Bible, NT-14, Gospel-5, Luke-1: Part 2

LESSON 14

THE GOSPEL 5 

LUKE 1

PART 2

By Rev. G. E. Newmyer

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And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret (5:1).

In Mark’s account, we find that Peter, Andrew, James, and John were located at the shore of the sea of Galilee (Mark 1:16). The lake was noted as the Sea of Galilee when the location was on the Galilee side, but the other side of the lake was known as Gennesaret. Luke wants us to know this is the other side of the lake, after the disciples crossed the sea.

And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fisherman were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship (5:2-3).

Mark shows Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea (Mark 1:16), and James and John Zebedee were “in the ship mending their nets” (Mark 1:19); but here, the location and events are different, for good reason.

Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (5:4).

These fishermen had finished for the night, they didn’t return back to the Galilee side, since they didn’t have a catch. The Night is a metaphor for the Time of Comfort, they fished in the Night, and caught nothing; work while it is yet Day, for the Night comes when no man can work. Now Jesus tells them to try again, only this time they will be following the Word of the Lord during the Day.

And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake (5:5-6).

The Greek word used for “word” is Rhema; the proceeding word came, in which Peter was about to get his first lesson regarding “man does not live by bread alone”.

At this point in time, the nets started to break; later after Peter knows that he denied the Lord,(as his displeasure with himself caused him to return to his old line of employment), he will again hear, “Cast your net”; and again, he will find a net breaking catch, but the teaching will be different, as will Peter’s response.

This catch would be a preview of the “Net cast into the Sea to bring forth both good and bad.” There is a difference between the Sea and the Field, the Sea is the place to bring in the Fish, and the Field is a place of decision and separation.

The catch yet to come will contain 153 fish, there are 153 blessings associated with the Abrahamic Covenant. Peter was called on the other side of the sea, then he will be chosen on this side, and later, he will be restored at the Shore (Jn 21:6). The saying in John 21 told Peter that God is a God of more than one chance. After the denials, yet before Peter was restored, Jesus would say, “tell My disciples and Peter”; thus Peter went back to his old way of life. After all, how many times can one deny the Lord, and not be cast away? Peter found out that he may have denied the Lord, but it wasn’t with the same intent as Judas betraying the Lord. Peter wanted to do something for the Lord, but lacked the ability, whereas, Judas wanted to do something to the Lord.

And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord (5:7-8).

Peter did as he was told, but he wasn’t able to complete the task without his partners. The net needed more than one disciple to be effective, although one disciple tossed it. Paul would tell us, one plants, another waters, but only God can bring the increase (I Cor 3:6-7). Who is he who casts the net? Who are those who pulled it in? They were servants, but Who was He who filled it? He is the Lord.

For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken (5:9).

Peter toiled all night, yet he didn’t even see a fish, much less catch one, now the net is breaking. Peter had faith in his ability, he was a professional fish catcher, yet his net would come up empty. The Ability and the Desire are different; we must submit and have the desire, but the Ability is still the Lord’s. Jesus spoke the Word, Peter obeyed, and by his obedience he received.

And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth you shall catch men (5:10).

Peter was Astonished, what kind of Man was this Jesus? This was a faith test just for Peter, as the test pointed to a promise. This promise would prevail past the Cross and Resurrection, as Peter would later hear, “Feed My Sheep” (Jn 21:16). It’s one thing to catch them, another to Feed them; some catch, some Feed, but it’s God who fills the Net.

Both Matthew and Mark show that Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19), and “Come you after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17); thus both Matthew and Mark are future tense callings. Here in Luke we see, “from henceforth…”, thus we have “the calling” in Mark and Matthew, then the act of being Chosen in Luke. They had to cross the Sea, hear the Sermon on the Mount and make the decision to leave All. Once the decision was made, Jesus would bring the ability and training unto the calling.

And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him (5:11).

Both Mark and Matthew show that they “forsook their nets” (Mark 1:18 & Matt 4:20); but here in Luke they left All to follow Jesus. There is a process, a time between hearing the call and being chosen, adding a process of time to be chosen. We receive the Calling through Mercy; we make the decision to be Chosen by entering “Grace experiences” to then be Justified “unto” the saving of our souls; therefore, “many are Called, but few are Chosen,” because few make the choice to be Chosen. This area is not an issue of Faith, but obedience, although obedience is an aspect of Faith, but it’s not all Faith is.

And it came to pass, when He was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought Him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And He put forth His hand and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And He charged him to, tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them (5:12-14).

Leprosy is an obvious uncleanness, whereas, an “issue of blood” was not obvious; but nonetheless unclean. Today, few Jews talk about leprosy, but during the earthly ministry, there were many lepers. The four lepers during the time of Elisha said, Why sit we here until we die? (II Kings 7:3). The four lepers then entered the camp of the Syrians and found that the Lord had made the host of the Syrians flee, and the lepers enjoyed the spoils, yet they remained lepers (II Kings 7:6-9).

Miriam became leprous because she sinned against the Lord, and the Lord’s Prophet (Numb 12:8-10). Moses interceded and the Lord healed Miriam after seven days; then she was received Again (Numb 12:14). The Jew knew that Leprosy was a Plague, yet any Plague is a result of the curse (Lev 13:2-59). Leprosy is noted as the Fretting Plague; the word Fretting means Bitter, or To be bitter, or a result of bitterness (Lev 13:51-52 & 14:44). Proverbs 19:3 says, The foolishness of man perverts his way: his heart frets against the Lord. In this case the word Frets means Angry, thus Anger brings Bitterness and bitterness produces an uncleanness on the inside, which then becoming obvious on the outside. This also shows that bitterness and envy can cause us to attack members of the Body, just as Miriam was within the family, yet her bitterness and envy caused her to attack Moses. Does it mean if we are bitter we will get Leprosy? No, it means there is an allegory to enlighten us; bitterness is an inner plague, the Book of Hebrews warns us, “looking diligently lest any man fail (fall from) the Grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, thereby many be defiled: lest there be any fornicator (one who disrespects the vow of the birthright) or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright” (Heb 12:15-16).

This area will be the beginning of the Teaching provided by Luke. To a Jew the phrases, “In a certain place,” or “At a certain time,” or “A certain person” all reflect to teaching precept upon precept, not line upon line. Although Luke is writing to a Greek, he is bringing the evidence to draw anyone to the Cross. If we are looking for historical time periods or chronological order, we will get lost in Luke. Luke isn’t making an attempt to place these events in a chronological order, the chronological order was established by Matthew and Mark, and added to by John. Luke is linking events and sayings in categories of study regarding the phrase: deny the self, pick up your cross in order to follow Jesus.

But so much the more went there a fame abroad of Him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed (5:15-16).

These people came for one reason, to be healed of their infirmities; yet Jesus didn’t reject them, He didn’t rebuke them by saying, “All you people want is a healing, you’re so self-centered, so get out of here.” In John we will find that Jesus refused to feed a certain group of people, after having fed them the day before. The day prior they wanted to hear the Word, the day after, they just wanted food; thus they attempted to manipulate Jesus into doing something. Here they came for something without manipulating or tempting Him. On the other hand if we go to meetings just to have the “man of God” lay hands on us, we have missed the mark by miles, since we are commanded to lay hands on others.

Jesus is our example; we talked about the tradition of praying before we preach, here we find what the tradition hampered. After the healings, Jesus went to pray. How many of us do that? We pray up a storm before the meeting to make sure we’re right before God; but praying for the people after the fact is just as important if not more so.

And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them (5:17).

Luke now uses the term, “On a certain day,” which is his teaching statement, showing that he is linking events; thus he is not concerned with the chronological appearance. He will remain in this teaching mode until Jesus reaches Jerusalem for the last week of the earthly ministry.

The Power of the Lord was present to heal the Leper; and the Power was in the house to heal any who reached for it. To the Pharisees it may have seemed to pass away when the leper was healed, but the evidence proves the Truth. The Power can be there, but we must enter the presence of the Lord to receive.

Could someone be healed with all these unbelieving Pharisees around? We will see that the unbelief of others can’t hinder the one who is seeking. A promise indeed, we can be up to our necks in unbelieving Pharisees, yet gain by our faith. Not easy, but possible.

The Pharisees were sitting there with the Lord in their presence, but they were hardly in the Lord’s presence. The phrase “the power of the Lord was present to heal them”, could also read, “the power of the Lord was to heal them”; therefore, this connects to the Leper’s question. The Power of the Lord in this case is based in Mercy, while the faith of the people was based in their knowledge of Jesus being able to impart Mercy directly into their lives. This is still the earthly ministry, still the time of the Mercy, if the man’s sins were forgiven, the man knew by the findings in the Law of Moses, that he was healed.

And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the house top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus (5:18-19).

Matthew showed that the men had faith enough to get the man through the roof; thus it became a symbol of the partners helping with the net (Matt 9:2). This man had Palsy, or was paralytic as the Greek word Paralutikos shows. The paralytic condition was unheard of to Moses or the children in the wilderness, yet it was still noted in the Curse under, “every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until you are destroyed” (Deut 28:61). The removal of the curse began with the stripes of Jesus, each mark bore our sicknesses and pains; the Cross put a finish to all curses, whether the curse of the Law, the curse of the Fall, a family curse, a curse in general, or some plain old curse. All things against us were nailed to the Cross, to the point where the Son of man laid a barrier of Mercy, a barrier so strong that the devil himself can’t bear to look upon it. And all this is not even counting the New Birth (Grace); we have so many benefits it boggles the mind.

To Moses, the title “Jehovah” meant both Justice and Mercy in the same package, but Jesus came as Mercy, Truth, and Grace. It’s the Second Coming where the Justice of the Son of man is displayed. The aspect of God being both Mercy and Justice in the same package is confirmed in the Law of Moses, by the many blessings and curses; but there is no cursing in the Law of the Spirit. Therefore, the Law of the Spirit is for us, not against us.

It’s evident that the blessings of the Law of Moses came from Jehovah; it’s also evident that the cursing came from Jehovah, thereby forming the Two Mountains in Deuteronomy. Those who live by the Law of Moses, must live in Every aspect of the Law, or die by the entire Law. Those who live by the Law of the Spirit, Live forever more.

What evil did this man do? What great and horrible sin did he commit? What difference does it make? Jesus never asked him, “what did you do?” However, this man was a type of Mirror in the face of the Pharisees, Scribes, and other leaders, proving the truth of Ezekiel 34. It was up to the religious leaders to do the healing, yet they held unbelief, assuming that those days were no more. The Door to the House was blocked; the religious leaders from every corner of the land had the best seats, and there was no way to enter in; however, the man’s (paralytic)  partners joined in unity, finding that there is a way to enter in.

They couldn’t enter the Door, they couldn’t come in through the Window, thus they tore the roof off. The holy of holies was fifteen feet square, with an eighteen inch thick Veil covering the opening; therefore, the walls were just as high as the ceiling was wide, and the walls were just as thick as the ceiling, but the Veil was thicker than the walls or the ceiling, nonetheless the high priest was still able to make entrance once a year, but not without blood (Heb 9:7). However, Jesus by His own Blood entered Once into the Holy Place, having obtained the Eternal Redemption for Us (Heb 9:12). If it’s eternal, the Power of the Lord is still to heal them all, as far as Jesus is concerned the Veil of hindrance is ripped.

And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven you (5:20).

This is Pardon, not atonement; the man gave nothing to atone for his sin, yet Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” The Power of the Lord is to Forgive our sins, and if forgiven, we are healed. Whether it’s our sins, the sins of the Body, the sins from the world upon us, the sins others committed against us, the sin nature, or simply sin, it makes little difference, the phrase “Your sins are forgiven” covers them all, it’s plural, not singular.

We could say, “Well brother this was before the cross, and for the purpose of selling the Gospel”; however, the Harvest is the Harvest, and if Mercy was only granted to these people, what right do we have to claim that our sins are forgiven? How can we come boldly to the throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy, if there isn’t any? If this was only for the Jews prior to the cross, why did James tell us to call for the Elders? If Jesus was selling the Gospel, why was Simon of Samaria rejected? If Mercy is only a figure of speech, why does God say, “His Mercy endures forever?” Why did God fill the temple with the Glory when the people shouted, His Mercy endures forever? Mercy is our starting place, yet if we don’t understand Mercy, how can we enter Grace? Mercy is still connected to Grace, yet without Mercy we will not be able to maintain in Grace.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? (5:21).

Who indeed can Pardon Sins but God alone? Could one who truly represent God on earth also forgive sins? Perhaps the answer is already written for us. These Pharisees were more than knowledgeable regarding atonement, and they were almost correct in their thinking; thus they had right answer, but the wrong question. We could say Salt is made up from sodium and chloride, and be correct, but the question is “what is pepper?” The Pharisees always have a answer, but the wrong question. It’s not “what are the people of God doing wrong?”…. but “what is God doing?”

The Day of Atonement only forgave man’s sin against the Commandments; it didn’t forgive man’s Sin nature. The plural aspect of Sin involves two areas, not fifty. The first is our sin against God, regardless of how many trespasses are involved, the second aspect is the one which the Pharisees objected to, man’s sin against man. According to Agenda, if someone held unforgiveness against us, it was just, the unforgiveness fell on us, until the person forgave us. On the Day of Atonement the people would seek balance through their sacrifice, then they would run out and seek forgiveness of those they trespassed against. Jesus taught us a different method, with better results. When we stand praying, we forgive; thus the burden is not on the one who caused the unforgiveness, but on the one holding it.

No man can say, Your sins are forgiven, only God can utter the phrase, but someone with Heavenly Authority can stand in the authority making the statement when they see that someone accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. What? Sure; after the Cross the disciples went out to heal, if they said, “your sins are forgiven”, or “raise up”, it was still the same. When we tell someone, “welcome to the family of God”, or some other phrase, we are telling them that their sins are forgiven. Wow, do you mean we can forgive sins? No, we can tell the people that their sins are forgiven, much different. The Lord forgives; we announce it.

But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk? (5:22-23).

The evidence was the same, so what difference did the wording make? If the man stood up, his sins were forgiven, and if his sins were forgiven, he could stand up. In our terms, It’s six of one, or a half dozen of the other. What would this mean to us? Is there more to the phrase, “Name of Jesus”, than we know?

After Pentecost, Peter and John were going to the temple, then came across a lame man at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:1-8). When the man looked upon them expecting to receive something Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I you: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6), and the man was healed. What is the difference between Jesus saying it, or someone empowered with the Name of Jesus saying it? Is there any difference between Jesus saying, “Rise up and walk”, or Peter and John saying, “Rise up and walk”? No; Jesus gave Peter the authority to say it, just as He did anyone who enters the Body. The man at the Gate knew that if he heard, “Rise up and walk”, it was the same as, “your sins are forgiven you”.

All humans are a fleshly reproduction of Adam, as Adam’s flesh was formed of the earth; sin happened on earth, not in heaven. The devil sinned against heaven, but on earth; thus he lost his position and spiritual ability. The devil remains a spirit, but limited to the natural realm, or the things common to man. The devil can’t go beyond the things of man; therefore, if we are heavenly citizens we are raised far above the realm of the devil, and his accusations, if we receive it. We are the Body of Christ, all things are under the feet of Jesus, why do we think those things are over us?

Jesus simply asked the Pharisees, which statement best suited their theology; both mean the same thing. This man didn’t receive Grace, he was not a heavenly citizen, he was not Born Again, he was however a member of the group that Jesus came for. The first aspect of “Will You” is based on our conditional purposed position, are we called? Did we believe in the Cross? If both of these are, “Yes”, then we are among the called. The second aspect of, “I know you can” is a faith statement, but faith without belief in God’s ability is a mind game. When this man heard, “Your sins are forgiven”, he didn’t wait for his legs to move before he believed; he was a Jew, and he knew the meaning of the phrase. It was up to the Pharisees to see the evidence and submit to Jesus and His Authority. Perhaps it’s our lack of knowledge in this area causing us problems. James tells us that the Prayer of Faith heals the sick one, and if they have committed Sins (not sin), they shall be forgiven, then the Lord shall raise them up (James 5:15). James defines “the sins” as words spoken against people, words of strife and envy, or faults between members of the Body. Ahh, a sin against God, is a sin against His people. The Lord doesn’t raise, then forgive, He forgives, then raises; some of us want to be raised to prove that we are forgiven. Perhaps we talked ugly about the people of God, if so, we spoke from the old nature giving the enemy opportunity. Repentance and our prayer of faith to gain and walk in the Wisdom of God will correct the situation.

When this Jewish man heard, “Your sins are forgiven”, he knew that the next move was a raising position above the condition keeping him bound. The man felt it was imputed; he knew an act of his faith would bring the impartation. We tend to call this a “step of faith”; whatever, when we hear, we add our faith, and the impartation comes. The man was loosed from the condition, since he was already bound.

The entire purpose for the Day of Atonement was to be healed of the plagues and sickness through the Law by God’s Mercy. The Rebuke against the shepherds of Israel started with, “you do feed yourselves, should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” (Ezek 34:2). If we have the Truth, we must be ready, willing and eager to feed the flock of God, but we must also wait to be sent, rather than make our own self-determination (Rom 10:14-15).

The next area was “The diseased have you not strengthened” (healed – Ezek 34:4). How was a Pharisee suppose to heal the sick, if only God can forgive sins? The sacrifice was only effective if the priest presenting it was as clean as the purposed sacrifice. If the priest was self-based, evil eyed, or not clean, the sacrifice, regardless of the person, would also be tainted. Based on the “uncleanness,” the Pharisees refused to touch Jesus when Jesus was on the cross. Even the Roman used a spear, yet no one broke a bone or touched Him, except Joseph of Arimathaea, a man who waited for the Kingdom of God, and Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night and believed. These two men are types and shadows of those of the Day (Joseph of Arimathaea), and those of the Night (Nicodemus) “who will look upon Him they have pierced”; both rejected “tradition” in order to take care of their Lord.

Many of the people who were under the curse during the earthly ministry were not ill because of their sin toward God, but their sin toward man; and if this was the case, why not simply go and obtain forgiveness? If someone holds unforgiveness against us, yet they die, how can we be forgiven? Or, if the person refuses to forgive us, how can we be forgiven?

Jesus stood as the Son of man and as the Timeless One; thus He stood on behalf of all mankind and forgave us while we were yet sinners. We stand as the “sons of men” and “forgive others as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us”; but in order to stand as a son of man, we must be in Mercy. How can we stand in the authority of the Name and say “your sins are forgiven”, if we don’t believe that ours are? Or, if we hold unforgiveness, how can we say Rise up and walk? Not only do we pray for the Lord to expose any and all self-deception, but we must submit to the exposure of those hidden areas of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness hides behind pride, the mother of revenge. The deeds of the flesh gain power through pride, as pride uses the works of the devil to gain validation or revenge. When God begins His work, yet the person rejects the exposure, there is a sure sign of their rejection: they can get real nasty, bitter, as they go about accusing everyone of the very thing God is exposing in their heart. The test is on our side, Do we hold Mercy? Are we kind? Or did we attack?

We must know that there is evidence to the forgiveness of sins, if we receive it. God told us, that His people are destroyed (cut off) for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). In one aspect, it was the rejection of the knowledge; however, there is also the hiding of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). If the truth of “Greater is He in me,” is a prevalent position and condition, then it is Christ in us who says, “Your sins are forgiven”; and since “the signs follow the Believer,” there are signs of release within. It begins with our decision to forgive others, based on the Authority of the Ingress Aires, the very foundation for the saying of Jesus, “Receive you the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). We have the authority and ability by the Breath of Jesus to remit sins done unto us; then we can stand as sons of men in the mighty Mercy of God, proclaiming Mercy to others. Silver and gold we may not have, but what we do have we can freely give, since we freely received.

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house (5:24).

This connects to the rebuke in Ezekiel; the Pharisees knew the Scriptures, and they knew that they were feeding themselves, not the people. Jesus taught with Authority and Powe;, thus He gave to the people. This is the second time Jesus tells the man he is forgiven, now he tells him to pick up his bed.

