{"id":11133,"date":"2020-08-28T20:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-29T03:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_5_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-08-28T20:20:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T03:20:56","slug":"luke_5_12-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_5_12-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Cares for Your Whole Being"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 5:12-26\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is Luke 5:12-26.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 5:12-14 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-14:\u00a0 This to me is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible.\u00a0 Here you have a man covered with a skin disease which not only affected him physically but socially as well.\u00a0 According to the Jewish laws, a person with leprosy was not allowed to live among the people but had to live alone outside the city.\u00a0 They had to cover their face, leave their hair undone, and walk around with torn clothes yelling \u201cUnclean! Unclean!\u201d to warn everyone that they had an infectious skin disease.\u00a0 Here we see a leper falling at Jesus\u2019 feet, covering his face, and begging Jesus, \u201cLord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.\u201d (v12)\u00a0 Jesus reaches out and lovingly touches this leper.\u00a0 This was quite possibly the first time this leper had been physically touched by anyone in years (since anyone who touched a leper was deemed to be temporarily unclean as well).\u00a0 Then Jesus says, \u201cI am willing.\u00a0 Be clean!\u201d at which point this man is completely cured of his leprosy (v13).<\/p>\n

Why does Jesus tell the leper not to tell anyone what happened but to show himself to the priest and offer the required sacrifice for his cleansing (v14)?\u00a0 That\u2019s because Jesus wanted this former leper as soon as possible to go through the necessary legal procedure of being examined by a priest and being reinstated so that he could live as a normal person in society once again.\u00a0 Jesus saw that the pain of leprosy was only a part of this former leper\u2019s problem.\u00a0 There was also the tremendous hurt, loneliness and isolation that this former leper had endured from years of being ostracized for his disease.\u00a0 Knowing this former leper had not just physical needs but social needs as well, Jesus initiates the process for this former leper to be restored to society and socially healed too.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Jesus\u00a0loves broken people and wants to restore them in every way that they are hurting.\u00a0 Thus the healing that Jesus brings is not only physical in nature but relational too.\u00a0 Because of Jesus, broken relationships can be mended and we can begin to interact with others in a healthy, normal way again.<\/p>\n

Later on, Jesus would do something similar for us.\u00a0 When we had a disease called sin that caused us to be excluded from God\u2019s presence and community, Jesus came, reached out, touched us and became unclean for us by dying on the cross for our sins.\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 death on the cross restored us relationally to God, cleansing us of sin, making us a part of His community and empowering us to have healthier relationships with one another. \u00a0\u00a0Jesus cares for your whole being, not just for your physical health but your relational health as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So whenever you feel rejected, excluded or hopeless, know that Jesus reaches out to you with love, compassion and healing power. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 5:15-16 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-16:\u00a0 No matter how popular or busy Jesus became, Jesus kept protecting and prioritizing his daily time with his Heavenly Father.\u00a0 I like Pastor Eugene Peterson\u2019s paraphrase of this verse: \u201cAs often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.\u201d (Luke 5:16, The Message paraphrase)\u00a0Let\u2019s go out of our way to spend time with God, for that is where we\u2019ll find the rest, wisdom and peace we need to do what God has called us to do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 5:17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
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\nOn verse 17:\u00a0 Pharisees and teachers of the law were the religious leaders of the day and were teaching people a very different message from the good news that Jesus brought.\u00a0 Hearing about Jesus and his teaching, they came from everywhere in Judea and Jerusalem to hear Jesus speak. Most of them had the intent of finding fault with Jesus\u2019 teaching.\u00a0\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t the presence of these critics that Jesus was concerned about as much as the presence of God and the power of the Lord being present for Jesus to heal the sick.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0What matters most is not how many enemies are around you but the God who is with you.\u00a0 If God is for you, it doesn\u2019t matter who is against you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 5:18-20 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0 Persistence, innovation and the willingness to take risks — because of these three traits, these men were able to find a way to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus.\u00a0 As a result their friend found Jesus, forgiveness and a new start.<\/p>\n

Likewise,\u00a0may you be persistent, innovative and willing to take risks to bring people to Jesus.<\/strong>\u00a0 As in the case of these men in verses 18-19, it just might be the most memorable and important thing that you do with your life.\u00a0 Who is someone God wants you to be focusing on with the goal of leading them to Jesus?<\/p>\n

Also, most people, including the paralyzed man and his friends, probably thought that the paralyzed man\u2019s biggest problem was his physical paralysis.\u00a0 Jesus saw it differently.\u00a0 Before even mentioning his physical paralysis, first Jesus addressed a different, bigger, hidden problem, which was this man\u2019s sin (v20).\u00a0 Jesus then gave this man what he needed more than anything else: forgiveness for his sins.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the biggest problem is not the obvious one that everyone can see.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes the biggest problem is hidden beneath the surface.<\/strong>\u00a0 It takes a wise person to spot that hidden problem, focus on it above and beyond the more obvious but lesser problems, and offer an effective solution.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Jesus did.<\/p>\n

Luke 5:21-26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
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\nOn verses 21-26:\u00a0 To prove that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins, Jesus healed the man\u2019s paralysis, thereby answering the criticisms and doubts of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

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  1. Jesus believed he was God, since he claimed to be able to forgive sins.\u00a0 Jesus proved his claims to be God with his miracles.<\/li>\n
  2. We are not God, but like Jesus, let\u2019s do our best to back up our words with our actions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Jesus, I praise You for being the one whose love reaches the unreachable and touches the untouchable, who sees us with eyes of compassion and mercy instead of judgment, who cares for our whole being, not just our physical health, but our social and spiritual health as well.\u00a0 Like those men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus, I pray both for myself and for my church, that we would be persistent, courageous, creative and willing to take risks so that we can lead people to Jesus.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

    Today\u2019s passage is Luke 5:12-26.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

    Luke 5:12-14 (NIV)\u00a0
    \n12\u00a0\u00a0While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”\u00a0
    \n13\u00a0\u00a0Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.\u00a0
    \n14\u00a0\u00a0Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
    \n\u00a0
    \nOn verses 12-14:\u00a0 This to me is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible.\u00a0 Here you have a man covered with a skin disease which not only affected him physically but socially as well.\u00a0 According to the Jewish laws, a person with leprosy was not allowed to live among the people but had to live alone outside the city.\u00a0 They had to cover their face, leave their hair undone, and walk around with torn clothes yelling \u201cUnclean! Unclean!\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11134,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133\/revisions\/11134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}