“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith”

 

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 5:1-16:

Chapter Five continues Jesus' teaching and healing. In addition, we have the recruitment of the first disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20). The word disciple means, “A student or pupil of a teacher”. In many cases it has a general sense; like disciples of John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14). Likewise, Jesus had many who followed Him in this general sense (Luke 6:17). However, these first four would be called in a much more specific sense; hand picked, specially trained, and with a great expectation to come (Acts 1:1-8; 21-22).

Text #1:

Luke 5:1-11 “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

Multitude: Jesus' popularity had reached such a point as large crowds gathered around Him to hear Him. This popularity found its way to the common folk, those who were motivated to hear His words and not compete against it (see: Mark 12:37).

Lake Gennesaret : This is the more familiar “ Sea of Galilee ”. It was often called Lake Gennesaret because the fertile plain of Gennesaret lied on its north west border. It is also referred to as the Sea of Chinnereth in the Old Testament, which meant “harp-shaped” (Numbers 34:11; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 13:27). Finally, it is referred to as the Sea of Tiberias , associated with the capital of Herod Antipas (John 6:1; 21:1).

The lake is approximately thirteen miles long from north to south and about eight miles wide at Magdala. The river Jordan flows into the lake at its northern end and flows out of the lake at its southern end. The lake itself is about 650 to 700 feet below the Mediterranean and it varies in depth up to about 150 feet.

Simon's Boat: Jesus enlisted Simon – Peter to take Him out away from shore in order for Him to teach the multitudes. At the end of this teaching He instructed Peter to put out to deeper water in order to cast out his nets. Peter offered an excuse, but based on Jesus' teaching to the multitudes, at His instructions he obliged.

Peter Fell Down at Jesus' Knees: At the bidding of Jesus, Peter let the nets down and the catch was so great that had he not enlisted the help of his partners all would have been lost. It is suggested that Peter had already expressed some faith in Jesus in complying with His first request; however, the success of this event was far beyond his expectation. He felt so over-powered and awed by the power and wisdom of Jesus that he felt unworthy to be in His presence.

All Astonished: Peter's reaction was shared by all who witnessed this event, which included Peter's partners, James and John.

Catch Men: Matthew's and Mark's account use the more familiar phrase, “fishers of men” . In this phrase we come back to the difference in the term disciple that we explained at the beginning of this lesson. It was obvious that Jesus had something far different in mind for His chosen disciples !

Biographies:

Peter – See the previous lesson.

Andrew – The brother of Simon Peter, and son of Jonas. He, like his brother, was a fisherman. Both he and his brother had been disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35-42). He like his brother were called by Jesus to be his chosen disciples and then Apostles in the kingdom.

James – The eldest of the brothers of Zebedee and Salome (their mother – Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40). Like Peter and Andrew, James was a fisherman, partners with Peter and Andrew (Luke 5:10). Along with Peter and his brother John, James held a special place in the confidence of Jesus which can be seen in the three being present at certain occasions apart from the rest (Mark 5:37; Matthew 17:1-8; 26:36-46). He and his brother John received the designation from the Lord of, “Boanerges”, which means, “Sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). James would die early in the history of the church as the first of the Apostles martyred for the cause of Christ (Acts 12:2).

John - The younger brother of James the son of Zebedee, who was also a fisherman. He is thought to be the other disciple of John the Baptist mentioned in John 1:35 (as was his custom in his own letter to never refer to himself by name when writing about himself). Like his brother, he was taken into Jesus' confidence and in his own Gospel record of the events of the life of Jesus, refers to himself as the disciple that Jesus' loves.

Text #2:

Luke 5:12-16 “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded." 15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”

Full of Leprosy: Remember that Luke is a physician and that his description of this man explains an advanced stage of leprosy. Leprosy was a terrible disease, known today as Hansen's disease, and is caused by the microorganism, “Mycobacterium leprae”.

“There are two types: a. The lepromatous type begins with brownish-red spots on the face, ears, forearms, thighs and /or buttocks which later become thickened nodules and, losing their skin covering, becomes ulcers (“sores”) with subsequent loss of tissue and then contraction and deformity. It was apparently the lepromatous type that was chiefly in view in the Biblical cases of true leprosy.

b. The tuberculoid type is characterized by numbness of an affected area of skin and deformity such as fingers like claws resulting from paralysis and consequent muscle wasting (atrophy).” – The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, pg. 218.

Lepers were under perpetual quarantine by the Law of Moses (Leviticus 13:45 -46), which along with the physical infirmity accounts for the earnestness of this unfortunate man.

Immediately: Leprosy was an incurable disease by any natural means, hence it was cured miraculously by Jesus and the recovery was immediate. The Lord's healings were real and without cost and were intended to demonstrate His divine power and the truth of Who He Was!

Tell No One: Keeping in mind that the Covenant of Moses was very much in effect, Jesus commanded him not to dawdle in publishing this event to the people, but to go to the priests and perform his duty in connection with this recovery, under the Law (Leviticus 14:1-32).

However, in spite of the Lord's specific instruction, the word went out and multitudes flocked to Him seeking similar results.

Wilderness: Wilderness or deserts; depending on which translation you use, were simply deserted places (no established population). It was a place that with little or no trouble, the Lord could be alone to commune with His Father. This would be an established practice of the Lord and one we would do well to follow ourselves.

In our next lesson we will continue to look at the teachings, healings, and recruitment of the Lord's disciples in and around Galilee .