Jesus didn’t say, the Son of God has power on earth; rather it’s clear the Son of man has the Power to forgive sins, meaning, the healing was based on Mercy, not Grace. In our case the Water, Blood, and Spirit still bear witness on earth (1 John 5:6); if any man sin (singular), we have an Advocate with the Father, and Jesus Christ the Righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins (plural) and not for ours only, but also for the sins (plural) of the whole world (I Jn 2:1-2). The sin which so easily besets us is the sin of unbelief; and unbelief binds us to the earth, as it binds the Power of His Christ to heaven.

Since Jesus said, that He had authority on earth, it didn’t mean He lacked heavenly Authority. Rather, as the Son of man He was teaching His disciples how to operate by Mercy through His Name. We can’t forget, that during this time, the disciples were not yet Born Again; the first step in their teaching was to learn the Power of God’s Mercy.

However, even the religious leaders knew what was going on, and if we were Jewish, we would have known that God forgives sin through the Law, based on the Law and the sacrifice; yet here, they are seeing Jesus forgiving sins. So, how can this be? Jesus is: the Sacrifice in preparation for the Cross, accepted by the Father, recognized by the Holy Ghost, and witnessed by the Spirit. We give ourselves as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable service, thereby granting us the same rights as sons of men. What did Peter and John have? They had “Authority in the Name of Jesus,” thus the man believed in the Authority (Acts 3:16).

Atonement was through the Law, but this man received Pardon, which requires God to come directly to earth, and this is what upset the Pharisees. Jesus never mentioned the Law, or an offering to this man, yet the act was a testimony against the religious leaders. If Mercy in the Son of man can forgive, what then can the Greater is He in us do? The Witness is still the Water (Mercy of the Father), the Blood (Grace of the Word), and Spirit (Gift of the Holy Ghost), saving our souls, as signs follow those who believe.

And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today (5:25-26).

Both the man and the Pharisees left the house glorifying God; however, the man worshipped God as he came into the house. The man’s healed condition was based on his prior acts, not based on the signs following; thus it didn’t take long for the Pharisees to change from giving God the glory, to accusing Jesus again. Emotionalism only lasts for the moment, almost to the parking lot. The sign caused the religious leaders to praise the Lord, which is correct; but they failed to continue in praise, which was wrong.

Pharisees seem to forget the Glory of God when the “old man” rules the nest. If we praise the Lord solely on what we see, it won’t last long; but if we praise the Lord based on what we Believe, then it will last. These same Pharisees would come again with their accusations, yet the man with the Palsy would remain healed. Which do we desire? How do we know that these people remained healed? How many returned saying, “it didn’t work”? Or how many came to the Apostles after Pentecost and said, “I lost my healing, pray for me again”? If we lose our healing, it’s based on ignoring the cause, these people knew the cause; once forgiven, the cause was taken care of. The phrase “go and sin no more” was conditional on the Mercy of God; the Mercy endured forever, yet the person being freed could go out and commit the same sin again. The Spirit in us is our guide, and conscience; and the conviction of the Spirit is stronger than the written words in the Commandments.

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. (5:27)

This corresponds with Mark 2:14 and Matthew 9:9, but it doesn’t mean that Luke is correcting either account; it means that we are viewing this as a teacher would. Thus, the prior events set the teaching premise for the next.

After the leper was healed, and after the man with Palsy was forgiven and healed, then came the heart of a man named Levi. Matthew represented more than a tax collector, his name was seen by God before the foundation of the world. What this man would do, was what those of Levi should have done.

Matthew says, “He saw a man, named Matthew”; but Mark says, “He saw Levi..” (Mark 2:14). Luke uses both to show the change and why. Levi was appointed as the religious tribe of Israel; Levi means “united as in marriage,” whereas, Matthew means “Gift of God.” Thus, the religious order was changing to bring The Gift of God in reference to the Olive Tree, not the Fig Tree.

This simple premise shows, that one mistake won’t cut us from the New Covenant; Jesus won’t give up easily. The Pharisees would receive more chances “to receive,” and if Jesus as the “Son of man” had such longsuffering, how much more does Jesus as the “Son of God” have?

There are “sons of perdition,” and there are carnal members, but none have to stay in their old condition. Jesus still sends prophets, teachers, and pastors to assist us on our walk. If we have sinned, then our prayer of faith is still in order; thus we can be restored faster than we fell. Jehovah-Jireh was being seen among the people, while the ground was being prepared to receive The Gift, and the same “Jehovah-Jireh provision” is within those who are Born Again.

And he left all, rose up, and followed Him. 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. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? (5:28-30).

The phrase, “Left all,” goes further than leaving house and goods, for this same Matthew would hold a feast in honor of Jesus. Matthew left the bondage of religious thinking under Pharisee rule to follow Peace and Freedom in Jesus. Luke shows that this was the house of Levi (Matthew), indicating to the teacher how Levi would remain in the realm of the natural, but Matthew would become a member of the New Testament Priestly Order.

Matthew wanted to share his Joy (Pearl), but he was casting It before swine. Both Mark and Matthew show the Pharisees and scribes questioning the disciples, but they don’t show that Matthew had other publicans present, nor do they use the phrase, “but their scribes and Pharisees…”, which shows that the religious leaders were the religious leaders of the publicans as well. The religious leaders didn’t have any trouble taking the publicans money, but they refused to deal with them in public. Matthew is being called from the old publican order to become a saint; he wanted to honor his benefactor, but the Pharisees wanted to be honored. When Levi (Matthew) sat at the gate of custom, the Pharisees didn’t have time for him; but when Jesus picked this tax collecting publican sinner over the Pharisees, they were offended. Peter told us that the false will feast with us, but their intent is to seek the self-gain, or use us to benefit their pride and ego, as they exalt their self through their pride by portraying some form of religious morality; so, they can act like ministers, while lacking the power thereof (II Pet 2:1-15).

The truth remains, that if one person heard and received, then, the Power was there for all to hear and receive. The Pharisees had ears, but refused to hear; they had eyes, but refused to see. They allowed unbelief to blind their minds to the Gospel, a point Paul makes to the Corinthians.

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 (5:31-32).

This doesn’t mean that the Pharisees are/were righteous, for surely they failed to believe; rather, this has to do with religious tradition. To the Pharisee, if one attended Temple they were righteous, and no “self-respecting” Pharisee would be found in the company of these “sinners.” Jesus simply asks, “how can I call them, if I don’t go to them?” It doesn’t mean that Jesus got drunk with the drunks, or wild with the nuts; it means that He was able to show them the difference between where they were, and what they could be.

Jesus takes us back to the time in Nazareth where He said, “You will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country” (Luke 4:23). The Power of the Lord was there to heal the righteous and the sinner, yet if one is righteous, then they believe the Power is there to heal them; and if they have sinned, they know that Jesus is fully able to forgive sins.

This takes us to the man who was healed in front of the Pharisees, connecting to the phrase, “Physician heal thyself.” The word Heal in the phrase Physician heal thyself is the Greek Therapeuo, meaning a process of being healed; it doesn’t mean one is healed immediately. This same word also means to Worship, thus it refers to the process or the means to enter the process. When Peter told us, By His stripes you were healed, he used the Greek Iaomai meaning the result.

Praise is an act Thanking God for: what He has done, is doing, and will do. Worship is a means to enter the presence of the Lord. Faith brings the result, belief is a conviction giving our faith a basis from which to move forward to the hope. Therefore, one can praise, yet lack faith, or they can worship, yet lack belief; they will feel good for the moment, but soon after they are right back to being mad, angry, or bitter.

The result of emotionalism is short, but not enthusiasm, which seems to stay with us. Our word Enthusiasm comes from the Greek Enthousiasmos meaning To be inspired by God; it holds a keen interest not in the event, but what generated the event. Emotionalism is only concerned with the moment, or the visible, since it’s only surface; the vision of the visible is soon gone when the next event is not pleasing. Running from meeting to meeting just to feel good, is a band-aid; it only covers the pain for the moment, but it doesn’t heal.

The phrase, “Physician heal thyself” has little to do with will power, but it does have to do with attitude. James said, “Is any sick among you?” (James 5:14). James doesn’t say, “Are you sick?”, thus he not only points to the sick one, but to all; we should be looking to see if one is sick among us, rather than wondering how the sickness came about.

James is telling us to put our faith into action, and not to merely talk about it. If we are sick, we can call for the Elders, and they will pray over the sick one; but they are not the ones to give the prayer of faith (James 5:14). Some of us are searching for the person to pray the prayer of faith over us, yet it’s we who are commanded to pray the prayer of faith. Elijah didn’t have someone pray in his place, he was a like man with passions like us, yet he prayed. The Elders anoint us with Oil as a sign of presentation of God’s Mercy, we pray our prayer of faith seeking the Wisdom of God. James begins by telling us to pray for God’s Wisdom in faith, it stands the “prayer of faith” is based in seeking God’s Wisdom allowing us to deal with people and events in Godly manner, rather than dealing with people and events through the wisdom of man. The Promise is written for us, God’s Wisdom is Full of Mercy, as it forgives and heals us, thus we find James telling us, “if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven” (James 5:15). James shows among those “sins” would be faults produced among the brethren (James 5:16). We all miss it from time to time, Elijah was a man with like passions, but he was also a man of prayer (James 5:17-18). Elijah didn’t beat himself up, he prayed and believed his prayers were heard. Then he acted on the prayer when he saw the smallest of signs.

And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink? (5:33).

Luke is linking premise to premise, this is not the same as the conversation just finished in Matthew’s house, rather this carries on to the time when John’s disciples questioned Jesus. The premise is still, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”.

And He said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? (5:34).

We know this reference goes to the questioning of the Purification of Baptism, before John was cast into prison, during the forty day fast (Jn 3:22-23). What makes a sinner? One who has committed sin of course; but what is sin? Sin is defined in the Scriptures, the first was “do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. A trespass is venturing into a place we are forbidden to go, thus the Law of Moses defined the Law of sin and death.

The first time we heard the “self-nature” call, we answered with the knowledge of what we were doing, meaning we sinned. However, as babies we found that doing things gained the attention we needed, but it didn’t mean that we had the knowledge of what we were doing.

Then the day came when we tested the nature: we listened and used the flesh to get what we wanted, regardless of the consequences, and so… then we sinned. The punishment came from our parents, or someone in authority over us, but sin had its hold, and the voice of the stranger became our guide and instructor.

How many times in one day does the self nature call us? It’s not the call, but answering the call (James 1:15). Many days prior, John’s disciples heard the “religious-minded” ones question John, and they heard his answer; now they are being motivated by the same envy which attacked them prior. It’s so easy to turn the tables from “how dare they”, or “well I tell you what, this is what I will do to get even.”

“What they did to us, we do to others,” is a sign of the sin nature. The “Mercy nature” is what John and Jesus were teaching these people, “do unto others as you would have them do to you, forgive and you will be forgiven, apply mercy, then man will apply mercy to you, shaken together and running over.”

Jesus came to call the sinner, not the righteous, yet there is none righteous, no not one; but it doesn’t mean we can’t ever be. Righteousness is a means to grant us standing, and our standing begins by our belief in Jesus. There are many kinds of Righteousness and many kinds of Justification; one can have right standing in a government function, but none before God. One can be justified before the Law, but not before God. The New Man is our basis of Righteousness; he is justifying us before God by Christ in us. We come boldly to the throne of Grace, because we have Grace in us of a truth.

Belief is a “present tense condition,” not a “future tense condition.” Faith is a “present tense confidence” in a future tense hope. Both are productive in the Now. We can have faith in a fable, but our hope can be a false hope; belief defines the Hope and sets our faith in the right direction. The Pharisees had the Scriptures, they saw the Acts, yet they allowed their unbelief to form a fable; and they trusted in the fable, which produced their envy and bitterness.

An interesting aspect of this, is how the sins of the people are being forgiven, but not their iniquities. The references to iniquity either relate to the end times, or the workers of iniquity (Matt 7:23, 13:41, 23:38, 24:12 & Luke 13:27). The word Iniquities never appears in the Gospel accounts, yet the Pharisees were neck deep in their iniquities. They loved the pomp, the people looking up to them, the honor of the office, but they refused to do the duties of the office. Jesus will tell them they fail at the duties of Mercy, yet the premise behind the Law of Moses was God’s Mercy on the people, rather than destroying them all. It would take Grace with a change in natures to free us from the danger of iniquity.

But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days (5:35).

Even if the disciples of Jesus were fasting, no man was suppose to know it (Matt 6:16-18). If the disciples of Jesus weren’t fasting, what business is it for John’s disciples? Our biggest problems come when we begin to control other people, or question what others are doing. Here is a perfect example: the disciples of Jesus were doing things that not even John did, much less John’s disciples. If John was First, should not Jesus be subject to John? This was the same error the Pharisees were making; if the Old is first, should not this New be subject to it? No. The first is last, but the last is first. The word “submit” pertains to this, in essence it doesn’t mean being a slave; it means “not to cause hindrances,” or “not to set obstacles in front of people, not to cause arguments, not to debate foolish issues”; rather, to know that what Jesus does with one person, He may not do with others. Here is the perfect example, the disciples of John will have their chance on Pentecost, they will be among the 120 in the upper room as Matthias and Barsabas prove (Acts 1:22-23).

And He spoke 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. 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. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he says, The old is better (5:36-39).

How can an old clothe identify to the New? Or how can the New identify to the Old? Mixing Seasons and times, tears, rips, or destroys both the old and new, yet a good scribe knows both the Old and New, they simply don’t mix them attempting to gain some form of self-righteousness. John the Baptist said, “This is He”, why then question it? Simply because we’re not involved, or simply because they didn’t ask our permission doesn’t mean we have a right to question.

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that He went through the corn fields; and His disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat rubbing them in their hands (6:1).

Here Luke notes that this was the second sabbath after the first; Matthew shows this event in Matthew 12, which would be after the first sabbath in Capernaum, but the second sabbath in which the Pharisees attacked Jesus, rather than the second sabbath in succession of time.

Therefore, Matthew shows this event as the first sabbath in his account (Matt 12:1), Mark shows the two sabbath attacks (Mark 1:21 & 2:23), as does Luke (Luke 4:16 & 6:1); thus we are looking at the second sabbath when Jesus did something, yet the Pharisees attacked Him, rather than the second sabbath in succession of time.

Later in John, Jesus will ask the Pharisees, “for what good work do you stone Me?”; they will say, it’s not for good works, but because Jesus, being a man, says He is God. The truth? No, they were upset over the good works. Again the Pharisees had an answer, but mixed it with envy and self-justification, forgetting the question. Jesus didn’t say He was God, rather He proved He was God who became man, not the other way around.

To Blaspheme the Holy Ghost goes much further than talking directly against the Holy Ghost, rather one can preach about Jesus, but then blaspheme the Holy Ghost by attacking either the work of the Holy Ghost or the person in whom the Holy Ghost planted the Seed. “Well, I tell you what, I’m not sure they were operating in the Spirit.” It’s simply an excuse to justify using the “spirit of the world” against the Christ nature; in truth we held envy, we saw them doing what we knew we wanted to do, and so we attacked.

These Pharisees said “He casts out devils by Beelzebub,” which is the same as saying, “well I tell you what, I don’t think he was operating in the Spirit.” The Spirit testifies of Jesus, but isn’t Jesus Love? Isn’t He Life? Isn’t He Light? When one says they are in the light, yet they hate (slanders) their brother, they are in darkness even until now.

As far as some violation of the sabbath, the Wheat in the hand had nothing to do with Preparation; it was fully permissible to eat on the sabbath. One just couldn’t Prepare the food. According to the Pharisees, the rubbing was a form of preparation. In the wilderness, the children didn’t pick the manna on the sabbath, but there wasn’t any to pick either. Their Agenda ended in a tradition, and the tradition was being used to belittle one group, while exalting the Pharisee. The Pharisee didn’t have to worry about violating the sabbath; they could always say that they were doing the work of the temple, whether they were or not.

Therefore, a priest cannot violate the sabbath, and Jesus will make the point; thus Jesus assigned His disciples in the role of priests unto Him. Therefore, Jesus wasn’t condoning a violation; there was none.

And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? (6:2).

Jesus wasn’t eating the Wheat, so why would they attack Him? Exodus 20:10 says, “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.” The Pharisees looked at the disciples as the manservants of Jesus, but the Pharisees missed the purpose of the Commandment. Why would God say that their cattle couldn’t work? Who has ever seen a cow keep the sabbath holy? Who has seen a cow praising the Lord? The Sabbath Commandment is the picture of the heart of those who do the Law of Moses, as well as why the Law was imposed. One would use their animal to work, then say, “I’m not working, my cow is, I’m just following it around.” The stranger is the Gentile; the Jew would send the Gentile out to work the field and say, “oh him, he’s a Gentile, he’s not subject to the sabbath, and I’m not working.” These were all methods for someone to get around the Commandment; however, more important is the wording, “in it you shall not do any work”; rather than, “During it you shall not do any work.” How can one be “In Rest,” and do things, yet not “Labor” to them?”

There remains a Rest to the people of God (Heb 4:9). Ahh, the mystery, the sabbath is not a What, but a Who. One can keep every sabbath granted by Moses to the end of the earth, and never enter the Rest of God. God rested On the Seventh day, He didn’t rest In It; therefore, in order to keep the Day holy, one must enter Him, Who made the Day holy (Heb 4:10-11 & 4:16).

Clearly if they didn’t enter the Rest of God, yet kept the day, the day had nothing to do with the Rest of God. Rather the day was given to a people who failed to believe, so they could gain a meaning of what the word “rest” entailed. The sabbath day was not a factor until they entered the wilderness; when they started to murmur and complain, they rejected the premise of God working with them, causing them to attack the work of God.

If God rested on the Seventh Day, the works were complete. Why then is Jesus bringing a New Covenant? If the works are complete, they are complete. Rest entails belief in God, our first stand of faith is to enter with the Belief of “God Is working for us, not against us.” The “Works finished” pertain to the Judgment of God; thus Jesus is bringing the Salvation of God, a work in progress now, and continuing until the Rapture. The Pharisees were between Seasons and couldn’t see it, because they held to strongholds, as they followed the voice of the old man.

Abraham began a New Thing with circumcision of the flesh based on a Covenant with God. Other cultures had circumcision, even the children of Ishmael did, but they were not subject to the Covenant. We also have a Mark of the Covenant, “a Circumcision not made with hands,” the Seal by the Holy Spirit giving us a change in heart, producing a change in nature. This New Circumcision was of the heart, not the soul, granting us a foundation from which our souls can believe, giving us entry into the Rest of God, where we “cease” from our own works of self-righteousness, much different from keeping one day above another.

Any Jew knows that when the Sabbath is over, it’s time to work again until the next Sabbath. Moses said, In the beginning God, but John said, In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was God. There are two beginnings, one for the Night and one for the Day; thus there are two types of sabbath, a “what” for those of the Night, and a “Who” for those of the Day.

Our Sabbath is Jesus; He gave us Rest for our souls. We can’t keep a day and expect to come boldly to the throne of Grace in the time of Need; it would be a labor (Heb 4:16 & 12:1-2). We don’t look to the “what,” but to the “Who,” and the Who is Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Faith, who for a Joy set before Him endured the Cross, and Sat Down to Rest (Heb 12:1-2). Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God; so we see they could not enter in because of unbelief (Heb 3:12 & 3:19). One must “enter In It,” they can’t simply “keep It.”

And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? (6:3-4).

In reference to Aaron and his sons, Exodus 29:33 says, “and they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they (the things) are holy”. The stranger wasn’t holy, the priests weren’t holy; it was the atonement on the sacrifice making the sacrifice holy. This is a Shadow pointing to the New Covenant. We partake of Communion as Priests of the New Covenant; we take of those holy things, because we are holy. “Well I tell you what, I don’t feel holy.” “Holy” means that we are being dealt with by God as children; the New Man is based on God’s True Holiness, not a holiness found in man’s perceptions, or in the Law of Moses. We are the Bread (I Cor 10:17), the Blood is the New Covenant. We “Remember”; we don’t “become.” If we are Born Again we are in the process of Becoming God’s son.

