An Explanation of Lessons from Lent

In the next 40 days (31 now because you have already accomplished nine), the weeks leading up to Easter, the posts on Glimpsed Glory will be different. I am reading through the New Testament during this time and I am hoping the Holy Spirit will lead me to a fresh revelation each and every day. I’m going into it with a prayerful heart and an expectant spirit but I will fully confess to you that my soul feels sluggish.

I have been in a place of exhaustion over these last months. My mind has been clouded, my body has ached and insomnia has been my companion since late December. The enemy has been and is still whispering in my ear that my Jesus has forgotten me . . . that He has finally tired of my imperfections and left me behind.

I’m not giving in to it! I am going to fight the good fight of faith and follow the example of my Nehemiah Man. I am going to stand firm in my faith because if I do not, I will not stand at all. I’m praising God for bringing me to a place of emptiness so that I can look to Him to fill my cup.

I’m coming before the Lord and I’m asking Him to do a new thing in me. To rouse my heart to His side and to draw me near in real and tangible ways. To plow through the fog that has settled over me in the form of health issues, physical stress, and emotional upheaval and lay a level path before me. I’m entering the throne room and I’m humbly reminding Him that He has invited me to come in my time of need. O Lord – be near to me. Love me where I am. Take me where I need to be.

That’s the cry of my heart Sweet Sister and I’m thinking that if I am in this place that perhaps you are too. It might be that different life situations have brought us here but here we are. If that’s the case, I want you to know that you are not alone and that you have a faith sister to walk through it with. We can do this together – you and I. It’s why God gave us to one another. We can join our hearts and we can offer up the next 40 days to the Beautiful One and trust Him to do the beautiful thing in us.

So here’s what I’ll do. I’ll post the daily reading on the blog (except for Sundays) and if you read the Scriptures not only will you have read through the entire New Testament by Easter but God promises that He’ll show you deep and unsearchable things you do not know. He promises that His word is alive and active and will transform your heart. I could use some transformation. What about you?

At the end of the daily passage, I’m going to share my “Lesson from Lent” – nothing long or drawn out just something that God uses to speak straight to my heart from the Scripture that day. I’m putting it at the end because if your time runs short on a particular day – I want you to skip reading my words, not His.

I’m hoping that you’ll start your own running record of what God is showing you. Maybe you’ll even be moved to leave a comment so your Sisters can glean from what you’re learning. No matter how you choose to keep track of all He shares with you . . . treasure it up in your heart Sweet One, meditate on it, mull it over, consider the whisper of the Lover of your soul. The God of the Universe is the only Voice we need to revive our tired souls. So, let’s you and I lean in close, pray for ears to hear and hearts to respond. Let’s dig in to the riches He has given us and prepare to be amazed by what He will reveal to our expectant hearts. O Sister, let’s boldly ask Him for a lesson from Lent and then brace ourselves for a glimpse of Glory!

Day Ten

February 28, 2015 ~~ Luke 5-8

Amplified Bible

Footnotes: I’ve left the footnotes in place if you would like to track down sources in word study and language. Please follow the link to each chapter and scroll to the bottom of the passage.

Luke 5

Now it occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). ² And He saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and were washing their nets. ³ And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat. ⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul. ⁵ And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [^[a]exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But ^[b]on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].

⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [^[c]at the point of] breaking, ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. ⁹ For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made; ¹⁰ And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon (Peter). And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men! ¹¹ And after they had run their boats on shore, they left everything and ^[d] joined Him as His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

¹² While He was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cure me and make me clean. ¹³ And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And [Jesus] charged him to tell no one [^[e]that he might chance to meet], ^[f]until [He said] you go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your purification, as Moses commanded, for a testimony and proof to the people, that they may have evidence [of your healing].

¹⁵ But so much the more the news spread abroad concerning Him, and great crowds kept coming together to hear [Him] and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

¹⁶ But He Himself withdrew [in retirement] to the wilderness (desert) and prayed.

¹⁷ One of those days, as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting by, who had come from every village and town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was [present] with Him to heal ^[g]them. ¹⁸ And behold, some men were bringing on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to carry him in and lay him before [Jesus]. ¹⁹ But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with his stretcher through the tiles into the midst, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ And when He saw [their confidence in Him, springing from] their faith, He said, Man, your sins are forgiven you! ²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason and question and argue, saying, Who is this [Man] Who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? ²² But Jesus, knowing their thoughts and questionings, answered them, Why do you question in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk [about]? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has the [^[h]power of] authority and right on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralyzed man, I say to you, arise, pick up your litter (stretcher), and go to your own house! ²⁵ And instantly [the man] stood up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went away to his house, ^[i]recognizing and praising and thanking God.

