Luke 6:12-16 - Mathetes

Luke 6:12-16 Jesus names twelve of His disciples as apostles. First He prayed all night. Was this a hard decision? Perhaps He knew, even at that point, that one of them would betray Him, but it was the Father's will that things would happen in this way. Or perhaps He had so many disciples that choosing twelve of them to be apostles was a difficult choice and He needed to be sure He had heard the Father's will correctly.

         Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and named twelve of them as apostles. Lest we get caught up in the church terminology of today, we should realize that Jesus had many disciples - "mathetes". In English, a disciple is one who applies himself or herself to learning from their teacher. Disciplining oneself to follow the practices and teachings of the person they follow. In the Greek, mathetes refers to a learner. By contrast, Jesus chose twelve to be apostolos , those who are sent out. The same verb is used in Luke 10:1 when Jesus sent out seventy. However, the implication of Luke 6:13 is that Jesus named these twelve as apostles, a specific group that would be closest with Him.

         The choice of twelve parallels the number of tribes of Israel listed in Genesis 49. Some have suggested that the twenty-four elders mentioned five times in the book of Revelation represent Israel and the church, twelve each.

         There are different names in the lists of the chosen twelve in the different gospels; this most likely represents differences in nicknames - we know that Simon and Peter are one and the same because the gospels record Jesus giving Simon the name Peter. Quite possibly some of the others were also given new names. Revelation 2:17 says that each believer will have a new name, although it will be a private name between that individual and Jesus. Peter is named "the rock" in anticipation of his future solidity of faith.

         Although Jesus named them as apostles, we later find out that they also ministered as pastors and teachers, evangelists, and prophets. So this designation as sent ones does not necessarily define their ministry as sent ones, but rather as specific ones that He had called to be with Him and that He would send. From this, can we infer that for each of us, His primary calling is to be with Him, and that our ministry, our vocation, flows from being with Him? In other words, the Holy Spirit will bring the ministry needed for a particular situation or circumstance, but only if we are with Jesus enough to be anointed by the Holy Spirit when the time comes. Perhaps Jesus chose twelve not for any particular quality other than their desire to be with Him.

         Luke says that Judas Iscariot became a traitor. This suggests that he did not start out with any intention of being disloyal, but later chose to betray Jesus. The growth of his disloyalty is hinted at with respect to his attitude towards money. We see him questioning the offering of costly ointment that Mary poured over Jesus, asking why it wasn't given to the poor. (John 12:3-5) Perhaps a difference in understanding priorities between the presence of Jesus and the need to care for the poor. The Law of Moses certainly had requirements that it was an individual responsibility to be generous in providing assistance to the poor, so possibly this comment simply reflected that Judas did not grasp the transcendence of the New covenant and the presence of Jesus as God in the flesh over the requirements of the Law and justification by works. But then, the very next verse (John 12:6) says that Judas didn't really care about the poor, but he used to pilfer from the money box. So we don't really know where Judas' heart went astray, other than it was sometime between when he was called, and when he became a traitor.

         Does this mean we are all at risk of betraying Christ at some time in the future after we have been called and decided to follow Him? Certainly, the ministry of the Holy Spirit would enable us to forever be faithful to Jesus. And as long as we allow the Holy Spirit full access to our life and heart, this risk would seem to be nonexistent. But we also read about Demas, who loved the world and deserted Paul (2 Timothy 4:10), after having spent some amount of time traveling with him. (Col. 4:14). The risk is there - loving the world can be deadly to our faith.

Luke 6:1-11 Theological prison

Luke 6:1-5 Perhaps as a continuation of the subject of salvation through grace vs. works, we have now the story of how Jesus' disciples were gleaning and eating on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were evidently present when this happened so they could immediately object that they were doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. (Exodus 31:12-17) The Sabbath was to be a sign to the people of Israel of God's covenant with them, and whoever worked on the Sabbath was to be cut off from God's people, or be put to death. Jesus' response has two points. First He cites the example of David eating the consecrated bread that was set apart for the priests, and also giving it to his compatriots. This passage is found in I Samuel 21:3-6. It would seem to be a violation of Exodus 29:32-33. However, this passage in Exodus specifically deals with the consecration ceremony for a priest. The bread of the Presence is mentioned several other places in law, but in none of these places does it state that the bread of the Presence which David and his companions ate was not to be eaten by laymen. (Exodus 25:30, 35:13, 39:36; Number 4:7). What Jesus did by citing this example is not to provide a logical argument that the prohibition against working on the Sabbath was also an interpolation beyond what God had told Moses, but to point to Himself as being the bread of the Presence. Just as in David's case, the bread symbolizing His presence was not reserved for the priests alone, but available to all, so in His presence rules about work on the Sabbath were transcended. So this is His second point: He came to earth to bring salvation by grace through faith, not a result of works, so that no one could boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9). He is The Lord of the Sabbath.

