Sunday
Morning Bible Study
May
17, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words Communion:
2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
In writing his book, Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel
of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry has begun.
The people are amazed at both the things He teaches as well as the miracles
He performs.
5:1-11 Fishers of Men
:1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God,
that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
:1 pressed about – epikeimai
– to lie upon or over, rest upon, be laid or placed upon
:1 the Lake of Gennesaret
Gennesaret – “harp”
That’s the shape of the lake.
This is the Greek form of the oldest name of the lake, back in the Hebrew
Old Testament as “Chinneret” or “Kinnereth” (which also means “harp”)
There is a town on the western shore that also carries the name of
Gennesaret, or also known as Ginosar.
This fresh water lake also goes by several other names.
Sea of Galilee
This is the name we usually call the lake.
“Galilee” is the name of the northern portion of Israel. It means “circle”.
Sea of Tiberias
Tiberias was a city built on the western shore of the lake by Herod Antipas
in 20 AD. He named it after the emperor Tiberas.
Don’t get confused by all the names. It’s all the same body of water.
John calls the lake the “Sea of
Tiberias” (John 6:1; 21:1)
(John 6:1 NKJV) —1 After
these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of
Tiberias.
(John 21:1 NKJV) —1 After
these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of
Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:
The lake is 13 miles long, 8 miles wide (at its widest), and is about 140
feet deep when it’s at its fullest.
The Jordan River empties into it at
the north, and flows out of it at the south.
Don’t be confused by the title “sea”,
this is a fresh water lake.
It is the lowest fresh water lake
on the planet (600 ft. below sea level), and the second lowest body of water
next to the Dead Sea (the lowest).
During the time of Christ, there were 9 cities around its shores with a total
population around 15,000.
:2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from
them and were washing their nets.
:2 boats – ploion
– a ship
These were larger boats, not little
rowboats.
:2 washing – apopluno
– to wash off
:2 nets – diktuon
– a net
:2 standing by the lake
There is a place on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee known as
“Tabgha”. There are seven springs that all flow into the lake at Tabgha.
This will give you a closer look at the lake.
Video: Tabgha fish and dock
:2 saw two boats standing
Video: Ginosar map clip
In 1986, Israel was going through a drought, and the level of the Lake was
quite low. Two Israeli fishermen brothers were walking along the shore of the
Lake near Ginosar, when they discovered something sticking out of the mud.
It was a boat dating back to the 1st century.
It is the kind of boat like the ones that were standing on the beach by the
lake.
The boat is 27 feet long, and 7.5 feet wide.
After a night of fishing, the boats had been dragged up onto the beach.
:3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to
put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from
the boat.
:3 got into – embaino
– to go into, step into
:3 to put out – epanago
– to lead up upon; a ship upon the deep, to put out
:3 one of the boats, which was Simon’s
This is Simon Peter, the fisherman.
The other boat belonged to James and John, Peter’s partners.
:3 to put out a little from the land
The people were crowding so close to Jesus that it was hard for Him to
speak to the whole group.
So getting the boat out from the land a little, Jesus sets up a great place
to teach from.
:4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the
deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
:4 stopped – pauo
– to make to cease or desist; to cease, to leave off
:4 Launch out – epanago
– to lead up upon; a ship upon the deep, to put out
Same word was “to put out” in vs.
3. Aorist active imperative.
:4 deep – bathos
– depth, height; of "the deep" sea
:4 let down – chalao
– to loosen, slacken, relax; to let down from a higher place to a lower
:4 a catch – agra
– the chase, a catching or hunting; that which is taken in hunting,
the booty, prey
:5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night
and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
:5 Master – epistates (“over”
+ “stand”) – any sort of superintendent or overseer
:5 we have toiled all night
toiled – kopiao – to grow
weary, tired, exhausted; to labor with wearisome effort
They had worked hard at fishing all night and are exhausted.
:5 let down – chalao
– to loosen, slacken, relax; to let down from a higher place to a lower
:4 Launch out into the deep
Lesson
Obedience
Peter is a professional fisherman.
