July 23, 2010
"JOYFUL, JOYFUL, WE ADORE THEE"
Luke 5:27-39
Matt Krauss
Central Truth
Knowing and following Christ is a joy. It is neither an exercise in sacrificing pleasure and satisfaction nor a license to indulge freely against God's character without consequence.
Key Verse | Luke 5:34–35
And Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." (Luke 5:34-35)
Luke 5:27-39
Jesus Calls Levi
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” 1 5:39 Some manuscripts better
Dive Deeper | Luke 5:27-39
I began a relationship with Christ at the end of my first semester of college. The contrast in my life between my pre-Christian fall semester and my Christian spring semester proved difficult for many of my friends to handle. I will always remember a comment from one buddy when confronted with the reality of what it meant to follow Jesus: "But I don't want to spend the rest of my life bowling on Friday nights." He wasn't actually knocking rolling the rock, but was sharing his fear that following Christ required giving up a life of pleasure for a life of dissatisfaction and asceticism. He didn't want to go from being a frat boy to a monk. Thankfully, God doesn't want that for most of us either.
In this passage Levi responds to Christ's calling by immediately throwing a party. Levi, a reviled tax collector, along with all his other cronies, is happy, enjoying great food, drink, and fellowship with the Lord. The Pharisees object, questioning why Jesus' disciples are not fasting and praying. It is very easy for me to be like the Pharisees, forgetting that, though we live in a broken world, we aren't meant to mope around dwelling on rules and circumstances.
While there is a time to weep and a time to mourn, there is also a time to laugh and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3:4) Thankfully for us, because Christ has entered this world and into relationship with us, we can rejoice today, tomorrow, and forever. "In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (Psalm 16:11b) One of the greatest ways Christians can be examples to those who don't know Christ is by demonstrating life and transformation to others as we rejoice in Him. While this freedom to enjoy God comes with the suffering, hardship, and consequences from a rebellious world mired in sin, we should delight in the fact that God wants to celebrate His goodness with us. Glory to God!
Discussion Questions
1. Do you tend to get distracted by legalism or circumstances at the expense of being joyful?
2. If someone asked your friends and others around you if you are joyful in triumph despite difficulty, would you like their answer?
3. In what ways can you celebrate your relationship with Christ that naturally appeal to those far from Him? Think about how you spend your time and in what ways you serve Christ.
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you know what more common name Levi is known by? (Matthew)
2. When Jesus calls Levi to be one of His disciples, what was Levi’s job (verse 27)? In verse 30, what do you learn about how a lot of people felt about tax collectors?
3. What does this show us about whom Jesus will use to spread His Word?