Gary Gleans

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Excitement_Caused_by_the_Healing_of_a_Leper_during_This_Tour.htm Fame is something that most people dream about achieving but is a burden to those who have it.  The fame of Jesus was spreading throughout the nation as he traveled from city to city teaching and healing the people.  The crowds that were coming out to seek healing and hear Him teach were growing but this does not seem to be the goal that Jesus had.  He was glad to serve and teach the people but it seems that growing crowds began to be more of a hindrance than a help to His ministry.  Most of us would have had a tendency to define the success of our ministry by the size of the crowds.  Jesus is clearly not motivated by the numbers of people surrounding Him.  Jesus knows the hearts of the people in the crowds and He recognizes that the size of the crowd is not what is important.  They were flocking to Him in order to experience or witness miracles while He was much more intereste

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_First_Tour_of_Galilee_with_the_Four_Fishermen.htm There were characteristics that marked the ministry of Jesus.  These are patterns that we see repeatedly as we study the ministry of Jesus while He was on the earth.  While there are certain aspects of Christ’s ministry on earth that we have not ability or need to emulate; these characteristics are consistent with what we should be practicing in our own lives.  Today’s texts describe three distinct activities as well as places that marked the ministry of Jesus.  These practices and places have direct correlations in our lives too.  The effectiveness of our ministries will be determined by our dedication to these three areas. PRAYING TO THE FATHER IN SECLUSION: There are no commands in Scripture that require that our times of prayer and Bible study should be in the morning.  We are commanded to pray and study God’s Word but there are no specific requirements as to a time of day that we sho

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/At_the_Home_of_Simon_in_Capernaum_on_the_Sabbath.htm Publicity can be a blessing as well as a curse.  It is very interesting to see how Jesus handled publicity.  There were times where He seems to completely try to avoid and publicity at all and then there were other times where He performs miracles in public that He knows will become highly publicized.  It seems that He desired to teach the people but He also had great compassion on the people.  The miracles that He performed attracted great crowds that were desirous of healings but did not seem to be very interested in hearing His teachings.  The publicity of His miracles could often hinder the productivity of His teaching.  His ability to balance these two aspects of His ministry is very impressive and should serve as a model for us.  There are those ministries that get so wrapped up in serving the physical needs of people that they abandon any attempts to teach the Word of God.  There are ot

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/In_the_Synagogue_in_Capernaum_on_the_Sabbath.htm Authority is a hard thing for many people to handle because most of us like to think that we are in charge of our own lives.  Most people don’t like to be told what to do.  Many times those who have been given positions of authority are so concerned with keeping their titles that they end up just looking to please others instead of doing what they know to be right.  Other leaders use their power to intimidate the people under their authority.  They use fear to control people instead of leading by example.  The teaching and actions of Jesus were marked by His authority.  This was different from the religious leaders of His day.  His message was backed up by a life that demonstrated the truths that He taught. THE REVELATION OF AUTHORITY WAS SEEN BY THE PEOPLE: When Jesus went into the Synagogue He opened the Scriptures and taught the people.  The people were amazed by His teaching because He tau

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Finding_Four_Fishers_of_Men.htm Change is a difficult thing for most of us.  We are more comfortable with that which is familiar.  Things that are different tend to scare us.  When Jesus called His disciples it meant radical changes in their lives.  It is important to note that the Peter, Andrew, James and John already knew who Jesus was.  They had spent time with Jesus and were convinced that He was Messiah.  They had spent time with Him after His baptism and before He went to Judea.  Now He was back in their region and He came to teach in the place where they were fishing.  They heard Him teach, they participated in an amazing catch of fish and then they were called to follow Jesus.  Many times we imagine that this encounter with Jesus was their first meeting but that is not true.  They knew who He was which makes their immediate response make much more sense.  The call to follow Jesus meant that they would need to lea

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Finding_Four_Fishers_of_Men.htm Investments are made in hopes of gaining a good return.  We are willing to part with our money and invest it because we expect our investment to grow and multiply with time.  This same principle holds true as we consider investing in the kingdom of God.  Whether that investment is in the form of money or time, we recognize that the kingdom of God is eternal and that there will be an amazing and eternal return on those investments.  When Jesus called His disciples, He went to their place of work.  He even provided them with the most lucrative day of their lives, and then He called them to leave it all behind in order to come and follow Him.  They were leaving a small fortune of fish behind on the beach in order to follow Jesus.  The only reason that they would have done that was because they believed that the kingdom of God was of greater value than any amount of fish could ever be. THE DISCIPLES LOANED THEIR B

