“Put Out Into Deep Water”

Luke Chapter 5

LUKE 5:1-11

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people 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 catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

LUKE 5:1-3

Standing by the lake

By this time, Jesus was no newcomer to the land of Galilee. Word about his works had spread all across the region. This knowledge is important if we are to understand the “story within this story.”

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus had already interacted with a number of the fishermen after first encountering John and Andrew upon the Lord’s return from the temptations in the wilderness. John’s Gospel tells us more about these early interactions in his second chapter. Despite their initial experience with the Messiah, Peter and his friends return to what they know, fishing “by the Lake of Gennesaret” (just as they would do, yet again, after Christ’s death).

Upon leaving Nazareth, Jesus goes to the fishermen’s hometown of Capernaum (yes, the Lord actually tracks them down). Jesus is so popular that the crowd following him overwhelms the beach where he is teaching. Seeing Peter and his partner’s boat on the shore he asks them to take him several yards off the beach. Acoustically, you couldn’t find a better setting for speaking. The beach formed a natural auditorium and the still waters amplified the Master’s words.

It is a beautiful reflection, the common person was so hungry to hear Jesus speak that crowds often swelled to a point where a local synagogue could not contain them. What was it Jesus had to say that compelled the common person so profoundly? What do you think Jesus would speak about were he in a park in your neighborhood today?

Then, there is the image of Jesus, lovingly desiring to communicate with all of those surrounding him. His impromptu “borrowing” of Simon’s boat, the awareness of nature’s natural concert hall, our Lord did not need flashing lights, special effects or videos to compliment his points.

When was the last time the crowd pressed upon me to speak in the busy mid-morning intersections of life? How do I need to adapt my life so others would be that interested in what I had to say?

Remember, Jesus did not call together this crowd; they called upon him to speak. Is what I say so valuable that people would press upon me to share with them and furthermore — not even in a house of worship — just in the common market area of a city?

LUKE 5:4-8

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

“Put out into deep water”

If we follow John’s chronology and incorporate it with Luke’s, Jesus had already received — it wasn’t that he called them, most of the apostle’s came to Jesus by way of a relative, friend or associate — the majority of the apostles, but then they returned to fishing (apparently while Jesus was attending the wedding in Cana and announcing his mission in Nazareth).

So did the apostles first meet Jesus and then fall back into old ways? I am glad to read, in this Gospel, that I am not the only one who displays that age-old dance step, the “Fisherman Backslide.” Why do some of us have such a propensity for “backsliding,” even after Jesus has deeply touched our lives?

Jesus speaks directly to the issue at a later point in Luke [Luke 9:57-62].

This whole chapter in Luke (chapter 9) deals with times when Jesus had to rebuke the disciples for their lack of faithfulness. The disciples won’t feed the five thousand, they can’t heal a possessed boy, and they argue about who is the greatest. Then they complain when another person (outside of their clique) performs greater works in Christ’s name than they are able to perform.

It is within that framework we learn about these excuses for “not following.” There are three rationalizations in the above scripture for putting Jesus on our backburner (a very ineffective place to put God in our lives).

1. “I want to follow Jesus and keep my comfortable life.”

2. “When I retire, then I will have the time and the resources to do the ‘God stuff.’”

3. “I’ve got other important tasks to accomplish before I ‘help Jesus.’”

The first thing we must understand about this miracle is that Jesus didn’t send the Apostle’s out into the lake because he was hungry and wanted fish for lunch. He doesn’t give them a task for his sake; he sends them out for their sake. Jesus doesn’t send us into mission for his sake; it is for our sake we must go. Faith unpracticed is not faith at all.

Nor does Jesus pick his followers based upon their resources or abilities, we are to rely on his resources and his capabilities, not our own.

It is for our sake and with his resources that we “go in the name of the Lord.”

We completely have it backwards if we think, “God needs to wait his turn until I’m ready” or that, “I need more resources, broader knowledge or a better plan, before I do anything.”

We need to look at the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at Jacob’s Well or the Geresene demoniac who was possessed by a legion of demons. Both of them — with no scriptural background, money or positional authority — converted entire communities — indeed entire regions — simply by saying, “You know what I was, now look at who Jesus made me.”

What is my excuse? What is my rational? It all pales in comparison to the call and the resources of Jesus Christ who says, “Go into the deep.”

If I want the big catch, I gotta “put out in the deep water” with Jesus.

“But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

We have to act on what Jesus tells us. Miracles don’t happen in our lives simply because we ask for them. Look at Mary’s wedding miracle in Cana. She almost forces Jesus to act by ignoring his emphatic “no” to her request for wine:

John 2:3-5

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

If I want a miraculous life, I have to act on what I am asking for! These disciples didn’t want to push out to sea, but they did and the result was a miraculous catch that led to their salvation. How many of us know Jesus pushes us to go where we don’t want to go?

