GOD PRESENT AMONG MEN AND
DWELLING WITH THEM
(Suggested Reading: Chapters 4:38-44 and 5:1-26)
It has often been said that the key thoughts of any book in the Bible will be found in the opening portions of that book. So in Luke, when Zacharias' dumbness ended, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, "blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people." 1:68. In the early part of Luke, the Lord's visiting His people was centered around the Temple. Following His temptation, He visits the synagogues. But now we find Him moving from the House of God— the Temple and the synagogue— to the houses of man. If God would truly visit His people, He must go into their dwelling places. In this chapter we will consider the Lord's dealings with three houses. The important point is that it is Jehovah Himself who is present. He alone could heal the leper and fill the net with fish. But that is the God who became Man that He might dwell with us.
The Lord Visits Simon Peter's House— 4:38-44
It is astonishing to find that the first Pope, as men call Peter, had a mother-in-law and was therefore a married man. But Peter did not know about his promotion at this time and so did not consciously violate the canon law of his Church.
The scene in Simon Peter's house is a remarkable one. It is the first house the Lord enters. And what does He find but Peter's mother-in-law sick with a great fever. He does nothing until those in the house ask Him to take her case in hand. Then He rebukes the fever as He had previously rebuked the unclean demon. Disease, since it is the causative agent of death, is as much a weapon in Satan's army as is an unclean demon. Each is a separate manifestation of Satan's power, and the Lord had overcome Satan in the temptation. So He relieves man of the consequences of Satan's power— a foreshadowing of that blessed day when sin, disease, and death, will be banished from the universe of God. So Peter's wife's mother stands up and serves them.
This first visit of the Lord to a house is full of instruction. The great fever which raged in the body of Peter's mother-in-law is a picture of man's feverish natural state— his excited riotous condition until Christ comes in to cure him. I recall an incident in the days just before the Second World War which brought this home vividly to me. A car was parked in front of the Toronto Stock Exchange. A crowd surrounded it, for it had a long-range radio on, tuned into a Nazi rally in Germany. Hitler was speaking. His followers were completely feverish, punctuating his remarks with thunderous shouts of "Heil Hitler" and "Seig Heil." It was sheer frenzy. That mob no doubt contained many educated men, but education only polishes the outside of the apple, leaving the core rotten inside. Only Christ can still the feverish state of "Peter's wife's mother" a state which can be seen everywhere today, in student riots, street demonstrations, strikes, even in organized sports. "Thou shalt not follow a mob to do evil" Ex. 23:2, is God's warning to us to keep away from this riotous way of life and come aside to the still waters where Christ tends His sheep. But let us not forget our friends and relatives outside of Christ in the feverishness of nature. Beseech Christ for them. Only He can rebuke the fever and cause it to go. It was not the faith of Peter's mother-in-law that raised her up, but the faith of those who implored Christ to heal her. But once she is healed, she arises like the Prodigal Son later. She serves them. Service for Christ is not a yoke He puts on us. When He relieves us of our natural feverishness, the instant desire of the new man is to stand up and serve Him. Once we know Christ, we cannot confine Him in our own house, so to speak, but the blessing overflows from our house to those outside it. So, though the sun goes down here and the natural man rests, the Lord continues to heal the sick.
The Demons Own Christ According to His Dual Character in Psa. 2
We have already pointed out the amazing knowledge of Scripture possessed by the powers of darkness— how they understood Christ to be "the holy One" of Psa. 89. Here, they confess Him in His dual character given in Psa. 2— the Son of God— but also the rejected One. Jesus rebukes them for this as He had previously rebuked them for testifying to Him as "the holy One.”
It is striking that following this incident the Lord adopts the title "Son of Man" 5:24. This title always assumes His rejection here, but His Lordship over the world to come. It is this Psa. 2 Character of which the demons were perfectly aware, but of which man was willingly ignorant. We find the title "Son of Man" in 5:24, 6:5, 6:22 and 7:34, after which the unseen world once again grudgingly affirms that He is the Son of God 8:28.