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_New_Home_in_Capernaum.htm It is a wonderful thing to be able to spend time with the Lord.  Those who lived at the same time as Jesus had a unique opportunity in history.  The people of Nazareth had the creator of the universe living in their community but failed to recognize it.  Not only did they fail to worship Him; they tried to kill Him.  This was a tragedy they would regret for all of eternity.  Every generation has its opportunities, and ours is particularly blessed.  We have the Word of God so readily available.  Many tools for study are at our disposal and we have the indwelling ministry of the Spirit of God at work in our hearts.  Unfortunately, many continue to miss the privilege of worshiping Him. JESUS RELOCATES TO CAPERNAUM: Once Jesus slips through the mob of people who were trying to throw Him off of a cliff, He relocates to the region of Capernaum.  This was a region near the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.  Apparently, t

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_First_Rejection_at_Nazareth.htm People can be very fickle in their affections.  In today’s text we see that the people start out speaking well of Jesus but they end up trying to kill Him just a few minutes later.  It seems that the reason this happens is because their expectations of Jesus were not fulfilled.  It is easy for us to get in our minds what we think that God ought to do in our lives.  These thoughts turn into expectations and hopes but many times they are not based on Scripture.  Too often we get disappointed with God and then begin to doubt Him or even become angry at Him.  It is very important that we base our hopes on the Word of God instead of on what we think is best.  God’s ways and methods are usually very different from ours.  We are called to trust God not dictate what and how He should do things.  Jesus could see the hearts of these people just like He can see ours.  Many times He sets us on a different path from the on

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_First_Rejection_at_Nazareth.htm WWJD has become a popular acronym for believer to ask themselves: What Would Jesus Do? This is a valid question to ask as we attempt to decide a course of action in any given situation.  The only problem with this is that we don’t always have the ability to know for sure what He would do and in many cases don’t have the ability or the authority to do what He would have done.  Today’s text doesn’t tell us what Jesus would have done in our situations but it tells us what He did in His circumstances.  As Jesus comes into His Hometown He takes a specific course of action that gives us several insights into what He did, why He came and gives us an example that we can seek to apply in our own lives. JESUS FREQUENTED THE SYNAGOGUES: Many times we have the idea that Jesus spent all of His time teaching outside while sitting on a rock or in a boat at the edge of the sea.  He did teach in those places but this pass

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Second_Visit_to_Cana_with_the_Healing_of_the_Courtiers_Son.htm “Seeing is believing” is a common saying that does not reflect the truth of Scripture.  In fact, just the opposite is true.  The Bible teaches that believing is not seeing.  Those who insist on seeing demonstrate the fact that they don’t believe and once we do see there is really no need to believe.  Jesus criticized the Jewish people because they were constantly asking to see miracles as a means of proving His identity as the Messiah.  The problem was that the people were not ready to admit, under any circumstances that Jesus was Messiah.  No matter how many signs He performed they never seemed satisfied and would just ask for another sign.  As Jesus came into Galilee the people flocked to Him because they were anxious to see another miracle but were not truly interested in His identity or His message.  No matter how many signs they saw they never came to believe.  That attitude

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Christs_Message_in_Galilee.htm Priorities are one of the hardest and yet most important things that we need to determine. The things that we do and the things that we say are key factors in identifying what our priorities have become.  As Jesus proceeded from Judea to Samaria and then reached Galilee; we begin to see a pattern develop that shows us His priorities.  His life was marked by spending time serving people and telling them the truth about themselves and God.  There are many things that call for our time and attention and we can be pulled in many different directions at the same time.  When this happens it is important to know what our purpose and our priorities are.  It is easy for us to become enamored with projects and planning events that look impressive but often end up using all of our time and energies on things that are not of utmost importance.  As we look at how Jesus lived His life we can begin to identify what His priorities

