"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
--Luke 5:32 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on July 25, 2013 of Psalm 120; Luke 5:17-39; 2 Chronicles 13-15.
In chapter five of his Gospel account, Luke provides a wealth of information about the character and capabilities of Jesus as He begins His ministry. Luke opens by telling us about Jesus meeting and recruiting Peter, John, and James (and Peter's brother Andrew, although he is not named here by Luke), all by His act of telling them where to cast their nets and their hauling in a catch so huge it threatened to capsize their boats. Next we meet a leper who knows Jesus can cure him completely if He is only willing to do so. Jesus is indeed willing and the man is cleansed. Because of His healing miracles, the crowds gathered around Jesus, followed Him, pressed in on Him, to the point where He often "withdrew into the wilderness and prayed" (verse 16). Then we are shown how four friends carried a paralytic to be healed, but unable to get near enough to Jesus because of the throng around Him, they cut a hole in the roof of the house Jesus was in and lowered their friend down in front of Him, bed and all. Because of their faith, Luke tells us, Jesus healed the man by first attending to his greater need and forgiving his sins.
When they left that place, Jesus and His disciples came upon Matthew (who Luke calls Levi), a tax collector working at his toll booth. Jesus said simply, "Follow Me", and amazingly Matthew laid aside his books and collections and did just that. Apparently Matthew was overjoyed, somehow sensing the salvation Jesus offered, so he threw a big feast for the Lord, inviting all his tax collector friends and others looked down upon by "polite society" and the religious leadership. And of course the Pharisees and scribes complained, asking why He would dine with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus let them, and us, know in no uncertain terms exactly why He came to earth: not to call those who are already righteous and don't need Him, but to call out to sinners, that they might repent and come to know Him.
Jesus points out that only the ill and sick truly need the services of a doctor. Likewise only those lost in sin need the services of a Savior. But we are all sinners, we are all born into sin, we all need Jesus. Our Lord came to mankind when the whole world was dead in sin. He came to seek out the lost and return them to the right path. He came to save all who would believe. He came to sacrifice Himself so that His blood might wash us clean. He came to forgive us if we but admit to our sin, give up our sin, repent of our sin, and follow Him. Just as Jesus came to call and save sinners, so should we. We should step confidently outside the walls of our church into the world and approach others as Jesus did, offering to help lead them if they would just accept Jesus' offer and follow Him. Amen.
Precious Lord Jesus, thank You so much for coming into this world and walking among sinners, calling out to us to repent and follow You. Thank You for forgiving us and standing at out side before God our Father when we heed Your call. Please give us the strength of will to encourage others to follow You. In Your beautiful name O Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
When they left that place, Jesus and His disciples came upon Matthew (who Luke calls Levi), a tax collector working at his toll booth. Jesus said simply, "Follow Me", and amazingly Matthew laid aside his books and collections and did just that. Apparently Matthew was overjoyed, somehow sensing the salvation Jesus offered, so he threw a big feast for the Lord, inviting all his tax collector friends and others looked down upon by "polite society" and the religious leadership. And of course the Pharisees and scribes complained, asking why He would dine with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus let them, and us, know in no uncertain terms exactly why He came to earth: not to call those who are already righteous and don't need Him, but to call out to sinners, that they might repent and come to know Him.
Jesus points out that only the ill and sick truly need the services of a doctor. Likewise only those lost in sin need the services of a Savior. But we are all sinners, we are all born into sin, we all need Jesus. Our Lord came to mankind when the whole world was dead in sin. He came to seek out the lost and return them to the right path. He came to save all who would believe. He came to sacrifice Himself so that His blood might wash us clean. He came to forgive us if we but admit to our sin, give up our sin, repent of our sin, and follow Him. Just as Jesus came to call and save sinners, so should we. We should step confidently outside the walls of our church into the world and approach others as Jesus did, offering to help lead them if they would just accept Jesus' offer and follow Him. Amen.
Precious Lord Jesus, thank You so much for coming into this world and walking among sinners, calling out to us to repent and follow You. Thank You for forgiving us and standing at out side before God our Father when we heed Your call. Please give us the strength of will to encourage others to follow You. In Your beautiful name O Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment