Luke 5 -- Four Guys & Four Changes

My commentary discussed four individuals mentioned in this chapter and the changes they experienced because they trusted Christ.

Peter – from failure to success:  “Peter was a captive audience as he sat in the ship listening to the Word of God (Jesus asked to borrow his boat as a platform).”  Jesus first asked him to push off a little.  Then He told him (after the sermon) to launch out into the deep.  “If Peter had not obeyed the first seemingly insignificant command, he would never have participated in a miracle.”  They fished at night in the shallow waters, but Jesus told him to fish by day in the deep.  “What Jesus asked Peter to do was contrary to all of his training and experience, but Peter obeyed.”  They caught enough fish to overload two boats!

The Leper – from sickness to health:  “This man not only needed to be changed, but he wanted to be changed … he was so determined that he broke the law and approached Jesus personally… Jesus was the Friend of the outcast … Jesus even touched the man, which meant that He became unclean Himself.  This is a beautiful picture of what Jesus has done for lost sinners:  He became sin for us that we might be made clean.”

The paralyzed man – from guilt to forgiveness:  “If leprosy illustrates the corruption and defilement of sin, then palsy is a picture of the paralysis that sin produces in a life … Jesus astounded the religious leaders by claiming to have authority both to heal the body and to forgive sins … the scribes and Pharisees could not deny the miracle of healing, but they considered His claim to forgive sins nothing less than blasphemy, for only God can forgive sins.”

Matthew (Levi) – from the old to the new:  Like Simon Peter, Matthew instantly left everything, obeying Jesus’ call, and followed Him.  The Jewish religion was old and did nothing for an individual but point out his sinfulness.  Jesus was showing that what He was doing – “producing new life of the Spirit, could not be forced into the old wineskins of Judaism.”

Father, thank You for helping us to see the new things You are busy doing in the lives of so many.  Help us not to get in Your way, but instead to be about all that You are doing!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford