Calling an acknowledged sinner does fit well with the "those who are well don't need a doctor, but those who are sick" teaching from Mark 2:17 but I'd have to check if that one made it into Luke anywhere. Perhaps Simon's important attribute for being called is that he recognizes that he is "sick".
Calling an acknowledged sinner does fit well with the "those who are well don't need a doctor, but those who are sick" teaching from Mark 2:17 but I'd have to check if that one made it into Luke anywhere. Perhaps Simon's important attribute for being called is that he recognizes that he is "sick".
Luke's expansion on the rejection by the people of Nazareth is interesting. He fleshes out what Jesus actually said in the temple, talking about himself as fulfillment of Isaiah as well as the stories about Elisha and Elijah, so clearly relating himself to the prophets (so is he a prophet?). But he also makes the rejection more dramatic. Mark and Matthew just tell us that they took offense at his teaching and "he could do no deed of power there". In Luke, they literally run him out of town and almost toss him off a cliff, leading to the seemingly miraculous escape (though I'm picturing one of those movie scenes where the crowd is so stupid and blind with rage that he just manages it with a sneaky move or three). It really seems to ramp up the drama and paint the people of Nazareth in an even more negative light. A foreshadowing of the crowds turning on Jesus later? A literary device to really drive home his line about a prophet not being without honour save in his own home?
Just to circle back again, (without getting dizzy, of course) the examples of Elijah and Elisha Jesus mentions have one more dimension: Elijah could have stayed with a lot of widows in Israel; but instead stayed with a widow from Sidon, a non-Jewish person. Elisha could have healed any number of Israelite lepers, but the story is about Naaman, a Syrian commander, not only not Jewish, but a military enemy. Could it be that Jesus was telling them something they didn't want to hear, about the freedom of God's love and mercy, even to "THEM!!!" that really ticked them off, and made them want to throw him over a cliff?
Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch. (Luke 5: 4 NET)
This is my view on this verse
For me Spiritually this verse is very important as Jesus is trying to make himself known to the ones His Father is directing Him to pick as His Disciples ----Fishermen would have certain qualities suited for God's plan to succeed -----Fishermen have patience --they would have a willingness to learn --they would have stamina to endure hardship ----and they would know how to deal with and be happy with a small catch as apposed to always expecting a big fat catch of fish ----
So Jesus sees them struggling with their nets and tells them to go to deeper water -----this is the interesting part as they don't have any idea who this man is but they do as His says ------this shows that they had Faith and humbled themselves to This unknown Man's instructions ----these were experienced fishermen and they could have told Jesus to go about His way and stop telling them how to do their job but they didn't-- they instead put that Faith into the right positive action and caught many fish -----so this would have amaze them -----So when they were called to go with Jesus they left all behind and went straight away to follow Him
When God's calls us for His purpose there is a strong Divine pulling on the Heart ----not the heart that pumps blood but the inner spirit which is in the center of the person -----and these fisherman were drawn by this calling ----When Ministers are called by God for His Ministry -----this is a Divine strong Pulling on the heart --as well -------that is my view ----
I say -------Then we could just maybe read more into this ----the deep water ---and the casting nets signify -----
------the deep water --is spoken of in ----Proverbs 20:5 GW
5 A motive in the human heart is like deep water,
and a person who has understanding draws it out.
----Net casting is spoken of in -----Matthew 13:47 GW
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It gathered all kinds of fish.
I say -----The Boat could represent the Church in their failing state of Faith as it shows in Matthew 14:24 GW
24 The boat, now hundreds of yards from shore, was being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind.
I say ----when we are not focused on Jesus and grounded and rooted in our Faith in Him ---we are double minded and unstable in all we do -----tossed about by the storms of life ------
This is a small article on this -----if interested to read -----
The ship (bark or barque, barchetta) was an ancient Christian symbol. Imagry comes from Noah's ark, Jesus protecting Peter's boat in a storm on the sea of Galilee, and the ship's mast that forms the sign of a cross.
For me Spiritually this verse is very important as Jesus is trying to make himself known to the ones His Father is directing Him to pick as His Disciples ----Fishermen would have certain qualities suited for God's plan to succeed -----Fishermen have patience --they would have a willingness to learn --they would have stamina to endure hardship ----and they would know how to deal with and be happy with a small catch as apposed to always expecting a big fat catch of fish ----
this shows that they had Faith and humbled themselves to This unknown Man's instructions ----these were experienced fishermen and they could have told Jesus to go about His way and stop telling them how to do their job but they didn't-- they instead put that Faith into the right positive action and caught many fish
Redbaron ----you said -----Could it be that Jesus was telling them something they didn't want to hear, about the freedom of God's love and mercy, even to "THEM!!!" that really ticked them off, and made them want to throw him over a cliff?
I say -----You are right here I think -----They were very upset as Jesus was saying the Gentiles were more accepting than His own people -----The Gentiles were being shown compassion and they took offense as they were hearing the truth and their minds were closed to what Jesus was trying to tell them ------so they went away ------
This happens today ---many get offended when the truth is Preached and turn their ears off and flee ------
But the thing with this women ---she did what Elijah tool her to do -----so she humbled herself and listened and put her faith into the right positive response and got the right outcome -----it doesn't matter who or what you are ----what matters is if you listen and obey what the word says -----Jesus is the word ----
Or, as in this case, attack the preacher. And it doesn't just happen in the religious world. We've seen health officers and similar getting threats for their actions and statements on Covid.
There are no further unique stories in Luke 5 and none in Luke 6. I will discuss Luke 7 tomorrow.
Meanwhile, there is one little nuance that interests me . . .
Luke 6: 12-16 outlines the selection of the 12 disciples. (There is a close parallel in Mark 3 and a similar story in Matthew 10.)
Only in Luke does Jesus pray before calling the twelve. Jesus goes to the mountain and spends the night in prayer to God. The mountain is involved in Mark but there is no mention of Jesus praying.
Interesting. It make perfect sense that Jesus would pray before making a decision of that import. These are, after all, his chosen successors, not just another bunch of followers. So why does only Luke mention it? Perhaps he thought the same way and since Mark hadn't mentioned it, he inserted it thinking it must have happened. Or perhaps only Luke thought it mattered.
paradox3 ---you said ----Only in Luke does Jesus pray before calling the twelve. Jesus goes to the mountain and spends the night in prayer to God. The mountain is involved in Mark but there is no mention of Jesus praying.
My View on this ----
Mark and Luke are speaking to a Gentile audience ------So my opinion is Mark kept it just to the mountain as that by itself would give the impression that Jesus went to a divine solitary place which denotes a nearness to God -----Luke on the other hand gives more detail to his audience as he wants to give all the facts to give a precise picture of what is going on -----
-------I got this from Google
Mountains have a Spiritual meaning in scripture
What is the spiritual meaning of a mountain?
Mountain. The mountain is thought to contain divine inspiration, and it is the focus of pilgrimages of transcendence and spiritual elevation. ... It symbolizes constancy, permanence, motionlessness, and its peak spiritually signifies the state of absolute consciousness.
I say -----So maybe Mark was hoping his audience would understand this and he wouldn't have to go into detail ?
Have been thinking some more about how Luke develops the character of Jesus, always adding new dimensions to Him.
In the calling of the disciples, we learn that Jesus goes off to pray in solitude. Actually, this was mentioned earlier in Luke as well.
Tomorrow's story (spoiler alert) will bring us Jesus resurrecting someone from the dead. It is almost like Luke wants to remind us that Jesus has miraculous powers in addition to his other attributes. In case we were doubting this fact.
Jesus arrives in Nain with his disciples and a large crowd. A man who has died is being carried out of the town. Jesus has compassion for the man's mother and says, "Do not weep." He touches the bier and those carrying it stand still. "Young man, I say to you, get up," commands Jesus. The young man stands up and begins to speak. Jesus gives him back to his mother.
The crowd is afraid but glorifies God, recognizing that a great prophet has come among them. A report circulates throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
For reflection:
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said, "Do not weep." (Luke 7:13 NET)
Reading ahead yesterday, I expected to skip quickly over this little story. My first impression was that Luke added it here to make a point about Jesus' supernatural powers. And that may be, of course.
But today, I am seeing more in it. Maybe because it is a story of a mother, and today is Mothers' Day.
It is a striking story of the compassion Jesus had for others: When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said, "Do not weep."
It is a story about the momentum gathering around Jesus and the people's recognition of his unique nature.
Does it foreshadow Jesus' own death and resurrection? It seems that way to me.
It also gives us a glimpse of the grief his own mother will experience.
-aradox3 ---you said -----
It is a striking story of the compassion Jesus had for others: When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said, "Do not weep."
My view here
If you really look at this story it is much more -----it is about hope in life's storms ---it is about Power over death ----it is about Faith in Christ's life giving Word ---it is not just about hope in our own lives but hope for a hurting world today -----God is compassionate to those who are morning and the hope of better comes through His Compassion and Grace----
Can you imagine the powerful effect this raising of her son had on the Mother ---Do you think she might have become a follower of Christ after witnessing the raising of her son ----- her tears of grief were changed to tears of Joy -----
This is a powerful witness to a dead sinner being raised to a new life in Christ Jesus ------and when a son and his mother are both raised anew in Christ --they will find true fellowship -joy -- harmony and peace in their relationship where there might have been division and discontentment in their former earthly life -----
And what about others who were witnesses to this even or heard of this event -----do we think it would have effected their lives in any way ------
It teaches us the God has compassion for all of His Creation ------so it is not God who abandons His Creation ---it is His Creation who abandons God ---
Much to take away from this scripture in my opinion ------
I have to choose to read this story symbolically, otherwise it would leave more mothers grieving on earth than Jesus chooses, to save with his "supernatural" powers.
I have to choose to read this story symbolically, otherwise it would leave more mothers grieving on earth than Jesus chooses, to save with his "supernatural" powers.
What if it just reflective of Jesus as a divinely-gifted human with Resurrection of the Dead as one of his powers? He reacts to what he sees, as happens here when the sight of the funeral moves him to act. So he could be able to resurrect the dead but only uses it, as most of us would, when he sees the opportunity to act. Also, one person can only touch so many bodies. So I would say it is problematic for Jesus as God, where you expect that anybody could be resurrected, but not for Jesus as divinely-gifted prophet. Though the traditional Christian idea is that the resurrection of all the (good, faithful, recipients of Grace, whatever) dead will come one day, just hasn't happened yet.
That said, yeah, raising the dead is myth-making in my books. So we focus on what the story might mean, rather than just on it as an account of an event.
I have to choose to read this story symbolically, otherwise it would leave more mothers grieving on earth than Jesus chooses, to save with his "supernatural" powers.
Yes, I think so. If we do this, we can explore what the story means in context and ask ourselves why it is written in a particular way or inserted at a particular point in the narrative.
If we consider questions like these ones, we can often bypass the whole debate about whether a story is literal or metaphorical. For the record, I understand the bible to be a combination of history and mythology, with the two often becoming intertwined. It seldom matters a great deal to me which is which. What does a story mean for my life and faith today? This is the question I often need to ask myself,
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