Once Pardon is made, the person receiving the Pardon becomes holy; if holy, they also become a type of sabbath. All things were holy unto them through the giving of thanksgiving, whether it’s food, people, prayer, or an action (I Tim 4:4-5). The Wheat being sanctified by prayer, was as holy as the day, one can’t out-weigh the other. John tells us that the Believer is a king in the kingdom, but a priest unto God; therefore, whether king or priest, we can’t violate the sabbath (Rev 1:5).

And He said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath (6:5).

When one has authority over anything, the thing becomes subject to them, rather than the person being subject to the thing. The Lord of the Sabbath could forgive sins on earth, and if He could forgive sins, His Authority was not only over the Law, but began at a point long before the Law came into being.

Did Abraham keep the Sabbath holy? Hardly; he wasn’t subject to the Sabbath, yet the Lord “imputed righteousness” toward him. Before, or after the Fall, was Adam required to be circumcised? Not hardly; circumcision came with Abraham, yet before the Fall, Adam had standing in the Garden. If we have “Life,” then the Tree of Life is in us; we hear the Spirit and obey, and as we long to hear, we are to be ready and willing to obey with joy and gladness of heart.

Faith still comes by hearing and hearing By the Word (Rhema) of God. If the Lord says eat, we eat; if He says Go, we go. If He says sit, we sit. Faith comes by hearing, faith doesn’t produce the hearing; the Rhema produces the hearing, and the Rhema comes when we set our minds on the Spirit, Life, Love and Light of Jesus. Jesus is the Word (Logos), and speaks the Rhema; thus faith can come, but unless we hear by the Rhema, we will not detect it. Therefore, we need both the Logos and Rhema.

And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered (6:6).

Luke links two sabbath events together; one is recorded in Matthew 12:2, in which appears the man with the withered hand in the synagogue on the same day. But Luke is taking us deeper into the premise. Mark says, “He entered again into the synagogue” (Mark 3:1), Luke takes Mark and Matthew, bringing the importance of the event happening on the Sabbath, indicating the difference between “doing Good,” rather than just “keeping a day” while remaining so corrupt, that faith doesn’t have a chance.

And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, whether He would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against Him (6:7).

Their intent was to accuse, and their watchdog eyes were looking for evil; yet this is the sabbath, a day to remain holy. When God rested, He finished all His work (Gen 2:2). The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, and the end was seen before there was a beginning. Unbelief attempts to change the present to bring a self-pleasing result to the end; yet God has seen it, finished it, then asked us to join the Good side.

The Pharisees were watching Jesus, hoping against hope, that one little error, one stone would be turned into bread; and one mistake is all they wanted, even if they had to make one up. However, the best laid plans of mice, men, and Pharisees oft times goes astray.

But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth (6:8).

Why would Jesus ask a man with a withered hand to stand? It wasn’t a withered foot. Jesus didn’t tell this man, “By your faith you’re healed”, neither did the man say, “Have mercy on me”; yet the man was healed. This man acted on faith, he didn’t have to speak it; rather when he stood, he displayed his act of faith. The man knew how the religious leaders felt, he knew it was the sabbath, and he knew that by standing, he was taking a position with Jesus. Jesus placed the man right in the midst of the Pharisees, yet there was no violation of the Law, and no wrong to accuse Jesus of. The man stood in silent faith believing that the Power of the Lord was there to heal him. If God honored the sabbath so much, why did the Power of the Lord heal on the sabbath? The Pharisees and religious rulers were stuck; if God healed the man, then their views of the sabbath were wrong. However, rather than admit they were wrong, they made the choice to reject the obvious sign by giving the devil the glory.

In essence, Jesus was showing that the sabbath was to do good, and if one was doing good in the Name of the Lord, how then, could they violate any Law of God? It was not for man to fight day and night to keep the sabbath; it was suppose to entice man to do good. The sabbath was given to the children so they could do good at least one day out of seven; the evidence in Scriptures show the only “good” they did was to build the tabernacle.

This event is like unto the one prior; thus Jesus didn’t give up on the Pharisees, He continued to give them evidence until the time when the fruit on the Fig Tree would come to an end.

Prior, when the Pharisees were in the house in Capernaum, Jesus knew their thoughts and answered them; but they had yet to learn who Jesus was/is. Here Jesus is teaching in their domain, even regarding the sabbath. All Jews know, even if one is subject to the sabbath, life is more important; but they also define it as immediate danger of losing life, rather than a withered hand, or seeking life. Jesus is showing that anything challenging life is an immediate danger.

The first thing faith tells us, is that the “worlds, were framed by the Word of God; so the things which are seen, were not made of things which do appear” (Heb 11:3). Wait, if faith is looking forward, then how can this relate to faith? The word “worlds” means Ages; there is an Age to come, and there is another second in this age to come as well. Faith knows that the things which have happened, were nonetheless seen of God before they happened, and  things to happen are nonetheless seen of God before they happen.

Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?  (6:9).

There are two parts to this question, and both relate to “See, I have set before you this day, life and good, and death and evil” and “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live” (Deut 30:15 & 30:19). With Good comes Life; but Death is produced from Evil; with Life comes Blessing, but Death is the result of cursing. The Choice was to do Good, or do Evil; but the Pharisees assumed that keeping the Commandment was life, rather than “a means to live by.”

The Pharisees didn’t care if Jesus healed people; they just wanted Him to stop doing it on the sabbath. They held the sabbath above doing Good, therefore, they held the sabbath above God, a violation of the Law. Taking anything of God, and placing it above God, or even elevating it higher than God has, is still “having gods before God.”

And looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other (6:10).

The Jews wanted a sign regarding the Restoration of Israel, and Jesus is giving them a sign of the “hand” being restored; but it wasn’t the sign they wanted. They wanted Jesus to take and abolish Roman rule, and make them leaders of the world; yet they were no more ready to lead than Judas.

The Restoration had to begin by restoring the people and the City; but the Pharisees wanted the nation restored, without touching the City or their religious ideas. Therefore, they made another god out of the City, forgetting that their religion was merely a tool used by God to benefit the people. Some of us want a nation to act Christian, instead of us being the Christian in the nation.

This man was healed, rather than receiving a miracle. A healing is the restoration of some physical or mental element to it’s original condition; whereas, a miracle is bringing something, where there is no source for it to exist. Rebuking a fever is a healing, while producing eyes where there were no eyes, is a miracle. Healing is a sign of the Pardon of our sins, but a miracle is a wonder pertaining to the Power of Christ; the two give us signs and wonders.

Jesus operated knowing that the devil had nothing against Him, and nothing could stop Him; yet the Pharisees were always coming against Jesus, and they were always seeking fault. Thus the devil wasn’t the problem; the “works of the devil” in the religious-minded became the problem. But “the problem” failed to see it was the problem.

And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus (6:11).

They could care less about the man being healed; they didn’t even praise the Lord this time. Rather, someone violated their sabbath, and it was more important for them to think about bringing death, than give God the glory for the Good done unto the man. Today’s Pharisee is no different, they are more concerned with their bruised theology, than the Good done onto the people.

And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God (6:12).

Luke is again using a situation out of context to give us the intent to something else; as he notes, “it came to pass in those days”… rather than, The next day, or The day after. Jesus wasn’t praying for Himself, rather He was making intercession. Prayer is a form of communication, and part of the communication is a method for the Servant to receive their commands from the Master, as the Servant makes their requests known to the Master. Prayer limited to a one sided conversation, is not effective unto faith. We must hear from the Lord in order to have the foundation for faith; thus faith comes from hearing and no one calls Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.

And when it was day, He called unto Him, His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles; (6:13).

Jesus healed, taught, prayed, then chose the twelve, and among them was a devil known as Judas. Jesus knew about Judas from the beginning (Jn 6:64 & 6:69-71). It’s very interesting, since Jesus knew Judas was a “devil”; yet Jesus ordained Judas, sent Judas out to do the works of the ministry, even made him the treasurer of the ministry. Judas could never say he didn’t have the opportunity, and there isn’t one son of perdition who can’t say that they didn’t have the opportunity.

The Wicked are much different from a sinner, the Wicked have made entry, tasted of the heavenly calling, received Jesus; yet turned on Him like a wild dog, while claming to be a loyal saint. Therefore, it will be harder on them, than on those who didn’t have the opportunity.

Luke shows that there were many disciples, but only twelve were placed in the Quorum Order. Moses used the Twelve tribes already established by God through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; however, here a change is taking place. Jesus established Twelve New Positions. These positions were not based on tribal birth right, rather they were based on whether they would follow Jesus or not. However, we must also see that these positions relate to Mercy as sons of man, limited to the Jews alone; after Pentecost, a change takes place in the eleven, as more are added to the positional areas (Acts 13:1-3).

The actual Jewish Quorum is Ten; but the Ten represent the Twelve. Therefore, we find times when Ten of the Apostles were present; yet it’s noted as “the Twelve” or “Eleven,” such as in the case when Jesus appears when Thomas is not among them. The number is given as “twelve”; Judas was also dead by this time (Jn 20:24).

Mark shows the number as Eleven pointing to the actual number of apostles; yet there were only Ten in the room at the time, and both numbers show us that there was a Quorum (Mark 16:14). From this we find, that prior to the Resurrection, these Twelve did in fact represent the Nation; but after the Resurrection, their positions changed, as Jesus began to establish His Church on the Rock, not the Nation.

If Judas was among these Twelve, does this mean that one position in the Twelve of the Twenty-four Elders holds a Judas? It wasn’t the man making the position, rather the man was placed in the position; and what he did with it, would determine the result.

Judas is the first “son of perdition” and those who follow in “like nature and character” will join him. If we don’t understand this, then we will never see how Jesus says that the role of the son of perdition is complete in Judas; yet Paul says it’s yet to be revealed.

When Judas was acting on his own, he allowed Satan to enter his heart producing a position outside of the calling, later to be identified by John in the Book of Revelation as the “Eighth.” The Eighth is not of the Seven churches, but nonetheless came from them, having retained the authority of perdition (Rev 17:11 & I Jn 2:19). This Eighth is of Perdition; it points to a violation of circumcision, which would be to deny the circumcision of the heart.

Being from the Seven, it also shows that they separate themselves into what is known as the “synagogue of Satan,” which is not “Jewish”; rather the word Synagogue means Gathering together, whereas, Church means “Called out ones.” The position of Judas was known by Jesus and Paul as the “son of perdition”; and Jesus lost none, except for the son of perdition (Jn 17:12 & II Thess 2:3). If we are in the hand of Jesus, yet He loses none, how did He lose Judas? Judas separated himself by his own choice; he denied the Faith, rejected the teachings, and he knew what he was doing.

We don’t want to get sidetracked here, but we need to understand; the Office of Judas and the Position of Judas, after violating his Office, are different. Before the Spirit was given on Pentecost, Jesus told the disciples to “Tarry.” He never told them to fill the office of Judas, or hold a meeting. However, they were still natural, and thinking as men; thus spiritual matters to them were still foolishness. It seemed right to replace Judas, but even so, they still had a Quorum without Judas (Acts 1:6-8 & 1:15-26). They had Scripture, they even prayed; but ended tossing dice, or voting to make their decision.

Part of the requirements was for the replacement to come from the baptism of John, thus they were not looking for a person qualified, but one to follow in the same manner as Judas. After Pentecost we find that the Holy Ghost said, “Separate unto Me…” (Acts 13:1-2). Much different. We know that no man can appoint an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, or Teacher; confirm the calling…. yes, appoint… no. Those offices are only for Jesus to fill; however we also find that leadership does appoint Bishops and Deacons in helps, and Elders; but it’s far different from appointing to the five-fold Administrations of the Lord.

Adding to this, John sees Twenty-Four elders in heaven; he doesn’t see twenty four Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Evangelists, Priests, Pharisees, or Scribes. He doesn’t even see himself. What were these twenty-four? Positional authorities for the Day and Night; John knew that there were Twelve positional areas for the Day, and Twelve for the Night; yet they each had different purposes. If there are only twelve apostles, then there are not 144,000 Jews, only twelve. The positional Elders are represented to show the division between the Day and Night, twelve for each Season as foundational, but not restrictive.

Matthew also shows, that the twelve were picked, then told to go only to Jews, which means that they were yet to “go into the all the world,” and that they were still in training…without the Power from on high. Mercy was still the purpose, the disciples were told to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:8). What would this be? The “work of the ministry” (Eph 4:12) as it applied to them at the time. Their authority and power was still based in Mercy; Paul says spiritual things are foolishness to the natural person, and at this point in time, the Apostles were still natural.

Matthew 10:8 is clear; the disciples were given authority in the Name of Jesus to do the same acts that Jesus was doing as the Son of man. Yet the disciples were not Born Again, neither did they receive the Spirit until Jesus was glorified (Jn 7:38-39). This area shows the power of Mercy, yet the command is “Ye must be Born Again”; although they cast out devils and healed the sick, they still lacked spiritual understanding. Yet God is Spirit. Doing acts of Mercy are required, but so is being Born Again in order to have a spiritual nature. A good deal of Paul’s letters talk about rendering good for evil, and walking in mercy. Mercy is like Belief; we make a choice to believe, and we make a choice to grant the same Mercy that God gave to us.

The disciples could only Give what they Received; therefore, they Received Mercy and the forgiveness (pardon not remission) of sin, they went out to give Mercy and forgive sins by the Name (Authority) of Jesus. They were not Jesus, but sent by Him; thus they carried the Authority of His Name as sons of men. Regardless of our systematic theological training, none of us would consider these men had Grace or the Spirit before the Cross and Pentecost, yet they did works most of us long to be involved in. Jesus never once told these men they had Great Faith, puny or none, but not Great. Their faith was not at issue, their Belief was (Mark 16:16-18).

Among this group was Judas, the foundation for the son of perdition. Judas was saved by Mercy, but hardly saved from his self nature. Judas cast away (perdition) The Promise before he was able to reach it. Those who say, “Lord, Lord haven’t we”, all did works based in the Name of Jesus, but so did Judas. The Prophets of old prophesied, thus one doesn’t need to be Born Again to prophesy, the disciples, including Judas, cast out devils, and did many wonderful works; however, until Pentecost they couldn’t walk in the Spirit. Mercy is the Will of the Father, yet we are saved by Grace through faith; yet if we seek Grace, but reject Mercy we are unequal. We need both, thus we come to the throne of Grace to Obtain mercy and Find Grace.

Simon (whom He also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip, and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor (6:14-16).

The Judas named here as the brother of James, is of course Jude (short for Judas) who wrote the book of Jude (Jude 1); he is not the same person as Judas Iscariot, don’t confuse the two, rather we will find him termed, “Judas not Iscariot” (Jn 14:22).

And He came down with them, and stood in the plain and the company of His disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea, and Jerusalem, and from the sea of Tyre, and Sidon, which came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases (6:17).

Here Luke makes it clear, Jesus was on a plain, but the Sermon on the Mount was on the Mount. Luke is showing us how Jesus taught on one subject more than one time. It would be inconceivable to assume Jesus taught on one subject, then refused to teach it again. Would a Merciful Jesus say, “Peter, I taught it two months ago, go buy the tape, I’m not going to teach it again”, or “You didn’t get it the first time, tough, your loss is My gain.” There are many times when we are taught the same lesson more than once, or the same teaching more than once; each time we gain more than the last.

There are other reasons to teach the same subject again; we find Matthew was not “called” until after Jesus taught on the Mount (Matt 9:9); yet Matthew is here at this teaching, thus Jesus taught again so All could gain.

And they that were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all (6:18-19).

The word Virtue means Power; it’s the Greek word Dunamis. Prior when Jesus talked to the Pharisees the Power (Dunamis) of the Lord was there to heal them all (Luke 5:17); therefore, the Virtue of the Lord is the Power of the Lord, and the Power of the Lord connects to the Authority of the Lord, for the purpose to “heal them all”. The word All is all inclusive, no matter how many manuscripts we view, the word appears. However, we also know from the same Scriptures, that not all received the Power.

The disciples didn’t have the Glory of the Lord, but they did have authority to use the Name of Jesus; the Name of Jesus has the Power to accomplish the authority. However, there is the Authority and Power of Mercy, then the Authority and Power from on High related to Grace.

At this point in time Jesus is still operating as the Son of man, thus the disciples understood Mercy, and they understood that the Authority granted them, was Mercy-based. The restrictions indicated the limits imposed by the Authority: a policeman is given power to arrest,but not given power to rob the bank. This is still a training, thus the Lord will send us to areas, yet restrict our involvement until we learn.

This still relates to the Sabbath, if God finished His Work, He also put The Record into action; the Witness in total was yet to be presented, but the Mercy of the Father  had to be presented and seen by the people before the Blood and Spirit could be accepted.

The Jews hold certain days of the year as Special Sabbaths, one such Sabbath is called the Shabbat Shira, or the Sabbath of Song. This Sabbath uses the Song of Moses from the Red Sea crossing. As part of the custom, some of the Jews will “toss seeds to the fowls of the air.” Tossing seeds is as much labor as taking the wheat from the stalk, but tradition is a soulish means that one uses to compromise the commandment. Jesus says that the Sower sows the seed, but the fowls are the ones who devour the seed before it can take root; yet the tradition gives the seeds to the fowls of the air. The tradition made them feel good, but feeling good and doing good are different. Pride has a feeling, religious conceit has a feeling, thus it’s not the “feeling” proving that the act is righteous, it’s the Righteousness of Jesus proving the act.

Jesus will begin to teach on Mercy, and open the method of how one denies the self in order to pick up our cross, in order to enter the most precious Rest of God.

And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God (6:20).

Luke leaves off the phrase “in spirit”, in so doing, shows us how Jesus is repeating a prior teaching. These people were poor in many ways: they were poor in faith, poor in religious leadership, as well as, poor in attitude. However, the Greek word used for Poor is Ptochos, meaning a Beggar, or a Pauper. How could this be a blessing? They must seek the Spirit, at this point in time, the Mercy of God is being presented, but they must receive the Mercy to gain of the Blood and Spirit. This doesn’t mean after Pentecost one must beg, cry out, or yell to receive the Spirit; the example is Cornelius, the first Gentile to receive the Spirit by the Baptism with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:45-46 & 11:15-16). However, here they are learning of Mercy, as preparation to receive the Spirit.

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake (6:21-22).

The hunger here is not for food; the content still points to lacking the Spirit…they shall be “filled,” pointing to something yet to come. The same is true for those who weep now; they shall laugh. This is a promise to receive the Spirit; yet at this point in time they are still acting in Mercy under the Authority of Jesus as the Son of man. Nonetheless, the Promise of the Holy Spirit is being presented, and they will receive.

Jesus will use Four Blessings in this teaching, rather than nine; this is still teaching us about “denying the self.” Being among the “company” is what some seek, but if we stand for Mercy as we Seek the Kingdom, we will be filled. Those who trust in their social religious positions will turn us away, mock us, tempt us; yet we are the blessed. For many the act of denying the self will include denying the social, acceptable religious attitude of superior morality. We are a moral people, but it’s based on our nature, not some mask of social acceptance.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets (6:23).

The phrase “their fathers” brings all this into the realm of those times when we are attacked by the conceited religious minded. This is still future, for it points to “that day”, which we know will come; John and Peter were beaten after Pentecost, and James the brother of John, was killed by Herod. Steven was stoned to death by the Jews, yet the Body grew, and from the Body came the Church (Acts 4:23-25 et al). There is a vast difference between “their company” and “our company”.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation (6:24).

This takes us to the metaphors; as James uses the same metaphoric content. If all rich people were cursed, then God is a respecter of persons. To the Jew, the term Rich means “one is afforded the promise,” while the Poor point those “outside the promise.” James was writing to the dispersed Jews who were living among the Gentiles. James pointed out how the Rich are the blessed under the Law, but their riches will become corrupt, because they have killed the Just. Thus, the Just live by faith, yet whether Jew or Gentile, if they gain the Wisdom of God, they will know how to deal with God’s people in the same manner as God.

