Wilderness Wanderings

While 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." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:12-13).

This miracle story captured my imagination and heart in my early years of ministry. Because we are working our way slowly through the gospel of Luke, I realize that it's a pivot in the story about Jesus. A new question about Jesus is being introduced. Let me explain.

Here was a man who lived on the garbage dump: sewage & manure from the city streets, butcher scraps, blood from the offerings in the temple & rotting stuff. That was the garbage dump. By this point the man was covered with leprosy which usually began small, a little patch of white skin, a running sore; something we'd cover with a band aid.

There was no cure, and since it was highly contagious, afflicted people were banished from society. They lived in a community near the garbage dump, living off scraps of food people flung at them from far off. This man had probably lived there for several years, since his conditioned was well advanced. Likely, he had already lost several fingers and toes to the disease. It had disfigured his face so that even his parents would not recognize him.

In Israel's early days, leprosy was simply a disease, but over the years, it became more and more connected with sinfulness. You got leprosy because you or maybe your parents had committed some terrible sin. Leprous people were not just banished from society, they were also forbidden from entering the temple. Thus, they were abandoned by family and friends and evicted from God's presence.

But here he is looking for Jesus. And finding him, he falls with his face to the ground, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Do you notice the subtle shift Luke introduces? Thus far, the central question has been about who Jesus is, his identity: Is he the son of God? That is now established. Now there is a new question, "What is his character? What is in his heart? How far is Jesus willing to go? How deep does the compassion and redemption of God reach?"

"If you are willing…" the man says. "If you are willing, you can make me clean." It is not a question of capability but of desire.

And Jesus responds with two things that grabbed my heart all those years ago. He deliberately reached out his hand to touch the man. It had been years since this person had been touched by anyone except his fellow afflicted. Now he is touched by the Son of God. Imagine that. And then to hear the words, "I am willing, be clean." As the man felt the sensation of a healthy hand on his body, he experienced the warm sensation of the power of God spread through him as the leprosy fled before the touch of the Son of God.

In one precious, compassionate moment Jesus breaks through all the social and spiritual barriers that had barred this man from human and divine contact. With that touch, this man was restored to his family and friends and neighbourhood and welcomed back into the temple.

"I am willing," said Jesus, "Be clean."

To all of us, who may feel like this leper, banished from society and from God, with a deep sense of being dirty inside and out, Jesus says, "I am willing, be clean." To all of us, who are burdened by sin, weighed down by the belief that God doesn't want us, Jesus reaches out and says, "I am willing, be clean."

Jesus is willing and able to heal; to heal anything that stands between you and God and others. In his compassion Jesus touches us where we hurt. He touches us in those places where we feel the effects of sin. Whether those are deep hurts because of what others have done or scars because of sins we have committed. Jesus reaches out with his hand to heal our hurts and says, "I am willing, be clean."

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:8-11)

Days pass one into another without much pomp or fanfare. It's just ordinary life: food, activity, sleep, some chit-chatting. Nothing special to see here. Certainly nothing that God would be interested in getting involved with. He deals with the big stuff, right? That's certainly what Peter thought.

He was just an ordinary guy—a fisherman—and as Pastor Michael talked about last Friday, he and his companions had just come up empty after a whole night of working the nets.

But then Jesus shows up. Jesus needs Peter's very ordinary boat and rowing skills so He can preach to a crowd. Then Jesus suggests another fishing trip: to the wrong place at the wrong time of day. But this time so many fish are caught that the boats began to sink—Peter had never seen anything like it! And in that moment, right there in the ordinary and perhaps even frustrating celebrity fishing trip Jesus had suckered them into, the Kingdom of God happened upon them.

The thin veneer of the ordinary was ripped back to reveal the Holy Son of God who had been sitting and working in their midst the whole time. Peter fell to Jesus' knees in confession. Somehow all that preaching Jesus did from the shore didn't do it for Peter: but this? Jesus stepped into the real, ordinary concerns of Peter's life—into the personal sphere of Peter's expertise and inadequacy—in order to reveal a work that Peter's practiced, master angler eyes could see and know immediately was nothing less than divine. So Peter fell to Jesus' knees.

Then Jesus said: "Don't be afraid, I still need your ordinary fishing skills." Ordinary Peter had been participating in some big holy mysteries all day without even knowing it—but now with the eyes to see it, his life would never be the same. He left everything to follow Jesus.