Luke 6:6-11 The narrative continues with another Sabbath story. Jesus is in a synagogue and heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. The scribes and Pharisees were watching to see if He would do it again - that is, heal on the Sabbath - and He knew perfectly well what they were thinking. So He asks them a question we might deem rhetorical: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good? Of course they do not reply. He looks at them and then heals the man's withered hand. The scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and left discussing what they might do to Jesus. The word translated rage, "anoias", is more aptly rendered folly than rage, which is quite appropriate, given the nature of their objection to God working supernaturally on the day He told the Israelites to rest. Perhaps they thought that God would limit Himself by the same rules that He gave the Israelites. If so, they seemed to have a very weak understanding of God's overarching character of love, compassion, and forgiveness.

         Perhaps we could look at this response differently. The Pharisees and scribes believed that they understood God through their theology, which interpreted the revelation that they had received up to that point. When God healed on the Sabbath, this was inconsistent with their theology. There are really only two possible responses to revelation like this. One response is to admit that we did not fully understand God and that we have to revise our understanding of Him in light of what He has now shown us. The alternative is to reject what God has shown us and cling to our own understanding and traditions of what God must be like. Unfortunately, the scribes and Pharisees chose the latter course. We should be on guard lest we think we understand God so well that we cannot accept new input to our theology when He reveals Himself to us in some way outside of our theological prison.

Luke 5:15-29 New wine for old tax collectors

Luke 5:15-16 Following the healing of the leper, Jesus continues His ministry of teaching and healing.   We find here that again, as in Luke 4:42, Jesus sought the Father's fellowship in solitude, to recharge His spiritual batteries for the ministry.

Luke 5:17-26 Jesus heals a paralytic. The key point in this passage seems to be the play on words relative to Jesus' comment regarding knowing that He had authority to forgive sins. It would seem from a physical perspective that it would be easier to tell a person that his sins are forgiven, because we would not expect to see any immediate physical evidence, than to tell a person that he is healed, because we would then expect to see physical evidence. But the scribes and pharisees thought it to be blasphemy for Jesus to pronounce to a man that his sins were forgiven, because only God can forgive sin. So Jesus offers them physical proof. And tells them that this is so that they will know that He has authority to forgive sins. This seems to invert priorities, but Jesus understood that the Pharisees and Scribes were not truly spiritual, because if they had known the Father, they would have recognized Him. (John 8:19). Hence he offers them physical proof of His divinity, the only kind they will accept. At least, they see the evidence with their own eyes.

Luke 5:27-39 Jesus calls Levi, who throws a huge party to introduce Him to his friends and others. Tax collectors have never been popular, but in Judea during the time of the Roman Empire, they were viewed as traitors to their people because they raised the money using the force of the Roman army to fund the occupation of Judea by that very army. Although this occupation would have provided a comfortable income, it seems likely that Levi had few friends - primarily other tax collectors. So after he decided to leave his livelihood to follow Jesus, he threw a big party and there was a great crowd of tax-collectors. Curiously the Pharisees and scribes were also there - possibly because they were more interested in trying to discredit Jesus than any relationship with Levi. They brought up two principle complaints. First, that Jesus ate and drank with tax-collectors and sinners. It is not clear to me if they intended this to be synonymous, i.e. a tax collector was a sinner by definition, or if it was a reference to others Jesus hung out with. In those days, disease was thought to be a judgment from God for sin in one's life, so it might have been a reference to the previous events in which Jesus touched and healed a leper and then healed a paralytic. In any event, Jesus' words were implicitly poking them in the eye. Sinners are the ones who need to repent. The righteous don't need to, and the self-righteous never will repent. So Jesus ministered to people who were willing to admit they needed God, and He called them to repent and offered them forgiveness and healing.

         It seems unfortunate that the universal human tendency in religion is to become self-righteous about our faith, or about our life. In the modern church, it often seems that people who should know Christ the best are the ones who mimic the Pharisees in casting judgment on anyone who isn't like them. Of course, modern legalists use a slightly different set of words than the Pharisees, because they will quote the words of Jesus or Paul or one of the gospel writers, rather than Moses. But the spirit of legalism and judgmentalism comes through. One might have thought that Jesus would have had natural allies in those people who knew the Mosaic law the best, but they were the very people who had Him put to death!