This becomes clearer when we see that the word Consolation refers to the Sabbath; the keeping of the day was a reflection of the Time of Comfort. One can “keep the day,” yet never enter the Consolation. This divides the Rich and Poor from money; to those who think they are blessed in the Law, and to those who know there is Something Better in Jesus.

It’s not real pleasant to be mocked for your stand on Mercy, and it’s not a pleasure to have someone cast you out of their local church because you want to operate in the Spirit. However, there is a purpose in experience.

Hebrews 13:6 reads, “So we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Some of us worry more about our social appearance, than how we appear in the eyes of the Lord. Obedience is always a key, and faith still comes by hearing. The Lord may have us go to a place which seems like “carnal junction”; He may have us observe all sorts of “out of order conditions”, yet tell us to remain silent. We are in the “observation mode,” and we are learning what not to do.

Woe unto you that are full for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep (6:25).

Now the reverse; those who think they are full because they have the Law, will be hungry when the New Covenant is opened. Yet those who “hungered after Righteousness” will find it in the New Birth.

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets (6:26).

This is just the opposite of being cast out of their company; this is when the world thinks you are great,  and when they are not offended by your actions, words, or nature, rather they are comfortable. Not good, it means that both are using “the same spirit lusting to envy.” If we are the “conscience of Righteousness,” then “self-righteousness” will be offended. So how do we handle it? Hit them with a bigger stick? Fall for the trap of rending evil for evil? What to do?

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And to him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have you? for sinners also even the same (6:27-33).

The word Thank is the Greek Charis, or as we know it, Grace. Yet, this is a call to  Mercy; the context is to give Mercy in order to reach Grace, the same principle as “come boldly to the throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy and Find Grace.” Unless we’re in Mercy, we won’t Find the fullness of Grace. If we love only those who love us, what Grace have we? If we do good to those who do good to us, what makes us think it’s Mercy? Peter said, what Glory is it, when we suffer in patience for those things we did, rather when we suffer in patience for those things we didn’t do, this is acceptable before God (I Pet 2:20). The real test of Mercy comes when we do good to those who have caused us harm, and pray for those who have persecuted us.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again (6:34).

If we lend, yet know that the return is greater than the loan, it’s an investment, and it has nothing to do with either Mercy or Grace. Even a sinner knows the advantage is motivated by self-gain. Giving and investing are much different.

But love ye, your enemies and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil (6:35).

This verse tells us much; it relates to the prior verses, showing that the separation between the application of Mercy and the refusal to forgive. There are Three elements, with the first being Love. The Jew doesn’t hedge the question regarding, “Love your enemies”; but they also hold, “hate your enemies.” They have Scripture supporting both views; thus to them, enemies outside the Jewish culture are to be hated, but within the Jewish culture they are to be loved. They use the Torah as a basis, as it says, “blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven; do not forget” (Deut 25:19).

We viewed this Scripture, finding that it means “don’t forget what Amalek did, but blot out any unforgiveness against the man”; however, the Jew looks at the phrase as, “do not forget the man” as a means to hate those outside of the Jewish culture. A Jew who gives support to any organization who has or has had in the past, any anti-Semitic policy, is considered a traitor, and then termed as a fool who sharpens his ax for his own neck.

The Jew is obliged by Jewish law to visit the ill, or help the poor of the Gentiles, but they separate themselves from the pollutions of the Goy; therefore, they think they are the ones keeping the true religion honored before God. What in the world is a Goy? Some who have visited the holy land, had a Jew call them a Goy,and they found that the Hebrew word Goy means kingdom, assuming they were giving a complement. However, there are various kingdoms; thus a Goy is a member of the kingdom of man. All Gentiles are collectively known as Goyim. There are those known as Shkotzim (or Sheigetz), meaning ill mannered non-Jewish males. The word Shiksa is the same as Sheigetz, but refers to a female, these words are very offensive. They are not commonly used against Gentiles; however, they don’t think the word Goy is offensive. After all, God did separate the Jews from the rest of the world.

Jesus is taking the Commandments to their purpose, as He shows elements of denying the self. If we can love our enemies, we will not allow hate to enter into our souls, turning into bitterness; thus we deny the position of revenge, hate, validation, or getting even. If we lend without expectation of any return, then we are denying any concept of “deceitfulness of riches.” In essence, we are not lending, but giving.

For some of us the “tithe” has become an investment, and the only reason we give is to get a return, which is hardly in line with this verse. The Law of Moses was given by God to Moses, based on the request of Moses to spare the people; thus it came from God’s Mercy, but to an unbelieving people. The Mercy of our Father in heaven is mighty and powerful, and the same Mercy is granted us when “we forgive as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us.”

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give and it shall be given unto you; good measure pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye measure out, it shall be measured to you again (6:36-38).

What is the context? It is Mercy, not Grace; this pertains to “denying the self,” by not allowing the soul any self motives of pride, ego, validation, or any of the other “self traits” demanding recognition. The Will of the Father is for us to walk in the same Mercy that He gave us. Is it self-based on the Father’s part? Not at all, for we “forgive as God for Christ’s sake forgave us granting us a better life in the Spirit.” When we forgive, we are showing the world the purpose for God forgiving us; thereby drawing the Fish to the Net. On the other hand, when we refuse to forgive we give a false witness.

We tend to use this verse, or the wording as it relates to money; but the context is first and foremost walking in the Mercy of our Father so we don’t end as “workers of iniquity.” This verse gives us a division between the self and denying it; we would deny the self by granting Mercy, even if there is no foundation to do so. We would promote the self by applying condemnation and judgment. This type of Judgment is not discernment, rather it’s accounting the person guilty of some evil, whereas the Ministry of Reconciliation refuses to impute sin on others (II Cor 5:19-20). Condemnation is one step beyond judging, it finds the person guilty as it applies the punishment. The self demands Justice, the Spirit of the Lord applies Mercy. On one hand, the old man tells us, “look what they did to you, they must pay”, but the New Man reminds us we have the opportunity to apply Mercy.

This verse does not say that God will bring the Merc; it says men will. Will the person you apply mercy to, turn and grant you mercy? Perhaps yes, perhaps no; but down the line, when you need Mercy, you will gain your reward. This is the Law of Reciprocity, meaning an exchange of privileges, or favors, the word Favor means a friendly regard toward another. God will move on our behalf, on the hearts of others. The incentive of the principle tell us, if we give Mercy, the time will come when we need it, and it will be returned shaken together and running over. Therefore, the greatest benefit comes after we apply mercy to the unmerciful.

We must understand, that the person we are applying Mercy to, may not reciprocate in like manner. Some of us think that by applying Mercy, the person we are giving it to will fall on their face saying they are “so sorry.” When they don’t, we presume it didn’t work; but like the verse in Romans where God turns things around for our good, it may not be immediate, but nonetheless it will be when we need it. If the only reason we applied mercy was to see the other person fall on their face, then we are using the wrong spirit.

We may even tell the other person, “look, I have no idea why you are so mad, but if I did something, I’m sorry”. They might take it as an offer of cowardice, then turn it around by telling people, “they admitted they were wrong, and I was right.” Is the test on? Yes; for us it’s application of more mercy, and for them it’s receiving the Mercy in a Godly manner. The point is, we don’t give up, but we apply mercy at every opportunity, and the return will come when we need it; the primary reason for granting Mercy is not the return, but knowing that it pleases our Father in heaven for us to do so.

This teaching isn’t out of the blue; it’s connected to the prior teachings. “The poor,” who are begging, seeking, knocking, and looking for the Kingdom of God… will find it,and they will gain. The context between the Rich and Poor, as it fits in the Letter of James, is seen in these verses. James was there listening, back in verse 6:26 when Jesus defined the Rich by the phrase, “likewise did their fathers kill the prophets”; pointing to the Jews, especially the religious rulers.

The religious rulers didn’t repent, since they felt they were Rich and in need of nothing. The Poor were people like the Gentile woman, who begged Jesus to help her daughter; she even equated herself to a “dog” subject to the crumbs. On the other hand, after the Cross, there were some Gentiles who looked down on the Jews who were still under the Law, as the Letter to the Romans show. In either case, we find these verses would appl; mercy provides room for redemption.

These verses are reaching beyond the requirements of the Law of Moses, and beyond Atonement. According to the priests, the smell of the sacrifice would reach heaven and God would grant Atonement on the sacrifice. Then the atonement would transfer to the person. But here, Jesus is telling us to have the same Mercy as God the Father. This is not “removing the Law,” but removing the person from the confines of the Law of sin and death.

According to Yom Kippur, after the sacrifice, the person still had to go and seek forgiveness from those they trespassed against. The Jew considers Atonement and Pardon the same in content, yet they also note that Pardon comes directly from God, not man.

When we apply Mercy toward others, we are acting in the same manner as our Father did with us. We asked, He forgave; but in our case, it goes one step further. The person need not ask; we apply Mercy anyway. Thus, we find the reward coming from men. Since this is a direct involvement, we find that we are accepting the Sacrifice by our display of Mercy. However, this is not an excuse to tell someone, “I forgive you because I’m a Christian” or “I forgive you because God has told me to”; either of which are manipulative in nature, and both or these examples put all the blame on the other person, thereby showing that we consider ourselves more holy than the other person.

Mercy applied, is refusing to get mad, refusing to seek revenge, refusing to insert, or seek validation; it’s an act of not imputing the sin on the person, which entails not telling the other person that we are not imputing sin on them. Forgiveness is something we do unto others; yet we seek it from God. It’s not something we use to manipulate people into begging for our forgiveness. Whenever we force someone to seek our forgiveness, or if we force them to justify their self, we have caused them to sin, meaning we are the ones in error. Is applying Mercy easy? No, but it’s not impossible either. It first takes a decision to do as the Father desires, rather than do as our flesh desires.

Mercy doesn’t care if the person is guilty or not, it immediately applies Pardon. The evidence of their guilt is the same as the evidence of our guilt; yet God forgave us. Pardon dictates that there is some evidence of a wrong, but not enough to condemn the person.

This same principle is used in the legal system when a government official grants a Pardon; it’s as if the person was never found guilty of the crime. It’s different from Parole. Parole still says that the person did the crime, but it allows them to leave the confines of the jail. It also demands for them to report to an overseer who determines whether or not they can remain out of jail.

The Law of Moses is akin to Parole, and the sin is only”balanced”; it is not considered “vacated.” Mercy goes further than the Pardon; in the eyes of God, the Cross of Jesus is the application of the Pardon, and it finds that even if we did something, the Cross is more than able to show that we are not guilty, rather it says we must be exonerated.

Judgment applied by man is always self-based and self-determined. The Law of Moses had many areas regarding Judgment and Condemnation; but the Law of the Spirit is for us. Thus, we must be For others as well. The Law of the Spirit doesn’t define sin, it defines iniquity, yet it always provides an escape.

Paul rebuked the church of Corinth for their failure to be spiritual by pointing out how carnal they were; yet we find several verses showing the escape. Thus the Holy Ghost wasn’t saying, “You’re carnal, you’re carnal, and I’m going to get you”; rather it was, “Beware, don’t remain carnal, I have an escape for you, if you receive it.”

The Spirit uses many means to point out how carnal we are; but nonetheless, the Law of the Spirit is still for us, not against us. Our own minds can view the exposure as condemnation, yet it’s based on freedom. If we view the exposure as God punishing us, then, we are just like the children in the wilderness. But if we see “the exposure” as a means to bring us into a greater and higher realm of freedom, we gain.

Bitterness is the result of unforgiveness, since bitterness is a type of cancer eroding Mercy. Condemnation often condemns before the facts are seen, and it also produces self-justification, thereby imputing the sin on the other. Judgment and discernment are different, don’t confuse them. We discern things, and often the person using the “things” thinks they are being judged. If we discern someone’s words, yet their those words are part of their nature, they will think they are judged, when in truth their words exposed their hearts.

God knows what lies ahead, so if we reject the giving of mercy today, we receive none tomorrow. We hear some say, “this always happens to me, they judged me guilty, but I didn’t do anything.” Yet three days prior, we heard the same person say, “the person over there is so wrong, I will get them; I swear I will!”

When we seek validation, revenge, justice, or use manipulation or coercion to make others feel guilty, we will also find man bringing condemnation back on us. We recall how God applies His Mercy; it’s not automatic, but it’s prepared to be applied when we ask. God’s Mercy was there waiting for us, yet we could twist the premise to say, “well I had to ask, and so do they.” Not so, the application of heaven “being loosed on us” was based on our asking God to forgive us; but our endurance in Mercy is based on us freely giving what we received. God’s Mercy endures, His Grace is Sufficient, and we need both.

This is a discernment area; some assume that they are persecuted for the Word’s sake, when they dealt out condemnation and it came back, “shaken together and running over.” What if they ran out to “let so and so know how God feels about this or that evil” or what if they came to our door with a false doctrine. Then, when they were “exposed,” what if they assumed that they were “being persecuted” for the Word’s sake, when actually….what if they were being rebuked for their false doctrine, or slanderous ways. Then, what if they slandered others in the Body by assuming that they had the “only truth” or that the entire Body was wrong, except them, of course. Then, when were rebuked, what if they retorted with, “you’re coming against the anointing of God.” But, this could not be true, since the anointing of God never slanders, but it does rebuke. Hitting someone with our anger is not Mercy; yelling at them, demanding validation, and then saying, “God wanted them to know it” is a lie, and only a means to excuse out of control anger. Here, however, we find, that if we give Mercy, the Light shines; and where there is Light, there is no blindness, or darkness.

And He spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind: shall they not both fall into the ditch? (6:39).

If we lack Mercy, we’re blinded to the Light of the Gospel. Mercy is our Lamp, while the application is the Oil; without the Lamp, the Oil has no place to burn, and without the Oil, the Lamp can’t produce Light. This also shows how a Veil of condemnation blinds us to the Glory of the Lord. Mercy is a door opener, and Grace the vehicle to enter therein.

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master (6:40).

This doesn’t say we shall be The Master, rather we shall be As the Master; and the only way we can be As Jesus, is to have His Character by being Born Again unto a Spiritual nature. Assuming we can act like Jesus, yet remain corrupt, is the foolishness of religious conceit at work

We can give to the poor with a bitter heart, yet be none the better. We can remove every evil mountain from our path, yet produce mountains in front of others, and be none the better. Our example is Saul the Christian hunter and killer, who was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Christians (Acts 9:1). This same Saul permitted and encouraged the killing of Stephen, the saint of the Most High God (Acts 7:58-59). This Saul came face to face with Jesus on the Road to Damascus; he found Mercy and Repentance were far greater than condemnation and judgment (Acts 9:4-5). When Saul said, “Lord, what will You have me to do?”… his path changed, causing his result to change (Acts 9:6). Jesus forgave Saul (Paul), because the Character of Jesus is Mercy and Forgiveness, and although He will deal out justice, Mercy is His first course of action. The attitude of Jesus changed toward Paul based on Paul’s repentance. Although Jesus knew Paul would repent, Paul didn’t’. Where did Paul say, “Lord forgive me”? We don’t see it, but the second he said, “what would You have me do?”, it was repentance, a decision to turn around and go in a different direction.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (6:41).

The phrase “behold you” is the Greek Blepo meaning to see or perceive; this is not taking the Mote out, it’s questioning it, perceiving, yet doing nothing about the beam in our own eye. The self nature will ignore the Beam in our eye, yet magnify the Mote in the other person’s. Are we to ignore the Mote? No, the verse refers to the failure to see our own (mote). Why judge someone, when we do the same (Rom 2:1).

Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye (6:42).

Now we move from seeing the mote, to taking an action. The self nature will see the Mote, then think it’s a gift, something to be used to gain the advantage. If we don’t perceive the Beam in our own eye, we will judge the other person based on our opinion. The word Hypocrite means to “Judge under,” or to judge someone in order to place them under us, so that we can feel superior, which is a far cry from discernment.

How can we minister to someone when we think we are so holy, that we even made the water we walk on? Some of us even go so far as to condemn the world, yet use the methods of the world in our everyday lives; then, we are a hypocrite. The world is being reproved, yet it’s the very place we cast the Net. The world is in sin, as we were in the world, but now we are not; thus we toss the Net to gain “the called.”

What good does it do to point out sin, yet provide no escape? Judgmental attitudes are quick to call out “sinner” but for the sole reason of being exalted over the sinner. This is not to say tha we shouldn’t preach, but the Gospel is Good News, and it should provide an escape. So, if we don’t deal with the Beam in our own eye, we will fall into a judgmental attitude regarding the Mote in the eye of others.

A Beam and Mote are both products of wood; and the wood is based on the corrupt tree, yet the premise is “what one sees”; and they have to view through the Mote. Thus this connects to Paul’s teaching on strongholds. Whatever the stronghold, we will view people, words, or teachings through the stronghold. We could have sound doctrine on Baptism, yet hold strongholds regarding Mercy and Grace; thus whatever we say or receive has to be filtered through the Mote.

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit (6:43).

Here we find two trees; one is natural, the other is not. The fruit of the tree is how we identify the tree; if we see figs, we know it’s a fig tree. We would not expect to see oranges, then say, “oh, an apple tree.” The outward product determines the tree, and religious jargon does not make a good tree. The New Birth produces a New Tree.

For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes (6:44).

The Fig Tree is a metaphor for the religious order of Israel, which enforced the Law of Moses. There are two elements displayed here, yet it can be confusing, since the Fig Tree does have blessing and cursing (thorns). However, Jesus shows us, that the purpose of the Law of Moses was to grant Mercy to an Unmerciful people and the Curse of the Law was a means to keep the person in the Blessing. The Grape of course points to the Vine, of which we are. In this case it shows that the Bramble Bush is not going to produce the fruit of the Vine; the metaphor Bramble Bush is the attitude of cursing. If things don’t happen the way we want, our source tells the tale. “I’m cursed, this is cursed, it’s cursed”; all these statements tell us we are a Bramble Bush. “Bless the Lord oh my soul” tells us we are of the Vine. The Olive Tree is not noted here, this is between two Covenants, the Fig Tree and the Vine.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (6:45).

This is center of the teaching, the tree is the heart, and the old heart is flesh; it causes the soul to be born (identified) with the flesh. The old heart seeks the things of the flesh; yet if we are “circumcised of heart” we gain a New heart, (and void of the Curse), making us a Blessing. The obvious point here is that the Fruit doesn’t change the Tree; rather, the Tree produces the Fruit.

This also shows us why we must get rid of the Mote; clarity of discernment only comes when we can See the source of the words spoken. Words of those who lie in wait to deceive, are only detected by a circumcised heart. We must learn to listen to the New Man when words are spoken; the person may think we are attempting to read their mind, but not so. The fruit of their words expose their heart.

And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (6:46).

One of the commands Jesus gives is “ye must be Born Again”; this is not “it’s a good idea to be Born Again”, or “it would be nice if you were”, it is “ye must”, making it a Commandment. How are we going to love one another as Christ, without Christ in us?

Mercy and Grace, operating by the Spirit, brings the Living Water by Abundance; thus we can show Mercy by refusing to debate, fight, or show our anger, which is imputing the old man dead. However, it’s not the end; we must accept the New Birth, which is Grace, and then allow Grace to be the “Ability in hand.”

Will the old man attempt to “rise up” for the occasion? Yes; but the more Mercy we apply, the more strength we gain against the old man. Imputing the old man dead is half of the call; then, accepting the Righteousness of Jesus in the New Birth, is the other. Simply saying, “I impute you dead”, isn’t the complete call; we must walk in faith to gain the impartation of the Spirit, and then we can walk in the Spirit. It is complete error to think we can walk in the Spirit, without the Spirit.

Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great (6:47-49).