Sadly, however, instead of responding, even reticently with faith, many of us just simply say, “I wouldn’t be comfortable there.”

Jesus says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give [Mt 10:8]” there is no, “unless that makes you uncomfortable,” attached to that statement.

Miracles happen in these disciple’s lives because — even though they were tired and uncomfortable — they went “when and where” Jesus told them to go.

There is a common quality, I’ve noticed in my Chaplaincy work, by men and women who are able to break the cycle of bad habits that returns them to jail. It is not getting a job (paychecks are often significantly reduced by prison fines). It is not getting into treatment groups (this alone does not break the cycle) and it’s not about just going to a church on a weekly basis. These steps are simply not enough by themselves.

Those individuals, who finally get out and stay out, seem to have two additional components in common: 1) They find a healthy accountability group or mentor who will walk beside them and 2) they find ways to serve in their communities.

They immediately throw themselves into dependency upon Jesus through acts of service.

Earlier in Luke, we examined what John The Baptist prescribed to those he baptized, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke 3:8).”

The actions he suggested were simple and not overwhelming: Give spare clothes away, stop treating people unfairly and treat all people with dignity.

Think of our growth in faith as a simple formula: F = B x A, or “Faith = Belief x Action”

Both multiples (B & A) must be positive for your faith to grow. If either component is negative (I’m preaching but not practicing or practicing but not with humility and gratitude), then true faith will wither. (Remember, in the laws of multiplication, a positive number times a negative number always leads to a negative result).

We don’t change our behavior by simply thinking differently; we change our character by acting differently and having a group that holds us accountable to our values. We have to go when and where Jesus would send us.

Our behaviors, not our thoughts, change our lives.

It takes about ninety days of repetitive action for beliefs to become character but most of us fall back into unhealthy past patterns when we begin to experience stress or discomfort. That is why an accountability group is so critical.

All of John the Baptist’s suggestions, in Luke 3, have to do with helping those who are in no position to help us in return: Radical Works of Anonymous Kindness. This is the kind of love Jesus gave us. To get to know him better, doesn’t it make sense to act as he would act?

If you want to be an excellent mechanic, hang around an excellent mechanic and gratefully do what he or she tells you to do immediately when he or she says it. If you want to be an excellent employee, hang around an excellent employee and do what he or she tells you to do at the moment you are told. If you want to be an excellent follower of Christ, hang around an excellent follower and follow what he or she does without hesitation.

To quote Micah (not Nike); “Just do it!”

Secondly, we have to rid ourselves of the thinking that a) “I don’t have the resources to follow Jesus now” or b) “I don’t have the time right now.”

When we lay the phrase out in this blatant manner, the falsity of these words becomes self-evident. We can’t afford to not follow Jesus — Now! Especially if the joy of our lives has been repeatedly stolen by the consequences of sin. We often get so caught up in worldly needs that our faith (F = W x A) falls to the way back burner. Such was the case for Peter and his fishing compadres.

“I am a sinful man!”

Once again we find in this verse the attitude that is critical if we are to hear a call from the Lord and answer; “Here I am, Lord.” We must put aside our pride and our personal agenda. Paul says he is the least of the apostles, “abnormally born.” Isaiah says that he has unclean lips. Peter states that he is a sinful man. All of them recognize their painful shortcomings before the Lord. Yet, they didn’t dwell on those shortcomings like we so often do. As with Paul, they rejoiced in their weaknesses because those very weaknesses allowed them to rely upon God [2 Corinthians 11:30].

Paul and these others accepted that God alone could complete them. God alone could make them whole. In fact, it is God’s delight to make us whole!

Our healing (and calling) comes when we realize we are not worthy; we are “least among the apostle’s,” we speak with “unclean lips” and are nothing but “sinful men and women.” Yet, the healing comes — not in dwelling upon the weakness — but in glorifying God for his compassion. For God’s power is perfected in our weakness [2 Corinthians 12:9]. Our Lord delights in making us both able and worthy.

Jesus Christ is our worthiness, he is our redeemer, but we must act (Faith = Belief x Action).

The action for Peter and the fishermen was quite simple; they “threw down their nets.” In a way, that is what we all must do. Jesus shows Peter he can abundantly provide for every need the Apostles will face (remember there is a vast difference between need and want, God will supply our intrinsic needs but take away our extraneous wants). Yet, we must be faithful to God’s will by being willing to step out on our faith.

In addition, like Peter, we must realize we too have nets we must throw down. What nets keep me bound to the past? What nets keep me from acting on my faith?

When the disciples hauled in the miraculous payload of fish they rightly shifted their focus from their catch to their Lord. What a mistake it would have been had they remained fixated on the fish! What if they said, “Wow, Jesus blessed me with this catch, he must want me to continue as a fisherman!”

