Luke 5 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Luke [music] 5 verse 1. Now it happened
2. 0:04while the crowd was pressing around him
3. 0:07and listening to the word of God, he was
4. 0:09standing by the lake of Guanessaret,
5. 0:12and [music] he saw two boats lying at
6. 0:14the edge of the lake. But the fishermen
7. 0:16had gotten out of them and were washing
8. 0:19their nets. And he got into one of the
9. 0:22boats, which was [music] Simon's, and
10. 0:25asked him to put out a little way from
11. 0:26the land. and he sat down and began
12. 0:29teaching the people from the boat. When
13. 0:32he had finished speaking, he said to
14. 0:33Simon, "Put out into the deep water and
15. 0:37let down your nets for a catch." Simon
16. 0:40answered and said, "Master, we worked
17. 0:42hard all night and caught nothing."
18. 0:46But I will do as you say and let down
19. 0:49the nets.
20. 0:52When they had done this, they enclosed a
21. 0:55[music] great quantity of fish, and
22. 0:58their nets began to break.
23. 1:01So they signaled to their partners in
24. 1:04the other boat for them to come and help
25. 1:06them. And they came and fill both of the
26. 1:10boats so that they began to sink.
27. 1:14But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell
28. 1:17down at Jesus's feet, saying, "Go away
29. 1:22from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, oh
30. 1:26Lord."
31. 1:27For amazement had seized him and his
32. 1:30companions because of the catch of fish
33. 1:33which they had taken.
34. 1:35And so also were James and John, sons of
35. 1:38Zebedee, [music] who were partners with
36. 1:40Simon. And Jesus said to Simon,
37. 1:44"Do not fear.
38. 1:46From now on, you will be catching men.
39. 1:51When they had brought their boats to
40. 1:52land, they left everything
41. 1:55[clears throat] and followed him."
42. 1:59So in this story
43. 2:01we are mindful of the the last chapter
44. 2:05and how the Nazareth people couldn't
45. 2:08recognize the miracle because Jesus was
46. 2:11too familiar to them and they had no
47. 2:13honor. The Capernium people could
48. 2:15recognize the miracle and they got the
49. 2:18miraculous. They they received it in
50. 2:20their in [music] their synagogue. Other
51. 2:22people tried to keep Jesus from leaving.
52. 2:24Now, we have a very personal encounter
53. 2:28with four fishermen.
54. 2:31And [music]
55. 2:31Simon starts off by showing reluctance.
56. 2:36He knows how the fishing process works.
57. 2:41And his knowledge about how his own
58. 2:44works have failed
59. 2:46initially wants to prevent him from
60. 2:49obeying when Jesus said, "Let's go out
61. 2:52into the deep." So he acknowledges,
62. 2:54'Lord, we've been fishing all night. My
63. 2:57past experience of working without you
64. 3:00makes me believe this won't work, but
65. 3:03honor trumps his unbelief. He says,
66. 3:06"Nevertheless,
67. 3:08at your word, we'll do it." This is what
68. 3:12Nazareth didn't have. They didn't have
69. 3:14honor to go ahead and act in obedience.
70. 3:17And when he obeys,
71. 3:20he is profoundly humbled and he realizes
72. 3:25he is in the presence of God.
73. 3:28But he knows when that happens, when the
74. 3:31miracle comes, he immediately feels his
75. 3:33sin more keenly.
76. 3:36Have you ever walked into church and
77. 3:38thought of your failures more keenly?
78. 3:40things you shouldn't have said, things
79. 3:43you shouldn't have done, darkness in
80. 3:45your heart. Well, often that's because
81. 3:48you're very close to a miracle. Often
82. 3:51that's because Jesus is in your boat.
83. 3:55And it says that he fell at the feet of
84. 3:57Jesus. But you've got to remember he's
85. 3:59still in the boat. The boat that is
86. 4:02about to sink. So this is quite a scene.
87. 4:06The boat is so full of fish that it's
88. 4:08about to sink. Jesus is somehow standing
89. 4:10in there. But Peter has somehow fallen
90. 4:13down. Is he laying on the fish? Is he
91. 4:17kneeling on them? We don't know. But
92. 4:19he's got to get lower.
93. 4:21He's got to stand and look up with honor
94. 4:26toward the miracle working God in his
95. 4:28life. And what he says is, "Go away from
96. 4:32me, Lord."
97. 4:35The presence of grace feels like
98. 4:37condemnation, but it's an invitation to
99. 4:40let go of sin. Go away from me, Lord,
100. 4:43for I am a sinful man, oh Lord.
101. 4:47The two words that are powerful here is
102. 4:49Lord. Lord, Lord. He's acknowledging who
103. 4:54Jesus is. But you need to get out of my
104. 4:56life. You don't know who I am.
105. 4:59I curse. I cheat. I deal deceitfully.
106. 5:03get out of my life. I don't deserve this
107. 5:05blessing. I don't deserve this help.
108. 5:10And Peter thinks this is going to be the
109. 5:12moment when Jesus realizes who he is and
110. 5:15goes and finds somebody with a better
111. 5:18past, somebody more worthy.
