Men had been fishing for centuries, long before Jesus came along. Indeed, fishing was old when Moses gave Israel the Law. As hinted earlier, that old Law was passing away, replaced by a new teaching. Not new in the sense of just begun, but a fresh look at the foundation of truth which had never changed. This fresh look was not just another new and entertaining set of ideas, but something with power to change things. Jesus, having set aside His divinity during His ministry on earth, was not walking in His personal power, but the power of His teaching. It had power to change even ancient fishing.
What difference does it make when we fish with Jesus? We see Jesus had taken His ministry outside the synagogues, in part because the crowds were simply too large. On one particular day, He was near the shore of Genessaret, another name for Galilee. A perfect place for addressing a crowd so all could hear was to sit in the prow of a small fishing boat just back from the shore, while the audience sat facing Him on the sloping bank. The calm water would amplify His voice. When He finished His message, he told Peter to push out and cast a net. Anyone who knew fish knew they only came up near the surface at night, descending below the reach of nets during daylight. They had already spent the night in futility. Peter noted this, but decided, "Why not?" He humored His rabbi, perhaps to teach Him a lesson.
The first cast nearly tore the net with an abnormal high fish count. When the net was pulled in by two boats, it nearly sank both. Peter begged Jesus to depart because he knew sinful men in the presence of The Holy deserved to die. He was confessing his sins and sinfulness. Jesus told Him, in essence, he was forgiven. Further, Peter was needed for a task of full time soul fishing. Had they tried it on their own, nothing would happen, just as their past night's fishing was pointless. With Jesus, a single pass would harvest more than they could manage. They left behind this marvelous days' catch to follow the one whose authority even the fish in the sea obey.
Luke tells us Jesus met a leper who was in the later stages of the disease, already disfigured from its ravages. The leper should have stayed away, or at least warned Jesus to stay away. Instead, believing Jesus could change that problem, he came to Him. His only question was whether Jesus was inclined to grant him healing, not whether He could. Jesus healed him, then instructed the man to recover his social standing by offering in the Temple according to the Law, and showing the priests. The priests needed to know, but so did the man's family and home town. It was important not to make the claim without the accepted proof. We should hardly be surprised the man could not contain himself, but spread this most amazing tale of healing. In the end, Jesus was compelled to withdraw into the wilderness just so He could pray.
We learn the only reason the Lord has not healed all suffering on earth is because a lack of faith. Those in need don't ask in full submission to Him. Human reasoning would like to forget that one missing piece of their questions regarding God -- we must commit to His revelation before we know what it will demand of us. That Jesus' teaching was built on such authority brought conflict with those who had long since drifted away from God. The question of keeping the ancient ways was the wrong question, because the ancient God was behind it moment by moment.
Jewish authorities came from all over to examine this famous healing rabbi. They lacked the Holy Spirit because they lacked the truth. Jesus operated under the authority of His Father via the Holy Spirit, who was personally present. Thus, the power to heal was there by default. The teaching session on that day was in a building, and a quartet of men brought their lame friend for healing. Luke describes a scene where the house was not Judean style, but more Roman, with tiles on the roof. Lacking room to bring the man in normally, they pulled up the roof tiles and found space to drop the man through the underlying frame. Under the authority of the Spirit, Jesus pronounces the man's sins are forgiven. This answered the question common in many societies, not just Jews, whether the man was lame because he had sinned. The Jewish authorities silently object, based on their own teaching.
Immediately Jesus answers their objections. He didn't bother to mention His divinity, because that was not pertinent. Rather, He answers by the logic of the inspectors themselves. Surely, any huckster could say someone's sins are forgiven, but there would be no proof. To back up His claim the authority to forgive sin came with His teaching, Jesus told the man to get up from his bed. Jesus teaches miracles are granted to support the divine message. The man's spiritual needs took precedence over his physical needs. The healing was proof those spiritual needs were met. Some day, that man would eventually grow old, perhaps become lame again, but his sins would remain forgiven, because there was faith to enter this new teaching and the new life it offered. The crowd confirmed this was not what they had been taught before.
Human methods were unlikely to have selected a trio of fishermen for assisting in this new ministry. Jewish leaders were known to despise the peasants of their own nation. Having already gathered Peter, James and John, Jesus needed more helpers. He made yet another choice too obviously contrary to the teaching of other rabbis -- a tax collector. Even a Roman official knew a Jewish tax collector was an outcast from his nation. Just as these peasant fishermen left to fish for souls, Levi left his lucrative job and powerful position to collect a fair tax of souls from the world. This new teaching of Jesus had power to redeem men considered permanently lost to Judaism.
Levi then proceeded to throw a feast to begin this new life. It compared favorably to a wedding feast, another way men started a new life. Luke wanted to share his joy with other outcasts, wanted them to meet Jesus, to know there was still some hope of coming before their God for cleansing from sin. When these Jewish inspectors complained Jesus ate with what they considered Gentiles, Jesus noted His teaching was not offered to anyone who had already accepted the old teachings. The Jewish leaders had their own righteousness, and had no room for repentance. These sinners knew they needed to be saved, and He was offering redemption to those without any other hope. He was the bridegroom celebrating His bride, the New and Ancient Kingdom of Heaven.
It would be silly to cut chunks of cloth from an new garment to patch an old one. The new spiritual life Jesus taught could not be seen as a patch over the old Jewish ways. It was its own thing, and was clearly meant to replace those old ways, a new garment of holiness to cover sin. The fresh new life of the Spirit could not fit in the old forms of Law. The old teaching had run out, served its purpose, and the skins were empty. Jesus' message was its own sweet vintage, and required unused skins, the skins of those who had never known the favor of Jewish leaders. How does one get good, seasoned wine? It often took three years, and the old ways could not contain the pressures and bubbling life of the new. In due time, these lives would be remade to serve a mature wine of new life.
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By Ed Hurst
05 July 2008
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