The Tree grows from the Foundation of the Root, and the Root began from the Seed. The Holy Ghost plants the Seed, not the act of water baptism. This is not only hearing, but the doing; the same context as James. The center of James is asking for the Wisdom of God so we can deal with events and people in a Godly manner. However, we must have a foundation, which foundation is Christ, the Rock. We are the Body of Christ, so what does it mean? We imputed our old body dead, and we need a body in which to operate, thus Jesus gave us His. We still have the flesh, but our souls are now joined to the Body of Christ, while the Spirit is making our souls Spiritual in nature, bringing to pass “That born of the Spirit is Spirit.”

Being in the Rock demands hearing, then doing, which defines a Rhema ear; thus the doing becomes the walk of faith. Faith never tested, is mind power counterfeiting faith, while the test of faith brings the works of faith. A faith failing to maintain in the valley, has no business bragging on the mountain top. Simply believing that all Jesus said, isn’t enough either…. many believe the sayings, but rebel when it comes to the doing, or they twist the sayings to maintain control of their religion. Clearly, the first step of doing is Mercy, the one element becoming the factor separating the vessels of honor, from those of dishonor.

Now when He had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum. And a certain Centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die (7:1-2).

This connects to the sayings with the doings. Jesus is doing the Work of the ministry; so, how then can we call Him Lord, yet refuse to do the works of the ministry? Why do we call Him, Lord, Lord, yet reject the operation of Mercy?

On the surface, it would appear that Luke is taking an event from Matthew; however, this is a different event with an extension to the lesson gained in Matthew. The Centurion’s servant is an example of each of us; thus the Centurion’s servant called him lord, yet he was found sick, on the brink of death. In contrast, when we call Jesus Lord, we must be willing to die to the self nature, in order to live.

And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant (7:3).

This Centurion heard of Jesus, and sent others; whereas, the Centurion in Matthew’s account came to Jesus making his request personally.

This is another area of our Master saying, then doing, to give us the premise with the example. We do as He says, and do as He did.

And when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue (7:4-5).

The Centurion may have heard of Jesus, but these elders surely didn’t know Jesus. The elders judged a man’s importance by what they gained from the person; the elders didn’t say that the Centurion loved the Lord, they said he loved the nation. They felt that building a synagogue was more than enough to secure a healing; but the following verses show that Jesus was moved by the Centurion’s faith, not the words of the elders.

The Centurion is also an example of someone who showed Mercy, then gained Mercy; thus the Centurion gave from a good heart, and the elders received it with an evil heart. If we give, yet the one who receives, receives with an evil heart, it doesn’t effect the blessing of our giving.

This is also true if we are an Elder and are asked to anoint someone with oil, yet they are merely playing a mind game. Simply because the receiver is playing a mind game, or refuses to give their prayer of faith, doesn’t mean that the Worship of the elders is corrupt. On the other hand, if the elders are corrupt, it won’t corrupt our prayer of faith, since the prayers of a righteous person still avail much.

The Centurion didn’t tell the religious rulers to do anything more than make a request; he didn’t demand, he didn’t tell them how much he gave. He didn’t even think he was worthy enough for Jesus to come near his house, much less enter it. The Elders based worthiness on the self-benefit of what a person does for them, Jesus based it on faith.

Then Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the Centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that You shouldest enter under my roof (7:6).

The Centurion sent Friends, thus he gave to the Jews, but he didn’t consider them friends. The friends of the Centurion told Jesus what was on the heart of the Centurion, it was not based on how much he gave, or to whom he gave it. The “word of the testimony” of the Centurion was in the mouth of his friends.

Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it (7:7-8).

The Centurion didn’t think that his giving made him worthy, yet he would find, his faith did; it’s by our faith that we are able to please the Lord.

This Centurion, like the one in Matthew, knew the power of authority. The Centurion was under authority, yet knew how to respect it. His authority was two-fold: as a Centurion, he had people under him whom he expected to carry out orders, but he was also under authority, thus he was expected to carry out orders given to him. He was also master of his house, and he gave his servant orders generated from him. He had a full grasp of authority based on his knowledge of Authority, which became a display of his faith; thus we find the fruit of the man proved his knowledge of Authority. He also knew, that although he had Authority, he didn’t have authority to make his servant well. He didn’t mix authorities, and he didn’t treat his servant as a member of his army, or his army as his servant. The Centurion respected the authority over him, those under him respected him. Give and it shall be given. Positional awareness was the issue; he was asking Jesus to do something that he was sure Jesus had the authority to do, and since Jesus had the authority, the Centurion knew it would come to pass.

Having authority and respecting it are different: one can have authority, yet fail to respect it. One can have authority, yet be afraid to use it, or have authority, yet fail to respect the authority over them, all three fail to know the importance of self-esteem, which is not self-confidence, rather it’s the opposite. The word Esteem means to respect, or be able to Value, it doesn’t mean to over–value, or under-estimate; thus it means to Discern or Judge something in its proper place. If we Judge ourselves, we shall not be judged. Self-esteem knows our position, and it respects how we obtained it; whereas self-confidence is a trust in the self-nature. Therefore, self-esteem is a matter of knowledge and clarity, while self-confidence is a matter of self-trust, two completely different elements.

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel (7:9).

Our faith includes our respect for Jesus; and if we respect Him, we will honor His authority, meaning we will use His Name as He would. The Name of Jesus works for anyone in the Field; even Judas saw the results of the Name of Jesus when he applied it correctly. Thus, “acts” come as a result of the Name. Matthew 7:22 shows that the Name works, but some take credit for the acts, or trust in the acts, rather than allow a change in “Ways.”

And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick (7:10).

The “They” are the Friends; they were more concerned with the Centurion’s servant, than the religious leaders were. The only reason that the religions leaders made the request was based on the Centurion building their synagogue. If the Centurion hadn’t given a dime to the religious leaders, they would never have lifted a finger to help him; whereas, his friends were ready, willing and able to help their friend.

Although the elders were self-based, the Centurion’s Mercy was still evident; as a testimony, it spoke for him. The Centurion gave, and it coming back to him, shaken down and running over. This is an example of one doing a law, without knowing it; thus the Centurion was a man of Mercy and Authority relating to his measure of faith. Jesus was giving to him, as he gave to others.

And it came to pass the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and much people (7:11).   

Not all of the disciples went with Jesus, thus there were times when the disciples were off doing other tasks for the ministry. This would seem strange if “Jesus is no Respecter of persons.” We assume the phrase “No Respecter of Persons” means that Jesus treats us all the same, but it means that He doesn’t hold one above another based on their personality, position, or the good He can gain from the relationship. If we act like Judas, then Jesus treats us like Judas; if we act like Christ, Jesus treats us like Christ.

This is still related to Mercy, as Mercy heals and sustains. The phrase in truth means that no one person is greater than the other, or has a greater advantage before God when they enter the Body. Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the mount, while the other disciples remained at the foot of the mount. Peter’s shadow did heal, Paul gained special power, and John was known as the disciple Jesus loved…yet all were seen as individuals. Just because Paul had special power, doesn’t mean that God has to give us special power. Just because John wrote the Book of Revelation doesn’t mean that God will have us write another. Discern, don’t burn.

Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier: and they that bear him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto you, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited His people (7:12-16).

This widow woman also connects to the prior teachings. Since this was her only son, she was a widow indeed, but to the religious leaders, a “widow indeed” was a widow with money. Without her son, there was no one to care for her; Jesus gave her back her need. This was a matter of Restoration; when John the Baptist appeared, the Time of Restoration was opened, yet Jesus is the means.

The people still didn’t understand the importance; they recognized Jesus as A Prophet, but failed to see Him as The Prophet. A prophet can come and go, but The Prophet has the authority to introduce doctrine, even if the doctrine is a New Law. In this case, Jesus is introducing a doctrine regarding a Law to make the people free of the Law of sin and death. God gave Moses a Law, and Jesus is giving the people a Law. The Law of Moses is called the Law of Moses because it became a barrier between man and God. The Law of the Spirit is called the Law of the Spirit because it unites man to God by the Spirit.

And this rumor of Him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about. And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Are You He that should come? or look we for another?  (7:17-19).

The disciples of John didn’t see the man raised from the dead, but they heard about it and then reported what they heard to John. It’s one thing to be an eye-witness, another to repeat hearsay. Without the Spirit, we give hearsay evidence, but with the Spirit we have The Eye-Witness. The Witness is still the Water (Mercy of the Father), the Blood (Grace of the Word), and the Spirit (Born again of the Holy Ghost), the soul is aware of the Witness as the benefactor of the Witness, but it is not part of the Witness. Natural knowledge of the Bible is not a Witness; it’s still natural and spiritual things to a natural mind are foolishness.

When the men were come unto Him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou He that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me (7:20-23).

In the Same Hour Jesus taught, cast out devils and cured many; these are the works of the Christ of Mercy as the Son of man. This is another example of the Master giving us the example to go with the premise. Instead of telling John something based on hearsay, they were to tell John what they saw, which of course was people healed and set free, as the time of Restoration was in hand. Jesus didn’t make one person blind, He didn’t make one sick, He didn’t put a devil in any of them; to assume any different is foolish.

The word Offended has several different meanings depending on the intent. Jesus offended many, meaning to bring Displeasure; but the displeasure is the soul being confronted with its own unbelief. In the context above, it means Thoughts from an intent to produce sin; thus saying or assuming that Jesus made anyone sick, is offending His Name. It’s true, the Law of Moses held both cursing and blessing, and Jehovah Himself said that He would bring the curse; but this shows that the Law had the power and authority built into it, to either bless the doer, or to curse.

The plagues in the last days come when our prayers are mixed with the coals from the altar of God; yet under the altar, the Dead in Christ wait. Thus, we can assume the prayers are evil, or the coals from the altar are evil, missing the context completely. The prayers are holy, the coals are holy, when holy lands on unholy, the unholy is turned back to its source. God is still unable to tempt us to do evil, since He has no evil in Him.

And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? (7:24).

The people looked at Jesus as a prophet, but Jesus says, John is the prophet; yet John didn’t heal anyone and he never cast one devil out. But the disciples of Jesus did. The disciples of John represented John; thus their questioning and envy reflected on John. Yet, John wasn’t there. Our unbelief, debate, doubt, anger and soulish behavior all reflect on Jesus, since we are of the Body of Christ.

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (7:25-28).      

If John was much more than a prophet, what did it make Jesus? Without John, there would be no messenger, without the messenger, the Messiah couldn’t come; thus the one announcing had to come first. In Matthew 17:11 Jesus said that the time of Restoration came with John, but John isn’t the holder of the Restoration, only the one who announced it, yet the announcement was vital.

One could say, “If Zacharias, the father of John, would have only known”; however, the same could be said of us. There are many events appearing mundane in the natural, yet hold great things in the spiritual. On the same note, there are some things which we hold as great in the natural, meaning nothing in the spiritual. How do we know the difference? “But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit” (I Cor 2:10), and “which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (I Cor 2:13).

The phrase, “born of women” means the natural conception of one man and one woman, which excludes Jesus. The Least in the kingdom of God, is greater than John; but John is greater than all those before him, which would include Moses, Elijah, David, Adam, or anyone else. The most carnal Corinthian had a greater opportunity than John… something to think about. John was not privy to the Spirit, or the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, he wasn’t a member of the Rock.

This area proves that John was not of the ministry of Jesus; thus he did not operate under the Name of Jesus. John was between places, thus he appeared in the wilderness; he was not the Old, yet he was not the New. The act of his baptism ceased when he was cast into prison, and the effectiveness of his baptism ceased at the Cross. It doesn’t take away from his importance as Jesus shows, neither does it take away from our position in the Body. The least in the kingdom in the Name of Jesus, is greater than John, something to think about when the lust of the flesh thinks that being Elijah or John the Baptist is better than being a member of the Body of Christ.

And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him (7:29-30).

This was not “the baptism in the Name of Jesus,” since the Name had not been granted at the time, until Matthew 28:19. This was still “John’s baptism” based on repentance coupled with, “that the people should believe.” This same mistake of putting too much on some efforts, thus losing the purpose… is found today. These people heard how great John was, so if they were baptized by John, then they must be great as well. Paul ran into the same thinking with the carnal Corinthians, “I was baptized of Paul”, “Oh I’m better, cause I was baptized of Apollos.” (I Cor 1:12). They were baptized under the Name of Jesus, not the name of Paul, or Apollos. They failed to ask, “what was I baptized unto?” (Acts 19:3).

Mark 16:16 told us that baptism was important; it’s our token of acceptance into the Body, but without continual belief it remains either a Tradition, or a bath, nothing more. On the same note Mark 16:16 shows that we can believe all sorts of Godly things, but unless we’re in the Body, the concept of “shall be saved” does not apply.

Some say, “If it wasn’t in the Name of Jesus, it was void”; others say, “If it wasn’t in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it was void” and both are right since it’s still one Name (Authority). But it has little to do with what the person doing the baptizing says, but much to do with their position. Were they in the Body? If so, they operated under the Authority (Name) of Jesus. How do we know if the person who baptized us was in the Name? What happened to us? Was there a change? The water didn’t do it, the acceptance by the Mercy of God did; the Mercy of God is our proof, not semantics.

And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?  (7:31).

The Generation is the one facing Jesus, and it’s also specific in nature. There was a Generation from John to the Resurrected Jesus. Our Generation began on Pentecost when the Gift of the Holy Ghost was granted.

They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not wept (7:32).

Jesus says that these are children calling, “one to another” with “How come you don’t dance?”, “How come you don’t mourn?” or “we played the music, but you don’t want to dance to our tune”. “Oh yeah, well we mourned, but you didn’t weep.” These are two completely different emotions, yet the same marketplace. The people wondered, when we question what the Lord is doing, and people wonder about us, or they wonder what is wrong with us. Here we find that those in the ministry of John the Baptist were questioning Jesus; the people centered on the act of baptism, rather than the purpose. Here Jesus was before them, if the purpose was for them to believe on Him, why didn’t they?

Those who were baptized felt that they were better, and those who were not better became angry. The groups in verses 29 and 30 fit the children in the market place and one group Justified God, since they felt they were justified by the baptism of John. Wrong, the baptism was unto repentance not Justification. It also said that they should believe, so did they? The other group was not baptized; they rejected it. Thus, we find that some dance, but reject the mourning, and some mourn, but reject the dancing.

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine: and you say, He has a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and you say, behold a gluttonous man, and winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! (7:33-34).

Jesus takes the parable right to the Pharisees, when John came, they didn’t want to dance to his tune, when Jesus came, they didn’t want to mourn for their error of not receiving John.

Two men, Jesus and John, each sent to do the work of God, yet Jesus shows the character of one, was different from the other, so does it mean one or both of them were not sent by God? Not at all, Jesus points out how the religious rulers were looking at flesh and blood, thus making their determinations based on their own carnal thinking, looking for the self-benefit, yet they failed to look at the result of the works being produced. John’s ministry had results, the ministry of Jesus had results, thus the results determined the source. Some of us get so involved in personalities, we can’t tell if there are results or not. In some cases we ignore the results, so we can slander the person. Not very wise, not wise at all.

But wisdom is justified of all her children (7:35).

The result would prove who is right, thus it didn’t do any good to debate the issue. Which generation had the “signs and wonders following,” would determine the Truth. History has proven the Truth, and “Who” Truth really is.

James will show us two types of Wisdom, the Book of Proverbs talks about two types of Wisdom as well. These religious leaders knew what the parable was talking about, they knew the wisdom of man was earthly, but they also knew the Wisdom of God was heavenly. However, they felt the heavenly Wisdom was not something natural man can have. They were right, only those with the Spirit can gain the Wisdom of God.

Which Wisdom one uses will determine if they are child of Wisdom. Wisdom being the manner in which one deals with people and events goes right back to the examples. Those who played the music, refused to mourn, but those who mourned refused to dance to the music. Neither wanted to change, yet both got mad because the other didn’t do as they wanted. Over a year before the Cross the people who were baptized under John’s baptism repented, yet there was another proviso, “should believe on Him who was to come”, at the Cross they rejected the premise, rather than believe they mocked. Both groups centered on error, they either took pride in the effort, or took pride in rejecting the effort.

And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat (7:36).

This Pharisee is attempting to work around repentance; after all, if Jesus sat at the table, surely He would see how righteous this Pharisee was,and therefore, in the mind of the Pharisee there no need for him to repent.

And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment (7:37-38).

This isn’t the same incident as the one noted in Matthew, Mark, or John, as the anointing for the burial of Jesus; all three show Mary the sister of Lazarus anointing Jesus just days prior to the cross, at the house of Simon the Leper, the father of Judas. But here, the woman is a sinner, and they are in the house of a Pharisee; the purpose is much different. This woman didn’t allow the house of the religious leader to stop her from getting to Jesus. Also Jesus never stopped her from her task. She couples the anointing with worship. For those who have trouble reaching over the wall of tradition and recognizing that Jesus is the visible of the invisible Jehovah God, these verses should destroy the barrier. Jesus accepted her worship, something not permitted if He was not the Word of God made flesh.

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner (7:39).

The Pharisee felt that his self-righteousness removed him from being a sinner; however, self-righteousness is temporal at best; the second the act ( of attonement as per their religious code) is accomplished, it’s done, meaning the person has to start all over again. For instance, if one keeps the sabbath day, then as soon as the sun sets, then the purpose is accomplished and then they have to begin again; thus the act has to be performed weekly. For us there is the Rest of God by belief; we take the yoke of Jesus to find rest for our souls.

The act of worship shows that this woman knew in Who’s presence she was, yet the Pharisee believed that Jesus should feel privileged for being in his presence. The Centurion knew that Jesus had Authority greater than all of Rome put together, this Pharisee didn’t so much as offer Jesus the general customs granted to any guest.

To the Jew, the Threshold and Door were more than a means of entry; the second they granted someone permission to enter, the person was under the protection of the householder. There were certain rites granted the guest, such as washing the feet of the person, usually by a servant. We find that the Pharisee didn’t provide the basic elements afforded to the most common of guests, yet the woman knew Jesus was very special.

There is the thought of our water baptism being a similar act to the washing of the feet, based on entrance into the Body. We as members of the Body are the ones who water baptize others; they submit to the act. For them it’s an ordinance, since they are yet to be granted entry into the Body by one who represents the Householder. For us it’s a Commandment to teach, then water baptize. If a candidate makes their confession of belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, then we are obligated to water baptize them. One aspect of our teaching is to teach them about the “laying on of hands, the repentance from dead works, faith toward God, eternal Judgment, and receiving the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.” We can have millions of foot washing ceremonies, but the purpose is regarding, acceptance into the household, not simply something to give us a “good feeling.”

The Pharisee asked Jesus into his house, but only to show his (the Pharisee’s) greatness. The Pharisee knew that giving worship to anyone other than God, was akin to idol worship; yet Jesus was allowing this woman to worship Him. The Jew is/was so strict in the area, that they won’t even use the name of Jesus in reference to any religious conversation; rather they refer to Jesus as “that man.” Not only is it a sin for the Jew to worship “other gods” it’s a sin to mention their names. The Jew calls the crucifix A Tzelem or Image, the same word they use to define idols. Based on the sin of David, the Jews are so zealous they won’t even count each other, instead of saying, One, Two, Three, they say, Not One, Not Two, Not Three. However, later David and Solomon counted people, but it wasn’t a sin; thus David’s sin was questioning God, rather than counting. Legalism is a hindering spirit causing many problems.

The Pharisee also trusted in his position, while the woman wanted Jesus to change her condition. Yet both the Pharisee and the woman had something in common, they were both sinners, and the woman knew it, but the Pharisee denied it. Both were facing Jesus, but for different purposes. Both were in the same house, thus they were akin to the children in the market place; the woman sought the presence of Jesus, the Pharisee sought his own importance.

This woman hadn’t given a sacrifice, nor had she been purified according to the Jews Lawa; therefore, it was a sin for this woman to be in the house of a Pharisee. Not withstanding, she didn’t even stop at the threshold; she came straight in. The Pharisee was thinking of his own reputation and religious demeanor, he didn’t care about the woman. How could this Jesus allow a sinner to touch Him? How could He allow her to worship Him? How could Jesus allow her to remain in the house of this righteous Pharisee?