         The Pharisees' and scribes' second complaint about Jesus was that His disciples did not fast and pray like the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees' disciples. Jesus offered a two-fold explanation, perhaps hoping that they might listen and change their tune. The first part of His explanation was that it is not necessary nor appropriate to fast at a wedding, while everyone is celebrating in the presence of the groom. Similarly, there is no need to fast in the very presence of God. The second part of His explanation was to highlight the difference between the old and new covenants. The law could not save. His kingdom would be established based not on the law, nor on keeping the law, but a new covenant in which the indwelling Holy Spirit in each believer would be the source and basis of a new life, to be lived in relationship to God. The metaphor of wine for the Holy Spirit is also used in the parallel passage in Matt 9:14-17, but there seems to be essentially the same story. However, in Acts 2:13, the observers on Pentecost of the effects of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples commented that they were full of sweet wine. And perhaps there is some logic, from the physical viewpoint, in that the behavior of people who are euphoric because of being overwhelmed by the presence of God may in some ways resemble the euphoria of people who have had a lot of wine to drink and whose inhibitions have been removed.

         Jesus parting comment is that those who have drunk old wine have had their taste buds dulled and have no interest in the new wine. In effect, metaphorically, people who believe they can be saved by keeping rules, and believe that they can keep the rules well enough to please God, will never be interested in the Holy Spirit empowerment to live above sin, apart from the law.

Luke 5:12-14 Baptizing for the leprosy of sin

Luke 5:12-14 Jesus was in a city and encountered a leper. Immediately the Jews would have known this was wrong, because the Mosaic law specifically said that lepers were to dwell outside the city. (Lev 13:46). The leper calls out in faith for healing, and Jesus heals him. Jesus then tells him to go show himself to the priest and make the appropriate offering for cleansing that Moses commanded (Lev 14:2-32). The fact that Jesus touched the man is startling because according to the law, this would have made Jesus ceremonially unclean. (Lev 5:2-3, and many other passages). Yet Jesus showed the He is the healer because He healed the man of leprosy and did not Himself become contaminated. (I Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5)

         Leviticus 13-14 give a lengthy set of rules for dealing with leprosy. Lev 13:1-44 gives a detailed set of rules for evaluating skin conditions to diagnose if a person has leprosy (as opposed to some other skin ailment). Lev 13:45-56 give specific instructions that a leper is to warn others away from himself, and live alone outside the camp. Lev 13:47-59 give instructions for dealing with a garment with the mark of leprosy. Lev 14:1-32 gives detailed instructions for the ceremonial cleansing of a leper. Lev 14:33-53 give direction for dealing with a house that has the mark of leprosy. Lev 14:54-57 summarize this passage.

         In reading these passages, one has to wonder a bit about the meaning of leprosy here. Hansen's disease has its unique set of symptoms and people were well-advised to take extreme measures to avoid contracting it or spreading it. In the modern day many other diseases have had epidemic runs requiring similar levels of heroism to contain, for example Bubonic plague and the Black Death several centuries ago, more recently influenza and acquired immune-deficiency syndrome. But to the best of my knowledge, Hansen's disease does not cause a mark on a garment or on a building. So I would infer that the Levitical treatment of these deals more with conditions of mold or mildew or some similar condition. The treatment prescribed for garments and houses may indeed be appropriate, because there are certainly health impacts resulting from these conditions of things (not people), even if they are not Hansen's disease.

         Symbolically, leprosy has been used as a type or parable for sin. It is insidious, transmitted often unknowingly, and ultimately fatal. And so Jesus has power over sin as well, to heal the sinner of his sin, on top of forgiving him for it. Jesus told the leper to go make offering according to the Law of Moses for the cleansing of his leprosy. Interpreted typically, this would suggest that when Jesus delivers us from the power and penalty of sin, we need to make a similar public attestation to it. And in Luke 3, we saw that Jesus was baptized by John, although Jesus did not need to repent, but John was baptizing for repentance. And in Acts 2:38 Peter instructed his listeners to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and that they would then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The metaphor is completed by the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gift of an indwelling God gives the individual believer who has repented and been baptized the power to live above sin.

