Author: Bill Hall

Luke 5:33 “Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

   Fasting was a common religious practice in the time of Christ. It was seen as a show of extreme devotion. It confused the Jews that Jesus’ followers did not fast on occasion. Of course, in the case of the Pharisees at least, such fasts would be made very obvious so as to garner the admiration of the people.There may well have been certain foods that the Pharisees would not touch at all, especially those items which were made available only because of the Roman rule.

Heavenly Father, You have made available to us so many things. We will live lives of sacrifice to facilitate worship. We want to worship You with our mouths, hearts, and hands. Thank You for loving us that we might in turn love You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:32 “”I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

   It is tempting to modify this verse. We tend to want to make it say ‘those who think they are righteous’ because that is a more accurate picture of Jesus’ theology. But, to get the complete picture, modification is not the answer. In scripture it is always best to look at all of scripture together. There are other passages where Jesus attacks the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in full force. Thus, we know His doctrine on the subject. It is not needful then to try to modify this passage, but we just take it along with the rest of scripture and understand it in context.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this another day to praise You! As we look into Your Word we are so thankful that we can live by truth. We don’t have to stumble about in darkness, but can have light for our lives. Thank You! May we live each day to honor Your Holy Name. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:31 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

   Jesus here identifies the fact that mankind has a problem. Many people will miss the truth of the gospel and fail to be saved simply because they do not believe that they have a problem. Without understanding the problem, we never embrace the solution. Jesus’ ministry was always targeting the sinner. His messages didn’t skirt the issue. He helped people understand why they need Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ! Never can we ever thank You enough for salvation in Him. Without Christ we would be completely hopeless! Oh we are so glad to have hope in Him! You are truly amazing in Your love and grace! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:30 “And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

   In the ancient world, eating and drinking with a group of persons amounted to recognizing the legitimacy of that group. It was a form of racism or class distinction to refuse to eat with a particular group. The disciples of Christ, like the Master, must not distinguish between one person and the next, but should treat all alike.

Heavenly Father, give us a love for each other and for this fallen world. Help us to be Your representatives to each individual You bring us into contact with. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:29 “Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.”

   Jesus was apparently happy to attend this feast. Levi (Matthew) was worshiping the Lord by doing this. He also gave the Lord Jesus an opportunity to reach a large group of Levi’s fellow tax gatherers. Jesus of course knew about all of this before He selected Levi. Many were offended that Jesus attended this feast.
   Why would Jesus be a cause of offence? Well, there was indeed no offence in this action. Instead, Jesus was only accepting from Levi this honor, which was due Christ. In many places the scriptures reveal that Christian ministers are to have a good reputation in the lost world. Jesus modeled this for us in what He chose to do during His ministry.

Heavenly Father, give to us today a sense of Your glory. We need not spend so much time asking ourselves how to impress and please others, and more time asking how to impress and please You. Like Joseph of old, we should be successful in the unrighteous mammon, but only because we are faithful in the business which You have given us to do, doing it with all of our might. May it always be a praise and glory to You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:28 “So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.”

   Those ‘leave all’ moments are what makes faith so powerful. Many people live their entire lives without a ‘leave all’ moment. They never make any changes, but stick only with what is safe and easy. But safe and easy is predictable. Jesus asks us to break out of the predictable with faith in Him. The enemy doesn’t know what to do with that. It makes us hard to pin down. Those who follow Christ can’t be bought, can’t be predicted, and can’t be threatened.

Heavenly Father, we find our sufficiency in You. Thank You for Your work in us. You are the Great Instigator. You have started it all, and You will finish it. We praise You for Your wisdom, power, and steadfast love. You are so worthy of our praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:27 “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”

   There were some to whom Jesus said this that offered excuses and did not follow. But, Levi, who is Matthew, offered no such excuses. The publican, as Levi was called, followed immediately. Whereas there were other self-righteous ones who did not get the blessings afforded the sinner who followed right away. His obedience honored the One Who called.

Heavenly Father, we want to honor You with our obedience. We need Your leading and we want to follow Christ each day. Thank You for intersecting with our lives. You don’t leave us alone, You get involved. We praise You for how You work in us and through us! I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:26 “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

   We can understand the amazement, but why the fear? Well, though it is easy to imagine being amazed by Christ’s miracles and teaching, it is still hard to put ourselves in the shoes of those actually seeing these things occur. The experience had an unsettling effect. This is due to the fact that faith sometimes fades into monotony in such a way that it becomes wrote behavior rather than heartfelt belief. These folks little expected to have a living target for their faith walking before them. As a result their heart filled with fear as is often the case when an new and unusual feeling takes hold.

Heavenly Father, help us to manage our feelings! We tend to be skittish. Give us the courage to praise You, to see You as You would have us to know You. We look in Your Word and see there many marvelous things. May we honor You always! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:25 “Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.”

   Hesitation and worship are incompatible. We should be immediate and extravagant with our worship. The paralyzed man needed no lesson on that. He was ready to offer the praise to God right away. His life had been changed forever, and praise was his best response. When Christ has changed us, no less response should be forthcoming.

Heavenly Father, we want to praise you immediately and extravagantly. You alone are worthy! Christ has change our life so much. We can do nothing else but live to praise the Name of the Lord! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:24 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins “– He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

   Some have said that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Obviously, such persons have failed to read and understand a passage such as this one. Jesus made no quarrel with the scribes and Pharisees on the point that God alone may forgive sins. The point He makes here very clearly is that the same power and authority by which He heals, was the same by which He could forgive sin.
   One might ask, if they understood what He meant, why did they not immediately accuse Him of blasphemy? Well, there are several possible answers to that. First, many of them likely didn’t understand. We know their understanding was clouded, so this is quite possible. Second, some may have understood, but dismissed it without much consideration. Since the claim was not a bold-faced declaration in their minds, perhaps they saw no need for immediate action. The miracle itself gave credence to all that Jesus said. Finally, many may have indeed believed, and after this incident began to have more faith that Jesus was indeed Who He claimed to be. Not ALL scribes and Pharisees failed to believe, though MOST did.

Heavenly Father, may we be not faithless, but believing! You know all that we need and You guide us in our way. We would be encouragers to Your flock. Help us build up one another upon our most holy faith. We love to see the faith formed in the hearts of the formerly incredulous. Your power is amazing, and Your love transforms even the hardest of hearts. We praise You for Your works among us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.