Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
September 6, 2000
Introduction
Last time we looked at a day in the life of Jesus at Capernaum, where He
taught in the synagogue, cast a demon out of a guy in the synagogue, healed
Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, then healed everyone that showed up at the
house that evening.
(Luke 4:42-44 KJV) And when it was day, he departed and went
into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed
him, that he should not depart from them. {43} And he said unto them, I must
preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. {44}
And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
Luke 5
:1 And it came to pass, that, as
the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of
Gennesaret,
Gennesaret – known as the Sea of Galilee, also the Sea of Tiberias.
It is a beautiful fresh water natural lake 680 below sea level 13 miles
long and 8 miles wide, and a depth of 1200 feet.
During the time of Christ, there were 9 cities around its shores whose
population exceeded 15,000.
The people were crowding in so close that they wouldn’t have been able to
hear Him without Jesus getting a few feet away from the crowd.
:2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out
of them, and were washing their nets.
The fishermen had been fishing all night and were now cleaning up their
nets.
:3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him
that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught
the people out of the ship.
:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the
deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night,
and have taken nothing:
Lesson
Sometimes the things Jesus asks of
us don’t make sense.
To us, we think we know better.
We know that we shouldn’t be fishing in the daytime. But Jesus commands the fish.
It’s interesting to note that Jesus is only asking them to do what they’ve
done all night, but without success.
The difference is that this time Jesus has done the commanding.
:5 nevertheless at thy word I will
let down the net.
Even though Peter questioned what Jesus was asking him to do, He still did
it.
:6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes:
and their net brake.
Lesson
Blessings come from obedience.
It’s not that the goal of everything that Jesus has for us is to prosper
financially or in numbers. But the
blessings and miracles aren’t going to come if we aren’t paying attention to
what Jesus is asking us to do.
Peter and the lame man at the gate Beautiful – the man wouldn’t have been
healed if Peter didn’t stop and grab the man and stand him on his feet.
:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship,
that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships,
so that they began to sink.
:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart
from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
:9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the
fishes which they had taken:
Peter is getting a glimpse of who Jesus is, and he feels sinful in
contrast.
When you are in the presence of great light, you can see all kinds of
things. If you are looking in a mirror
with a single 60 watt bulb, you’ll see some of your face. But if you have 2x100 watt bulbs, you’ll see
a WHOLE lot more. Then go outside and
look in the mirror in the sunlight, WOW!
When Peter sees Jesus as He really is, he realizes just how sinful he
really is.
:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou
shalt catch men.
Note: Jesus doesn’t respond
to Peter, “Well, I guess you’re right, I take it back.”
Lesson
Jesus uses men who are willing to
admit they are sinful.
Jesus uses sinners.
:11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and
followed him.
Levi (Matthew) did it. Now Peter,
James, and John leave all to follow Jesus.
Keep in mind, they have probably just hauled in the catch of the year, enough
to become wealthy men, and they leave it all behind to follow the one who calls
them.
They don’t follow Jesus because He promises them wealth, position, or
power. They follow because Jesus asks
them to.
All Jesus promises is to make them fishers of men.
:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full
of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Note: He doesn’t ask Jesus
to make him clean. He only says that He
knows that if Jesus is willing, he can do this.
:13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou
clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
There’s some background to this we need to think about.
It seems that the disease called “leprosy” in the Scriptures is different
from what we call “leprosy” today. The
book of Leviticus goes into great detail describing this disease, and it
appears that whatever it was, it was contagious. It was something like the AIDS epidemic we’ve seen. And so, the people were to take great
caution with this disease, even taking those with the disease and keeping them
separate from the rest of the nation.
(Lev 13:45-46 KJV) And the leper in whom the plague is, his
clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his
upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. {46} All the days wherein the
plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell
alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
There was some real practical value in this. This was to keep the rest of the nation from becoming infected
with this very real, very deadly disease.
But as practical as this law was, it also had a negative effect on the
person with the disease. Their disease
gave them a “life sentence” of separation from all they knew and loved.
Jesus looked beyond His own personal “safety” and risked not only being
near this leper, but even going so far as to touch him.
Lesson
Jesus loves the “untouchables”.
There are a lot of people in this world that for one reason or another are
considered “untouchable”.
Some are untouchable because we’ve declared them so.
Thieves, drug addicts, homosexuals, and pedophiles are all
people that we might consider “untouchable”.
There can even be good reasoning for a person to stay away from people
like this. We certainly would want to
be concerned for the safety of our family.
Some people are untouchable because they consider themselves to be so.
Some of us, for many different reasons, have considered
ourselves “untouchable”. We feel that
we are beyond help, and there is no hope for us. We can feel like we’re just like the leper that needed to cry,
“Unclean, unclean” to keep people away.
Jesus loves to touch the untouchable.
Let Him touch you.
If you want to grow to be more like Jesus, I think we ought to take a look
inside to see if we’re willing to touch the untouchable.
Illustration
Acceptance
His name is Bill. He has wild hair,
wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of
college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending
college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative
church. They want to develop a ministry
to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to
go there. He walks in with no shoes,
jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The
service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a
seat. The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are looking a bit
uncomfortable, but no one says anything.
Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he
realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a
college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!)
By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church,
a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.
Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, a three-piece
suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man,
very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.
He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone
is saying to themselves, You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of
his background to understand some college kid on the floor? It takes a long
time for the man to reach the boy. The
church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even
hear anyone breathing. The people are
thinking, The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what
he has to do. And now they see this
elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself
and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won’t be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the
minister gains control he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never
remember. What you have just seen, you
will never forget.”
Author unknown
:14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show thyself to the
priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a
testimony unto them.
Jesus was concerned that there be a witness to the priests. He sent the man to be a witness to the
priests.
(Lev 14:1-20 KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {2}
This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be
brought unto the priest: {3} And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and
the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the
leper; {4} Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed
two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: {5} And the
priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over
running water: {6} As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar
wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird
in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: {7} And he
shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times,
and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the
open field. {8} And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave
off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after
that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven
days. {9} But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair
off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave
off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and
he shall be clean. {10} And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs
without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three
tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of
oil. {11} And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to
be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation: {12} And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him
for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering
before the LORD: {13} And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall
kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin
offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: {14}
And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the
priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be
cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his
right foot: {15} And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it
into the palm of his own left hand: {16} And the priest shall dip his right
finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with
his finger seven times before the LORD: {17} And of the rest of the oil that is
in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is
to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of
his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: {18} And the remnant
of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that
is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the
LORD. {19} And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement
for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall
kill the burnt offering: {20} And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and
the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him,
and he shall be clean.
Chuck: The second dove flying off,
the bloody water dripping of his wings, as he takes off, is a symbol of the
disease being taken from the man, and his full restoration now, into the
community. Can you imagine the emotions that a leper must have felt when he saw
that dove flying away, and suddenly he realized that he could be restored
completely and fully into society.
:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great
multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Instead of Jesus’ desire that the miracle be kept quiet, word got out about
it and the crowds following Jesus got bigger and bigger.
:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
I think we need to be praying more.
It seems that this is one of the main things in the life of Jesus.
Illustration
Just P-U-S-H !
When someone accuses you falsely.... just Push
When everything seems to go wrong.... just Push
When the job gets you down... just Push
When people don't react the way you think they should.... just Push
When your money's running out and the bills are due... just Push
When you get angry for whatever the reason, just Push.... just Push
When people don't understand you.... just Push
Not to continue on and on...here's what PUSH stands for...
Pray
Until
Something
Happens