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Return_to_Galilee.htm “Familiarity breeds contempt.”  This well-known saying is not a quote from Scripture but it is based on the same principle that Jesus teaches in today’s passage.  He has just had two very productive days of ministry in Samaria where many people believed on Him.  He is now one His way to Galilee which was His original destination as well as the region in which He was raised after His infancy in Egypt.  Nazareth was a town in the region of Galilee.  This area of Israel was populated by a mixture of Gentiles and Jews.  The beginning of Jesus’ ministry was in Judea, a prominently Jewish region.  From there he went to Samaria for a short but significant time of ministry.  Now He is returning to Galilee that has a large Gentile population.  This progression reminds us of the instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples in Acts 1 in which He tells them that they are to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Jesus_Meets_the_Woman_of_Samaria_at_Jacobs_Well.htm Invitations are opportunities we extend to others to join us.  When we have something special it is a good thing to invite others to share in the joy of what we have found.  The biggest blessing any of us can have is the forgiveness of our sins.  When we experience the forgiveness of our sin through faith in Christ it is only natural that we invite others to do the same.  Today we use social media to share all about our daily experiences and pass along different things that we find interesting.  We take pleasure in sharing good things with others.  The same should be true of the Gospel.  Once we understand the Word of God it is only natural that we share it with others. THE WOMAN INVITES OTHERS TO COME AND SEE JESUS: Once the woman understands that Jesus is Messiah; she leaves her watering pot behind and rushes back to the city so that others can come out and see Jesus.  This should be the

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Jesus_Meets_the_Woman_of_Samaria_at_Jacobs_Well.htm Hide and go seek is a game that we have all played from long before we can remember.  As babies we were under the impression that if we but our hands over our eyes that we somehow became invisible and perfectly hidden from our “seeker.”  As we got older our hiding techniques became more sophisticated and elaborate.  The ironic part about this game is that the best part for both sides is when the seeker finds the hider.  Hiding can be very boring.  Seeking can be frustrating.  Finding and being found is the climax of the game.  In many ways life is like hide and go seek.  We are often under the impression that our sins are hidden from God when, in reality, our lives are constantly on full display before Him.  As we grow older we try more sophisticated means of hiding from God but they are never effective.  We keep “hiding” and God keeps “seeking” but the highlight of our lives is when He “finds”

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Jesus_Meets_the_Woman_of_Samaria_at_Jacobs_Well.htm Misconceptions are very common in our lives especially when we are dealing with our thoughts about God and the way that He works.  The Jews had many misconceptions about Messiah and what He would be like.  They had many traditions that had been established through the years and it was almost impossible for them to consider anything outside of those beliefs.  They had a very limited view of who could be acceptable to God and had a very short sighted view of what in meant to be accepted by God.  Jesus did not conform to any of these traditions and as we study His life and ministry we begin to see just how many misconceptions there were about who He was and what He had come to do.  We too struggle with these same types of misconceptions.  God has a mission that He desires to accomplish in the world today.  As believers we are expected to be fully engaged in that mission.  Too often we begin to foc

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Jesus_Leaves_Judea.htm Popularity is often one of the biggest motivating factors in our lives.  All of us like to be liked.  It is also one of the most dangerous influences in our lives.  God does not want us to be motivated by that which is comfortable or popular but by a desire to please Him and do what is right.  The will of God and the desire of the crowd are seldom similar.  That is not to say that large crowds are always synonymous of bad motives.  However, large crowds can be dangerous because they can become addicting and before we realize it; the size of the crowd becomes our main motive.  Both Jesus and John the Baptist had large crowds that came out to hear them but the number of people was not what motivated them.  They were both motivated by the will of God.  God’s will is that we fear Him and not men.  God’s will is that we be holy no matter what holiness might cost us in a perverse world.  God’s will is to be worshiped in all nati

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Johns_Freedom_from_Jealousy_about_Jesus.htm It is very important to know who we are.  It is even more important to know who Jesus is.  John the Baptist has a clear understanding of both of these truths.  He understands who he is and what God has called him to do but he also understands very clearly who Jesus is and what Jesus has come to do.  All ministry should focus on exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, there are many ministries that begin to grow that start to focus on men.  Some of John’s followers are concerned about the number of people who are starting to follow Jesus and the impact that this might have on John’s ministry.  John makes it crystal clear that his ministry is to make people followers of Jesus.  Christ must always have the preeminence in our lives an over our work.  John gives three clear reasons as to why people should become followers of Jesus. JESUS REIGNS OVER THE EARTH: Jesus is from heaven.  He came down