In what ways do we become fixated on the catch and not on the Lord? What is my “catch?” What nets keep me from following the Lord, “immediately and enthusiastically?”

Today would be a great day to look beyond the catch and cast my nets aside.

LUKE 5:9-10

9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and 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 catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

“So, they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything and followed him.”

Show me a macho man and I’ll show a fearful man. I often think of the kids I work with on the street who feel like they have to fight everyone who “mad dogs (stares at)” them. What is it within them that is so insecure they feel they must defend themselves whenever someone stares at them cockeyed? Responding like this doesn’t show how strong we are; it shows how much someone else controls our life. It reveals how enslaved we are to the fear of appearing weak.

We are only moved to the point of losing control by fears that have already taken root in our hearts. When someone calls me “stupid,” it only hurts me if I think he or she may be correct. In other words, “I am only enslaved by the fears I accept about myself.”

However, when I am confident in Christ the Redeemer, the words and actions of others don’t take over my emotions, I don’t give my control away to other people. What others call me is far less important than what God calls me and he always calls me “beloved child.”

Unfortunately, knowing this truth is only the first step to complete healing, albeit a big step. Understanding my anger is caused by my insecurities can lead me to ask some critical life questions. “Why do I allow other people’s words and actions to make me so angry?” “What fears do their words and actions set off in me?”

As I embrace humility and let go of the pride that limits my responses to anger or fear, I need to move from soul searching to action. The process begins with throwing down my nets and saying, “I have sinned.” Yet, it is not complete until I become a servant and say; “Here I am, send me.”

It is helpful to see an example where our own Savior’s words were not enough to convert these disciples. Others seemed to require no more than the command, “Follow me.” Yet, my experience tells me the majority of those I have successfully mentored have required more than just my words. They needed my actions too. The adjudicated young people I work with need to see a consistent presence over an extended period of time. They need to see our mentors show up beside them in court and meet them at the door upon release.

Some, like Peter in this example, come into our lives only to leave again and then they wash up on a beach months or even years later.

Does that show the ineffectiveness of my ministry? Does it point out my failure? Only in the world’s eyes. Look at how the world viewed Isaiah, Jeremiah and even Jesus in his temporal death.

If I see the seedlings of discipleship, then I can understand that perhaps I was just called to water the seed. Similarly, if I see the kernels break open to reveal their tender shoots, I should experience joy, not pride. God alone knows what passing soul might have offered a consistent love over time that served to soften that kernel.

“God help me to welcome my place and count it to you as joy.”

Who knows where am I supposed to be in the process of empowering another person's life? What is certain is that I won't play any part if I am not willing to “put out into deep water.”

We Have Seen Remarkable Things Today

LUKE 5:12-26

12While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

17One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23”Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24”But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—”I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

LUKE 5:12-13

I am willing; be cleansed

The concept of disease at the time of Christ placed the blame of the illness on the sinful nature of the diseased person or his/her parents. Christ’s response to this man shows just how erroneous that belief was then and how even more archaic it is now. Illness happens to everyone and God’s will is always that we be “cleansed.”

Rather than seeking to punish us for our sinfulness, the whole point of Christ’s existence was to heal and restore our lives to wholeness with our loving Creator. John the Beloved goes as far as to say that all God wants for our lives is perfect love without fear of punishment [1 John 4:18,19]

The words Christ uses are very descriptive. First of all, Jesus is willing [G2309 thelos]. This means he is desirous — even longing — to heal this leper. In Hebrew, the term is just as alluring [H5081 nadib]. See how David uses it in Psalm 51, pleading for forgiveness after his transgressions as a king [Psalm 51:12].

David pleads for sustenance, longing for the joy of his youthful relationship with God. The words used for, “willing spirit,” mean free and generous spirit [H3707 ruach]. God is always willing to freely give us his love when we bare our hearts to him. He longs for our transparent relationship.

It is also significant the Hebrew Scriptures do not use any phrases like, “God will do this act.”

What God wills, God does. It is that simple. There’s no space between his will and his action.

What is God willing to do? Look at Jesus, responding to the cry of this leper. He is ever and always willing to cleanse [G2513 katharizō].

This is the same word used for pruning a vine. Cutting off the branches that are barren so the nutrients can go to the branches ripe with fruit [John 15:1,2].

It is quite a contrast. Because of his disease, the religious leaders had cut this leper out of community. Jesus cut out the disease and restored the man to community.

There are many applications of this reading today. Do we ever “cut off” a person or a group of people because we think they’re “diseased”; they make us feel ill-at-ease by the way they live, what they believe or how they behave?

Do we buy into the religious leader’s fallacy of excluding people because we secretly delight in a God of punishment?

This just isn’t like Christ. Christ came to forgive, rebind and restore even the most disgusting person — in our own point of view — to a God of love. The religious leaders would have viewed this leper through such eyes, disgusting and a victim of disease because of personal or hereditary sin.