²⁶ And overwhelming astonishment and ecstasy seized them all, and they ^[j]recognized and praised and thanked God; and they were filled with and controlled by reverential fear and kept saying, We have seen wonderful and strange and incredible and unthinkable things today!

²⁷ And after this, Jesus went out and looked [attentively] at a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, ^[k]Join Me as a disciple and side with My party and accompany Me. ²⁸ And he forsook everything and got up and followed Him [becoming His disciple and siding with His party]. ²⁹ And Levi (Matthew) made a great banquet for Him in his own house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others who were reclining [at the table] with them.

³⁰ Now the Pharisees and their scribes were grumbling against Jesus’ disciples, saying, Why are you eating and drinking with tax collectors and [preeminently] sinful people? ³¹ And Jesus replied to them, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but ^[l]the erring ones (^[m]those not free from sin) to repentance [^[n]to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins].

³³ Then they said to Him, The disciples of John practice fasting often and offer up prayers of [special] petition, and so do [the disciples] of the Pharisees also, but Yours eat and drink. ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, Can you make the wedding guests fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; and then they will fast in those days. ³⁶ He told them a ^[o]proverb also: No one puts a patch from a new garment on an old garment; if he does, he will both tear the new one, and the patch from the new [one] will not match the old [garment]. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the fresh wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be ruined (destroyed). ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine immediately desires new wine, for he says, The old is good or ^[p]better.

Luke 6

One Sabbath while Jesus was passing through the fields of standing grain, it occurred that His disciples picked some of the spikes and ate [of the grain], rubbing it out in their hands.

² But some of the Pharisees asked them, Why are you doing what is not permitted to be done on the Sabbath days? ³ And Jesus replied to them, saying, Have you never so much as read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?—⁴ How he went into the house of God and took and ate the [sacred] loaves of the showbread, which it is not permitted for any except only the priests to eat, and also gave to those [who were] with him? ⁵ And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

⁶ And it occurred on another Sabbath that when He went into the synagogue and taught, a man was present whose right hand was withered. ⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees kept watching Jesus to see whether He would [actually] heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might get [some ground for] accusation against Him. ⁸ But He was aware all along of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here in the midst. And he arose and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good [^[a]so that someone derives advantage from it] or to do evil, to save a life [and ^[b]make a soul safe] or to destroy it? ¹⁰ Then He glanced around at them all and said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so, and his hand was fully restored ^[c]like the other one.

¹¹ But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹² Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He summoned His disciples and selected from them twelve, whom He named apostles (special messengers): ¹⁴ They were Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ And Matthew and Thomas; and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ And Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (a treacherous, basely faithless person).

¹⁷ And Jesus came down with them and took His stand on a level spot, with a great crowd of His disciples and a vast throng of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and to be cured of their diseases—¹⁸ Even those who were disturbed and troubled with unclean spirits, and they were being healed [also]. ¹⁹ And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [^[d]saving them from severe illnesses or calamities].

²⁰ And solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said: Blessed (happy—^[e]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and ^[f]to be envied) are you poor and ^[g]lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom of God is yours!

²¹ Blessed (happy—^[h]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and ^[i]to be envied) are you who hunger and seek with eager desire now, for you shall be filled and completely satisfied! Blessed (happy—^[j]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and ^[k]to be envied) are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh!

²² Blessed (happy—^[l]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and ^[m]to be envied) are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice and be glad at such a time and exult and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is rich and great and strong and intense and abundant in heaven; for even so their forefathers treated the prophets.

²⁴ But woe to (alas for) you who are rich (^[n]abounding in material resources), for you already are receiving your consolation (the solace and sense of strengthening and cheer that come from prosperity) and have taken and enjoyed your comfort in full [having nothing left to be awarded you].

²⁵ Woe to (alas for) you who are full now (completely filled, luxuriously gorged and satiated), for you shall hunger and suffer want! Woe to (alas for) you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep and wail!

²⁶ Woe to (alas for) you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you and praises you, for even so their forefathers did to the false prophets.

²⁷ But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [^[o]in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred, ²⁸ Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God’s blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you]. ²⁹ To the one who strikes you on the ^[p]jaw or cheek, offer the other ^[q]jaw or cheek also; and from him who takes away your outer garment, do not withhold your undergarment as well. ³⁰ Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is ^[r]in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again. ³¹ And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them.

