STUDY
NOTES on previous study
Healing and Fasting (Luke 5:1-39)
The
life of Jesus just continues to get more and more intriguing! It was not unusual for great teachers to have
disciples. But any self-respecting rabbi
located himself at a well known city and waited for disciple candidates to come
to him. He would negotiate with the
parents (if it was a young man) or the individual himself about the fee for
such teaching, and if an agreement could be reached, the individual became an
apprentice of the rabbi. Jesus’ teaching
methodology was not unusual for that time.
There were few “classrooms”.
Rabbis traveled with their bands of disciples.
Jesus,
however, broke new ground in going out to select His disciples. None of them would have been men we would
expect! Jesus meets Simon because He was
in need of a boat from which to preach to the crowds on the shore. After preaching, Jesus tells Simon to go out
and cast his nets in the sea. Simon was
clearly moved by Jesus’ teaching, because he addressed Jesus as “Master.” But Simon was not reluctant to inform Jesus
He didn’t know much about fishing. One
fished at night, not day, and you fished in shallow coves where fish had no
choice but to swim into your nets - but Jesus directed them to deep water. Simon’s response is classic, “Yet if you say
so, we will do it.” In other words,
there is no chance we will catch a fish, but we will do this out of our respect
for you. I wish I could have been there
to see Simon Peter’s face as he realized what had happened! After having spent a long night catching
nothing, in the place and time of day where fish would never be, there was the
catch of all catches! Nets breaking, much
shouting, boats filling with fish to the point of sinking (the catch that didn’t
get away - amazing
- a true fisherman story!). All of this
was for the purpose of calling Simon Peter, James, and John to their new
profession - catchers of souls!
It
is important to let Jesus meet us in our places of work. If we are to be authentic disciples, it
doesn’t mean we need to be more serious about our “church work.” Jesus calls us to follow Him daily where we
are. He does not call us to a particular
place, He comes to us. He calls us to
embody Him and walk with Him daily, right where we are. One of the great elements of the Christian
faith is that we have been called - each of us - to follow the Master
Teacher. And because He is no longer
limited to one place as He was during His earthly ministry, He can walk along
side of each of us through His Holy Spirit.
And He will make each of us “catchers of souls.” But do not fear, the
“fish” come at His calling, not at our expertise. And they came in places and times we would
never expect. All we have to do is
“lower the nets” (we’ll discuss this more fully as we continue to study Luke
and Acts together).
Next,
as Luke organizes the story, we have two healing events followed by two sabbath confrontations, with another surprise calling of a
disciple in the middle. First, we are
told of a leper begging Jesus for healing.
Because the leprosy of Jesus’ time was communicable, it is extremely
surprising and stirring that Jesus touched the man. The touch represents an invitation to the
leper to return to life as he had once known it. Once more, an “oppressed” individual has been
set free! Jesus instructed the man to do
what was required by law, and also requested he tell no one. Some have questioned why Jesus was so
reticent about His healing power, and why He instructed so many not to broadcast
it. It need not be such a mystery. Jesus’ healing power was indeed an
affirmation of the arrival of the messianic age – but this was not to be the
focus. In many ways, the attention He
received for His healing work hindered His purposed work - to proclaim the
We
all know the next healing story. It is
such a powerful manifestation of faith and love! It also marks the beginning of a new subplot
in Luke - the beginning of the Pharisaic and scribal scrutiny. Jesus has now become so well known that the
religious experts get involved, and they now become the “counter melody” in the
overture of Jesus’ life. As beautiful as
the chords and melody of Jesus’ life will be as the story continues, from this
point on there will be the constant discords of religiosity and envy thrown
against it. While we are used to this
kind of treatment of Jesus, because we know the story - imagine if you were
reading this for the first time - as if you were Theophilus (remember, he is
the one for whom Luke initially wrote his gospel account) - wouldn’t you be
surprised at the opposition?
You
know the story. The crowds around Jesus
grew to the point that it was impossible to get near Him. A paralyzed man with a group of dedicated
friends was literally lowered through the roof in front of Jesus. Don’t let the familiarity of the scene diminish
the delight Jesus must have experienced as He witnessed such faith and love. Now it is because of the friends’ faith that
God intervenes in one of the greatest of all miracles. Next to raising one from the dead, healing a
paralyzed man to the extent that not only can we walk, but he has the strength
and coordination to carry his cot (strong enough to hold his weight as he was
lowered through the ceiling tiles) - is stunning! Jesus used this incredibly powerful miracle
to show an even greater truth. The
kingdom was primarily about humankind’s sin problem, not their physical limitations. Jesus first healed the man of his sins, and
only as a demonstration of His ability to forgive did He heal the man’s
physical infirmities.
