Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Totally Different...


Luke 5:36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Having established His ministry well, Jesus began to call His first disciples, beginning with the fishermen in the boat, including Simon Peter, James, and John.  When he called, they dropped their nets, changed their whole life, including their work schedule, and followed Him.  Next, Jesus encountered a leper, whom He healed, changing his life from one of exclusion to one where he was free to go tell the priest and anyone else he wanted to.  This also changed Jesus' ministry, and the crowds increasingly pressed in upon Him.  He then healed a paralytic, but first announced the man's sins were forgiven. This changed the nature of His ministry to spiritual more than physical, though in reality that is what it was always about. Following this, Jesus called Levi(Matthew), the tax collector to come follow Him. This was a whole new way of living, both in the way he treated people, and in how much (less) money he had to live on.  Finally, Jesus told them that life with God was not what they had always pictured: long gowns with long faces, trying to suffer enough to please God.  Rather it is living with Joy and thanksgiving over all God has done.

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