³² If you [merely] love those who love you, what ^[s]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even ^[t]the [very] sinners love their lovers (those who love them). ³³ And if you are kind and good and do favors to and benefit those who are kind and good and do favors to and benefit you, what ^[u]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even ^[v]the preeminently sinful do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend money ^[w]at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what ^[x]quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money ^[y]at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again.

³⁵ But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors ^[z]so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but ^[aa]considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked. ³⁶ So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these].

³⁷ Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and ^[ab]release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and ^[ac]released. ³⁸ Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour ^[ad]into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.

³⁹ He further told them ^[ae]a proverb: Can a blind [man] guide and direct a blind [man]? Will they not both stumble into a ditch or a ^[af]hole in the ground? ⁴⁰ A pupil is not superior to his teacher, but everyone [when he is] completely trained (readjusted, restored, set to rights, and perfected) will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but do not notice or consider the beam [of timber] that is in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You actor (pretender, hypocrite)! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³ For there is no good (healthy) tree that bears decayed (worthless, stale) fruit, nor on the other hand does a decayed (worthless, sickly) tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit; for figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a bramblebush. ⁴⁵ The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.

⁴⁶ Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you? ⁴⁷ For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or ^[ag]founded on a rock. ⁴⁹ But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Luke 7

After Jesus had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people [on the mountain], He entered Capernaum.

² Now a centurion had a bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued by him, who was sick and at the point of death. ³ And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and make his bond servant well. ⁴ And when they reached Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that You should do this for him, ⁵ For he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense]. ⁶ And Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent [some] friends to Him, saying, Lord, do not trouble [Yourself], for I am not ^[a]sufficiently worthy to have You come under my roof; ⁷ Neither did I consider myself worthy to come to You. But [just] speak a word, and my servant boy will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man [daily] subject to authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bond servant, Do this, and he does it. ⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, I tell you, not even in [all] Israel have I found such great faith [as this]. ¹⁰ And when the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the bond servant ^[b]who had been ill quite well again.

^11 [c]Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great throng accompanied Him. ¹² [Just] as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was accompanying her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. ¹⁴ And He went forward and touched the funeral bier, and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, Young man, I say to you, arise [^[d]from death]! ¹⁵ And the man [who was] dead sat up and began to speak. And [Jesus] gave him [back] to his mother. ¹⁶ Profound and reverent fear seized them all, and they began ^[e]to recognize God and praise and give thanks, saying, A great ^[f]Prophet has appeared among us! And God has visited His people [in order to help and care for and provide for them]!

¹⁷ And this report concerning [Jesus] spread through the whole of Judea and all the country round about.

¹⁸ And John’s disciples brought him [who was now in prison] word of all these things. ¹⁹ And John summoned to him a certain two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, Are You He Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another? ²⁰ So the men came to Jesus and said, John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?

²¹ In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [^[g]a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight. ²² So He replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them. ²³ And blessed (happy—^[h]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions—and ^[i]to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [^[j]whatever may occur].

²⁴ And the messengers of John having departed, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out into the desert to gaze on? A reed shaken and swayed by the wind? ²⁵ Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed up in soft garments? Behold, those who wear fine apparel and live in luxury are in the courts or palaces of kings. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet (a forthteller)? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall make ready Your way before You. ²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; but ^[k]he that is inferior [to the other citizens] in the kingdom of God is greater [in incomparable privilege] than he. ²⁹ And all the people who heard Him, even the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God [in ^[l]calling them to repentance and in pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent], being baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God’s purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and] not being baptized by him [John].

³¹ So to what shall I compare the men of this generation? And what are they like? ³² They are like little children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying, We piped to you [playing wedding], and you did not dance; we sang dirges and wailed [playing funeral], and you did not weep. ³³ For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Behold, a Man Who is a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and notorious sinners. ³⁵ Yet wisdom is vindicated (^[m]shown to be true and divine) by all her children [^[n]by their life, character, and deeds].

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, and He went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. ³⁷ And behold, a woman of the town who was ^[o]an especially wicked sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment (perfume). ³⁸ And standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with [her] tears; and she wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet [affectionately] and anointed them with the ointment (perfume). ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, If this Man were a prophet, He would surely know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him—for she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin).

⁴⁰ And Jesus, replying, said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, Teacher, say it. ⁴¹ A certain lender of money [at interest] had two debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they had no means of paying, he freely forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more? ⁴³ Simon answered, The one, I take it, for whom he forgave and cancelled more. And Jesus said to him, You have decided correctly. ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but she from the moment I came in has not ceased [^[p]intermittently] to kiss My feet tenderly and caressingly. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with ^[q][cheap, ordinary] oil, but she has anointed My feet with ^[r][costly, rare] perfume. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, many [as they are], are forgiven her—because she has loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven! ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with Him began to say among themselves, Who is this Who even forgives sins? ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go (enter) ^[s]into peace [^[t]in freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin].

Luke 8

Soon afterward, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him, ² And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled; ³ And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager; and Susanna; and many others, who ministered to and provided for ^[a]Him and them out of their property and personal belongings.

⁴ And when a very great throng was gathering together and people from town after town kept coming to Jesus, He said in a parable: ⁵ A sower went out to sow seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the traveled path and was trodden underfoot, and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶ And some [seed] fell on the rock, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away because it had no moisture. ⁷ And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it [off]. ⁸ And some seed fell into good soil, and grew up and yielded a crop a hundred times [as great]. As He said these things, He called out, He who has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him ^[b]consider and understand by hearing!

⁹ And when His disciples asked Him the meaning of this parable, ¹⁰ He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.

¹¹ Now the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. ¹² Those along the traveled road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and carries away the message out of their hearts, that they may not believe (^[c]acknowledge Me as their Savior and devote themselves to Me) and be saved [here and hereafter]. ¹³ And those upon the rock [are the people] who, when they hear [the Word], receive and welcome it with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation fall away (withdraw and stand aloof). ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection). ¹⁵ But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just (^[d]noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.

¹⁶ No one after he has lighted a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a [dining table] couch; but he puts it on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ¹⁷ For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open. ¹⁸ Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and ^[e]guesses and ^[f]supposes that he has will be taken away.

¹⁹ Then Jesus’ mother and His brothers came along toward Him, but they could not get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was told Him, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to have an interview with You. ²¹ But He answered them, My mother and My brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and do it!

²² One of those days He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, Let us go across to the other side of the lake. So they put out to sea. ²³ But as they were sailing, He fell off to sleep. And a ^[g] whirlwind revolving from below upwards swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in great danger. ²⁴ And the disciples came and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And He, being thoroughly awakened, ^[h]censured and ^[i]blamed and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there came a calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, [Why are you so fearful?] Where is your faith (your trust, your confidence in Me—in My veracity and My integrity)? And they were seized with alarm and profound and reverent dread, and they marveled, saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even wind and sea, and they obey Him?

²⁶ Then they came to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ Now when Jesus stepped out on land, there met Him a certain man out of the town who had [was possessed by] demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ And when he saw Jesus, he raised a deep (terrible) cry [from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in terror] and shouted loudly, What have You [to do] with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [^[j]What have we in common?] I beg You, do not torment me! ²⁹ For Jesus was already commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had snatched and held him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness (desert).

³⁰ Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit). ³² Now a great herd of swine was there feeding on the hillside; and [the demons] begged Him to give them leave to enter these. And He allowed them [to do so]. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep cliff into the lake and were drowned. ³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the town and in the country. ³⁵ And [people] went out to see what had occurred, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right (sound) mind; and they were seized with alarm and fear. ³⁶ And those [also] who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was restored [to health]. ³⁷ Then all the people of the country surrounding the Gerasenes’ district asked [Jesus] to depart from them, for they were possessed and suffering with dread and terror; so He entered a boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging and ^[k]praying that he might accompany Him and be with Him, but [Jesus] sent him away, saying, ³⁹ Return to your home, and recount [the story] of how many and great things God has done for you. And [the man] departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus came back [to Galilee], the crowd received and welcomed Him gladly, for they were all waiting and looking for Him. ⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, who had [for a ^[l]long time] been a director of the synagogue; and falling at the feet of Jesus, he begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² For he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As [Jesus] went, the people pressed together around Him [almost suffocating Him]. ⁴³ And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years ^[m]and had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ Came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, Who is it who touched Me? When all were denying it, Peter ^[n]and those who were with him said, Master, the multitudes surround You and press You on every side! ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, Someone did touch Me; for I perceived that [healing] power has gone forth from Me. ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling, and, falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people for what reason she had touched Him and how she had been instantly cured. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your confidence and trust in Me) has made you well! Go (enter) ^[o]into peace (^[p]untroubled, undisturbed well-being).

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, a man from the house of the director of the synagogue came and said [to Jairus], Your daughter is dead; do not ^[q]weary and trouble the Teacher any further. ⁵⁰ But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him, Do not be seized with alarm or struck with fear; simply believe [^[r]in Me as able to do this], and she shall be made well. ⁵¹ And when He came to the house, He permitted no one to enter with Him except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² And all were weeping for and bewailing her; but He said, Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping. ⁵³ And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing full well that she was dead. ⁵⁴ And grasping her hand, He called, saying, Child, arise [^[s]from the sleep of death]! ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned [^[t]from death], and she arose immediately; and He directed that she should be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no one what had occurred.