And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have some-what to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on (7:40).

Simon the Pharisee, was not Simon called Peter, or Simon the leper, since neither of the latter two were Pharisees. This Simon was expecting honor from Jesus, or at the least expecting an apology from Jesus for allowing the woman to stay in the house.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell Me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged (7:41-43).

Again this pertains to Mercy; regardless of what was owed, they both owed and both were forgiven. To Simon there were degrees of sin. This woman was a sinner, and Simon feels he used to be one. This lesson is for us in that it’s true, we are in a place where sin has lost its power, and it’s true that we are a special people, but it’s also true that it’s because of Jesus.

Once we recognize that sin is sin, then we also know that as long as we have this flesh, we still  have the potential to sin. If we say we have no sin (potential) we lie; yet if we continue to sin by coming against people, and we like it, then we are still in sin (I Jn 1:8-9 & 2:11 & 3:9). Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin (singular); the sin is exactly what Simon is doing here, condemning the woman after she came to Jesus.

In the case of Simon, he felt he owned nothing, while the woman knew who she was. A lack of awareness of who we are, tends to lead us into religious conceit. However, if we recognize that we were sinners, since the old nature made us evil, nasty, self-based, self-serving, self-centered, self-willed, full of pride and ego….then we also know that God by His Mercy, forgave us. He then set us on the road of Restoration, and this is why we can appreciate Grace.

And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest yhou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head (7:44).

Simon didn’t even do the simplest honor, thus he allowed Jesus in his house, but not under the protection of the householder. To Simon, Jesus is the one who allowed this woman to get past the threshold of Simon; how dare He? Simon didn’t have a clue as to what was going on; but the Mirror of God was as big as the entire house of Simon. The woman was doing, what Simon should have done, thus Simon entered iniquity unto sin. His iniquity was, to not treat Jesus as he would anyone else; he was partial, but the sin came when he judged the woman.

Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didt not anoint: but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (7:45-47).

Olive oil was used to cool the head; so it was also a custom to anoint someone’s head when they came in from the hot sun. Yet Simon felt that by allowing Jesus to sit at his table…well, that was more than enough. Simon was counting his good works, but was also allowing his own religious pride to define a “good work.” Good works are works of Mercy and Grace, and Simon was not showing Jesus the least of the common courtesies.

This parable doesn’t mean that we should run out and commit as many sins as we can; but it does show the power of repentance. The Pharisee may not have committed as many sins, but he was also failing to honor Jesus, whereas the woman was.

And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And He said to the woman, Thy faith has saved thee, go in peace (7:48-50).

Jesus Pardoned her sins, but Simon retained his. The word for “Saved” used here is the Greek Sozo, so it doesn’t mean that she was saved by having the Spirit, nor does it mean that she received Grace. She was Saved from her sins by God’s Mercy, and now she is expected to freely give what she gained in order to maintain her condition.

Luke puts these comparisons together before he ventures into the teaching on “denying the self.” Each comparison reflects to delusions and self-deceptions. The woman knew who she was, while Simon was living a delusion. Thinking that we don’t need “the saving of the soul,” even after reaching Sozo, is a mistake. The purpose for our faith is the salvation of our souls, yet we can’t enter this area until we put away self-righteousness, self-deception, and religious delusions.

We can receive the Prophet in the name of the Prophet, or make demands for the Prophet to dance to our tune. The Pharisees were blinded, but their blindness was not only based in unbelief, it was supported by their self-righteousness and religious-deceptions. The Law of Moses produced a veil of blindness to the Righteousness of God (Rom 10:3 & II Cor 3:15). There are various types, there is the Veil Paul speaks of in II Corinthians and the Veil he speaks of in Hebrews. The Veil was the clothe Moses placed over his face to hide the glory; it’s the same thing that the Law of Moses does, not because God desires it, but because the doer trusts in their own self-righteousness. The other veil is the one between the holy place and the holy of holies (Heb 6:19, 9:3 & 10:20). Once we enter the Body we have passed through the veil, but if we continue to fall back to the Law of Moses we nonetheless place a veil over the glory of God.

The religious leaders wanted to maintain their self-righteousness, yet the act of self-righteousness uses the flesh, meaning it will produce pride, ego, and arrogance in the effort. Self-righteousness holds deeds as a means to obtain the blessing, while faith holds Jesus as a means to be a blessing. Once we ask God to expose any and all self-deception, we can then obtain the Good Crown of Life, based on faith.

And it came to pass afterward, that He went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with Him (8:1).

Here the twelve returned, and although they just finished doing the work of the ministry, they were going to learn more about the term “Salvation.” This also separates the prior event from the anointing during the week of the Cross, since the time when Jesus was in the house of Simon the Leper, Judas and the other disciples were present. Here we can see that they were not in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Two different events, both show someone anointing Jesus, but each event has its own lesson, and timing.

And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto Him of their substance (8:2-3).

Mary Magealene had seven devils cast out of her, while the others were healed of their infirmities. All of them ministered unto Jesus from their substance. The word Substance means, Property or Possessions; thus the women maintained a great deal of the financial backing for the ministry. It wasn’t always based on, “get the money out of the fishes mouth.” There are those behind the scenes who provide the foundation for a ministry who are just as important in the disciples doing the ministry.

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to Him out of every city, He spoke by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, He that has ears to hear, let him hear (8:4-8).

Mark’s account of this Parable is more detailed, but Luke is nonetheless going to give us additional information. Luke doesn’t say Thirtyfold, Sixtyfold, and a Hundredfold, rather he goes directly to a Hundredfold. Therefore, he is talking to the one who did produce the Sixtyfold, encouraging them to seek the Hundredfold.

If we have only one pound of corn, it’s all we have, so we can’t give two pounds if we only have one. Elisha wanted double the drive, motivation, and desire (spirit) of Elijah; but how can we give what we don’t have? How could Elijah give twice as much as he had? So, he didn’t and Elisha got mad. Nonetheless we find that the “Growth of the Gift” and “getting more gifts” are different. Elisha received what he was to receive, which was the mantel. We have the Seed, and it grows as we water it with Mercy; but no Mercy, no growth, and soon we separate ourselves from the Seed. In this case, Luke shows that we have reached the Sixtyfold, but we are not to stop in this “Youngman” stage. We have overcome the Wicked, so the fear of becoming among the Wicked is no longer a factor; we know our sins are forgiven, and we appreciate it. However, it’s not the end of the race; we need to reach the place where we know “Him who is from the Beginning,” in fullness (I Jn 1:1, 2:12-14, 2:26, 3:14, 4:6 & 5:1).

And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be? And He said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand (8:9-10).

Having ears to hear, means we also have a mouth “speaking the Truth in love.” The people heard the same words, yet they didn’t ask Jesus, “What do these things mean?” His disciples asked and He answered, but there are those who look us right in the eye and say, “Oh yes, I know”; yet they have no idea what we’re talking about, to them parables with very simple explanations must be given.

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved (8:11-12).

Those by the Way Side did Hear, but they also heard the voice of Satan (the old man). In Mark it was… “Satan comes immediately,” while here, it’s the devil; both give us the “old nature ruling the nest,” and the spirit of disobedience is quick to insert unbelief: “isn’t this the son of the carpenter?”

In Mark we see the use of the title “Satan” and here it’s the source with the same temptations, “Did God really say?” The “ground-keeper” in this case, is regarding those who are not only in the darkness, but love the darkness as well as the things of darkness. They are not begging to get out; they where they want to be.

The devil uses this same principle, only in his case it’s planting tares in the field, to disrupt the process. For some reason we think it all went wrong with the Body around 400 AD. Not so, read the letters to the Romans and Corinthians; they were written before the Persecution, and shortly after the Church was established. The spirit of error was a concern in First John; Simon of Samaria proved that the wicked were sent by the enemy in the very beginning. However, we also find that clarity by the Spirit is our method of protection from the wiles of the enemy. Don’t seek the pollution, find the solution.

The gates of hell moved into the Body within years of Pentecost; division, strife, carnal thinking in leadership roles (Corinthians), thoughts of unbelief, or teachings based in traditions, or theology based in unbelief (II Tim 2:16-18); it’s all from the same “spirit of the world” taking on a religious role as the “he of the world”.

The word Away in the phrase, “takes away the word…”, means Make To Doubt; thus the two areas of unbelief and doubt are demonic, self-based, and are products of the old nature. The “spirit of man” knows that the moment we get serious about Salvation, then he is done for; thus he moves in with weapons of doubt and unbelief. Yet, our weapons of belief, faith, and mercy counter them completely. Belief is a choice; we can make the choice to believe, or not to. Doubt is the mindset of “God not being able to finish what He started,” while unbelief is the mindset of “God not able to start.” Here the Seed was sown, but the ground rejected it. Doubt attacks our long range memory, while unbelief, our short range; doubt will allow us to begin, but stop us long before we gain the result; whereas unbelief stops us from entering in.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away (8:13).

Luke takes us back to the building process; this is not on the Sand, or the Sea, but the Rock. Thus from the Rock comes the Church. Paul tells us that the Rock is Christ (the Anointing, or Body); we are the Rock, the Body of Christ, and the Bread. However, although they are the Rock, although they have entered, and although they have the Seed… they lack the Root. Without the Root we will chase every wind of doctrine, seeking to feel good, or go from meeting to meeting to gain the feeling of the corporate anointing, but lack staying power. This group is not “by the Way,” or “outside the Way,” they are “in the Way.” This group would be akin to the Corinthians,” they have the Seed, but are yet carnal, they still hold to strife, division and listen to the spirit lusting to envy.” The Root must grow; yet it grows by Mercy and Knowledge.

And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection (8:14).

Luke takes this group further than Mark; in this case they Heard, and went Forth. Thus they started to preach or work assuming they had the Power; however, since they lacked the Root, their eyes looked for social change. They sought many things, but the wrong things; they equated holiness to their own thoughts. They trusted in world acceptance of who they were, they spent all their time making sure they said no evil, did no evil, or saw no evil; but they were still a carnal monkey. Social change benefits the world, compromise appeases the world, but it doesn’t provoke it to the Cross. Without the Root they lack the Power from on high; they have authority, but not what it takes to carry out the Authority. And when the things of the world come at them, they seek social change, rather than Christ change.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (8:15).

Now we have the conjunction, “but”; here we find that the word Honest connects to the Good heart, adding the phrase “Keep It.” Thus, the prior grounds were not honest, nor did they Keep the Word (Seed), which means, they failed to have the circumcised heart, yet they had the Seed. The circumcised heart is, “the engrafted Word becoming our new heart,” thus we enter a ground change able to secure the Root. How can we preach the Word, if we lack the Word in us? Religious concepts, and the Word are different, one can preach about Jesus, or preach the Word (which is…Jesus in us).

The Key to this is the word Patience; it takes Patience for Faith to have her work, and it takes Patience for the Seed to endure the Root stage unto the Blade. Thus the growing of the root would be the Novice stage, which is a time of learning, not a time of doing.

The word Patience means to endure, or to stay the course without venturing from side to side, which is more in line with this Parable. It’s easy to gain a little knowledge, and then run off thinking we have it all. However, enduring secures the Root. We will not produce or run after winds of doctrine, or attempt to make doctrines out of traditions of man. Patience will suffer affliction, yet do so in calmness, just as Jesus was calm in the face of the storm. The word Calmness means Tranquil, or Undisturbed.

We are told to love as Jesus loved His disciples, and we know that God so loved the world; but what is a constant element of God’s Love? It is Mercy, and the application of Mercy must be love based, or it ends in self-adulation.

Thirtyfold is in reference to the ability to discern and overcome: the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts for other things. Sixtyfold is in reference to: the ability to overcome the wicked one who bring the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts for other things as their agenda, for the purpose of pulling back under the hand of the world. A hundredfold is with regard to the ability to stand with Jesus, as He stood from the foundation of the world, in a time when sin was non-existent. Thus, the Hundredfold is the Full Corn In The Ear, they operate in the world, but are not affected by the cares of this world, by the deceitfulness of riches or the lusts for other things. Their confidence in Jesus is so evident, that the product is visible on the outside; therefore, they are the manifested sons of God.

The Pharisees knew the commandment “love thy neighbor”; so, why then didn’t they love Jesus? Their own self-deception said “He’s not my neighbor”…yet, He was Jewish..right? Doesn’t matter, “He’s not my neighbor”; but He is advocating God. Right? Doesn’t make any difference, “He’s not my neighbor.”  Pharisees always twist the commandment to fit their emotions or self-based thinking, in order to satisfy their anger, envy, and pride. They won’t bow to the Word, rather they hinder their own walk by making the Scriptures bow to them, even if they have to change them to fit their thinking.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed: but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light (8:16).

Luke points to the Vessel; thus we are the Vessels of the Lord. God doesn’t give us the Light to keep it hidden in our hearts, or in the cave. The training of the Lord brings us to a point to keep the Lamp burning, and the Jew knows the miracle of the burning lamp.

The Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, or Chanuka (dedication) came about when the superior armies of Syria, led by Antiochus of the Roman empire defiled the temple, and Judah Maccabees defeated, then drove out Antiochus and his army on the 25th of Kislev in 165 BC. After the defeat, the Jews lit the Menorah; however, they only had enough oil for one day, yet it takes One Week to prepare oil in order for it to burn. The oil lasted for eight days; this miracle really pointed to Jesus. There are two menorahs, one is the temple menorah, with its seven candlesticks, but the Hanukkah (Chanuka) menorah has nine candlesticks. There are nine manifestations of the Spirit, nine blessings of mercy, and nine fruit of the Spirit; however, in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is seen in the midst of the seven bowl candlestick, and each candlestick represents a church, or time.

One of the Jewish songs sung on this day is Ma’oz Tzur, better known to us as Rock Of Ages. The holiday was also called the Feast of the Dedication, which began on the 25^th of Chislev, or December. This feast was merely 170 years old (164 BC) during the earthly ministry, and so it was not mentioned anywhere in the Law, yet Jesus kept it (Jn 10:22). It’s interesting how some feel about the 25^th of December, yet the exact date is the date for the Feast of the Dedication, and Jesus kept it.

Is this another area where the servant thinks they are above the Master? Could be, nonetheless if one keeps one day above another, they do so unto the Lord. Whether it’s the temple Menorah or the Chanuka Menorah, it still takes the Oil to bring the Light; both give us the Truth of having a lamp and the oil. The Main Branch or the Branch holding the lamps is not a symbol of Jesus, since Jesus is seen in the midst of the candlestick. He said the seven bowls are churches, (as many)… or the Body, but not The Church as one (Rev 1:12-13 & 1:20). Jesus is the Light granting Light to the Greater Light and Lesser Light; but He is neither the Greater Light of the first five candlesticks, or the Lesser Light of the last two, yet without Him there is no Light. If Jesus doesn’t hide, then neither should any of the seven candlesticks.

For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad (8:17).

The term Nothing, means nothing; Paul shows If the Gospel is hid (veil), it is hidden from the Lost (II Cor 4:3). Paul expected the Rapture at any second; he knew that the Remnant had to be blinded to the Gospel for the Night, but he also knew the Veil of the Law blinded some, as well as God giving some a “spirit of slumber” (Rom 11:8) regarding the Gospel. Paul didn’t know which was which, so he preached to all. It’s no different with us; we have no idea when the Rapture will happen, but we know all is in place for it to occur. Paul knew that if the Gospel was Hid, it wasn’t going to be he who hides it.

The word Manifest means Open, or Known, connecting to the word Manifestation, as in the Manifestation of the Spirit. The Manifestation of the Spirit is the manner in which the Spirit in us displays Jesus; thus the Light in us is a product of Jesus. Our Light is the New Man, and the Christ in us, the Hope of Glory. Thus, if we have the Spirit, then this verse applies to us. The “secret” would be the unseen; our faith is the evidence of the unseen. Although it basically means the hope before us is unseen, it also means the source of our faith is unseen; but our seen faith will tell us the source. If our Faith is Christ-based, it will show it, and if self-based, it too will be seen.

The nine areas listed in the Manifestation of the Spirit are not the manifestation(s) (plural) of the Spirit, nor are they Gifts; they are a product of the Gift, or the Fruit of the Gift at work (I Cor 12:7-11).

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have (8:18).

Here Luke adds the word Seemeth/Seems, showing a Self-Transformed condition, or an illusion of what a person assumes they have. Although self-righteousness was all man had until the Righteousness of God was presented in the New Birth, self-righteousness is still an illusion. One presumes they have standing by their own definition of good works. Those self-based acts are not faith-based, thus they are short lived at best. Once the effort is complete, the process begins all over again; the proof is “keeping the sabbath day,” once the day was done, another had to be prepared for.

On the other hand, those who have Light, more Light will be given, as a continual growth. This is not a promise of yester-year, rather it’s still a promise as long as “He who now lets, Lets.” The increasing principle is based on the giving, but the giving is based on the receiving. We can only give what we have, if we refuse to “receive” the Word, how then can we give it?

Then came to Him, His mother and His brethren, and could not come at Him for the press. And it was told Him by certain which said, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee (8:19-20).

After telling us, “To whom has been given, they shall be given more,” we are warned about taking pride in our position and condition. Jesus didn’t grant partial treatment between His mother, or the stranger sitting before Him. James uses this very area to show us that the Faith of Jesus had the fruit of Wisdom; Jesus was not partial (James 2:1-3). Partial means making a distinction between persons or classes based on the self-benefit we gain. James explains this as, “seeing someone we know as someone who has the ability to do us some good…and thus giving the person honor based on the self-benefit to us.” It has nothing to do with picking one person to disciple more than we do another, or taking three from the twelve.

And He answered and said unto them, My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it (8:21).

Clearly there are two elements, many hear, and some do what they hear. The “honest ground” heard and kept the Word; once we make the decision to be honest before the Lord, we gain a new heart, one fully able “to believe” in the face of adversity. The premise is not only hearing, because many do, but in the Keeping. What was the Word He presented? The Word was “The Ways of Mercy.”

Honesty is not  about “speaking” or “holding our opinions,” it’s an openness, a Pure attitude, one wherein we know, “what you see, is what you get.” The phrase, Keep the Word, doesn’t mean to quote it, memorize it, or say we believe it; rather it points to “The Word” in us, which is the Life of Christ in the New Man. This doesn’t refer to the Scriptures; we must make the Godly division between “the Word” and “the Scriptures”, or we will assume that simply reading the Bible gives us “the Word.” The Word is the New Man, the Life in us (James 1:21). The New Man uses the Scriptures, but He is not the same as the Scriptures.

Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy (8:22-23).

This is a simple lesson of Keeping the Word; the disciples were told, “let us go over unto the other side of the lake” thus the Word was clear, and they were going to the other side, meaning that they would make it. Those who “Do the Word,” and those who “Hear it” are being defined for us. The Hearing is plain, “go over unto the other side,” and the doing will begin, but will something attempt to hinder the “doing?”

The storm came, the winds were blowing, yet Jesus was sleeping. Why didn’t He wake and calm the sea? He just told the disciples to Do the Word; then He told them that they were going to the other side. So, why say anything further?

Patience will also be an issue here, as Patience and Faith are sisters; Godly faith always allows Patience to have her perfect work. Puny faith lacks patience; it stops midway to make all sorts of displays, but fails to complete the Command.

And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased and there was calm. And He said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of Man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him (8:24-25).

This goes right back to the other teachings, showing that the Temptation came, so where is their faith? They had to have the “measure of faith,” since it was the basis for them to receive the New Birth on Pentecost, so where is it here? Fear is the enemy of faith; if we pick up our shield of fear or anger, we will forget about faith. Here the words “other side,” should have enforced their faith. Even simple reasoning would have helped, “Jesus is here in the boat, the storm is out there, He said other side, He never lies, so we have to keep going.” This lesson is for us; the New Man was given so we could finish this race, if Given, it means the Report (1 John 5) says it’s done, and if the Report says it, the Witness will bring it to pass, we must keep going.