Not Jesus, he was willing and the man was cleansed.

LUKE 5:14-16

14And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray

Luke offers us some very important insights about prayer, not just in this reading, but throughout his whole Gospel. First of all, we see that Jesus would “often,” pray and when he did he would, “slip away to the wilderness.”

The Gospels tells us Jesus would commune with God before every major decision. For example, choosing the apostles, heading to Jerusalem, awaiting the Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane. He often challenged his disciples to pray, especially in times of duress. It is while returning from one of his wilderness retreats that the disciples ask him how to pray and from that request we receive the Lord’s Prayer.

There are many misconceptions about prayer, especially in a culture of consumerism. Of one thing we can be sure. Christ did not pray for God to meet his needs; he prayed instead to lead a Godly life.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was once asked by a journalist, “If God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, why should we pray?”

Heschel’s response articulates what should be the focus of the Prayer’s heart, “We do not pray in order to be saved; we pray so that we might be worthy of being saved. Prayer should not focus on our wishes, but rather is a moment in which God’s intentions are reflected in us [Susannah Heschel in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Essential Writings, 2011, 28].

All of Jesus’ teaching on prayer can be reflected in Heschel’s statement. Jesus was continually aligning himself with God’s direction and making himself a humble servant.

What then, are the keys to effective prayer?

· It is habitual, not just convenient.

· It is intentional, not accidental.

· It purposefully takes us from the chaotic to build our relationship with God.

· It purposefully sends us back to the chaotic so we can bring God’s peace.

· It seeks truth from a higher perspective than what conveniently affirms my own whims or desires.

· It moves God to the core of my being and removes me from the false throne of hubris.

· It moves us to humility, gratitude and forgiveness rather than self-righteousness and/or a judgmental attitude.

LUKE 5:17-20

“Friend, your sins are forgiven you”

This is an amazing miracle for many reasons. First, we must understand the term, “miracle.” Luke himself does not use the term, but John uses it quite frequently. There are two terms used for miraculous events. One means, “An inexplicable power [G1411 Dunamis],” the other is a sign pointing to something [G4592 Semieon].

John’s Gospel focuses on seven major statements and seven major signs. Why seven? It was the Hebrew equivalent of wholeness. John was saying, “This wholly proves Jesus’ purpose on earth.”

This dual miracle — the forgiveness of sins and the cessation of paralysis — affirm the intent of the portrait Luke is painting for us in this chapter.

· Jesus is God’s son

· Jesus has the authority to forgive sins

· Jesus has the power to heal the deepest scars of a person’s life

· Jesus wants to heal us in all ways; brokenness with God, brokenness in life

· Jesus does not see the “diseased” or “disabled,” as untouchables, he welcomes them

Spiritual health to Jesus was far more than religious health, far more than following rules and laws. Spiritual health to our Lord included relational, communal, mental and physical health. We do well not to isolate one from another. An emphasis on any single one of these areas leads to an imbalanced life of compulsions. The Religious Leaders, for example, were compulsive about their religious rules and lost focus on the needs in the lives of others. They were “heavenly minded but no earthly good.”

Prayer is the balance Jesus used to keep focus on the whole. Luke does not paint these pictures and combine these themes lightly. He shows us how prayer was part and parcel of the meaningful life we are all called to live.

Prayer > Gratitude > Humility > Simplicity > Service > Prayer…

LUKE 5:21-26

21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23”Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24”But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—”I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

“The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”

Claiming the right to forgive sins was the same as claiming to be God to the Jewish people and this was blasphemy to the religious leaders. All forms of blasphemy were punishable by death [Leviticus 24:15].

Jesus does not shy away from his statement — even under threat of death. He states he has “authority” to forgive sins and calls himself the “Son of Man.”

Keep in mind authority meant two things — the right and the capacity. All too often people proclaim one without the other. Not Jesus. He makes a dual statement.

The Messianic Age has come and

He is the Messiah.

Let’s look at three terms that are critical to understanding Jesus’ Messianic pronouncement.

1. The right to forgive sins

Throughout the Old Testament, prophets foretold the Messiah would cleanse the “house of David” of their “sin and impurity” [Isaiah 40:2, Joel 2:32, Micah 7:17, 18, but especially Zechariah 13:1].

Zechariah 13:1

In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

The House of David is actually the first word for church used in scripture [H1003, Bayith]. The early Hebrews were a tribal and nomadic people and the concept of church as a place was alien to them. They understood church as a community. In fact, the strictest definition of the word meant, “A community of people where even my daughter can grow in the safety and intimacy of God.”

A daughter was the most vulnerable in a nomadic tribe so we can understand what this would mean in contemporary form. Church is not a location, it is a mission. It is not a building, it is a people. It is primarily a community where the most vulnerable will always feel welcomed and safe. When churches allocate the primary amount of their budget to maintaining or building their facility, they acting under erroneous assumptions of responsibility. The primary focus of the resources of a church should be its mission, not its facility and certainly not on pampering or appeasing to the people already in the pews.