Already,
to the observing eye and open heart, one would have to know who Jesus is. One does not do what Jesus had done unless He
was Messiah! He healed all diseases, and
now proclaims that sins, too, are forgiven!
Immediately
following this magnificent scene, Jesus did the unimaginable. “After this, He went out and” called Levi to
be a disciple. Levi,
the tax collector? Surely
not! After such a magnificent
demonstration of power - how could He “blow it” by demonstrating such a poor
choice of followers? A tax collector was
an enemy of
Jesus then demonstrated a true breach of good judgment. Levi chose to throw a party to celebrate his
new vocation as disciple of Jesus. The
only ones who would eat at Levi’s table were tax collectors and other
“sinners.” Why would Jesus find Himself
in such an environment? In the places
where one would least expect to find spiritual yearnings, Jesus found open
hearts. The Pharisees were quick to
condemn such associations. When asked to
give account for His behavior of sitting at the table (remember this is the
main place where social status was ascribed) with such riffraff, Jesus simply
states His purpose. Using the metaphor
of a doctor/patient relationship, He explained His purpose was to heal the
hurting. He is not suggesting there are
those who do not need His cure, but He is clearly stating there are those who
do not know they are sick. I wonder
where we would be in this equation? Are we the religious police, who like the Pharisees think it is our responsibility to judge the
world? Or are we willing to acknowledge
our need for a Savior and willing to follow Him for life?
This section of study concludes with another of Jesus’ famous
comparisons - that of a wineskin and new wine or a new piece of cloth on an old
garment. Both illustrate incompatible
thought systems. You can’t just
substitute a new piece of cloth or try to fit Jesus into old thought
containers. Jesus is not suggesting a
discontinuity between His teaching and the old Law. He is suggesting an incompatibility between
His teaching and how the old Law has been embodied by
the religious establishment of His day.
There was little room in their religious system for a dynamic faith that
reached out and extended the
Jesus
ends with a truth we all have experienced - change makes all of us
uncomfortable. Most people respond in a
rather predictable way when confronted with new and challenging ways of looking
at their lives, “the old is good.” The
new wine of God’s kingdom continues to stretch us. Some of us need entirely “new containers” –
our old ways of thinking cannot contain the dynamic nature of the kingdom.
The Question of God’s Heart (Luke 6:1-26)
After having read the study notes
from the last lesson, answer the following questions:
1.
Why is Jesus’ method of choosing disciples unusual? Are you surprised at who He chose to
follow Him? What does this say to each
of us as candidates for
discipleship?
2.
What strikes you as most significant in the story of the paralyzed man
and Jesus’ response to his needs?
3.
Are we sometimes guilty of trying to patch the kingdom into the “already
formed” (read “old wine skin”) pattern of our life? What do we need to do to become true kingdom
people?
Read: 6:1-5
1.
What did the Pharisees consider to be unlawful in the behavior of Jesus’
disciples?
2.
Why do you think Jesus answered with a story instead of a direct answer?
3.
What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “The Son of Man is lord of
the sabbath?”
4.
Are there times when we, in fear of disobeying God’s will, have missed
the point of God’s law?
Read: 6:6-11
1.
What were the Pharisees looking for in this situation? Did they have any concern for the man with
the withered hand?
2.
Why did Jesus ask the question about doing good
on the sabbath? Wasn’t the answer
obvious?
3.
What was the Pharisees’ response to the wonderful demonstration of God’s
healing power? Why did they react as
they did?
4.
Are there any warnings for us in the Pharisees’ behavior in this story?
Read:
1.
What did Jesus do before He selected His disciples? For how long did He do this?
2.
At this point in His ministry, who was coming to hear Jesus preach?
3.
Have you ever prayed for more than a few minutes at a time? Why or why not?
Read
1.
Who is blessed according to Jesus?
Why?
2.
Who is in danger according to Jesus?
Why?
3.
Who are we in these passages? How
do we apply these teachings to our lives?