Luke 5:27-39 - FACTS ABOUT FEASTING, FASTING, AND FAITH

FACTS ABOUT

FEASTING, FASTING, AND FAITH

Luke 5:27-39

Luke 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.

Susie: Most Jewish rabbis probably would not have given a tax-collector the time of day, let alone asked him to be their disciple. Tax-collectors were Jews who worked for the Romans collecting taxes. Many times, besides working for the Gentile oppressors, these men would demand more than the government had them collect, lining their pockets by robbing their own people.

Susan: However, Jesus is not swayed by public opinion or a person’s station in life. He could see Matthew’s heart. Jesus not only asked Matthew to travel with Him and learn from Him, but chose him to be one of the twelve who made up His apostles.

 1 Samuel 16:7b . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Luke 5:28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

Susan: Levi’s obedience to the call of Jesus was immediate and complete.

Susie: Levi (better known as Matthew) had certainly heard of all the miracles Jesus had performed and perhaps had heard Him teach. He did not hesitate to accept the invitation to be His disciple.

Luke 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

Susan: Levi had a banquet celebrating his job promotion with his new Master (boss), Jesus, as the guest of honor.

Susie: After enjoying the feeling of acceptance himself, Levi invited many of his friends, including other tax collectors to meet the rabbi from Nazareth who was growing in popularity and respect among the common people.

Luke 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

Susan: But the religious elite, the Scribes and Pharisees, judgmentally questioned His disciples about the company Jesus kept—tax-collectors and other garden variety sinners.

Luke 5:31-32 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Susie: Jesus did not wait for His disciples to field this question, but took it Himself. He explained to the naysayers that those who are well do not need the doctor. The doctor sees those who are sick.

Susan: Jesus meant that those people broken in spirit, soul, and body were the ones in need of a physician, a healer of hearts.

Susie: Jesus clarified His analogy by stating that He came to call not the righteous, but the sinners in need of repentance. Matthew records another thing Jesus said at this time:

Matthew 9:13 (CJB) As for you, go and learn what this means: ‘I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifices.’ For I didn’t come to call the ‘righteous,’ but sinners!”

Hosea 6:6 (CJB) For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices, knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Susan: When it comes right down to it, everyone is a sinner in need of a Savior. Jesus would later die to make salvation from sin available to all who repent and trust in Him.

Luke 5:33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

Susie: Since Jesus had an answer for their first question, the Pharisees and Scribes confronted Him on another issue. They pointed out that John the Baptist’s disciples and their own as well fasted and prayed often, but His own did not. They were accusing Jesus and disciples of being partyers.

Susan: It baffles me that the supposed leaders of Judaism, those who should have known God’s word, were busy creating conundrums to try to trip Jesus up instead of sitting at His feet and learning from Him.

Susie: Jesus did fast when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted (Matthew 4:2). Fasting was required by the Law only on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31, 23:27). The Pharisees made their fasting public in order to be seen by others as being devout. Later, Jesus would later teach on fasting. Note that He did not say “if” you fast, but “when” you fast.

Matthew 6:16-18  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Luke 5:34-35 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Susie: The guests at a wedding feast and are merry. The bride and groom are with them, and it is a happy occasion, not a time to deprive themselves. Jesus is the Bridegroom and his disciples had no reason to fast while He was right there with them.

Susan: However, the day was rapidly approaching when Jesus, the Bridegroom, would sacrifice Himself as the final Passover Lamb. After His resurrection, He would return to the Father in Heaven, and His disciples would be without His physical presence. This would be a time for fasting and praying.

Luke 5:36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

Susie: If you sew a patch made of new cloth onto something that has been washed many times, the new patch will shrink, tearing away from the old and ripping them both. Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection began a New Covenant wherein salvation and righteousness comes not through Jewish tradition of piety and the sacrificial system but through faith in His finished work on the cross. You cannot sew salvation by faith onto the works-based righteousness of the Old Testament Law.

Luke 5:37-38 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

Susie: The New Covenant fulfills what the Old Covenant sacrificial system foreshadowed. Salvation by grace, a redemption that cannot be earned, cannot be poured into requirements such as circumcision and the constant need for sacrifices found in the Old Testament. In the book of Acts, the elders in Jerusalem came to that realization when the question of circumcising Gentile believers was brought before them (Acts 15).

Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

Luke 5:39 (VOICE) Anyway, those who’ve never tasted the new wine won’t know what they’re missing; they’ll always say, “The old wine is good enough for me!”

Susan: Jesus, being omniscient (all-knowing), knew that most of the Pharisees would be resistant to His message, rejecting change all together.

Susie: For a good commentary on verses 36-39, go to www.biblegateway.com and look up this passage. Then click on “study this” and scroll down to IVP New Testament Commentary Series. We found this to be one of the most understandable explanations of the passage we have ever read.

Ponder and apply this: Jesus was known for associating with the poor, the outcast, and even the sinful in order to minister to them and offer them repentance. If we surround ourselves only with other Christians, are we truly following in His steps? In order to obey the Great Commission—to make disciples as we are going about our business—we must have interaction with those in need of Jesus. However, Jesus also had twelve close disciples, three of which seemed to serve as His inner circle, into which He poured His life and entrusted with His message. We must minister to people as Jesus did, but we must have close friends who minister to us and keep us accountable.