In Mark we found that Jesus was walking on the water, and here He is in the boat. We could get confused and presume the writers either didn’t know what they were talking about, or they were just giving us their opinions. Neither is the case; this is a lesson which goes right back to the testing of our faith. The test is still, “will they do as commanded?” Jesus was sleeping, yet the disciples just knew they were about to perish. Psalm 23:4 says, “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.” The Rod of God is for correction, the Staff is for direction; Jesus would use both in the phrase, “Where is your faith?”.

In the testing noted in Mark, Peter did his famed “water walk,” at the time Jesus said, “how is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40); here, it’s where is your faith?” Both tell us that we can move from faith, although we have it. The faith issue links this to the prior teachings, their Light was fueled by faith, thus when faith was not applied, their Light did not shine. Did they make it to the other side? If so, the evidence proves the point, if not then all is lost.

And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee (8:26). 

Ahh, they made it! Faith won the course, and it was possible. The area of the Gadarenes was South along the Galilee side of the Sea of Galilee. Some Bible maps show the area directly across the lake, which would have been in the land of Gaulanitis; however, here we find, that they went to an area more toward Piloteriai, or nearer to Decapolis. Regardless, it was not on the same side of the lake as Capernaum.

When He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs (8:27).

We saw how Matthew said there were two, but his context shows: the man possessed with the devils, and the people possessed with Satan thinking. In Mark the man was chained, but continually broke free; here the man comes from within the city, but we will find that the term “Legion” will link all this together, showing how the man was once of the city, but then became demon possessed, as he was used by the people. Luke will link this with faith, showing how our measure of faith is enough to overcome the strongest devil. On the Lake the disciples were possessed by their own fear; then Jesus asked, “where was their faith?” Here, this man is possessed with devils, yet he is able to come to Jesus, regardless of the storm which the devils caused.

This man had “devils long time”; one would think that the devils had complete control over the man. This one lesson shows us that the old man is not a devil, but a nature which we took from the devil…. devilish yes, the devil… no. We took of the fruit from the wrong source, and it planted a “nature” or a guide to hell; but nonetheless a guide. The nature was then accepted and used by us. While we were using it, it was using us, yet we still have more authority than the devils. How? It didn’t make any difference if the person had “a devil”, “fifty devils” or “a legion of devils”; the devils can’t stop anyone from falling down and seeking the Mercy of Jesus.

The greatest battle we fight is against the old man (flesh); yet the “weapons of our warfare” are mighty through God, and so, the victory is promised. Those who know that devils are real, know they come out when commanded to do so. But go tell the old man “he is crucified,” and see what happens. Oh yes, there is a battle, but one wherein the victory was recorded for us before the battle began.

This one man desired to be free, indicating that the journey begins with a desire, and from the desire faith springs forth. At times it’s not a lack of faith, but not using it, the measure of faith is more than enough. Do we desire the works of darkness, more than the Light? If so, we will fail at faith, if not, we will win by faith.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God most High? I beseech You, torment me not (8:28).

The demon spoke, but the man worshipped Jesus. The phrase, “what have I to do with You?” means more to the Jew, than us. This man was over the age of thirteen, and he was an adult; thus it was assumed that if he did something evil, he deserved the Evil Eye. When a Jew is faced with something Evil, they will automatically say, Chas V’Shalom, which has been reduced to Cholila or Chas V’Chalila, all of which mean “Heaven Forbid,” thereby assuming that heaven will forbid the evil on earth. When complimenting a child, it’s proper for the Jew to say Imbeshreer, or Unbewitched, or Kein Ayin Hora, meaning No Evil Eye. All of these are requests without authority, and each moves the responsibility to heaven in order to remove the evil. Therefore, the demon used the title “Son of God,” thus tempting the Lord. In essence, the demon knew that sin was of the earth, not heave; but the Jew looked to heaven to remove demon possession. Jesus operated as the Son of Man based on Mercy; thus, the casting out of demons is based in Mercy as a son of man, yet the demons were attempting to get Jesus to operate as the Son of God.

When Jesus said He had the Power to forgive sins on earth, the Pharisees had a theological fit. To the Pharisee, it was up to God to remove the Evil Eye when the person reached Paradise; however, Jesus said if the Eye offend thee, pluck it out, thereby putting the responsibility back on the person. Today there are some unbelieving Pharisees who are offended when anyone says, “Have faith in God.” Do you wonder why? It doesn’t take long to discern their source: self-righteousness, pride in theology, faith in the self-nature and the deeds of the old man; Pharisees are void of Faith in God, but strong in trusting their self-righteousness.

(for He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For often-times it had caught him; and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven by the devil into the wilderness) (8:29).

This is interesting, since the man was not always under the influence of the devil, only “often times”, thus one can appear fine today, but demon possessed tomorrow.

Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to defeat the devil, and this demon drove the man into the wilderness to destroy the man. The devil counterfeits many things, but we find that the results of anything counterfeit are much different from the results of Truth. When Jesus came out of the wilderness, He proclaimed, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me..” as the Acceptable Year of the Lord unto Liberty was preached; but the devil drove this man into the wilderness to bind him in chains of darkness and fetters of torment. The devil does the binding; Jesus does the Loosing.

What else do we see here? The man was from the city, but driven into the wilderness; thus he is a type of backslider, one who has gone back. Yet God allowed him to taste of the corruption, but now he wants to return, but lacks the ability. What to do? What to do? Ahh, Jesus is here, it’s okay. Even if the old man is able to lead us into temptation, God is still able to deliver us (I Cor 10:13).

And Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him (8:30).

The term “Legion” connects this to Mark’s account, showing that we are viewing this event from a different prospective. From this encounter we assume that we must always ask the demons their name, but Jesus didn’t ask the demons their name to find out who they were, rather it was to expose the power in the Name of Jesus. It really doesn’t make any difference how many of them there are, the Name of Jesus applied by a son of man is always greater. Jesus is still operating from Mercy, and the disciples were also operating from Mercy. At times we forget, or assume that we must have the complete Power of heaven to take on devils. Not so, even Judas was able to cast out devils; it was Judas whom Judas couldn’t deal with.

There were many demons, but they also lied supposing they were one. Jesus discerned the demon asking What is your name, not What are your names. The demons are united, yet they are united in one evil.

And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep (8:31).

The word Deep here doesn’t refer to the Water, rather it’s the Greek Abussos from which we get the word Abyss meaning Bottomless, or without bottom, or without End. It wasn’t time to bind the devil, the devils knew it, but if they could get Jesus to make the error of acting out the beginning of the Night before the Day, then they would win.

But like all demons, they go one step too far, spelling out their own defeat. Mark shows that the demons besought Jesus, asking that He not send them away out of the country, and Luke adds to the concept, by showing that they wanted Jesus to bind them, as the people had bound the man. The demons wanted the Restoration of Israel to take place, but wait, if Judgment comes before Salvation, then all will be lost, and none saved. The temptation was to do something out of order, to change the process of events. No one is going to usher in the Night, the time and timing are in the hands of God.

This lesson shows that no devil can read someone’s mind; if he planted the tares, he merely brings the tares to the surface. One demon makes a suggestion in the mind of one person, another demon makes the same suggestion in the mind of another, and the people assume that they just read the other’s mind. How does this relate to discerning the thoughts of others by the Spirit? The intent, purpose, and result all separate the acts of the Spirit in us from the self-based, self-centered, self-exaltation deeds of devils. Reading someone’s mind doesn’t mean a thing; it’s being able to discern the cause and source, which comes from the Spirit of Truth in us.

And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them, and He suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked (8:32-33).

To the Jew any Swine is the center of all uncleanness; they don’t consider their dietary laws as hygienic, but ethical and religious. When Moses gave the people the Law, they said, “All the Lord has said, we will do and obey”; however, a more accurate translation would be “we will do and listen to”; to the Jew the wording, “Listen to” means to Understand. Faith still comes from hearing, and “the hearing” is a desire to enter into and do as the Lord commands.

The Jew knows that the dietary laws were given to them alone by God, but they assume God did it to separate them from the Goy. However, God told Jeremiah that the purpose in the Law was neither good or evil, rather it was to get the children in an area of obedience (Jere 7:21-23).

When God created the pig, He didn’t say, “This is evil, what have I done!”; rather when God created anything, He saw it was Good (Gen 1:12 et al). The Law of Moses was Good, but so was the devil when he was created as the anointed cherub who covered. It’s what man, or the devil does with the creation determining if it remains Good or becomes Evil.

In order for man to be created in the likeness of God, man had to have free moral choice, yet without choice there is no choice. Simply because we made the choice to be evil, doesn’t mean that God created us to be evil. Therefore, the saving of the soul brings us back to the intended Goodness God saw from the foundation of the world.

Why did God pick on the poor pig? God created animals to perform certain tasks. Before the fall, the thought of death for humankind was moot. After the fall came the Law of Sin and Death, and with Moses came the Law to define sin and death. The two give us the completed Law of Sin of Death. The purpose of certain animals was changed as a result of the fall; instead of eating grass, they consumed death from the ground, instead of eating fruit, they consumed garbage. Thus they became symbols of the fall; whereas, other animals became symbols of life. From Noah we found how man was granted the right to eat meat, and in the process however, the meat was granted the right to eat man. God wanted His people to place their minds on life; however, the result was, man placing his mind on what “not to eat,” rather than the blessing of being chosen.

How does this relate to the Christian? Now the Spirit speaks Expressly in the latter times some shall depart from The Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats; therefore, they will center on the flesh, rather than the Spirit (I Tim 4:1-3). Every creature of God is Good, nothing to be refused, that is…if we can receive it with thanksgiving, whether it’s pork or beans (I Tim 4:4). They will listen to the fears of the world, they will use food as a means to determine holiness. What wasn’t destructive in the eyes of the world 100 years ago, wasn’t sin; but as soon as the world said the element would kill us, we made it sin. We then equated sin to the definition of the world, not real wise. If we don’t like it, don’t eat it. If we can’t give thanksgiving for it, don’t even think of eating it.

Strong Meat belongs to them who are of Full Age, even those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Heb 5:14). Those of full age don’t discern good From evil; they discern both good and evil, and they need not taste of the fruit to detect the tree. The Law of Moses discerns good From evil by comparison, pointing to obedience without faith; whereas, the Law of the Spirit is based on making us Good by the change in nature unto the Faith.

These demons knew, that whether it was protecting the swine, or raising them for consumption, it didn’t make any difference; the intent was to get around the Law. These people received the Law of Moses, they lived in an area where the Law of Moses was practiced. So, to raise the unclean for human consumption was disrespect for the Law. The violation opened opportunity for the devil; thus the people used the possessed man to protect the swine, and they trusted in the works of the devil to protect their labors.

When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. They went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid (8:34-35).

Here come the people; Jesus made sure the man was clothed, and of a sound mind before the people had a chance to bind him again. Our hope is found in this one event; no matter how many demons come against us, no matter how many items of uncleanness are about us, Greater is He in us, than he in the world.

The warning is also here; these people wouldn’t be raising pigs if there wasn’t a market, so they used the cares of this world as a means to provide their income. When we sell the unclean to fill the treasury, it makes us unclean. This links to using the ways of the wicked to gain the wealth of the wicked. Using the wiles of the devil is the quickest way to give him front row seats in our lives; therefore, we are to war against the Wiles of the devil.

They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of devils was healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and He went up into the ship, and returned back again (8:36-37).

It was not only the man being healed, but the Means in which he was healed. The people were exposed; their evil trade was destroyed, and they got mad. The man was glad, he was free, the people were also free, but failed to discern it. We saw the faith of the man, but where is the faith of the people? Ahh, desire. The man wanted to be free; but also, the people were in bondage, yet they didn’t want to be free. These show two areas of exposure with two different results, based on how the people discerned the event. The man discerned freedom, while the people discerned destruction; yet the Power of the Lord was there to heal them all. The motivation of the man was freedom from possession; the motivation of the people was money.

Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him (8:38-39).

The man was told to preach the things which God did for him;so  he became a walking experience of the Mercy of God. As the town’s people came to their senses, they would seek mercy; therefore, the Lord left one who knew about Mercy to inform them.

And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned the people gladly received Him: for they were all waiting for Him (8:40).

When the people with the swine saw the demon possessed man set free, they told Jesus to leave, but these people waited with expected anticipation for Jesus.

And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought Him that He would come into his house: for he had one only daughter about twelve years of age, and she lay dying. But as He went the people thronged Him (8:41-42).

Luke will add to Mark, not only was Jairus a ruler of the synagogue, but we find that his name means Enlightener. Jairus became enlightened to the Power of Christ, as Luke connects this with the demon-possessed man, as well as to the people who rejected Jesus. The demon-possessed man had faith, he desired to be free, while the people desired riches. Here we find that Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue, and he was privy to all the things that the Pharisees were saying about Jesus. Yet he saw the hope for his daughter was in Jesus, not the Pharisees. His faith and desire connected; his desire was for his own daughter, and he was willing to seek Jesus, even if it meant rebuke from the other religious rulers, and even if it meant losing his papers. Thus his desire overrode his fears, causing him to believe.

And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any (8:43).

This woman was not demon possessed, but she was Satan possessed and bound over by her own dilemma. This woman is the comparison to the people who raised the pigs. Her illness was physical in nature, but she needed more than a physical healing. Again, we find belief and faith matching. This woman believed if she touched… yet her faith had to teach to the place where she could touch. Jairus believed the that the Lord was able to make his daughter live, and it will be the center of his focus when he hears some disrupting news.

Doctors have a purpose, but they can’t change our attitude; they can’t vacate our unforgiveness, and they can’t remove our bitterness. The best they can do, is teach us how to control our feelings, not how to be free of them. Doctors don’t treat sickness, they treat symptoms. Jesus goes to the source of the problem, two completely different methods.

In both of these cases we tend to look at Jairus, or the woman, but the key is to look at Jesus, He was walking in the Mercy of the Father. The Mercy in Him was so strong it actually penetrated His garments; thus touching His garment was the same as Jesus laying hands on them.

Came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched (8:44).

This woman was so ashamed of her condition, she came from behind, but her faith knew If she could only touch the garment of Christ, she would be healed. This woman looked at the garment of Jesus as her source; her act of faith was not in Jesus touching her, or in her ability to touch Jesus, rather her act of faith was reaching for His garment.

It was a sin for any Jew to touch this woman, but it was “a stoning offense” for her to touch any Jew. The Garment to this woman was a symbol of the Veil separating her from the holy of holies. In her condition she couldn’t enter the temple, much less touch the Veil; now Jesus is her connection to God’s Mercy. She was in a tough position. On one hand the Pharisees wouldn’t have a thing to do with her, yet they had to receive her sacrifice for her to be healed; thus she by-passed the middle man to gain her healing.

Knowing how a Jew feels about blood, we can see the choice before the disciples on the night of the Last Passover was great. To the Jew, any suggestion of consuming blood was sin upon sin; thus one could hold out milk, and say, “this is blood” or wine and say, “this is blood.” The suggestion to the Jew was the same as drinking blood, thus when the disciples heard, “This is My Blood, take drink.” It was more than mere choice, it was a total separation from what God gave to their fathers. They had the past to consider; Noah was allowed to eat pig, and Abraham was allowed to eat pig; but the children from Moses on were not. Did this mean that Noah and Abraham were evil? Not at all; it wasn’t the pig, but the obedience. On the Night of the Last Passover it was no different. If they loved Jesus, they would do as He said. Of course we have the Whacko who says if we love Jesus, we do as they say; thus Jesus told us to judge the Ways of a person. The disciples were to judge the Ways of Jesus, just as they were to judge the ways of the Pharisees. The Ways proved who Jesus was, just as the ways prove who the Whacko is.

And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, master, the multitude throng thee, and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched Me? (8:45).

The people were pushing, shoving, yet He says, Who touched Me? Merely touching Jesus isn’t going to bring our healing; touching Him by faith is. This woman touched His garment, not Him. Yet He felt Power leave Him. His garment is a type of the curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies; but it also represents the Unction over the Body. A million people can touch, yet gain nothing, while one with faith can touch, gaining much.

And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me (8:46).

The only time Jesus perceived being touched was when the Virtue left Him, thus Virtue leaves Him when faith touches Him. This woman didn’t say, “If only I can get someone to give a sacrifice for me”, or “if someone can pray for me”, no, she had to touch Jesus, she knew it had to be by her action of faith, thus she is really giving her prayer of faith.

And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately (8:47).

The woman’s act of faith was to reach the Garment, but here, there was an addition to the act of faith, one after the healing. We find that her body felt the impartation, but there remained another area, the act of her faith to announce what God did for her. This is interesting, since prior to being healed, she was in violation of the Law, but now she is healed, meaning that she is no longer in violation of the Law.

And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith has made thee whole; go in peace (8:48).

The word “whole” is the Greek word Sozo which denotes a protection as well as a healing, she knew in her heart she was protected: peace came through the Virtue, and her trembling left.

While He yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master (8:49).

As soon as one daughter heard she was whole, the news of the death of the other daughter came. This news seemed anything but good, but the result would be very good. Jairus would gain an experience regarding belief; an experience far out weighs an opinion.

They came to Jairus, not Jesus; but it was Jesus who will give the answer. Jairus had a choice, listen to the news or hear Jesus. He also could have said, “if it wasn’t for the woman, Jesus would have been on time.” It’s easy to blame, and hard to stand in faith.

But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole (8:50).

The first step for Jairus was to “fear not,” but in order to accomplish this, the second command of “believe only” had to take place, plus remaining quite. What was he to believe? Prior he told Jesus, “she shall live,” becoming the point of his “God Is” thinking. This was not a battle of faith, but the battle of believing what he said.

The news was worse than he expected, yet Jesus looked at him and said “believe only, and she shall be made whole.” The word Whole is the Greek Sozo, thus, Jairus was to base this on the past experience he just witnessed, coupled with his request. If Jesus knows all things, surely He knew that the daughter would die before He got there. Yet, He came based on “she shall live”; it has to remain the basis for the belief of Jairus.

And when He came into the house, He suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father, and mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth and they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid arise (8:51-53).

The voices of death filled the house of Jairus; Jairus heard the sounds of unbelief, but he believed and prevailed. Instead of preaching, Jesus removed the source of the unbelief. The word Scorn means to Deride, or to Treat with contemptuous mirth, or simply to Laugh at. Unbelief will either laugh out loud, or in the heart; but nonetheless it laughs at the Power, while running from it. This is an example of how the spiritual things are foolishness to the natural mind. Their unbelief and laughter caused them to hinder the miracle about to take place. There are times to preach the truth in love to counter the unbelief, and there are times to chase those with the hindering spirits out. This is also an allegory; the unbelief was in the same house as the need, yet in the same house was Jesus, thus this is much like our own souls, we have to cast off the unbelief, before we can “believe only”.

And her spirit came again, and she arose straight away: and He commanded to give her meat (8:55).

The use of the word “spirit” doesn’t mean the girl was Born Again, or spiritual; rather it refers to her vitality, or her breath coming back. She was not Resurrected, rather she was resuscitated, or brought back to the same flesh and body she had prior. Therefore, the same breath came back, she didn’t receive a New Breath.

And her parents were astonished: but He charged them that they should tell no man what was done (8:56).

This was not to protect Jesus, but the girl; there are some who simply can’t discern a miracle, and therefore, they would assume that the girl was the walking dead, ending up by making her some idol. “Come let us see the girl who was raised from the dead, and bring her an offering.” The same is done today; they make idols of miracles, rather than worship God who brought the miracle.

Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases (9:1).

Luke shows: that Jesus cast the demons out of the man, that the woman with the issue of blood was healed, and that the daughter of Jairus was raised from the dead; all these are the works of the ministry. The disciples didn’t have the Spirit, Grace, or the Ingress Aires (John 20:22-23) at this time; but their sins were forgiven. So, they went out to tell others how their sins could be forgiven in the Name of Jesus. Mercy for Mercy, freely they received and freely they would give.

Jesus sent the Apostles out among the people with His Dunamis power and Authority, since it takes both, Dunamis power is relative to the authority; thus the authority dictates the amount of power. Paul had special Dunamis, but anyone who has received Power from on High (Born Again) has Dunamis from on High.