112. 5:21But what it really is is the moment of
113. 5:24humility.
114. 5:26That is the beginning of Peter's
115. 5:28ministry.
116. 5:30The very moment when Peter falls down
117. 5:33and acknowledges who he really is is the
118. 5:36moment he starts to be exactly who Jesus
119. 5:38needs him to be. From now on, I'll make
120. 5:41you a fisher of men. From this humility
121. 5:45onward, we have a new beginning. And
122. 5:48some men were carrying on a bed a man
123. 5:51who was paralyzed.
124. 5:53And they were trying to bring him in and
125. 5:55to set him down in front of Jesus.
126. 5:59But not finding any way to bring him in
127. 6:02because of the crowd, they went up on
128. 6:04the roof and let him down through the
129. 6:06tiles with his stretcher into the middle
130. 6:09of the crowd in front of Jesus.
131. 6:13So the critics are sitting all close to
132. 6:15Jesus,
133. 6:17but the needy are going to find a way to
134. 6:20get the help and the grace from Jesus.
135. 6:24The critics are closer, but the faithful
136. 6:27are coming.
137. 6:29They lower this man down on his
138. 6:31stretcher in the middle of the crowd in
139. 6:33front of Jesus.
140. 6:35Seeing their faith, he [snorts] said,
141. 6:38"Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
142. 6:43Was their faith
143. 6:45visible?
144. 6:48It wasn't a thought. It wasn't a
145. 6:50feeling. It was a thought and a feeling
146. 6:53that had turned into an action. And if
147. 6:55you're going to want to get what God is
148. 6:57going to give you, you need a faith that
149. 6:59is all the above. And Jesus will see
150. 7:03your faith.
151. 7:05And he says, "Friend, your sins are
152. 7:08forgiven you." The scribes and the
153. 7:10Pharisees began to reason.
154. 7:14So some people acted, some people were
155. 7:17moved with love and faith, and some
156. 7:19people reasoned.
157. 7:21The scribes and Pharisees began to
158. 7:23reason, saying, "Who is this man who
159. 7:27speaks blasphemies?
160. 7:30Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
161. 7:34But Jesus, aware of their reasonings,
162. 7:36answered and said to them, "Why are you
163. 7:39reasoning in your hearts?
164. 7:42Which is easier, to say, "Your sins have
165. 7:44been forgiven you," or, "Get up and
166. 7:46walk?"
167. 7:48But so that you may know that the Son of
168. 7:49Man has authority on earth to forgive
169. 7:52sins, he said to the paralytic, "I say
170. 7:55to you, get up and pick up your
171. 7:57stretcher, and go home."
172. 8:00Immediately he got up before them,
173. 8:02picked up what he had been lying on, and
174. 8:04went home glorifying God.
175. 8:07They were all struck with astonishment
176. 8:10and began glorifying God. And they were
177. 8:13filled with fear, saying, "We have seen
178. 8:17remarkable things today."
179. 8:20Now, it says they were all struck with
180. 8:23astonishment.
181. 8:25And it says they all were saying, "We
182. 8:28have seen remarkable things today." So,
183. 8:31I don't know if he had any critics at
184. 8:33the end of the miracle.
185. 8:35Notice that the big miracle was the
186. 8:38power to forgive sins.
187. 8:40And the sign to prove that he had the
188. 8:43power to forgive sins was the healing
189. 8:46from the paralysis. But that wasn't the
190. 8:48big miracle. The big miracle was the
191. 8:51power to forgive sins because only God
192. 8:54can do that. After he went out and
193. 8:59noticed a tax collector named Levi
194. 9:01sitting in the tax booth, he said to
195. 9:03him, "Follow me."
196. 9:06And he left everything behind. And he
197. 9:09got up and began to follow him. Just
198. 9:12like the fish catch, they left the
199. 9:14boats, they left the nets, they left the
200. 9:16fish, and they followed. Well, here
201. 9:18again, Matthew leaves everything.
202. 9:22And Levi gave a big reception for Jesus
203. 9:27in his house. And there was a great
204. 9:29crowd of tax collectors and other people
205. 9:32who were reclining at the table with
206. 9:34them. The Pharisees and their scribes
207. 9:38began grumbling at his disciples,
208. 9:42saying, "Why do you eat and drink with
209. 9:45tax collectors and sinners?" I think
210. 9:47they were envious that they didn't get
211. 9:49invited to the big reception.
212. 9:52And Jesus answered and said to them, "It
213. 9:56is not those who are well who need a
214. 9:59physician, but those who are sick. I
215. 10:02have not come to call the righteous, but
216. 10:04sinners to repentance."
217. 10:06So if they really wanted to be at the
218. 10:08reception,
219. 10:10they could have come and said, "We are
220. 10:12sick. Could we please be included?"
221. 10:16But they lied about their real
222. 10:19motivation and pretended it was holiness
223. 10:21that they were concerned about.
