (Joshua
24:14-15)
[7] (Luke
5:33-39; Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22)
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