Jesus is not.
Peter knows that the best time to fish is at night, and after a long night
of fishing, he knows it’s time to call it quits.
Sometimes the things Jesus may prompt us to do just don’t make sense.
We might think that we, like Peter, know the best time to go fishing.
But Jesus is the One who commands the fish.
We might have charts and graphs to show that fishing right now is a waste
of time.
But Jesus commands us to go.
We might feel safest when we keep our boat closest to shore, in the shallow
water.
Jesus commands us to launch into the deep.
If I have a sense that God is leading me to do something like “launching
into the deep”, how should I handle this?
Is it something scriptural? Is it in character with what you know about
God?
Forgiving someone sounds like something God might prompt.
Cheating on your college final doesn’t.
Sometimes it’s good to ask for advice.
(Proverbs
15:22 NKJV) Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors
they are established.
But keep in mind, sometimes people give bad advice.
Give it a try.
It may be anchovies on the pizza you had last night
speaking to you.
Or it could be God.
Sometimes you’ll never know unless you try it.
:6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and
their net was breaking.
:6 they caught – sugkleio
– to shut up together, enclose; of a shoal of fishes in a net
:6 fish – ichthus
– a fish
:6 was breaking – diarrhesso
– to break asunder, burst through, rend asunder
Imperfect passive indicative
When Jesus appeared to the
disciples at Galilee after His resurrection, something similar took place,
except the net was not broken.
(John 21:11 NKJV) Simon
Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and
fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
:6 they caught a great number of
fish
Peter knew it was Jesus talking to
him, he didn’t have to wonder.
For us, the proof is in the
pudding.
If it’s Jesus, you will probably
see some sort of result, even if it takes time.
:7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and
help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
:7 they signaled – kataneuo
– to nod to, make a sign
:7 partners – metochos
– sharing in, partaking; a partner (in a work, office, dignity)
:7 began to sink – buthizo
– to plunge into the deep, to sink
:7 signaled to their
partners
This was James and John (Lk. 5:10)
: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 and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish
which they had taken;
:8 fell down – prospipto
– to fall forwards, fall down, prostrate one’s self before, in homage or
supplication: at one’s feet
:8 knees – gonu
– the knee, to kneel down
:8 Depart – exerchomai
– to go or come forth of
:8 O Lord – kurios – he to
whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; lord
Peter has moved from calling Jesus “master” or “overseer” (Lk 5:5), to
“Lord”
This is that “Aha!” moment for
Peter when he gets a better idea of who Jesus is.
He’s already seen Jesus heal his
mother-in-law (chapter 4).
He’s heard Jesus teach.
Now he sees this is much, much
bigger.
:8 I am a sinful man
Lesson
Goodness and repentance
Doesn’t it seem odd that Peter brings up his own sin?
We don’t have a record of Jesus doing anything to point out Peter’s sin
here.
Jesus was just being gracious to Peter in leading him to the catch of his
life.
He could make money off this catch of fish to live
comfortably for quite a while.
God’s desire is that His kindness towards us would move us towards
repentance.
(Romans 2:4 NKJV) Or do you
despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing
that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Peter has responded to this great gift of Jesus by
realizing how undeserving he is of it.
I sometimes think that some of us need lots of reminders of how sinful we
are.
I try my best to lay on the guilt pretty heavy in church, because you
sinners all need it. (kidding)
Yet Jesus prefers that you realize who He is, through the grace and love
that He has for you.
When we have truly tasted of His grace, we won’t need anyone to remind us
of how unworthy we are of it.
We’ll know it.
It’s this incredible show of grace that has moved Peter from calling Jesus
an “overseer”, to calling Him “Lord”.
:9 were astonished
Literally, “they were surrounded
with amazement”
took possession – periecho
– to surround, encompass
amazed – thambos
– to render immovable; amazement
:10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on
you will catch men.”
:10 James and John
Peter, James, and John would be the
“inner three” of the disciples.