It's one thing to hear the word. It's another to see and experience the word made flesh in one's own life. That's why it's important to look for the places in your ordinary life where Jesus' salvation meets you.

Because under the thin veneer of all that ordinary everyday life, a Holy God is stirring about. It's never just fish, or work, or ordinary life. We might be ordinary sinful people, but God in Jesus has redeemed the sinful and put the ordinary to His use. God's holiness surges through the ordinary as our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit, bread is given for the forgiveness of sins, and water marks us as God's own.

So keep your eyes peeled and your ears attentive. You never know where the thin veneer of your ordinary everyday life might give way to a vision of Jesus at work. But beware, because to realize that the sacred mysteries of Jesus' work are right there, stirring about within the ordinary of your life, might also mean that you, like Peter, can no longer be the same.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Samuel 5 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. Have you ever tried to use God as one does a Genie in a bottle?

1. What happens in Dagon's temple?

1. What do the Philistines learn about Israel's God? How is this good news for us?

1. How does the ark of God in Philistine territory point towards Jesus?

1. In what ways do we try to manipulate God when we pray?

1. What is the antidote to our attempts at manipulation?

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink (Luke 5:1-7).

This is a beloved miracle story. Its in every Children's Bible and every Sunday School curriculum and sneaks into many VBS programs as well. Despite this familiarity, I think it is worth spending some time with it today, paying attention to Simon's relationship to Jesus.

We do not know this upfront, but it begins in a place many can empathize with: a lack of resources. Simon and his cohorts have been fishing unsuccessfully all night. They are likely grumpy and worried. Grumpy because hopes kept get dashed all night until finally, as the sun rose, they gave up. Worried because they had nothing to sell and therefore nothing to provide for their families.

As they were cleaning their nets to prepare for the next night's fishing (probably wondering if it would be better and how to tell wives and kids, they had nothing), along comes this new rabbi wanting to use Simon's boat as a pulpit. We can almost hear him muttering, "Fine, whatever. But not too long, when I'm finishing cleaning, I'm going home to bed".

At this point, we might say that Simon is a volunteer. He has a boat which Jesus can use while he doesn't need it. Is that where you are in your relationship with Jesus? Volunteering, but not invested. Hanging around the fringes, unwilling to get connected. If you want to stay there, you might want to quit here. Jesus isn't done with Simon or with you.

Jesus invites him to go deeper. "Look," he says, "we're already in the boat, come, let's go where the water is deeper and see if we can't catch some fish. Let's see if we can't fix this lack of resources." It was absurd, expecting to catch fish in the middle of the day. Simon's response is like our shoulder shrug, 'Whatever.'

Jesus' presence in the boat makes all the difference. The results are overwhelming. His nets almost tearing apart, his boat almost swamped by the weight and wealth of this tremendous catch, Simon does everything he can to ensure that this bounty is safely hauled aboard. He calls over his fishing buddies, and together they fill the second boat to the sinking point.

Understand what is happening here. Jesus has been proclaiming the arrival of God's kingdom. He has healed the sick and cast out demons. He's going to ask Simon to join him (more about that on Monday). First, Jesus wants to show Simon that God's resources are without limit. That is why Jesus always provides abundantly more food and wine then needed. Scarcity is result of sin and evil. Jesus has power to cast this out as well, to set people free from the worry about how to survive tomorrow.

He is going to call Simon to be a disciple. With this miracle, Jesus is saying to Simon, trust me. Its not that Simon can take the fish along and sell some each day. Rather, Jesus is inviting Simon to believe that he can do this again tomorrow.

Jesus does not typically walk into our lives when we are in control, when we are flush with our own success. He tends to enter our places of vulnerability and confusion, failure and sin. He likes to get us out there in the deep water where we don't know how to succeed. We tend to gravitate to those Christians who know how to do it, who have all the answers. But Jesus saves the world through humility, gentleness, compassion, sacrifice and trust. Those are the qualities he desires in us.

We will not grow as Jesus' disciples if we stay where we've always been. Jesus beckons us, invites us to come deeper, to grow, to trust him more. But to trust him more, we need to let go of what gives us security today.

Jesus took his rest in solitude. And that break from the regular fit and flow of life was what, time and time again, Luke shows us to be the decisive transition moments of his ministry.

After all, Jesus' popularity was growing exponentially: everyone was raving over him, the news was spreading, and people were flocking for healings and words from Jesus.

