May 3 - 9, 2020: Luke 5:27-32
JESUS-The Bridge Builder
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God's character to be revealed.
Read: Luke 5:27-32 and note 1-3 insights or questions
Reflect: Our passage for this week exists in some amazing context. Jesus just finished demonstrating to many people (Pharisees included) His authority and power to forgive sins as well as heal a paralytic (after the paralytic's friends dropped him at Jesus' feet...through the roof, carefully of course :-) Now, Jesus goes out and calls "Follow Me" to a tax collector named Levi. The "You-do-not-have-to-ask-me-twice" response by Levi includes not only following Jesus but having Jesus over (and plenty of other tax collectors and "sinners" as well) for a great feast.
David H. Stern, Messianic Jew and author of Jewish New Testament Commentary, shares on p. 36 the following about who "sinners" were in this historical/Biblical context. Stern writes, "This term ("sinners") came to be used by the P'rushim (Pharisees) to refer to prostitutes, thieves, and others of low reputation whose sins were blatant and obvious, not the kind the establishment winked at. Yeshua (Jesus) taught that those who considered themselves not sinners but 'righteous' were in fact worse, because they made themselves unteachable." (FYI...Parentheses and translations from Hebrew were included by me).
Jesus is an amazing Bridge Builder, amen? While Pharisees criticize Jesus for feasting with this group of "sinners," Jesus clarifies well that He is right where He needs to be, and He is making a way for these "sinners" (and the Pharisees as well for that matter if they would humble themselves) to experience a connection with Him, a relationship with Him, and His abundant life now. While the actions of Pharisees excluded, the actions of Jesus included. While the Pharisees disabled relationships, Jesus enabled relationships. Thanks be to God in the flesh in Jesus!
Recalibrate: In our current "Stay Home/Stay Safe/Save Lives" reality, how may I be more like Jesus and less like a Pharisee? What bridge(s) is God calling me to build this week? How may I continue to be a lifelong learner as I walk with Jesus?
Respond: Pray, "Lord, please help me to follow you and be a bridge builder in ways you call me to this week."
Research: If you do not already use the "Simply Mission" App from Adventist Health, I encourage you to download this free app and watch a 2-minute "Bridges" video. It can be found in the "DAILY CONNECT-Living God's Love" portion of the App, and you can find the "Bridges" video posted on 4/30/20. For what it is worth, this App has blessed me in recent weeks as it is filled with helpful tools for our walk with God (e.g. "Daily Word" readings from various writers, "Daily Connect" videos by Alex Bryan, Podcasts like "Digital Intermission" (folks like Sam Leonor, Japhet De Oliveira, etc.), and plenty of other blessings for us to explore.
Continued blessings to and through you this week, fellow followers of Jesus and bridge builders!