Luke 5:1-39
Christ's priorities in ministry stand out as He deals with the calling of His disciples and the public in general. I guess we could look at it as the answer to the question: "what did Christ come to do?"
CHRIST CAME TO FISH MEN: I think that He picked Peter's boat as a pulpit for a purpose. He was doing more than preaching. He was fishing. He wanted Peter, James and John to hear His message and He wanted them to follow Him. Christ conclude His message with an invitation to go fish. It was the wrong time of day and they had just finished washing their nets and I'm sure were getting ready to to home after a long and unsuccessful night of fishing. But, they had heard enough to know that Jesus was different and they did as He asked even if it was ludicrous. Once the nets and boats were full of fish, they were struck with the realization that this was not just some other man. They knew that they were in the presence of the Lord and that they had no business being in such company because of their sin. Jesus extended an invitation for them to come and follow Him and He would teach them to be fishers of men too. Jesus invested His life in men and He wants us to do the same.
CHRIST CAME TO FORGIVE SIN: His main goal in healing the paralytic was to demonstrate to all who were watching that He had authority to forgive sin. It was not just this man's sin that needed to be forgiven, but the sins of all who watched, all of us and all who have ever lived. This is the point of Christ's coming to earth. Man is enslaved to sin and He came to set us free. Forgiveness was His ultimate goal in coming to earth. Man's greatest need is for forgiveness, and Christ has come to meet that need. The Pharisees were right to question the audacity of any man who claimed the right to forgive sin. But Jesus was not just any man, He was and is God, so He and only He can forgive. The point of His coming and therefore the point of our lives must be to show men how they might find forgiveness in Christ.
CHRIST CAME TO FIX MEN: He called men like Matthew and his friends because they were broken and they knew it. The religious leaders who readily criticized Christ for associating with such riff raff were also broken, but they didn't know it. We use the expression that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." In the case of men, if they don't know that they are broke you can't fix them. Christ has the ability to transform lives. It is what He does and what brings glory to the Father. In His wisdom, He takes the most miserable of sinners and transforms them and conforming them to the likeness of Christ. The key for this transformation to occur in our own lives is that we recognize our need. We must admit that we are broken and in need of the changes that only Christ can bring to our lives. Christ came to fix men, to fix us. Praise the Lord, He is very good at what He does.
CHRIST CAME TO FISH MEN: I think that He picked Peter's boat as a pulpit for a purpose. He was doing more than preaching. He was fishing. He wanted Peter, James and John to hear His message and He wanted them to follow Him. Christ conclude His message with an invitation to go fish. It was the wrong time of day and they had just finished washing their nets and I'm sure were getting ready to to home after a long and unsuccessful night of fishing. But, they had heard enough to know that Jesus was different and they did as He asked even if it was ludicrous. Once the nets and boats were full of fish, they were struck with the realization that this was not just some other man. They knew that they were in the presence of the Lord and that they had no business being in such company because of their sin. Jesus extended an invitation for them to come and follow Him and He would teach them to be fishers of men too. Jesus invested His life in men and He wants us to do the same.
CHRIST CAME TO FORGIVE SIN: His main goal in healing the paralytic was to demonstrate to all who were watching that He had authority to forgive sin. It was not just this man's sin that needed to be forgiven, but the sins of all who watched, all of us and all who have ever lived. This is the point of Christ's coming to earth. Man is enslaved to sin and He came to set us free. Forgiveness was His ultimate goal in coming to earth. Man's greatest need is for forgiveness, and Christ has come to meet that need. The Pharisees were right to question the audacity of any man who claimed the right to forgive sin. But Jesus was not just any man, He was and is God, so He and only He can forgive. The point of His coming and therefore the point of our lives must be to show men how they might find forgiveness in Christ.
CHRIST CAME TO FIX MEN: He called men like Matthew and his friends because they were broken and they knew it. The religious leaders who readily criticized Christ for associating with such riff raff were also broken, but they didn't know it. We use the expression that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." In the case of men, if they don't know that they are broke you can't fix them. Christ has the ability to transform lives. It is what He does and what brings glory to the Father. In His wisdom, He takes the most miserable of sinners and transforms them and conforming them to the likeness of Christ. The key for this transformation to occur in our own lives is that we recognize our need. We must admit that we are broken and in need of the changes that only Christ can bring to our lives. Christ came to fix men, to fix us. Praise the Lord, He is very good at what He does.
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