But instead of doubling down to consolidate his popularity by building a shop front or a little empire based in the pulpit of the local synagogue, Jesus withdraws. The place he withdraws to is a "solitary place" reminiscent of the wilderness where Jesus was tempted by the devil at the beginning of this chapter.

If you recall, one of those temptations was to do something spectacular that would win a crowd's approval, like jumping off the temple to be saved by angels to the applause and belief of all. Another was to bow to the devil to win an earthly kingdom. Jesus spoke the word of God and turned away from both these temptations. But here they arise again.

The crowds are flocking: they are looking for him. They want the kingdom to come as their very own possession. "We love you, Jesus, keep the pain and evil of this world and the devil far away from us forever!" But Jesus, in the restful clarity of his solitary place, turns away from the temptations to be loved by a crowd and to set up a permanent storefront for the Kingdom in Capernaum. The scope is too narrow: he came for all the world and so his ministry cannot stop here.

It is here in this place, that Jesus mentions the Kingdom of God for the first time. A kingdom which is not an earthly kingdom with a particular, geographical residence. But rather a kingdom that is for the whole world, first for the Jews in their synagogues, and then for Samaria, and on out to the ends of the earth.

The fact that we are a part of Jesus' church today, is a direct consequence of the fact that he did not bow to the devil's temptation to set up an earthly Kingdom in Capernaum that day. Sure: he could've kept them demon- and fever-free forever, but without the cross and his ascension, the Spirit and the church: what kind of Kingdom would that have been? Surely not the Kingdom of God that is for all people and that transcends all ages and places.

Jesus continued to turn away from temptation. For him, that included the very earthly practice of withdrawing from his success, from his work, and from the social demands of people (for us that would include withdrawing from our technology). In the clarity of that solitary place, he was able to see and turn away from the temptations to power and chasing the approval of others.

If Jesus needed a practice of withdrawing to rest and be alone for clarity in order to fight the temptations of his life and ministry: how much more so do we? Thankfully, when we withdraw, we're never quite alone. Jesus meets us there in those solitary places when we do brave the wilds to clearly face nothing but ourselves and our temptations. And in those places, Jesus continues to invite and enable us to follow him: out of temptation and into his Kingdom.

Today's text continues with Luke's chief concerns: who is Jesus and where does his authority and power come from? In yesterday's devotion, Pastor Anthony talked about how a demon tried to use Jesus' name to claim authority over him, but Jesus would have nothing to do with such power plays. With a simple, forceful command, 'Be quiet; be gone', Jesus showed just how great his authority is.

Our story for today is linked to that one. Luke tells us that Jesus rebuked the demon, now he rebukes the fever. Why does Jesus treat demon and sickness the same? Because he came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and both demon and fever are Satan's work. We are to notice that Jesus words are effective against both forms of evil. The demon and the fever flee.

Both people are set free. Have you ever woken up from a high fever? Do you recall how tired and weak you were? Not this woman. She gets up and serves dinner. This is not a story about a woman's place being in the kitchen. No indeed. This is a story about the authority and power of Jesus to send the devil packing. He heals so completely that this woman needs no recovery time. Jesus says the word and she is ready to go.

Luke is hiding other treasures in this story that are worth shining some light on. Its still Sabbath. Note that when the sun set, people felt free to bring their sick to Jesus. They would not do it earlier, lest they be guilty of working on the Sabbath. Not Jesus, he goes to work healing the sick on the Sabbath. This will get him into hot water with the religious authorities, but he doesn't seem to care.

Our Lord came to bring Sabbath, that is, freedom from the effects of the fall. The biblical arc of the Sabbath lands here, freedom from evil (see the book of Hebrews). The Heidelberg Catechism summaries the purpose of Sabbath keeping with these words, "every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath" (A 103).

Luke also paints a picture of how Jesus did ministry. 'He bent over her' and 'laying his hands on them' are phrases that show us Jesus' deep compassion. He came close to people, both male and female. Disease isolates. COVID has shown us again how true that is. Jesus was not afraid of diseases nor of diseased people. He could, of course, have healed people from a distance. But he wasn't interested in just having a disease-free society. People are important to him. He wanted to heal people, for that, he needed to touch them.

As the son of God, he was welcoming them into the very presence of God. Talk about healing.

