More Like Jesus

Luke 5

Introduction:  “More About Jesus”  should be our goal every day.  We learn about Him so that we may be more like Him.  Luke 5 tells about several incidents in Jesus’ early ministry.  As we look at these, remember that we need to be like Jesus.

I. Jesus develops and calls disciples   vs. 1-11

    A. Peter, Andrew, James, and John

         1. Matthew 4 & Mark 1 give a briefer account

         2. He taught them first

         3. He asked them to try something new

         4. Jesus spoke of their new jobs as evangelists in words they were familiar with

    B. Levi   vs. 27-30

         1. Matthew 9 & Mark 2

         2. Like Peter, Levi had probably heard Jesus teach and seen miracles

         3. Because of Levi, Jesus had an opportunity to teach many “sinners”

         4. Jesus knowingly violated social custom

    C. General call   vs. 31-32

         1. “Where the need, there the deed.”

         2. Luke uses “the perfect ἐλήλυθα , ‘I have come,’ probably because he sees a permanently changed state of affairs introduced by Jesus and carried on into the life of the church.”   WBC

         3. To ask whether there are, or who are, the righteous whom Jesus does not call to repentance misses the thrust.   WBC

         4. Repentance is always required of Jesus’ disciples

    D. Disciples should be making more disciples    II Timothy 2:2

II. Jesus does many miracles

    A. Fish   vs. 4-11

         1. Great contrast between Jesus and people (Peter)

         2. Demonstrated that Jesus had the authority to call disciples

    B. Healed man with leprosy   vs. 12-14

         1. The man must have heard of Jesus power to heal

         2. Compassion - touched him

         3. Jesus told him to keep the law   Leviticus 14:1-32

    C. Paralyzed man   vs. 17-26

         1. “Their faith”

         2. Some disease is caused by sin, thus the need for forgiveness

         3. In Jewish thought Jesus was saying, “I am God.”

             a. Who can forgive sins but God alone?  vs. 21

             b. God would not allow me to heal, if I’m a liar.  vs. 24

    D. We should be doing good to attract people to God   Galatians 6:10

III. Jesus did not neglect his own spiritual needs   vs. 15-16

    A. Solitude

         1. The quality or state of being alone

         2. Old proverb - The man who opens his mouth, closes his eyes!   The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear.              Richard Foster

    B. Prayer

    C. He drew strength for the battle of life from the peace of God.  Barclay

    D. If Jesus needed these things, don’t we?

Conclusion:  Our study has not been just for the sake of information.  We need to do the things that Jesus did.  The very word “disciple” means a learner; we learn from him to be like him.

Plaisance Church.  ECD, Guyana.  July 3, 2004.  AM.

Hosororo Church.  NW Region, Guyana.  June 25, 2008.