:10 catch – zogreo
– to take alive; to take, catch, capture
:10 From now on you will catch men
Lesson
Sinners to fishers of men
Jesus uses men who are sinners, men who are not afraid of admitting that
they are sinners.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t respond to Peter’s admission of sin with, “Wow, I
didn’t know that. You better throw all those fish back.”
Instead, Jesus told Peter not to be afraid.
And Peter would become a fisher of men.
Some people don’t like to go fishing.
Some people like to talk about fishing, but that’s about all.
If God used a sinful man like Peter, God can use us.
:11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and
followed Him.
:11 brought – katago
– to lead down, bring down; to bring the vessel from deep water to the land
:11 they forsook – aphiemi
– to send away; to bid going away or depart; to let go, give up a debt,
forgive, to remit
:11 followed – akoloutheo
– to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him; to
join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple
:11 they forsook all
Keep in mind, they have probably just hauled in the catch of a lifetime,
enough to bump up their fishing business to the next level.
They leave it all behind to follow the one who calls them.
5:12-15 Cleansing the leper
:12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who
was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him,
saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
:12 leprosy – lepra
– leprosy; a most offensive, annoying, dangerous, cutaneous disease, the
virus of which generally pervades the whole body, common in Egypt and the East
:12 a man who was full of leprosy
Illustration
Smart Dog
The dog thinks, “Boyo, I’m in deep trouble
now.”(He was an Irish setter).... Then he noticed some bones on the ground
close by, and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to
the approaching cat.
Just as the leopard is about to leap, the
dog exclaims loudly, “Oh my, That was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there
are any more around here?” Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in mid
stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the bushes.
“Whew”, says the leopard. “That was close. That dog nearly had me.”
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching
the whole scene from nearby, figures he can put his knowledge to good use and
trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog saw him
heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that something must be
up.
The monkey soon catches up with the
leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The
cat is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here monkey, hop on my back
and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine.” Now the dog sees the
leopard coming with the monkey on his back, and thinks, “What am I going to do
now?” But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers
pretending he hasn’t seen them yet.
And just when they get close enough to
hear, the dog says, “Where’s that monkey. I just can never trust him. I sent
him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard, and he’s still not
back!!”
Oh … the man was filled with LEPROSY, not a
leopard. Oops.
This man didn’t just have leprosy on a
little corner of his pinky finger.
He was filled with leprosy.
Among the Jews, there were several skin diseases that were all classified
as “leprosy”, including our modern “Hansen’s Disease”.
It was the job of a Jewish priest to determine whether a person had a
disease that fell into the category of “leprosy”.
There are several long chapters in the book of Leviticus dedicated to teaching
the priests how to spot leprosy.
Leprosy was one of the things that made a person “unclean”.
When a person was “unclean”, they were not allowed to worship God at the
tabernacle/temple.
They had to stay away from others and warn them that they were unclean
because touching an unclean person made you unclean.
(Leviticus
13:45 NKJV) “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be
torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean!
Unclean!’
While this was practical in stopping communicable diseases, the person with
leprosy was given a “life sentence” of separation from society.
Leprosy is often seen in the Bible as a picture of sin.
With leprosy, a person becomes unable to feel their extremities. They begin to lose fingers and toes because
they can’t feel when they bump into something, or when a rat is gnawing on
them.
Sin also “dulls” us.
When we don’t deal with our sin, we develop calluses on our heart.
We no longer feel conviction over the things we need to change.
:12 Lord, if You are willing
“If you have the desire in your heart, you are able to cleanse me” (Wuest)
He doesn’t ask Jesus to make him
clean. He only says that He knows that if Jesus is willing, he can do this.
:12 willing – thelo
– to will, have in mind, intend; to desire, to wish
:12 clean – katharizo
– to make clean, cleanse
:12 can – dunamai
– to be able, have power; to be able to do something; to be capable, strong
and powerful
:13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing;
be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
:13 He put out – ekteino
– to stretch out, stretch forth
:13 He put out His hand and touched him
touched – haptomai – to
fasten one’s self to, adhere to, cling to
This man had been used to people staying away so they wouldn’t touch him.