Jesus shows a commitment to service and compassion. When Jesus rebukes demons and diseases, he shows that he is the King, everything is subject to him. These miracles gave the folks of Capernaum, and they give us, a glimpse of the eternal Sabbath.

The ease with which Jesus sends away all forms of evil reveals that he does have the power to save. Since he is Immanuel, God with us, we can be sure that such forces can never totally overtake us. Hostile forces may try to destroy us, but he has the capability of helping us resist. The obstacles of life that threaten us humans are not so great or powerful that Jesus cannot overcome them.

These forces are sometimes very strong. They many even appear to block out the light of Christ. As those times, Luke would have us picture Jesus bending over Peter's mother-in-law and touching the sick as he heals them. His compassion for us is just as great. Let these stories give you courage in whatever darkness you are walking.

In the days of Jesus, to speak someone's name (outside the context of a good relationship), was a way of claiming power over them—showing yourself in some way to be superior enough to set yourself over them. So the demon cries out Jesus' name, and then turns up the heat, reciting Jesus' real name and identity: the Holy One of God! The demon shouts and grabs at some way of gaining power over Jesus, revealing intimate details of who Jesus is to everyone in earshot.

Obviously, it doesn't work. Jesus does not so much as dignify the demon with a name in return. Jesus does not stoop to name-calling power-games as if he and this demon were remotely on the same plane. He gives a short, terse, but effective response. "Be quiet! Come out of him!" That's all Jesus says, but it works.

Jesus did not need to prove anything to a demon or anyone else in the room, nor does he try.

But the people take note none-the-less. They had already noted how he spoke with authority, but now they caught a glimpse of just how far that power and authority spread.

Authority was a technical term in the rabbinic Judaism of Jesus' day. It referred to the formal conferral of status to become a Rabbi in one's own right and teach the Word of God. You can think of it like the seminary degree that one might expect a pastor to have today—a degree which means that some set of teachers have signed off on this person's ability to minister the Word of God effectively: conferring authority by virtue of their authority. This is why the question of where Jesus' authority comes from is such a big question in the Gospels. Everyone wants to know what Rabbis signed off on this guy. Show us your papers, Jesus!

Here though, is one of the answers. None other than divine authorization could cause a demon to flee without a fight. Jesus is not claiming that God has authorized him to proclaim the word. He doesn't need to. His actions speak for him.

And that reality is not lost on the people. They recognize immediately Jesus' authority and power by this action. What's more, they see it as an authorization, not of Jesus' ministry of exorcism, but of Jesus' ministry of the Word of God. "What words these are!" they exclaim.

Jesus, the Son of God, still speaks his healing, redeeming word into our lives today. And it still comes with just as much authority and power as it ever did. Words like "I forgive you," "I love you," and "come to me and rest." Will you let Jesus speak these words into your life today?

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath, he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching because his words had authority (Luke 4:31-32).

"All preaching is the art of plagiarism." I heard a seminary professor say that once. And its largely true. Honest preachers recognize that they are not saying anything new but regurgitating things that have been spoken countless times before. Hopefully in contextually fresh and winsome ways.

According to historical sources, when the Jewish rabbis taught in the Synagogues they mostly quoted respected rabbis of the past. Their authority came from recognized names of Israel's history. I suspect that this made for rather tedious and sleep-inducing messages. In contrast, Jesus taught 'as one who had authority'.

What has Luke been telling us about Jesus? That he is the Son of God. Our Lord taught from this reality and his words came to the people as authoritative. They were amazed that he claimed to have authority to speak on God's behalf. Many found him convincing. Tomorrow's devotion will explore how a demon articulated this fact for the people.

For today, I want to take a moment to ask how we respond to God's Word. We do not hear Jesus speaking like the folks in Capernaum did, but we can read the Scriptures which is the Word of God. How do we receive it?

Let me quote a different seminary professor who begins his preaching class with this question, "Do you consider Scripture primarily to be an authority or a gift?" One can imagine that heated debate follows this question. If you're listening, hit the pause button and consider how you would answer? If you're reading, stop and reflect.

Eventually the professor asks a follow up question, "What difference does it make?"

Our understanding of Scripture comes from three main passages: Psalm 19, Psalm 119, and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Based on those words, one can easily make an argument that Scripture is both an authority and a gift. Its important for us to know how we react to God's word, what relationship do we have with it. Here is how the psalmist responded, "Oh, how I love your law!" (119:97)

What do we do when we love something or someone? We spend time with thing or person. And so, the psalmist continues, "I meditate on it all day long." Let's pause here again to consider this.