Luke 5:1-11 Follow Me

Luke 5:1-11 Evidently Jesus drew such a large crowd that they couldn't all hear Him speak so He needed to be separated from them. He already had been to Simon's house so He asked to borrow Simon's boat to use as a speaking platform, and he taught the crowd from a short distance off shore. After this He told Simon to go out into deep water and let down his nets. Simon's response seems to have been something like, "You are a carpenter and I am a fisherman. We've tried but they aren't biting today. But You are obviously speaking for God so I will do as you say." Most likely Simon was seeing Jesus as one of the prophets, like Elijah. But when they caught a huge haul with the nets that in Simon's professional opinion was not going to happen, Simon came to realize that Jesus was truly Lord. Symbolically he first had to get help to bring in the catch, because the haul was so great, and had to deal with the boats almost sinking because there were so many fish. Then he was in great fear because he realized he was in the presence of God.

         Being in the presence of God ought to inspire this same reverential fear in all of us. Perhaps we haven't seen a miracle quite like this, but we have probably seen miracles of one sort or another in our daily life. God is holy and we are sinful. Being in the presence of God ought to cause us to react as Simon did. But Jesus' response is reassuring. He didn't say 'fear not'; He didn't say 'Your sins are forgiven'; He told Simon to follow Him and He would be fishing for and catching men. In other words, 'Join in My work'.

         Simon, James, and John left everything and followed Jesus. There is no discussion of provision for their families. They must have left their boats and nets at the side of the sea. We know that at least on one occasion they returned to fishing (John 21:3-11). On that occasion, Jesus repeated the sign of bringing fish for them to catch when they had caught nothing after fishing all night. What does all this mean? Perhaps one simple observation: we have a profession and there is nothing wrong with that. But Jesus' call has priority. He is not unaware that we need to provide for our families, and He will bless our professional calling to the extent necessary to meet our earthly obligations. But His call to follow Him has priority.

Luke 4:14-44 The Highest Priority

Luke 4:14-15 Jesus began teaching in the synagogues in Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. Word got around fast.

Luke 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth and preached in the synagogue. He read from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2, but he stopped, just short of proclaiming the day of God's vengeance. He proclaimed the anointing of The Lord to set captives free. No doubt the Jews were anxiously awaiting the coming of Messiah, to free them from bondage to the Romans. But that was not Jesus' purpose. Since they were all speaking well of Him, it seems as though He was poking them in the eye, with references to two specific instances when God sent prophets to Gentiles. Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarepheth, which belonged to Sidon, where his presence enabled God to supernaturally feed her during the famine, and then to raise her son from the dead. (I Kings 17:9-24)  A little girl who was captured by the Syrians led Naaman to Elisha, who healed him of leprosy even though Syria was a gentile nation that was frequently at war with Israel.

         Why did Jesus bring these two examples up? How was this linked to the lack of respect He received in His own hometown? Perhaps no direct connection, but it highlights the Jews' lack of understanding of God's purposes and ways. He wants to save all people, not just Jews. And He chooses to show His power and grace through the humble Son of a carpenter. Perhaps the Jews were expecting another leader like Judas Maccabeas. Jesus tried to set them straight.

Luke 4:31-37 Jesus comes to Capernaum, taught in the synagogue, and cast an unclean demon out of a man. The demon knew who Jesus was. Jesus told him to be quiet. The crowd was amazed because they had never seen this kind of authority before. Word got around some more.

Luke 4:38-39 Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law. Evidently Jesus was at Simon's house, although later narrative (Luke 5:4) implies Simon was not yet a disciple. So although this was not Jesus' first miracle, it seems to have initiated a chain reaction, as is evident in the next few verses. 

Luke 4:40-41 Evidently, beginning at sunset, everybody from the local area showed up at Simon's house, and Jesus stayed up all night, healing and casting out demons. It must have been both physically and spiritually demanding. Jesus healed them all. A picture of what is possible in the kingdom of God. If we are willing to pay the price of an all-night prayer service.

Luke 4:42-44 Jesus went to recharge His spiritual batteries at daybreak, in prayer. He knew that His relationship with the Father was paramount, even more important than His ministry. The crowds eventually found Him and wanted Him to stay there. It doesn't seem that they were drawn to His message, but the healings. Jesus knew this risk and later explicitly rebuked people for following Him because of the natural blessings that He would bring (John 6:26-27). And so when we see the miracles, we should not discount them as indicators of God's love and care, but we must always keep in mind that relationship with the Father must be our highest priority. Even when that relationship does not bring blessings in the natural world.

Luke 4:1-13 Passing the first test

Luke 4:1-13 Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. (Parallel passage in Matthew 4:1-11 is essentially the same). The Devil tempts Him three times, and each time Jesus responds with a quote from Deuteronomy. (Luke 4:4 Jesus quotes Deut 8:3, Luke 4:8 Jesus quotes Deut 6:13, and Luke 4:12 Jesus quotes Deut 6:16) In the third temptation the Devil twists a verse from the Law (Luke 1:11-Satan quotes Psalm 91:12) to tempt Jesus, to which Jesus responds with a quote from Deuteronomy (Luke 1:12-Deut 6:16) that places everything in context.