Jesus stretches out His hand to
touch him.
Lesson
Touching the untouchable
There are a lot of people in this world that for one reason or another are
considered “untouchable”.
Thieves, drug addicts, homosexuals, and pedophiles are all people that some
of us 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 is 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
Be willing to touch the untouchable.
:13 I am willing – thelo
– to will, have in mind, intend; to desire, to wish
:13 be cleansed – katharizo
– to make clean, cleanse
Imperative
:13 immediately – eutheos
– straightway, immediately, forthwith
:14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the
priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just
as Moses commanded.”
:14 charged – paraggello
– to transmit a message along from one to another; to command, order,
charge
:14 show – deiknuo
– to show, expose to the eyes; to give evidence or proof of a thing
:14 commanded – prostasso
– to assign or ascribe to, join to; to enjoin, order, prescribe, command
:15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great
multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
:15 report – logos
– word
:15 to be healed – therapeuo
– to serve, do service; to heal, cure, restore to health
:15 infirmities – astheneia
– want of strength, weakness, infirmity
:14 an offering …as a testimony
The testimony Jesus is talking about is more than just reporting an amazing
miracle.
Even though leprosy was considered an incurable disease in Bible days,
there was provision for a special ceremony if perchance someone might actually
be miraculously healed.
The person who was healed would present a sin offering and a burnt
offering, and those are nothing unusual.
But it’s what happens before those offerings that is kind of bizarre, and
is a testimony to something great.
The first part of the ritual involved two birds, wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
(Leviticus 14:5–7
NKJV) —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, the cedar wood and the
scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the
bird that was killed over the running water. 7 And he shall
sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and
shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open
field.
These are the ingredients to the first part of the ritual.
The leper doesn’t provide for these things, they are provided for him.
Two birds, wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
Lesson
Death and resurrection
I’ve heard lots of ideas over the
years as to what this ritual with the birds is all about, but one hits me as
particularly true.
The two birds represent Jesus Christ.
The first bird dies and spills its blood (scarlet).
The wood and scarlet are dipped in the blood (the cross).
The hyssop is simply a tool to sprinkle the mixture on the
cleansed leper.
The second bird is covered with the bloody water, but is allowed to fly
away.
Kind of like resurrection.
It is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that saves us from the
power of sin (leprosy).
Paul wrote about the impact of death on our sin.
(Romans
6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that
the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of
sin.
The resurrection takes a dead man and gives him life so he can live for God.
Paul wrote,
(Romans
6:13 NKJV) And do not present your members as instruments of
unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Does this mean that as a Christian, I will no longer sin?
No. But I have the power available for me to have victory over my sin.
I still need to walk the walk.
I still need to take practical steps to keep myself from
sin.
What the death and resurrection do is put gas in my tank so I can drive the
car out of the ditch.
Back to Leviticus 14. The next part of the ritual involved blood and oil.
(Leviticus 14:14–18 NKJV) —14 The priest
shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest
shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed,
on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big 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 Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is
in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven
times before the Lord. 17 And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some
on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his
right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass
offering. 18 The rest of the oil
that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to
be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord.
The priest would take blood from a sacrifice and put it on the tip of the right
ear, right thumb, and right big toe of the cleansed leper.
The blood speaks of the cleansing of a man’s mind (ear), the things he does
(thumb), and the places he goes (big toe).
Then the priest would take oil and put oil on the right ear, right thumb,
and right big toe.
The oil speaks of the Holy Spirit anointing the man’s mind (ear), the things
he does (thumb), and the places he goes (big toe).
There is only one other ritual that I know of that does this thing with the
ear, thumb, and toe.
It’s the ordination of the priests (Ex. 29:20)
(Exodus 29:20 NKJV) —20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it
on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his
sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot,
and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.
Lesson
Cleansed to serve
It’s almost like God is turning cleansed lepers into priests.
You and I have been saved from our “leprosy”, our “sin”.
When we find forgives for our sin, and the power to have victory over our
sin, we are now useful to God to help the next leper in line.
Peter exclaimed, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men”