It is a shocking commentary on the fall and depravity of man that the powers of darkness would confess who Christ is but man would not. Dread and fear of the greatness of His power and a desire to avoid it characterized their actions. Man has been a beneficiary of that power, but has gradually hated the source of it.
When I was a young man, I received a salutary lesson of man's willfulness against the Son of God come in grace. I was driving my car along the lake-front beside some factories, when I noticed a shabbily-dressed middle-aged woman soliciting a ride from passing cars. Thinking she was probably a poor widow working hard in the nearby factories, I let her in. After a few remarks as to her destination, she said "I'm a businesswoman. Do you know what that means?" I saw at once that I had misjudged her character for the slang expression stood for a wicked woman of the street. I responded instantly, saying, "Certainly I know what that means. It means that if you were to die right now you would go straight to hell." I began to preach the gospel to her, but she interrupted, shouting, "Not the Son of God, but the sun-god." The evil creature worshipped Baal. My father had once preached to a sun worshipper and he had reacted just as this woman did. She demanded to be let out of the car, for she would not listen to anything about the Son of God. I told her I would let her out as soon as it was practical to do so, but if I let her out in that thick traffic and she got killed, I would be responsible for sending her to hell before her time. When we parted, there was no misunderstanding as to where we both stood. "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" 1 Cor. 14:8.
The Call of Peter 5:1-11
The Lord had gone into a desert place and the people sought Him. But He must announce the glad tidings of the kingdom of God to other cities also. And so we find Him preaching anew in the synagogues of Galilee. He visits the houses of men to bless them, but returns to the synagogue to preach. Then the fifth chapter opens with a most blessed statement— "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed around Him to hear the Word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret." How privileged those people were, not to hear the words of a rabbi like other men, but the words of God Himself. Blessing always flows from listening to and obeying the Word of God— barrenness from despising it. As a young student, I had an ancient history master who despised the Scriptures. In those days it was compulsory to open classes with the reading of the Scriptures; today the reading of secular prose or poetry has replaced this custom. In those days law and order characterized the land; now we have strife, strikes, and riots in the universities. Well, this man always read from Solomon's writings. He prefaced his remarks every morning by saying, "Well, let's see what the old fool has to say today?" and closed them by saying, "Well, that's what the old fool said today." The following summer he was drowned, although a strong swimmer. Not content to lose his own soul, he deluded others into thinking that divine wisdom was folly. Where he now is he will realize that it was he who was the fool.
Well, the Lord, knowing the people's need and longing for the Word of God, preaches from a ready-made pulpit— an empty fishing boat. In the synagogue at Nazareth, He had a full house, but empty hearts; here He has full hearts, but an empty boat to speak from. The Lord fully recognized the Temple first in this gospel, then the synagogue, but neither recognized Him. So, because He is the Son of Man, He reaches out to the people where they are in their daily occupations. A century or more ago, God raised up preachers who followed Christ's example, preaching to coal miners at the pit head as fishers of men. Dr. W. T. P. Wolston was once asked why he preached in public buildings he rented at his own expense, instead of where Christians met. His reply was, "you don't catch fish in a fish shop." Well, Peter was the first fish the Lord caught and He did it in a most unusual way. First of all, let's remember that the Lord really rented Peter's boat. Peter earned his living from catching fish, but hadn't been able to catch any all night. For the use of his boat, the Lord paid Peter a bountiful rent for He will be no man's debtor. Peter demonstrates his faith in Christ by obeying Him against all his instincts as a fisherman. When Peter saw that the catch was so great that the ships began to sink, he fell down at Jesus' knees. Here was the last Adam who had dominion over the fish of the sea— Gen. 1:28— in contrast to Peter, who belonged to the sinful race of the first Adam and could catch nothing. "Depart from me," he cries in his anguish, "for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
But the Scripture says, "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered." Joel 2:32. Well, Peter did that. He really admitted that he was a sinner and deserved only to be banished from God's presence. That is the fate of sinners who are unrepentant. Such must hear the Lord's words— "depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." Matt. 25:41. But the Lord meets Peter's need because he trusted in Him and His word of grace was "fear not." Following this, He gave Peter a call as an evangelist— to catch men from now on, not fish. This story brings to mind the Scripture, "whom He called, them He also justified and whom He justified, them He also glorified." Rom. 8:30. We have seen how the Lord called Peter here, and justified him, too. Later we shall see how He also glorified him. What God did for Peter, He does for us, too, for Peter's God is ours. This is a new feature of the Lord's work, associating sinful men like Peter in His dealings with men.
