Tag: Luke 5
The power of the Lord
Scripture reading for March 10: Luke 5
“On one of those days, as He was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst of Jesus. And when He saw their faith, He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God Alone?”” Luke 5:17-21
As Jesus continued preaching in all the towns and villages of Galilee and Judea, miracles of healing and deliverance from demons were being seen every day. Jesus’ authority over evil spirit and sickness drew big crowds of people and it was recorded that He healed all who were brought to Him. Luke, a physician, noted in this passage that ‘the power of the Lord was with Him to heal.’
Here, some men had brought a paralyzed friend to Jesus. The crowd was so big that they carried this man on his bed up on the roof of the building where Jesus was ministering. They removed some tiles and lowered the bed with ropes. Luke recorded that when Jesus saw their faith, He released the man by declaring his sins were forgiven. This caused a stir among the religious leaders who were following Him, evaluating His every move. They accused Jesus of blasphemy, presuming He had no authority to forgive sins. They were sure that Jesus was not ‘God’. To help their unbelief, Jesus gave the man a simple command: “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (Luke 5:24) Immediately, the man obeyed, glorifying God and amazing all present.
Have you ever been to a service or church meeting where “the power of the Lord was present to heal?” If you were there, how did the event that took place affect your world-view or understanding of who Jesus is? Which is more important: healing the paralysis or forgiveness of sins?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to live in us who believe in Your Son Jesus. Anoint us with faith to receive the power to heal and to respond in faith to those who are hurting and trusting in Jesus. May we also be concerned with the forgiveness of sins, necessary for salvation. Amen.
‘The old is better’–NOT!
Scripture reading for March 10th: Luke 5
Key scriptures for over-comers: Luke 5:37-39 “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.'”
The ‘old wine’ of the Law and Mosaic Covenant was all the Israelites knew up to the time of Jesus Christ. They had this ‘wine’ in their old ‘wineskins’. But Jesus Christ came as mediator of a “New Covenant” of grace through faith. This new covenant was not something that could just be added casually to the old teaching and temple rituals without causing trouble and great loss! Jesus used a parable telling about the ‘old’ wineskins and ‘old’ wine and the need for ‘new’ wineskins for ‘new’ wine!
The Israelites would react to the ‘new’ with “The old is better!” Jesus simply stated this to actually teach the opposite! If we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying we learn that the new is better when we need to allow God to give us “new wineskins” to go along with it! When we cling to the ‘old’ religious ways of legalism, we will fail!
Observations for over-comers: Holding on to the ‘old wine’ and ‘old wineskins’ of our past and even our religious past will hinder us from allowing the ‘new wine’ of the Holy Spirit to give us a completely new life and power to over-come! “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heat of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
“I am willing!”
Scripture reading for March 10th: Luke 5
Jesus had announced His ministry of preaching Good News and releasing the prisoners and the oppressed in His home town of Nazareth. (Luke 4:18-19) The people there refused to receive the message and even sought to kill Him. But Jesus was not deterred and began to minister in other towns in the region. He called disciples and invited them to join Him in preaching and healing the oppressed and sick.
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.” (Luke 5:12-13) Jesus made good on the announcement of His ministry and astounded people as well. Lepers were considered ‘unclean’ and under God’s curse. Religious people would not touch them! This hurting man came humbly to Jesus with a plea for mercy. He wasn’t sure that Jesus was willing to help Him, but asked in faith that Jesus had the ability. Jesus honored his request and touched him. The leprosy departed immediately!
We learn from this incident, that Jesus is willing to help anyone in any situation. When approached humbly, Jesus responds positively! He has ‘good news’ for all of us! He cares about us and our ‘uncleanness!’ He is able and willing to bring healing and deliverance! Take your burden by faith to Jesus today for a quick response!