Luke 7:24-50

Jesus talked about John and reminded the crowd that the reason they had gone out to see him in the wilderness was because he was a prophet. But more than a prophet - he was the one who was to prepare the way for the Messiah. Jesus then went on to describe how when John came not eating bread and drinking wine, people thought he was demon possessed. Then, when Jesus Himself came along eating and drinking, they called Him a drunk and a glutton.

People who are looking for truth will find it. Those who do not want to find it will find something wrong with the messenger. If there is more than one messenger, they'll find something wrong with each one even if the reasoning is contradictory. It may be tough to do sometimes, but we have to separate the message from the messenger. This goes both ways: don't accept something simply because you like the look of who's telling you the thing. Also, don't dismiss something out of hand based solely on the fact you don't like where it's coming from or how it's presented. See if the message itself stands up to reason, then make up your mind.


Jesus went to the house of a Pharisee named Simon. While there, a woman came and washed His feet with her tears and hair, kissed them and anointed them with perfume. Simon thought to himself that Jesus couldn't be much of a profit or He would know that He was being touched by this sinful woman and wouldn't tolerate it. Jesus answered him by saying that this woman had done all the hospitable things that Simon himself had neglected to do for Jesus as a guest in his house. He went on to tell Simon a parable about two men who were forgiven debts they could not repay; one had a larger debt than the other. Jesus asked Simon which one would love the forgiving lender more. Simon replied that it would be the one with the larger debt. Jesus pointed out that this woman had more love for Him than Simon because she had a greater sin debt to be forgiven. With that, He turned to the woman and told her her sins were forgiven.

Think of how much you have been forgiven. Now take that and show God your love and gratitude for what He's done for you. The best way to show that love is to get out there and love other people. Meet someone's physical needs, their emotional needs, or their spiritual needs any chance you get. This is what God has commanded us to do.

Luke 7:1-23

While Jesus was on His way to heal a man's servant, He was intercepted with a message from the man saying that he was not worthy to have Jesus come to his home. He said that if Jesus would just say the word, his servant would be healed. Jesus declared that this man had great faith - greater than any He had found in Israel. When the man's messengers returned to him, the servant had already been healed.

On another occasion, Jesus saw a funeral procession for a young man. He saw the man's mother - a widow - and had compassion on her. He comforted her and then commanded her son to rise up. The dead man sat up and began speaking. The people who were there glorified God and news of Jesus spread through the area.

In the first story, Jesus was answering a plea for help. In the second, He saw a need and He did something about it without having to be asked. As we go through our daily activities, we should be looking for people who look like they need something. It may be a smile, a door held open, or all sorts of small, kind gestures. We can't just wait for people to ask us to do things for them.


Messengers came from John the Baptist to inquire of Jesus whether He was the Messiah. Jesus told them to report back to John what they had seen: people were being healed, the dead were being raised, and the gospel was being preached.

We each have to make up our own minds as to who Jesus is based on what we see in our own lives as well as the lives of others. We can't expect someone else to make the decision for us. We now have 2000 years of history to show us how Jesus has worked in the hearts and lives of those who follow Him. What we do with that is up to us. Once we accept Jesus, we need to show others Jesus by how we act and talk.

Luke 6:27-49

Jesus taught about loving our enemies, turning the other cheek and giving to those who wrong us. He said that it's easy to love our friends, to lend to those we know will repay us, and to do good to people who are good to us. As Christians though, we are to show love and mercy to others, just as God shows love and mercy to sinners. He said we are not to judge or condemn, but to forgive and give. Then, it will be given back to us in the same way.

This was and is truly radical thinking. The natural thing to do when we're wronged is to seek revenge - to take back what is ours or inflict the same damage onto the one who wronged us. Jesus says instead we should love our enemies, give them what they take from us and then give them more. This is the kind of love God has shown each of us and it is life changing love. When we respond with God's love, lives can be changed and that's the whole point. That's why Jesus came, and that's why He wants us to show that love to everyone.


Jesus continued by teaching that if we do not know the way to God, we cannot lead others to Him - it would be like the blind leading the blind! Also, we can't help others if we have unresolved issues in our own lives. This doesn't mean we need to be perfect, but if we have sin that we have not acknowledged, yet alone confessed, we are in no position to help someone else with their problems.

Finally, Jesus taught about the fruits of our faith and the importance of building on a strong foundation. Our faith is seen by the things we do. No one but God can truly see into our hearts and know where our faith is, but by looking at how we live our lives and how we treat others, our faith can be known by some degree by others. That faith needs to be grounded in the truth that is Jesus. We need to know Him so intimately that doing the right thing becomes second nature more and more. Then others will see Jesus at work in our lives.

Luke 6:1-26

Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath. His disciples were picking the heads of grain and eating them. The Pharisees considered this work and therefore that the disciples were not keeping the Sabbath properly. At this, Jesus reminded them of how David took bread from the temple that was supposed to be only for the priests. Another Sabbath, Jesus healed a man's hand in the synagogue. The Pharisees who were there were outraged that He would heal someone on the Sabbath, again considering this work.