         I have heard it suggested that these three temptations map to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. There is some substantiation for this interpretation. After fasting forty days, turning stones into bread so He could eat would satisfy a natural fleshly appetite. And there is nothing wrong with this appetite, except that the Holy Spirit had led Jesus into the wilderness so it would have been a failure to do what the Holy Spirit said. And so it is with all of our bodily appetites. Food was created for the stomach and the stomach for food. (I Cor 6:13) Later, in John 4:32,34 Jesus will explain to His disciples that doing the will of the Father is food that they do not understand. Fasting enables us to experience this truth of transcendence. There is nothing wrong with physical food that nourishes the body, but when we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, we receive spiritual nutrition.

         We should not pass by the lusts of the flesh that modern man is tempted by. Although fasting from food is a rare discipline in our day, we are also inundated with sexual stimuli to a degree unimaginable to the people of Jesus' day. The media of communications are, at the physical and transport layers, amoral as to content. But they enable, at the service layer, and especially at the application layer, the dupes or willing co-conspirators of the devil to not simply tempt, but overwhelm the senses of, any post-puberty male with images and suggested activities that sate the fleshly appetites. There is a legitimate satisfaction of sexual appetites in marriage. In fact, in several places, the passion of marital love is used as a Biblical metaphor for the relationship between God and His people. But context is everything, and the spiritual transcends the physical.

         When the devil offered Jesus dominion over all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for Jesus worshiping him, we have the divine equivalent of the lust of the eyes. Jesus desired to rule the world but ... Jesus desires to set everything right. Worshiping the devil would be exactly wrong. Adam had handed the world over to Satan in the garden of Eden, and metaphorically, each one of us has done the same thing. But Jesus did not. And we would be blessed if we do not continue to repeat the same surrender over and over again. Jesus would eventually defeat Satan on Calvary, and will one day rule over all the kingdoms of the world, and He will set everything right. But it will be according to the plan and direction of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Father's will.

         The boastful pride of life would have been exemplified if Jesus had forced the Father's hand. Because Satan had correctly interpreted Psalm 91:11-12 as applying to Jesus, although it applies to any who trusts in God's protection and takes shelter under His wings. But if Jesus had thrown Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, in order for the plan of salvation to be accomplished, God would have had to intervene supernaturally. The Son would have forced the Father's hand. But Jesus again quoted the law of Moses, to put this in perspective. And when we are tempted to show off spiritually, to show our special relationship with the Father, we must always remember that we should not test God.

         There is a difference in context that should be considered. When Moses spoke the words of Deut 6:16, he was referring to the Israelites' complaints at Massah (Exodus 17:2-7). In that event, the Israelites accused Moses, and implicitly YHWH, of bringing them out in he desert to kill them through lack of water and starvation. It was this insult to God's character that evidently Moses referred to as putting God to the test. But Jesus used this verse in a circumstance about forcing God's hand. What is the overarching principle? Whenever we believe we can put our judgment above God's, to judge His actions or to try to get Him to act in a way that He has not chosen, we are testing Him.

         Contrast Jesus' temptation in the wilderness by Satan to Adam's temptation by Satan in the garden. Both were tempted by Satan but Adam fell into the trap at the very first temptation, the one about food. Jesus gave example of how to handle temptation, successfully rejecting Satan's offers by quoting scripture. Adam, on the other hand, saw that the food was good to eat and partook of it. He chose his judgment above God's, with tragic consequences. He never even  struggled with the other two temptations because he had already fallen.

         What is it about food? Is there a link between the modern world's rejection of God and the gospel, and the obesity epidemic that sweeps it? In looking at material causes, some point to processed foods or the high sugar content of many foods. And certainly there are other material causes. But behind all that, there is the efficient cause of the lifestyle that chooses convenience and immediate sensory gratification - food that tastes good. And behind that is the final cause that the modern world has lost contact with God and His view of life, so that the most important thing is earthly or physical needs.  When Adam ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6), he hid himself from God. So it appears that when Adam decided to disregard God's instructions, he had already fallen. Food was merely the instrument by which this happened. When Jesus refused to turn stones into bread, He had not fallen, but remained faithful to the truth that He knew from God's revelation to Moses. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When we have our priorities in order, that is passing this first test.