And all the Sisters, nets in hand, say “Amen”

#lessonsfromlent

Now it occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). ² And He saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and were washing their nets. ³ And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat. ⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul. ⁵ And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [^[a]exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But ^[b]on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].

⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [^[c]at the point of] breaking, ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  Luke 5:1-7

Peering from the shore of our lives what do we see . . .

We see fishermen willing to be interrupted and willing to heed the prompting of Christ to return to their labor. Even though they had toiled all night and caught nothing.  At His direction, they returned to the very same waters where their self-directed efforts had produced only frustration with the very same nets that had failed to catch a thing.  How often have we toiled “all night” and seen no visible signs that the fish might so much as entertain the idea of swimming in a new direction? How many times have we felt like it was just time to grab our gear and go?  And then Christ makes His presence known.  That’s the only change that occurred in this passage.  Jesus came.  He taught from the boat, His voice echoed across the water, and then He gave the command — go drop your nets again.  That says to me that Jesus brings the fish.

No Jesus . . . No Fish #lessonsfromlent

At the end of the teaching, He directed them to the deep water to fish. The waters where you can’t just look down in and see the fish swimming close to the surface or see the ripples on the top to let you know they are there. No, the fishermen would just have to drop those nets and trust Christ that the fish would be there. They had to believe that wherever His Holy Hand guided them would result in the good thing. They had to believe that Christ wanted an abundant, overflowing catch for them. And here’s the thing that makes me smile . . .

Jesus knows where the fish live. #lessonsfromlent

and

Jesus loves the fishermen.  #lessonsfromlent

But don’t you love the honesty of Peter—“Lord, we’ve been fishing all night long and haven’t caught a thing.“ So often I think we try to play a game of holy hide-and-seek with our disappointments, with our frustration, and with our exhaustion. The Messiah isn’t offended to hear us say we’re tired, we’re out of energy, or we’ve come to the end of ourselves with nothing to show for it. Maybe that’s just the place He wants us—the place where we depend on Him for the catch and not on our own ability to cast the net. Maybe that’s when we’ll throw out the net in His Name and not our own because no matter how skilled we are, without Him we’ll always come up empty.

My effort, my hands, my net . . . no fish. #lessonsfromlent

And then Peter comes to what Henry Blackaby calls a “crisis in belief.” Will he obey Jesus even though he’s trolled those waters all night and come up empty handed? Will he gather up all the equipment he’s cleaned and prepared to put away for the day? Will he listen to the Teacher with the crowds on the shore watching when circumstances appear that he would be a fool to go back out for another try? Yes! He will obey and return to the work “on the ground” of the word of Jesus. Don’t you think the crowd would have been just as anxious to see what came up in those nets? They all knew the night had produced nothing. They all heard the command. The all saw the obedience.

Fishermen are always watched from the shore. #lessonsfromlent

They all saw the obedience and they all saw the nets exploding with the catch. Fish were everywhere! And don’t you imagine those nets to have been filled with fish of all manner – fat fish, skinny fish, big fish, little fish, shiny fish—all kinds bursting from the nets. Isn’t that the way of Jesus—to welcome fish of every kind . . . No exclusions, no favorites.

Jesus loves all the fish. #lessonsfromlent

And when the haul was too big for Peter, the abundance more than he could have imagined, his partners rallied to his side. No fisherman can do it alone. The catch that Christ provides will always require more than one set of hands.

No fisherman can do it alone. #lessonsfromlent

Sweet One, we can lower our nets all night long but the catch depends on Jesus. We can work and toil all night and come away without a thing . . . but when Jesus speaks a word and the deep waters are stirred . . . then the catch will come.

That should make us shout the “Hallelujah!” Girlfriend because that takes all the pressure off the fishermen. We’re only to cast the net in full out obedience regardless of the crowd watching from the shore.   We throw it out there in His Name and for His glory. We grab a hold of the fact that the fish don’t swim our way because of anything to do with us. The nets will be empty until Jesus shows up. See, we get the blessing of hauling in the catch but make no mistake, it’s all Jesus.

It’s all Jesus. #lessonsfromlent

Tags: Fishers of Men, glimpsed glory, It's all Jesus, Lessons from Lent, Luke 5, Luke 6, Luke 7, Luke 8