Crowds – Me From the Inside Out

Inspired by: He Sees, He Knows, He Cares / w2d3

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:12-26; SOAP / Luke 5:24

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.”
Luke 5:24 NET

Luke packed a lot of information in these 15 verses …

You Can Make Me Clean

We see a man with leprosy, who comes to Jesus and is so moved that He bowed down at the very sight of Jesus. He begged Jesus for healing, saying: “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” His words were evidence of his heart that he firmly believed in the power and work of Jesus. So great was the man’s faith that Jesus healed him immediately.

His Need To Be Alone

Luke pauses between this miracle and the next to tell us two things

crowds were gathering “to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases”
and that, “Jesus Himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.”
- Don’t you love knowing that Jesus found the need to both withdraw from people and to pray? Please note, His need to withdraw was more than a need to be away from the people – He needed to be alone to talk with His Father (God).

Faith moves mountains and stirs the heart of Jesus

Then we meet a paralyzed man, unable to walk on his own, he is carried on a stretcher and finding no other way to get him past the crowd and into the house where Jesus was, those carrying him lowered him through the roof “right in front of Jesus”, and “when Jesus saw their faith,” He said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Do you see it? It seems to me that their actions demonstrate how ‘faith moves mountains’. For when it seemed impossible to get through the crowd, instead of their faith being shaken it appears that their faith increased their determination bit it also moved the heart of Jesus. It’s important to note that the initial response wasn’t – “get up and walk” as I’m sure everyone expected. Instead, what they heard was – “your sins are forgiven’ – a pointed statement signifying to all listening that not only could Jesus heal but He could forgive sins. This was an important milestone in Jesus’ ministry. The response of forgiveness was also what prompted ‘the experts in the law’ and the Pharisees to begin wondering “to themselves”, who Jesus was and how he could so boldly speak such blasphemies, for they knew that only God could forgive sins. I’m sure they were surprised when Jesus, who knew what they were thinking to themselves, not only questioned them – saying, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk?” but He also said to the paralyzed man – “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.” Which he immediately did.

“God honors the faith of those who seek to bring others to Christ. When we pray, we orient our attention toward the issue and watch for God to work. God performs mighty deeds that no one realizes. When we are paying attention, however, we have the opportunity to be seized with amazement, filled with awe, and glorify God, declaring, “We have seen extraordinary things today” (Luke 5:26).
BibleRef.Com, Luke 5:20

Turning Facts into Application

Like the man with leprosy – go to Jesus
Let nothing stand between you and Jesus
Let nothing quench your faith
Let your faith be evident
Take others to Jesus

Prayerful Response to God’s Word

Father, thank You for instilling in me an ever deepening faith in You, the Holy-Three-In-One. Jesus, thank You for responding to my prayers and faith. May faith in You always move me toward You – moving the mountains that are in my way – and may I stand in the gap for others who need You – lifting them up and bringing them to where You are! – Amen! in Your Holy and powerful name!

Helpful Commentary

Inspired by: LGG’s / He Sees, He Knows, He Cares / w2d2

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:31-5;11; SOAP / Luke 5:8-11

⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”⁹For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people!”¹¹So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:8-11 NET

Oh, how I hope you read the full passage today (and everyday) as each day has so much to offer. For as Paul wrote, “All Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness; so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” But honestly, outside of that truth – I hope you read it just because it is interesting and full of insight, intrigue, hope, and so much more. Like today’s story about Jesus and the demons knowing His name …

Our focus passage today picks up sometime after Jesus’ encounter with the demons. The crowds were growing in size and pressing Jesus for more of the miracles they had seen or heard about. However, He kept moving on, telling the people He had to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns, reminding them it was what He was sent to do. On one occasion when the crowd was pressing around Him to hear what He was teaching, He got into a boat by the lake, He “put out a little way from the shore, and taught the crowds from the boat. Luke writes that when Jesus finished speaking, he said to Simon Peter, the boat’s owner – “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon explained that they had already done that, they had worked hard and had caught nothing, “But”, Simon said, “at Your word I will lower the nets.” You probably know the rest of the story, how that when he did as Jesus said they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. So, Simon enlisted their partners to help and still there were so many fish that their boats were about to sink. Simon was moved beyond words and fell down before Jesus, which is where our focus verse comes in today. Read it again –

“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”⁹For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people!”¹¹So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.“

THE POWERFUL EFFECTS OF OBEDIENCE

It’s not always easy doing what Jesus asks of us or going where He sends us. Fear and uncomfortableness, tiredness and lack of understanding can be some of the mitigating circumstances that cause us to hold back. No doubt, this is how Simon Peter was feeling when Jesus told him to – “put out into the deep water and lower [his] nets for a catch.” Despite how Simon felt about it, he submitted to Jesus’ request and did just as He was told. And, because he did, his life was changed – as he not only realized the greatness of Jesus but, in comparison, the greatness of his own sin. Realizing the depth of His sin, he told Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Simon’s reaction is, no doubt, a beautiful picture of what happens when we truly see ourselves in the light of who Jesus really is. However, we must not miss that Simon Peter wasn’t the only one impressed and drawn to Jesus that day, for we read in verse 11, that “all who were with Him left everything to follow [Jesus].” I believe this is important, as it teaches us that our obedience to even the silliest and seemingly unnecessary tasks can have a huge and lasting impact that we may never realize this side of heaven.

But, Simon Peter said, at Your word I will lower the nets.
Luke 5:11 NET

The Recap

I see at least three things about obedience that we can learn from Simon Peter’s statement. First of all, obeying a request or a command that we do not understand, such as lowering nets again after you’ve already had them lowered and caught nothing, reveals our trust and/or respect for the one we obey. Not only that, but our obedience can lead to a broken and contrite heart, which can lead to a right relationship with Jesus, which leads to worship, and possibly to others seeing, knowing, and following Jesus.

Response to the Word of God

Father, let the greatness of Jesus wash over me every day. In the light of who He is, may the depth of my sin and unworthiness move my heart to yield in confession and to worship You – Holy three in one! Help me to faithfully encourage and invite others to share in what You’ve done and who You are! Let nothing Lord, absolutely NOTHING – stand in the way of You! In the great and mighty name of Jesus, I pray – Amen!

Worship in Song

Have you decided to follow Jesus today? I would love to know and rejoice with you.

Would you like to know more about following Jesus? I would love to share more of the good news and help you understand what it’s all about. Visit Know These Truths [link below] for more details –

If you answered yes to either question please leave a comment here or email me, m.black@lmbc.org – i would love to send you a small gift in celebration or in answer to your questions.

KNOW THESE TRUTHS

Tag: Crowds

The Power of our Faith