What would sin and impurity look like in such a mission-focused community? Maltreatment, hostility or indifference towards the least of these. This is how Moses revealed God’s call to his community of believers.

Exodus 23:9

“You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

David reiterates this mission of the “House of David” in Psalms.

Psalms 146:9

The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked.

2. The right or authority [G1849 Exousia]

Keep in mind that authority means one has the right and the power to act. Authority can easily be confused with the concept of authoritarianism and tied to position or possessions. Yet, many of the most powerful people in history had neither possessions nor positions. In fact, many leaders rejected such encumbrances to develop the power to influence instead of the power to coerce.

Influence comes from effective long-term results and building a proactive community of supporters. It is not unusual for influence to threaten power. It usually does. As influence grows, coercive power diminishes. This is what makes ineffective systems increasingly authoritarian. Individuals and institutions that find their coercive abilities threatened will generally take three actions:

Retreat into ideologies while disregarding reality.

Create crises where authoritarian coercion is welcomed by those who fear a loss of control.

Attack the character or vilify those who have growing influence.

Even the Apostles became authoritarian when they felt threatened. But let’s examine Jesus’ response to their attempt to vilify and shut down whom they perceived as enemies.

Mark 9:38-40

38John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40“For he who is not against us is for us. 41“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

3. The Son of Man

The reference to the Son of Man comes largely from a passage in Daniel:

Daniel 7:13-14

I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Jesus is claiming to be both the Son of Man who was prophesied and the Ancient of Days (God), giving him dominion, glory and an everlasting kingdom that would never be destroyed.

This is only one reference to his assertion to be the Messiah, a title he claimed on multiple occasions in the Gospels of Matthew and John [Matthew 16:16, 17; John 8:58, 10:30].

Referring to the title, “Son of Man,” clearly demonstrates Jesus’ claim to be the incarnate offspring of God.

Paul also instructs us that while Jesus was all-God, he also became completely human (save sin), possessing two natures — divine and human — conjoined in one person [Philippians 2:6-8.

Despite (or because of) their advanced education, the religious leaders never accepted Jesus’ Messianic claim. They witnessed and attested to his miracles and great teachings on multiple occasions, but — even though they could not match his works or words — they rejected his premise.

Jesus states this is because they refused to “know” him (which translates into being “in relationship” with him). In John 10:26-28, he makes the following statement to the religious leaders.

John 10:27-30

27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one.”

These leaders could hear only their own voices and preexisting ideologies. Their ideology of a Messiah conflicted with Jesus’ words and works. They could only think in bookends of power and authority.

Often the Apostles minds were clouded by the same hardened beliefs. Jesus often didn’t fit their paradigms either. How does he do with ours? Culturally, we have become accustomed to a Jesus that meets my needs rather than a Jesus who tells us to live sacrificially for the poor — and in joyful sacrifice.

Do I miss the true Jesus because it conflicts with my own personal truths about Jesus? Our essential struggle often remains, do I expect Jesus to meet my wants or shape my needs?

“We have seen remarkable things today”

Remarkable is indeed a remarkable word [G3861 Paradoxos]. The word means contrary to opinion or expectation. Is there anything about Jesus that wasn’t “contrary to opinion or expectation,” especially in the eyes of the religious and political leaders of his time?

· He was contrary to their opinion and expectation of a Messiah.

· He was contrary to their opinion and expectation of a religious life.

· He was contrary to their opinion and expectation of a powerful life.

· In short, his authority — the remarkable works and words (combined — always in combination) — blew away their entire paradox.

So how does that impact our lives as followers? Are our lives contrary to the expectations of those who would use coercive, authoritarian power in this world? Do people remark,

· “You live a remarkable life!”

· “You mess with my paradigms!”

It is important here to draw a distinction between contrary and contrarian. When Jesus masters the winds and the sea the winds were said to be “contrarian [Luke 8:22-25].” This term means that no matter where the sails were set the wind turned against the boat.

Some people are contrarian just to be obnoxious, critical, sarcastic and demeaning. Feigning cynicism as wisdom and sarcasm as humor. This could not be further from the character of Christ. It was his humility that changed paradigms. His gentleness amazed. His compassion healed. He was the first offering hand to the downtrodden and the last caring word to the sinner.

Luke’s painting here is “remarkable.” He paints a Jesus who confuses authority. While the religious leaders attached sin to sickness and cast out those burdened by life, Jesus equates sin to exclusivity and welcomes the complete and total restoration of all people — especially those burdened by life.