The Cleansing of the Leper 5:12-15
In the Bible there is much teaching on leprosy, which is regarded as a type of sin. It is a loathsome disease. In Old Testament days, lepers were to stay outside the camp and cry "Unclean, unclean," to warn others away from them. Those who touched a leper were defiled. The reason leprosy is such a distinct figure of sin is that the leper is generally without feeling as to his condition, although the ravages of the disease in his body are apparent to all. So it is with sin. A good story illustrating this concerns the late Sir William Osler, who was an outstanding Canadian physician. An old friend paid a social call on Osler, together with his son. It was the days of the British occupation of India. This man's son had come home on leave from a British regiment stationed in India. The three men chatted for some time and smoked cigarettes. Suddenly Osler turned to his friend's son and exclaimed, "Young man, you have leprosy!" How did he know without an examination? Was it suspicion that he had caught an Eastern disease? No, Osler had observed that the young man had not extinguished his cigarette like the others. Instead, he held it while it burned his flesh and he felt no pain. So it is with sin. The Bible never exaggerates, and its use of leprosy as a type of sin fits the case exactly.
But, unlike other men who were defiled by touching the leper, Christ was undefiled, for He was the sinless Man. The leper knew the power was in Christ. Would He use that power on a poor leper? Many a sinner has asked the same question. "I will, be thou clean" is the ready answer. The Lord still works within the framework of Jewish ordinances though, and commands the leper to conform to them while He, the God who gave them, receives no testimony from the leper. The priest will know that it is God who cleansed him. He withdraws into the wilderness and prays in dependence now as ever on His Father. For forty days He had been in the wilderness, tempted alone by the devil; now, having shown His power over Satan's triumph the sin of man, leprosy He retires for fresh communion with His Father before going on with His work.
The House Where the Palsied Man Is Healed—5:17-26
Now He is to be shown, not only as the God who "forgiveth all thine iniquities" —the leper in the preceding verses— but who also "healeth all thy diseases." Psa. 103:3. Should not all the people then have exclaimed, "bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name"? Undoubtedly many did— those for example who pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God by the lake of Gennesaret. But not all. A class of people emerge here who are opposed to Christ— "and it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every town of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem." The reason we know they were opposed to Christ is that we read "and the power of the Lord was present to heal them." In this quiet remark, Luke unveils their true condition before God— in need of healing— the power of the Lord present for the healing— but no willingness to receive it on their part. So God blesses instead a man who felt his need. A man who is in bed, paralyzed, does not need to be reminded that he can do nothing for himself. Here is an illustration of a sinner and his helplessness. "When we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Rom. 5:6. He is powerless to come to Christ himself. "They sought means to bring him in and to lay him before Him." This is a picture of those who preach the gospel. They know the man's hopeless state and seek to bring him to Christ, who alone can help him. But they are unable to bring him to Christ. Why? Because there are too many people barring the way. This is the external barrier to the salvation of a sinner— the crowd (the world) which keeps us from Christ. But even if this were not so, there is an internal difficulty: pride. Our lofty thoughts of self are offensive to God. Those who would help a sinner must do what these men did— they lowered the paralytic through the roof to where Jesus was. Only if we are humbled and become like little children, can we be saved. Note, too, the faith of these men. Their boldness reminds us of the Lord's own words— "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force." Matt. 11:12. It is not when the Lord sees the man's faith, but "their faith" that He says, "man, thy sins are forgiven thee." What an encouragement this is to the preacher of the gospel.