224. 10:24And so he said, "Don't worry about it. I
225. 10:26you don't need me. Only these sick guys
226. 10:28need me. So I'll go to their reception
227. 10:31and you stay out and be content with
228. 10:32your wellness."
229. 10:34And they said to him, "The disciples of
230. 10:37John often fast and offer prayers. The
231. 10:41disciples of the Pharisees also do the
232. 10:43same, but your disciples eat and drink.
233. 10:46Again, they wish they'd been at that big
234. 10:48reception. So, they're like, "Shouldn't
235. 10:50y'all be fasting cuz we wish we could be
236. 10:53feasting, but we want to lay a trip on
237. 10:55you instead of humbling ourselves and
238. 10:57saying, "We need to be part cuz we're
239. 10:59broken. We're hungry."
240. 11:02And Jesus said to them, "You cannot make
241. 11:05the attendance of the bridegroom fast
242. 11:07while the bridegroom is with them, can
243. 11:09you?
244. 11:11But the days will come and when the
245. 11:13bridegroom is taken away from them, then
246. 11:15they will fast in those days. He's
247. 11:17basically saying, "This is a great time
248. 11:19of fellowship." And they're celebrating
249. 11:22like a wedding has happened. And it's
250. 11:24not time to fast.
251. 11:26Again, this is an invitation for them to
252. 11:28say, "We'd like to eat with you. We'd
253. 11:30like to be part of it." Instead, it's
254. 11:32like, "Did you notice what they're
255. 11:33eating and drinking? That was a very
256. 11:35expensive dinner." And he was also
257. 11:37telling them a parable.
258. 11:39And here's his parable. No one tears a
259. 11:42piece of cloth from a new garment and
260. 11:45puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, he
261. 11:48will both tear the new and the piece
262. 11:51from the new will not match the old.
263. 11:55And no one puts new wine into old wine
264. 11:57skins. Otherwise, the new wine will
265. 12:00burst the skins and it will be spilled
266. 12:02out and the skins will be ruined.
267. 12:06But new wine must be put into fresh wine
268. 12:09skins. And no one after drinking old
269. 12:12wine wishes for new, for he says the old
270. 12:16is good enough.
271. 12:19So he says here, he's telling them
272. 12:21[clears throat] that your way of doing
273. 12:23things is an old garment
274. 12:27and your life has holes in it. That's
275. 12:31why you're here complaining. You really
276. 12:33wish you could have come to the party,
277. 12:35but you don't want to humble yourself
278. 12:37and say, "We've got holes in our life
279. 12:38and we want to be included." Instead,
280. 12:41you're going to try to poke holes in my
281. 12:43life. You're going to try to say,
282. 12:45"Jesus, would you please come and cut
283. 12:48your ministry up and stitch it onto our
284. 12:50ministry? Would you please chop up this
285. 12:54new and beautiful thing that God is
286. 12:56doing and stitch it onto what we've been
287. 12:58doing that's old and tattered?"
288. 13:00And he says, "That's just stupid. You
289. 13:03don't take a new garment and start
290. 13:05cutting it in pieces in order to fix an
291. 13:07old garment. No. If you got a new
292. 13:09garment, step out of the old one and
293. 13:11step into the new one." Then he gives
294. 13:14the parable about the wine. And he says,
295. 13:16"No one puts new wine into old wine
296. 13:19skins.
297. 13:21If there's new wine here, if there's a
298. 13:23new thing happening, it's just getting
299. 13:25started. And if we put it into your old
300. 13:28tired wine skins, it's going to blow him
301. 13:30up because there's too much power in
302. 13:33this wine. There's too much volatility
303. 13:36in this wine.
304. 13:38You want things calm and cool and
305. 13:41collected.
306. 13:43You are the prototypical religious and
307. 13:46you're going to have to say, "I am ready
308. 13:48for new wine and I need a new skin for
309. 13:50it." [music] Or you're going to be hurt
310. 13:53by trying to keep incorporating what I'm
311. 13:55doing into those old wine bags.
312. 14:00And then he says,
313. 14:03"And no one after drinking old wine
314. 14:06wishes for new, for he says the old is
315. 14:11good enough."
316. 14:13So he's saying, "Your problem is that
317. 14:16you're still drinking from your old way
318. 14:18of doing things
319. 14:20and you kind of wish you could have been
320. 14:23at the reception. You kind of wish you
321. 14:26could know the joy that Peter knows. The
322. 14:29freedom that Levi, the tax collector,
323. 14:32knows,
324. 14:33the laughter and the celebration and the
325. 14:35camaraderie and brotherhood. You wish
326. 14:37you could have it. But you're so full of
327. 14:40yourself. You're so full of doing things
328. 14:43your old way [music] that you say, "My
329. 14:45old way is good enough."
330. 14:50You're going to have to go on a fast and
331. 14:52stop doing what is good enough. And
332. 14:54that's when you're going to get hungry
333. 14:56for the new thing that God is doing.
334. 15:00And that's what everybody really wants.
335. 15:02They just don't have the humility to
336. 15:04admit it.
337. 15:16[music]