Let’s make sure when people “remark” about our lives, it is because we are remarkable in the image of Christ and not contrarian in the image of the cynical. How do I need to live today so that people will see Christ in me? Let me make this commit, that on this day, those around me shall profess, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

He Left Everything Behind

LUKE 5:27-38

27After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

29And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 31And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32”I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

33And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” 34And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35”But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37”And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38”But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39”And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’

LUKE 5:27-28

27After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

He left everything behind…

Jesus “noticed” Levi. The word [G2300 Theomai] also means “beheld” or “watched.”

How you interpret this phrase has a lot to do with whether you see Jesus’ life as incidental or intentional. If incidental, then, yes, Jesus probably “noticed him.” If intentional, then you might think Jesus had already been watching him.

Admittedly, I’ve a bias towards the “Intentional Jesus,” and believe Luke is creating another portrait of our Lord here — and not just an incident or happenstance occurrence.

It is really important to know about this man that Jesus had been observing (leaning again towards intentionality). He would have been hated by the Jews. Levi would be among the best educated in language, finance, Roman and Jewish law, he used his knowledge to get wealthy off his own people. Yet while he was using the Jews, the Romans would be using him. There would be no love lost between these occupiers and this contractor either.

The few friends that Levi might count on the single digits of his abacus would no doubt be as manipulative as he. Dogs on the same leash, gnashing for the same scraps, as civil as their Roman master forced them to be — but only in compliance.

Like most tax systems, taxpayers were guilty until proven innocent. If Levi said you owed him money, he could confiscate everything you owned — including your family members — and force you to work as a bond slave until your debt was paid.

A bond slave [G1401, duolos] was the lowest form of life on the Roman scale. Even a servant [G1247, diakoneō] had rights by Roman law. Not so a bond slave. They did those things you couldn’t even order your servant to do.

In addition, bond slaves received no food or recompense for their labor. By night, they had to do whatever was possible to feed their own family. Their lives were entirely hopeless.

In Jesus’ mission statement, Luke 4:18-19, the Lord proclaims he was sent to free these slaves. He proclaims himself to be the “Jubilee Year,” the time when all debts were forgiven according to Jewish Law.

The man “that Jesus watched,” would have been hated, despised and outcast. His only pleasure attached to the “things” he could buy — including his relationships — because no one would have admired or loved this man.

Yet, this is the man whom Jesus watches and this is the man whom Jesus calls and that is precisely what makes Levi’s response so compelling. He immediately gets up and follows Jesus.

1. Levi doesn’t collect his money. He doesn’t settle his accounts. He doesn’t ask if Jesus’ folks can set up an appointment with his folks.

2. He immediately walks away from everything with no hope of ever going back.

3. Unlike the other Apostles, this is not a choice that Levi can undo. This is fait accomplí, no turning back.

The man Jesus watched, the man who was never loved, met the one force he could not buy and walked away from all he possessed for a love that could never be purchased.

Have you ever felt like that “Man whom Jesus watched?” have you ever harbored feelings that if your soul were exposed no one could possibly love you?

Then huddle close to Levi and listen to his story. It is your story too. Jesus is watching you, waiting for the opportune time to invite.

Similarly, have you been watching for the Levi’s of the world? Not waiting in silent hope they will “get what’s coming to them,” but waiting for the perfect opportunity to offer them what money cannot buy?

Then listen close to Levi, for he will implore you to never give up. We must never believe someone is too far gone to have love awakened in his or her soul.

Jesus IS watching, not for a moment when he will judge us for our failures, but for a moment when he will invite us into love.

LUKE 5:29-32

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

This was a frequent condemnation of Jesus by the religious leaders. To be a follower of Christ, we must ask the question, “Would others make the same ‘condemnation’ of me?”

Read carefully here. Jesus is not accused of converting tax collectors and sinners. He is accused of eating and drinking with them. There would have been no condemnation by the authorities if Jesus were outside the courtyard condemning or converting sinners.

Upon which side of that fence does life find me? Outside condemning or inside building relationships? Even more, relationships based upon dignifying the people around me — not assuming I have some carte blanche right to condemn, convert or change them.

Look at what happens to Levi. He goes from an oppressor and traitor of his people to an invitational leader of other oppressors. He becomes a bridge-builder between the oppressed and the oppressors. But note he doesn’t invite his peers to church; he invites them to dinner.

Herein is the role of leadership today. Building relational bridges between those who have and those who do not. Jesus understood that poverty was not a lack of resources but a lack of relationships. Poverty, prejudice, all of societies greatest ills cannot withstand relationships. Build relationships, destroy poverty. Build relationships, destroy prejudice.

The re-distribution of resources only occurs with the reconnection of people. Being a true leader today means creating equitable relationships between people of economic, cultural, religious and political differences. To the extent that we sink deeper into our ideologies we play the part of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. We condemn from the outside in. Jesus built relationships beyond such boundaries from the inside out.

Am I an inside-out person like the religious or an outside-in person like Jesus?