Here were these Pharisees with their made up rules tying to tell Jesus, the Son of God, what was right and what wasn't. They had added so much on top of the laws God had already given them as to be a burden for anyone who honestly wanted to follow all the law. Jesus corrected them by trying to get them to change their thinking about why they thought these things were wrong. Misconceptions get in the way when we are slow to abandon them. Sometimes we need someone else to show us the right way to think because we've gotten so entrenched in one way of thinking. When that someone comes along, we need to be open and listen, then thoughtfully consider what has been said and how it compares to what God's word actually says.


Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor. He taught that those who are hungry, mourning (those who weep), or are hated and persecuted are blessed and that they will have rewards in heaven. On the other hand, He said that for those who are rich, well-fed, gleeful (those who laugh), or well-respected by men there would be only grief waiting for them.

Not everyone who is poor will get into heaven, just as simply being rich will not keep anyone out of heaven. The picture here is more that those who put off the worldly comforts in this life for Jesus' sake will be rewarded in heaven; those who put worldly comfort as their first priority will not find comfort in eternity. The choice is ours to make. We can think short term or long term. We each have (usually) sixty to eighty years on this earth, and then we go off to eternity. The rewards this world has to offer pale in comparison to the rewards waiting in heaven for those who serve God. Likewise, the eternal pain caused by not accepting Christ and doing your own thing are far beyond anything we can experience in this world. The momentary pleasures of this world are not worth the eternal pain they earn, but the rewards freely given by God for a life dedicated to Him will more than compensate for any mistreatment or discomfort this world can throw our way.

Luke 5:17-39

One day when Jesus was teaching, some men came with their paralyzed friend for Jesus to heal, but the crowd was so thick they could not get to Him. Not willing to give up, they removed some tiles from the roof of the house where Jesus was and lowered their friend down to Jesus. Jesus healed the man, but before He did, He forgave the man's sins.

Jesus offers us healing and forgiveness today as well. Once our sins are forgiven, the healing process can begin. Since the burden of our sin is the root of so many of our spiritual and emotional hurts, the healing process can't start until that weight has been lifted off of us.


Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him. Matthew left what he was doing and followed Jesus. He then got some of his fellow tax collectors together for a feast honoring Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees expressed concern that Jesus was associating with tax collectors and "sinners". Jesus answered that He came to call people to repent. Just like only sick people need a doctor, only sinners need to repent.

Matthew brought his friends to meet Jesus. He wasn't satisfied to keep this to himself. He didn't just forget about them when he met Jesus. Jesus came to sinners (and we're all sinners) with a message of repentance. This is the same message that we carry to the world today. If we just stay in our Christian circle of friends, who are we taking that message to?


They continued by asking Him why His disciples did not fast like everyone else. He explained that because He was with them, it was not the proper time for fasting. The Messiah that they had been waiting for had come and was among them. That should be cause for celebration. Soon enough He would not be with them and that would be the time for fasting.

When Jesus is with us, it is a time for rejoicing. We are right where we need to be. Sometimes we fall away from Him and it is these times we need to fast (not necessarily from food, but perhaps TV, internet, friends, etc.) and return our focus to Him. That is the purpose of fasting - to put our focus back on God by taking it off of worldly things. Do a checkup: Is there something you need to take a break from and refocus on God?

Luke 5:1-16

While Jesus was teaching by the lake of Genesaret, the crowd began to press in around Him. He had Simon Peter take Him out in his boat and continued teaching from there. When He was done, He had Peter go further out on the lake to cast out his fishing net. Even though he had been fishing all night and caught nothing, he did as Jesus said. When the net was pulled back up, there were so many fish that the net almost broke. Peter had to get his partners back on shore to come help with the fish and when they were pulled back up, they filled both boats to the point that they began to sink. Peter fell down and worshiped Jesus, saying he was not worthy to be in His presence. Jesus told him that from now on he would be catching men. Peter, along with James and John, left what they had followed Jesus.

Peter probably didn't understand exactly who Jesus was at this time - he only saw that Jesus had remarkable power, power from God. Based on the event with catching the fish (and listening to Jesus' teaching) Peter decided that Jesus was a holy man and decided to accept the offer to become a follower of His. It's OK if you don't understand everything about who Jesus is when you first accept His offer of salvation. Just know that He has the power to offer you salvation and the rest will be revealed to you in time. Too often, people want to have the whole thing figured out before they make the decision to accept Christ's offer of salvation, but we each need to act upon whatever information we have.


A man with leprosy asked Jesus to heal him, if He was willing. Jesus said He was willing and healed the man. Once again, we see someone stepping out in faith with what little He knew about Jesus. He humbled himself to ask to be healed and he was healed. Each time we do this, our faith is increased and we learn to trust Christ more.

Luke 4:31-44

Jesus went to Capernaum to continue in His ministry. While there, He cast a demon out of a man in the temple. The people were amazed and word spread quickly. Later, Jesus went to Simon's house where He cured Simon's mother-in-law of a high fever. More people were brought to Him to be healed and have demons cast out and He healed them as well.

This is still the model for spreading the word about Jesus today. Jesus touches each of our lives and we in turn tell someone else who comes to Jesus because of the wonderful things they've heard. Jesus works in that person's life and then they go and tell someone else. For nearly 2000 years, the good news of Christ has been traveling around the world by word of mouth. How awesome is that?