But you say that wasn't the man's immediate need. He still remained paralyzed. For the moment, yes. God is a God of patience and expects us to be patient, too. The lesson the Lord was teaching was that the root of all disease is sin. Men go to surface manifestations— God to the root. Immediately He does that, reason takes over— always the enemy of faith, for the two principles are opposite ones in the spiritual realm. Who is this that speaketh blasphemies?" the Scribes and Pharisees say— "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Thus, they failed to recognize God manifest in the flesh, and the power of the Lord which was present to heal them must be used on another. Reading their thoughts and the reasoning of their hearts, He says, "Whether is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins [He said to the paralyzed man] I say unto thee arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." Immediately the man arose, took up his couch, and went home glorifying God.
Note the contrast between what took place in Simon Peter's house and this house. Peter's mother-in-law and this man were both confined to bed. The Lord entered Peter's house; the paralyzed man was brought to this house. The fever in Peter's house speaks of the activity of the flesh in sin— man's feverish nature; the paralysis of the man here, his powerless state Godward, because of pride which the gospel preacher brings to the Lord's attention for salvation. Blessing followed both miracles.
The House of Levi (Matthew), the Publican—5:27-35
The Lord called Peter away from his fishing, Levi (Matthew) from collecting taxes. He simply said, "follow Me." Levi abandoned a lucrative occupation to do this— "he left all." Should he then be mournful at the loss of his once great income? If he was, he behaved strangely, for he made a great feast for Christ in his own house. This incident ties together the three houses we have been considering. In the first two, the Lord healed and blessed. In this house, there is rejoicing because the bridegroom of Israel has come and all who acknowledge Him should feast because He is present. To fast would be to deny His presence among His people.
Now Levi wasn't content to have the Lord alone with him at the great feast he spread in his house. He invited all his former friends, wicked as they were. In some way it would appear that he invited the scribes and Pharisees too— that they were part of the "others that sat down with them." No doubt they enjoyed Levi's hospitality too, but they resented Christ. Not directly, of course, but by implication— "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" The Lord makes it clear that the publicans and sinners need Him— He came to call them. Rebuffed, they attack from another angle, reproaching the Lord for not disciplining His disciples like those of John and the Pharisees. The Lord makes it clear that this is a joyous time in Israel for God has visited His people. This being so, it is a time to eat and drink— that is, to rejoice openly at God's grace. To fast and mourn when God has come to them would be to deny the joy that was to characterize this moment more than any other time. Levi was right in making a great feast in his house.
The Parable of the Old and New Wine—5:36-39
In the old days wine was stored in "bottles" made from the skins of animals. This is only mentioned so the Lord's parable can be readily understood at the present time. Nobody would sew a piece of new cloth onto old cloth, He said, or put new wine into old bottles. The first would tear, the second would spill the wine. What is the force of these illustrations? What are we to learn from them?
In Chapter 5, we have the new wine the divine power of God operating in man. Previous to Christ's coming, old bottles contained the wine— that is, God's ways with man were confined in Judaism. But those bottles had grown old and brittle. God was about to discard this system. He had new wine ready. This new wine was seen in Simon Peter's house, in the house where the paralyzed man was healed, in the joy over God's ways with sinners in Levi's house. But the largeness of these new ways could not be confined in the old bottles of Judaism. New bottles were needed now, for God intended to bless the Gentiles. Alas, "no man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new, for he saith the old is better." That was how the scribes and Pharisees reacted to the new wine Christ brought— "the old is better." They preferred the old wine of Judaism with its dead ceremonies, even if under it a woman's fever remained, a leper's leprosy, a paralyzed man's paralysis. Such is man. Only grace has enabled the believer to drink new wine from new bottles. The unfolding of delivering grace to this world in the Son of Man cannot be confined to the narrow system of Judaism.
In spite of man's natural preference for anything and everything but Christ, God has seen to it that His Son is honored in this world. We are told that 60,000 books were written on the life of Jesus in the last century alone. (2) How true are the words on which John closes his gospel— "and there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written." John 21:25