“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

This statement is one of those central to the mission of Jesus. He states his calling in twelve words. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

The Lord’s mission never wavered; Jesus picked up Isaiah’s scroll in Nazareth and declared he had come to bring good news to the poor. This is just a renewed version of that statement spoken because of the accusations of the religious leaders.

In stating his mission statement, Jesus not only further clarifies his purpose, but he puts it in direct contrast to the focus of the religious leaders. They had burdened the poor with their laws and taxes, they “lorded” over the common people. They preyed upon widows and orphans. They had rejected the sick, the crippled and mostly “sinners” — the very people with whom Jesus surrounded himself.

Does my day resemble Christ’s mission or that of the religious leaders?

Let’s examine further the words used in this mission statement:

· Call [G2764 Kaleō] to call, to call forth, to call by name

This word has three definitions, each one deepening in meaning. Jesus has come to call, call forth and to call by name. It is a word of invitation. Inviting someone to come out — but out of what?

Jesus invites all of us out of that which would impede our unity with the Creator; that which prevents our meaning and joy.

Further, he calls us by name [G3686 Onoma]. This word, in Greek, meant character. Your name was your word and your character. Because so few people read, giving your name was giving your commitment, an unbreakable promise.

Jesus calls us each by our name, by our true character in the eyes of the one who created us. While the religious called people names according to their disease, inability or shortcomings, Jesus called people forth to become their true name.

We too are ordained to call people into their true character. It may not be the character they are showing when we initially meet them. Fear, hurt or pain may have altered their character and resulted in anger, depression or cynicism. We are commissioned to call them forth and call them by their true name — their true character.

· Righteous [G1342 Dikaios] equality, holiness, innocent, just

There is a touch of reproach in this response of Jesus to the religious leaders’ castigation, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors?”

To be righteous means a person displays equality, holiness, a sense of purposeful innocence (instead of cynicism) and always — always — justice. There was nothing in these leader’s condemnation that was righteous according to the true sense of the word, nothing equal, holy, innocent or just.

Their statement was not steeped in righteousness, but in self-righteousness. The two words couldn’t be more opposite.

We have no room for self-righteousness in this life. Whenever we see ourselves in a position to judge others we usurp God. Condemning another is condemning the Creator who breathed the Spirit of Life into that being.

To be righteous is to call forth what is holy, innocent and just in others. To be self-righteous is to presume I am so holy, innocent and just that I can condemn others.

Do I call the Creator’s Spirit out in those around me or do I measure them against a false sense of self? Nothing shows my distance from the Creator than my distance from the “least of these.”

· Sinners [G268 Hamartōlos] to miss the mark so as to not share in the prize

To whom does Jesus call? The sinners. A sinner was quite literally someone who missed the mark. It was used of an archer that let an errant arrow fly. There is no judgment in this statement. Only a sense of helping someone aim more accurately in life.

At what target are we aiming?

Here is how the Psalmist puts it:

Psalm 34:11

Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

We do not seek our way, truth and name (character), but our target is to be united in God’s way, truth and name (character). The term “fear [H3271 Yare],” meant to be in reverent awe of God’s mighty power.

Christ sat amidst people whom he believed just aimed wrong. They had the wrong target not the wrong character. They needed realignment not condemnation.

If we are to look at who truly “missed the mark,” it was those too proud to sit among the humble. Those who were like the Prodigal Son’s elder brother and would be found outside snarling in. The elder brother refused to join his young sibling, even when his father pleaded. His anger was more important than his brother, his self-righteousness more important than rejoicing in his brother’s return, his strict adherence to the rules — doing only and exactly what he was told to do and taking no personal ownership — were more important than forgiveness. He stood outside “weeping and gnashing his teeth” (Christ’s description of hell).

The elder brother wasn’t sent to hell, he chose it. These elders made their choice as well. Choosing self-righteousness over righteousness, they were the ones truly “missing the mark.”

· Repentance [G334 Metanoia] to think differently, turn around, higher or beyond knowing

By building a relationship around a celebratory meal with drinks (wine), Jesus had earned the right to be a role model and share in conversation with those around him. The religious authorities would have wanted him to scold and preach, Jesus was simply relating. This was part of Jesus’ nature. As in when he was a 12-year-old seated among the temple teachers.

Luke 2:45-49

45When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

Examine Jesus’ actions:

· He listened

· He asked

· He understood

· He answered

What is not listed there?

· He preached

In almost every party you’ll find someone looking for an audience, to tell their cocktail joke, to bedazzle the crowd with their intelligence, to convert the crowd with their religious or political ideology. These are the people most others avoid. This was not Jesus.

1. Jesus ate. He drank. He laughed. He empathized.

2. Jesus listened, he asked, he understood, he answered.

To be like Jesus is to be the consummate listener — someone who listens deeper than the conversation, beyond the words and to the heart.

To be like Jesus is to be the compassionate guest — attentive to the needs of others, modeling hospitality through his actions and attentiveness.

This is what invites those who are misaligned (aiming at the wrong target) to “repent.”

The word sounds so harsh in contemporary terms because Christians have used the term to browbeat and sermonize others. The person shouting from a street corner or slamming the lectern in a church, condemning passer-bys or demanding a stagnating congregation to repent could not be further from the image of Jesus at this “Sinner’s Party.”

Repent meant to deepen your thinking or even to have “higher thoughts,” but deeper and higher thoughts that affected your behavior. The repentance to which Christ calls us is to look deeper and think higher about the way we live and to look deeper and think more highly of the people around us.

Instead of “pushing people to repentance,” we need to “invite them to act deeper and higher.”

We don’t do that by castigating those around us. We do that by listening, asking, understanding and answering.

LUKE 5:33-35

The Bridegroom

Referring to himself as The Bridegroom was nothing less than a Messianic statement by Jesus. It is commonly believed that the People of God are first referred to as a bride to the “King’s Son,” in Psalm 45.

The theme continues in Isaiah as the prophet heralds an age beyond the immediate suffering of the Israelites under Babylon [Isaiah 62:4-5].

Jeremiah mirrors the theme of the rejoicing of the bride and bridegroom in his writings [Jeremiah 39:10-11].

John the Baptist compares himself to the Bridesgroom’s friend [John 3:29], as he defers to Christ’s preeminence.

Finally, John the Beloved again compares “the bride” to the faithful in Revelation [Revelation 19:7, 22:2, 9, 23:17].

Through the Messiah, the bride (the People of God) is married into the family of God. If we believe this to be true, then there is no room for dourness on the faces of Christ’s bride. How often do our faces reflect the joy of a bride on her wedding day?

In his research, Sociologist Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge, states the two major reasons young people turn away from religion are lack of time and lack of relevance. We often blame young people for turning their back on religion, but — in reality — young people rarely program their time: adults do. We put competitive sports on Sunday morning and plug our children into programs nearly every day and night of the week. We have been duped into believing that programmed time is more important than dinner time while simultaneously thinking that unless we are working we are not valuable. In essence we have become human doings instead of human beings, finding our sole (and soul) worth in our possessions and positions instead of our values and our relationships.

It is also important to note that lack of relevance is not the same as boredom. A child will do repetitive and boring tasks respectively (like hitting a baseball or shooting a basket) if what they’re doing is relevant to them. It is not the child’s job to make religion relevant. That is the role of the adult: Your job and mine.

As the number of young people increases that are leaving religion behind, only fools will blame the exit on the children. When Bibby studied why children stay, they give one singular reason. It isn’t religious education. It isn’t worship or music quality. It isn’t “hip preaching.”

The one factor to retaining young people is “caring religious role models.”

This is not an education issue. This a kindness issue. A courtesy issue. A welcoming issue. Kids do not feel welcome in our churches. We do not make religion relevant in their lives. We push wine skins on them, not wine. They hear us preach our dogma, doctrine and directives but do not see our caring, compassion or joy. It is our job as adults to make religion relevant to the next generation. It is not their task to glean relevance from our dour faces.

LUKE 5:36-38

36And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37”And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38”But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39”And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins”

In the musical, Fiddler On The Roof, the main character, Tevye, must balance holding to tradition against the possibility of losing his children. Tradition is like a fiddler on the roof, “trying to scratch out a simple tune while keeping our balance.”

As Tevye experiences the chaos of the world around him, he must find the balance — the tradition — that keeps him from being swallowed up by the changing tide. That tradition is the wine. The way it is practiced is the wine skin. How we pass on our wine without our wine skins is the fiddler’s problem.

Inviting the next generation to experience the joy of community and the resiliency of faith is the wine. Demanding they experience those attributes through the same words, songs or methodologies as we experienced them is the wine skin.

The wine is meaning, the wine skins are means. We mustn’t confuse meaning with means. Focusing on the means will, by nature, undermine the meaning we are trying to impart to a new generation. Focusing on the meaning is the only way to make the means relevant.

And what have we to lose if the next generation finds contemporary means to express the meaning of faith in their own manner? Is that not something to celebrate instead of attack?

Christ realized this fact; the only way to sustainably pass faith on to a new generation was through relationship and a focus on meaning. We must constantly ask ourselves, “Do I focus on the means — wine skins — because 1) it allows me to control the ends, and/or 2) because I’ve lost the meaning — wine?

It wasn’t the means that enticed Levi to leave everything behind. It won’t be the means that entice another generation to make a similar commitment. The intentional invitation of Jesus offered the tax collector a meaning-filled life In sharp contrast to his means-filled existence.

Forget the wine skins, what wine do we have to offer? His.