Many of us are production orientated. We want things to happen. When we read the Bible, we want to get hit over the head (not literally). When we go to a worship service, we want to be impressed, great music, great sermon, we might say (does anyone ever say, 'great prayer' or 'great offering'?).

But if we love the Bible, and thus God, is it not enough to just be present and pay attention, to just listen? Meditation speaks of unhurried lingering. Squeezing God into a brief window at the beginning or end of the day does not speak of love, it speaks more to duty.

Meditation is about giving attention to. What will it look like for you to give more attention to God? Be creative. Don't settle for the common answers; find something that fits your personality and life.

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Samuel 4:1b-5:1 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. How are you doing, really, right now? How about in your relationship with God? What distractions and weariness keeps you from engaging more deeply with God these days?

2. What has God done in your life or in the lives of those you know? Take some time to reflect on and remember those Ebenezer moments of faith where God's help was evident.

3. What was the mistake of the elders of Israel? By what sin of commission/omission did they break the covenant?

4. How did Israel come to this point of sliding so far away from their covenantal, "love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind" faith? (at least three answers!)

5. 1 Samuel 4, for those with the eyes to see it, also reveals that God is present and even active among his people. What are the signs of God's presence scattered throughout the narrative?

6. God is present among us as well. Where do you see him? And, how might you continue to practice habits of attention like prayer and Bible this week to better focus your eyes and ears to see Jesus?

Has Jesus ever made you so angry you wanted to throw him off a cliff?

Our Lord's escape from the angry mob has always fascinated me. How did he do it? One moment the crowd's got him in their clutches, the next he's slipping away like a fish through water. Mysterious as that is, Luke does not want us to focus on that part of the story. Its almost an after thought. He draws our attention to the anger of the crowd and the reasons for it.

Let's summarize the last few devotions. Jesus is a local boy become a celebrity, but in his hometown, he will always be just the son of Joseph. They are afraid he is getting too puffed up with his recent fame. And now he has the audacity to tell them that God's great plan of redemption will include those outside Israel. Israel has always been God's gateway to the world. If they can't handle that, he will simply step over the gate to invite the Gentiles into his redemptive work.

Jesus is inviting the folks in Nazareth to join him in God's mission in the world, but they will have none of it. The Lord is their God, and they will not share him with any others. Others are simply not good enough. Later, Jesus will explain that those who refuse the invitation lose out (14:15-24). The party will not be delayed or put off. In Christ, God is doing a new thing, putting to death the hostility between Jews and Gentiles, reconciling them both to God through the cross, thus, creating a new humanity (Eph. 2:11-22).

Now, let me return to my opening question: Has Jesus ever made you so angry you wanted to throw him off a cliff? I doubt it.

But I sometimes wonder how different Christians are from the Jews of Nazareth. Certainly, we are all for missions and evangelism. Its not that we want to keep the gospel to ourselves. Yet, churches tend to be closed groups. We will let people hang around with us, but unless they start to look, smell, speak and act like us, they will always be outsiders.

Paul, the apostle, came to understand that the union of Jew and Gentile in the church was central to the work of redemption. The church is the new humanity. It is our calling as Christians to live out this new reality in the church. Human divisions such as language and culture and ethnicity are irrelevant. At least, they are supposed to be. But often, they are not. We hang onto them in subtle ways. The memory that someone came late to the party remains with us.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that becoming a multi-racial church is very difficult. People are unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary for this to happen. We want people to become like us; we do not want to change.

How many of us make it a goal to develop friendships with people who are different from us in ethnic and social and economic background? Are we willing for our church customs and traditions to change so that we enfold new members? If we are not willing to do the real work of forming a new humanity, are we really very different from those who wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff?

When Jesus said, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21), he was offering them the 'good news', the Lord's favour (18-19). But they could not accept that they needed redemption. This story calls us to remember that each of us needs to respond to the good news; we all need the Lord's favour, his redemption. All of us are sinners.

And having received redemption, we are taken by the Holy Spirit into the community of Christ, which we call the church. This community is constantly growing up, to use the language of Ephesians 4, becoming the new humanity. Churches are not meant to be static, locked in traditions, but communities always finding new ways to welcome the stranger, to break the barriers that divide.