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Luke 5:38 “But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

   The new direction the church would now take would be poured into the lives of the disciples. They were the proper vehicles for the truth they would receive. Though we may try to understand this in its fullness, the fact is that the Lord is (and always has been) the best at selecting His means. He does not see as we see. And as a result it will be hard for us to grasp the need for this change. But, really it is not a change, so much as a continued freshness. You can see throughout Scripture that God is a person. He does not change is Who He is, or in His Divine Essence. But, we see changes in His working with us throughout history. He does not still reside on mount Sinai, or behind the curtain in the temple. He is, however, no different than He was then, though those manifestations are now long past.

Heavenly Father, may we see and know what a mercy it is that we understand You at all. To know God, in all Your glory, is to know everything. Any other knowledge will come along behind. It is the chief end of man to know You as You are, rather than as we might perceive You. Thank You for Your revelation of Yourself! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:37 “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.”

   Jesus did not call His group of disciples from among the religious elite of Israel. And why? It was so hard for them to believe. Paul came from that group, but was even himself somewhat unique among them in his zeal. In the past there had been only a certain group of persons privileged to be this close to the Lord. Jesus picked from literally every cross-section of society, however, when He selected His students.

Heavenly Father, we are so glad that You have passed up the strong of this world and have used the weak. It seemed best that way to You, and You are always right. We praise You for using the least to make them the greatest in Your kingdom. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:36 “Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.”

   Jesus is explaining here one of the unique truths we find in Scripture. As time goes on, the plan of God builds upon itself. The Lord moves forward. There are changes in what He is doping with man. And yet, the basic principles stay the same. Here Jesus is helping the Jews begin to understand that there was to be a shift that they would find difficult at first. Indeed, even Jesus’ disciples had difficulty when they came to realize that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews. And that wasn’t the only big change. Jesus is giving them a ‘heads up’ so to speak. They needed to move forward in faith, rather than being stuck in tradition.

Heavenly Father, Your Word is so much deeper than we can imagine. As we read and allow Your Spirit to communicate, You show to us things that we never would have come to know. We cannot ever be thankful enough for Your truth. All of our lives, all of our futures, will be changed forever by Your truth. We give You the praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:35 “”But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

   Jesus was speaking of the time coming very soon when He would ascend to the Father after the resurrection. The early Christian church did practice fasting. And, it has been practiced at various times throughout the history of the church. However, it has not been a mainstream practice in recent years. There are individuals who still keep up the practice as it is something we should do as part of our worship.

Heavenly Father, we want to bring glory to Your Holy Name! Thank You for showing us how to serve You and honor You. We will seek Your glory all of our lives. Thank You for loving us so much! we will serve to show our sincere gratitude. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:34 “And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

   Nobody would imagine that the members of a wedding party would fast. They would be busy with the festivities. In the same way, Jesus’ disciples did not fast at this time because there was something more important to do. They could minister directly to the Lord. It was a special situation, and it precluded fasting. The Jews did not think of this themselves because they did not really believe Jesus was Who He claimed to be.

Heavenly Father, may we honor You at all times! Even when this world doesn’t understand our worship, we will seek to bring glory to You anyway. You are worthy of all the praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

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.