Authority is the permission to do something, Power is the ability to carry it out. Jesus first grants Authority, but we can confuse it for Power, thinking we have it all, yet lack the Power. Jesus will tell us “Go”; but the rest of the phrase is “tarry for Power from on High”.

The Apostles couldn’t do a thing without the Name of Jesus, yet among these men was Judas, the traitor, the son of perdition. We could assume that Judas didn’t do the works, but ran to some corner to hide; however, we know they went out two by two, thus we know Judas did acts, so, it was “his ways” that were in question.

This also shows the Rock was being established, but the Church was yet future tense.

And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor script, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house you enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them (9:2-5).

Here they have the Name, they are sent, but it still took the people to Receive them, before the people could gain the reward. Luke also shows that they preached the Kingdom of God, but it doesn’t mean they had it; rather it’s still being prepared. At this point in time, they were still operating under Mercy, not Grace. We found in Mark how they didn’t understand the Cross or Resurrection, so how could they preach the Cross? They couldn’t, thus this Gospel was the Gospel of Mercy; yet they were commanded to heal the sick, showing that the basics of the Gospel still calls for signs, regardless of any excuses to avoid them.

This area corresponds with Mark 6:7; thus between Mark, Matthew, and Luke… we find that the apostles went out prior to mid-point of the earthly ministry. But it also proves that we are called, trained, chosen, trained, sent, then trained the more. The Harvest hasn’t changed or passed away; how then can the means to bring the Harvest pass away? The Field and Sea are still there; we can run from it, or enter the call to cast the Net; the Fishing is Good and the Net is able.

And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead (9:6-7).

It was the efforts of the disciples, but it was the Name of Jesus perplexing Herod. Accordingly Herod knew enough about Jewish prophecy to get him into trouble. Herod assumed, that in order to do the works the disciples were doing, one had to be raised from the dead. In part, he was right; however, in principle he was wrong. Jesus was looking ahead to the Cross, as He often called the Cross done, although it was yet future tense. The disciples didn’t have the foundation or position in which to call the flesh dead, but Jesus knew that the day was coming. Some contend that these acts are to introduce the Gospel, it may be; yet all of us are sent to introduce the Gospel.

The disciples were going about doing the work, yet Jesus wasn’t personally with them; thus it’s our belief in the Name of Jesus, producing the effectiveness to the Name.

And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of Whom I hear such things? And he desired to see Him (9:8-9).

These Jews knew the Scriptures, and they knew, Elijah must first come; but they confused John with Jesus, assuming that John would become Elijah after he was raised from the dead. The Jew also held the belief that when someone was beheaded, it’s impossible for them to be resurrected, or to be raised from the dead. Some of us have the same Jewish fable-thinking, assuming that Elijah the man will be one of the Two Witnesses, or he must be raised from the dead in order to appear. However, Jesus cleared the issue on the Mount of Transfiguration. John was the first stage of “Elijah must first come”; thus the message and position doesn’t need the man Elijah, but it does need the message.

Both Moses and Elijah stood with Jesus on the Mount; Luke will show the importance of the event as it relates to the Two Witnesses who stand for the Remnant, as compared to the One Witness that we of the Day have. They knew that the call of Elijah began with John, and they knew that they were given more ability than the disciples of John, they simply didn’t understand the call of Elijah as a message, nor did they grasp John’s role in all this.

And the apostles, when they were returned, told Him all that they had done. And He took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida (9:10).

Prior it appeared that Jesus went to a lonely place to mourn the death of John; however, the accounts show that it wasn’t to mourn John, but to give the apostles rest. Bethsaida is on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee; Matthew tells us that it was just after Jesus heard about John being beheaded when He departed to a desert place (Matt 14:13). Mark adds, Jesus told the apostles “come you yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). The premise was not to sit around and mourn for John, it was to give the disciples rest.

And the people, when they knew it, followed Him: and He received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto Him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place (9:11-12).

Jesus didn’t ask the people to follow, since the purpose was to give His apostles a rest, but Jesus wasn’t ready to rest; He was always willing to heal those who came to Him in faith. Although He is sitting on the Right Hand Side of Majesty On High, He has not stopped being our Provider. Not all needed healing, but those who did, received; however, they received after Jesus taught them about the Kingdom. The first premise of the Kingdom to these people was still Mercy: receiving it, holding it, understanding it, and doing it.

Luke points out how the apostles just came back, were told to rest, yet they are the ones telling Jesus to send the people away. After all, Jesus did bring them there to rest, who are all these inconsiderate people? On the same note, since it was their suggestion, it now becomes their responsibility to feed the people.

But He said unto them, Give you them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fish; except we should go and buy meat for all this people (9:13).

John shows Jesus said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, so these may eat?” (Jn 6:5); therefore, the apostles told Jesus, “send them away, so they can buy”; but now they say, “where can anyone buy in this place?” They didn’t consider that it would be just as difficult for the people, as it would be for them. They were willing to send the people out, but not willing to go out. James points to this as a testing of our faith, when someone comes to our door in need, do we tell them “have faith?” Or do we do something regarding their situation? (James 2:15-18).

Prior when they were sent, their needs were taken care of; this lesson was one where they saw a need, they knew something had to be done, but what? We can run around with our five loaves and two fish, or we can hold a fund raiser, or we can go to Jesus and have the need taken care of.

For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down (9:14-15).

The apostles didn’t go out, the people weren’t sent, rather Jesus had a better plan, taking less effort, yet holding a greater reward.

Then He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude (9:16).

This event appears in all four accounts, and it gives us a time table in John, and connects to how Jesus cares for the people. The doubters and pouters will tell us that this event didn’t happen, but they fail to see in the mouth of two or more witnesses a fact is affirmed.

When the prophet Elisha came to Gilgal, there was a great drought in the land. At the time Elisha had a prophet school, thus the prophets obtained various plants for their meal; however, within those plants was poison. There are times when we gather what appears to be good food, but within the food could be poison. As soon as the meal was ready, the prophets tasted then said, “O you man of God, there is death in the pot” (II Kings 4:38-40). Elisha said, “bring meal”; the meal is used to make bread, but it doesn’t mean the prophet made bread, rather it shows that he knew to add the makings of Bread to take away the poison. Was there poison in the pot? Yes; the others knew it, and they tasted it. What good was this meal going to do? As soon as the meal was introduced, the prophet told the other prophets to eat. How did the prophets know the pot was now free of poison? If the meal was the answer, why didn’t they put the meal in the pot to begin with? Why didn’t they know to put meal in the pot? Prophet schools are a waste of time, if they don’t give us lessons of faith. The prophets believed The prophet; their faith reached beyond the “natural danger” to a place of acceptance to be free. They could have said, “Oh man of God, the days of meal have passed” or “Oh man of God, you taste first”; but none of those were issues of faith. Their belief knew what the Prophet said to do, they had to do by faith. Some of us would have said, “Yeah right, go ahead; have a good time. I think I will sit this one out” or “meal is unclean to me, thanks anyway.” The same is true here; the apostles could have said, “We don’t have enough, let’s feed who we can” or they could have said, “Feed these people? What for? They will only turn on You.” However, they went to Jesus, the source of all blessing, Who produced a blessing.

And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets (9:17).

Only after Jesus blessed the product did it become sufficient; the first place we go with our wherewithal is to Jesus; we don’t run about filling self-desires or using the ways of the world to meet our need.

This lesson also shows us that we may not have a thing, but someone will give; then we take the gift to Jesus, He takes, He blesses, and He increases to the point past sufficiency for the sake of the people.

And it came to pass, as He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him: and He asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again (9:18-19).

In reference to this question we find that this is a different location and time from either Mark or Matthew; thus we are given additional information. Matthew shows that this question was after the feeding of the four thousand (Matt 16:10), but just before the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1), as well as along the coasts of Ceasarea Philippi (Matt 16:13). Luke shows us that this question was asked more than once, for good reason. Each answer added to the other; in John we find that the first time was a Revelation from the Father, but then Peter started to use it for self-honor and glory, and then was told by Jesus, “Simon son of Jonah, or Peter, do you think you are a son of a prophet?

He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God (9:20).

Regardless of what others say, Who do we say Jesus is? There is a difference between Peter’s answer here, and the one to come, when Peter adds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16 & Jn 6:69). The first time is after the feeding when Jesus speaks of His Flesh and Blood, yet many of the disciples walked away (Jn 6:66). The Father gave Peter a Word at the time, as incentive to remain with Jesus; but Peter began to use it outside of the Revelation (Matt 16:16). Of course Peter had no idea it was a Revelation, he thought he came up with it. “Sounds good to me, think I will use it”; as long as we give God the glory fine. But it’s not what Peter did. In truth he missed the warning, and he soon felt that everything he said was Revelation (Matt 16:22). Any of us can fall into the same trap, the Spirit gives us a Word for someone, yet we think we’re a Prophet. We can allow our minds to run wild, coming up with all sorts of fables and follies.

The people assumed that Jesus was someone raised from the dead, or a soul from some dead prophet; but God is the God of the Living, not the God of the dead. Jesus must live, to live in us.

And He straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing (9:21).

Why? This had to do with the Cross and Resurrection, they didn’t have a clue what the spiritual entailed. They understood Mercy, but Grace is something you must have in order to understand it. Many cult systems define Grace as “Mercy, unmerited”…. meaning…that they don’t have a clue either. It’s one thing to be the Christ of Mercy, as the Son of man, but the term “Christ of God” refers to the Son of God. In John 1:49 Nathanael called Jesus, “the Son of God”; but Jesus answered by saying, “Son of man” (Jn 1:51). Nathanael was not filled with the Holy Ghost; he was moved by the moment, meaning it was excusable. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost; thus for him to say “this is the Son of God” would be permissible, since it would be by Revelation.

Here, Jesus is still operating as the Son of Man; the goal of the ministry is changing to face the Cross. The preliminary evidence is laid, the Words are presented, the path is now centered on the goal. Until Jesus is raised from the Dead, the positional ability for these disciples to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God or the Christ of Grace, was not within their authority. Really, it’s unlawful for anyone to confess Jesus as Lord but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3).

Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day (9:22).

This separates the positions; first the Son of Man must complete these efforts as the Son of Man, then the Son of God can move into our hearts. Although He is speaking of what the Son of man must suffer, it’s still based on the Cross and Resurrection, something the disciples didn’t understand. We can also see that “the Son of man position” relates to Mercy, just as our son of man position does; and the position of the Son of God to Grace, just as our position of the sons of God relate to the Resurrection. The Spirit of Holiness will make the Declaration regarding Jesus as the Son of God by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4). It doesn’t mean Jesus wasn’t prior; it means that the Declaration came at the Resurrection, since the Resurrection opened the door for us to be sons of God.

There are some who consider this to be a negative statement; so did Peter, but he was rebuked. If we understand the difference between the words Negative and Positive we can also separate ourselves from foolish conclusions. The word Positive means “Of A Certainty” or “Confident,” or “Moving In A Direction Of Increase”; whereas, the word Negative means “Denial,” “Something Less Than Zero,” “Opposition,” or “Resistance.” This statement would have been negative if Jesus would have left off, “be raised the third day”; however, He didn’t, the statement may not have been pleasing to the ears of Peter, but it had a result, looking to the Increase.

The same could be said about the phrase, “In the Law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; yet, they not hear Me, saith the Lord” (I Cor 14:21). Paul tells us that speaking in Unknown Tongues is a negative sign, but only to the unbeliever or unlearned, not the Believer. Since it’s God speaking by His Spirit in us, it can’t be the Speaker termed the unbeliever; rather if the unbeliever or unlearned hear Unknown Tongues, and they fail to understand them, they will attack, mock, or reject them. However, since it’s God speaking, what would the mocking be? It would be against God; thus Paul tells us, it’s better if we speak in words which the unbeliever and unlearned can understand.

We find that there is no Commandment telling us that we have to speak in unknown tongues, or even prophesy; but there is a Commandment telling us never to forbid anyone from speaking in unknown tongues (I Cor 14:36-39). The carnal Corinthians had the Spirit, yet the disciples at this point in time (In Luke) didn’t. Since the disciples lacked the Spirit, they were among the unlearned, and to them spiritual matters would be foolishness. Peter proved it with his, “Not so Lord” or rebuking Jesus for speaking of the Cross and Resurrection. Peter saw no logic in the upcoming Cross, no purpose, or goal. Jesus wasn’t keeping it a secret, rather He was the only one at the time who had the position to speak on such matters. John the Baptist was dead, yet he was the only other one who had the Holy Ghost for the ministry position, to make such a statement.

And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it (9:23-24).

Up to this point the teaching has been on the foundation of Mercy, the very element allowing us to deny the self. Now we are looking at the Cross of Jesus, being our example in reference to picking up our cross.

When Elijah called Elisha, Elisha said, “Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you” (I Kings 19:20), and Elijah said, “Go, back again: for what have I done to you?”. What? Does saying good-bye in some way harm the Prophet? It was stopping his progress; before we can truly pick-up our Cross, the past must be dead, and the old fleshly nature imputed dead. The Prophet denied himself; his goal was the calling of the ministry, and Elisha would finish the ministry of Elijah, yet he wanted to bid the past good-bye. Some of us want to bid the old man good-bye, perhaps have a little going away party; but we must consider him dead.

Matthew 8:21-22 reads, “And another of his disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead.” Clearly the context is following Jesus, but the orthodox Jew admits, they don’t know what to make of the verse. They assume the physically dead must bury the physically dead, or that Jesus was telling the disciple to leave his father’s body unburied, which is unthinkable to the Jew. Jesus said no more than the statement by Elijah to Elisha; it’s not the physically dead, but the dead past. Leave those things on the Cross; we must move to the Resurrection to be the New Creation in Christ.

Will there be times when some of the old nature will attempt to creep back in? Yes, but it’s not creeping back in, it’s being exposed. Something hidden in a corner somewhere that is a “shame” to our goal will be exposed so we can be free. God will allow the temptation to come, simply to expose the lust, so He can deliver us from the evil. Therefore, everyone is lead away by their own lust (James 1:14), thus it’s the lust exposed bringing “count it all a joy,” since it’s time to be rid of the lust attempting to trip us (James 1:2).

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (9:25).

What good does it do any of us to have the fullness of the Abrahamic Covenant, yet reject the purpose of the Blood Covenant? In the latter days the Woman will gain the entire earth, as she sits on the mountains of the world; but she will also become lukewarm, as she draws others into hell with her. It’s the result that Jesus wants us to look at. If we die to the Self, as we allow the Holy Ghost to Crucify us, and then if we submit to the Spirit, as we allow Him to live the life of Jesus through us…. we will gain our reward in heaven. If there is a washing of the water by the Word, as the Word is discerning and dividing…. if there is a growth from the little children to the youngmen…. if the Blood of Jesus is cleaning us from all unrighteousness…. then the Justification is taking place so we can be Glorified; yet it’s not going to happen if we are not Born Again.

For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s and of the holy angels (9:26).

The word Ashamed is first seen as a result of the fall (Gen 2:25 & 3:10); Ashamed refers to Guilt, but it also holds the thought of Reluctance Through Fear. The sin manifested, produced the guilt, but Adam felt that being naked was the sin, rather than partaking of the fruit. Thus he looked at the result, not the cause. The “fall nature” defined the sin as one thing, in order to hide the real sin from the mind of Adam. This is the same thing that a lust will do; it will manifest as one thing to hide its root cause. It may manifest as greed, but the root is our fear of being accepted by people. Is it a lust? Yes, if we fear people, or fear not being accepted, we will tell them what they want to hear, rather than what they need to hear.

There are two main Greek words used for the English word Ashamed, one means “to be Part of a process to disfigure”, and the other means “to Move in a direction to disfigure.” The latter of these two is used here, referring to the direction, rather than being a part of the Body to bring about the disfigurement. John says, those who are run by the spirit of antichrist came from us, but were not a part of us; thus this reference goes to those who disfigure the Body by refusing to Deny the Self.

A lust based in envy is shame; it’s determined to disfigure our New Creation. When this type of lust is exposed we should not feel guilty. If we are aware of the process, we will view the lust as an enemy. However, if we begin to use “the lust to envy” as a tool to get our own way or make excuses for it, or attempt to make it sound as if it wasn’t a lust to envy… but something someone else caused…then, we will not only miss the cleaning. But if so, we will allow the disfiguring element to remain as leaven, ending using the spirit that produced it (James 4:1-5). James shows that if we ignore the lust, we can still receive a good gift from God, yet the lust will cause us to make the gift a temptation to trap others with (James 4:1-4 & 1:13-17).

But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God (9:27).

Both Matthew and Mark point to this verse; but Matthew says, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom” (Matt 16:28). Mark says, “Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power” (Mark 9:1). Just prior it was, “let the dead bury the dead,” not “some shall not taste of death.” This has nothing to do with physical death, but it does pertain to the second death.

After the Resurrection, all of the disciples were upbraided with their unbelief; thus unbelief is a form of corruption, yet corruption is death. The Book of Revelation tells us that those who are partakers of the First Resurrection are free of the Second death (Rev 20:6). Judas would taste of the Second death, as his position is seen in the lake of fire with the devil (Rev 20:10).

In all the accounts, referring to this event the word “Taste” is the Greek Geuo meaning to Sample, and metaphorically it means to either Partake of, or To prove, but this has nothing to do with physical death; it has to do with soul death. On the other hand we taste of death by imputing the flesh dead on the Cross.

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray (9:28).

Matthew says, “after six days” (Matt 17:1) Mark says, “after six days”; however they don’t say it was exactly six days, rather they note it was After six days; Luke says About Eight days; thus the one number missing is Seven. Seven is after Six, and about Eight, there is a mystery in all these numbers explaining the Mount of Transfiguration experience as it relates to our Sabbath being found in Jesus.

And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering (9:29).

Luke doesn’t tell us that Jesus was Transfigured, but he does add some elements to the Transfiguration process. The Greek word used for the English “Transfigured” is the same Greek word from which we get the English Metamorphosis, which is not the change, it’s the process during the change. Thus, the Mount experience we go through, is the changing process, and the purpose is the saving our souls.

We enter the process by making the decision to deny the self, and if we attempt to save our own soul, we will never enter the process. The number Six refers to man, the number Eight means New Beginnings, thus we move from the things of man, to the Rest of God in the process of Transfiguration, for a New Beginning.

Transformed is a change on the outside, which we obtain by Mercy, while Transfigured is the change on the inside which we obtain by Grace; however, there is also Self-Transformed, where one wears the mask of righteousness, but inside Satan still rules (II Cor 11:13-16). One can be self-transformed, but no one can be self-transfigured. The method of self-transformed is based in self-righteousness: see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, yet remain evil. The Transfiguration and Transformation by God is much different, it’s a process in the change of natures.

This really connects to the Process, explaining James’ comments. We could be solid as the Rock in many areas of our walk, but hidden back somewhere, is a lust to envy planted by the enemy before we entered the kingdom. The time and timing for “the exposure unto the cleaning” may be future, but it’s in the Plan. Then, one day, out of the blue comes corrupt thoughts. What to do? Hide them? No; it won’t work. Ignore them? We can attempt to; but it won’t work. Then, have we lost our Salvation? No, not right. What then? The answer is…to see the exposure, deal with it by doing what we’re suppose to do, and allow the New Man to do what He does, which is to make us “Free indeed” by “Justify Us.”

The word Fashion as it’s used here, means the View, or How one Sees Something. Some of them would See the Kingdom from their view point at the time, then have their view point enlarged greatly on the Day of Pentecost. The word, Countenance means the Surface Appearance; therefore, Peter saw the Surface change, then he formed his own view point regarding the evidence, thereby moving him to the desire to make three tabernacles. Showing the concept of spiritual matters being foolishness to the natural mind, the natural mind will come up with foolish suggestions regarding spiritual matters all the time.

The word Glistering/Glistening means Jesus was Radiant, the Greek tells us the that the Origin was pure Light; thus Jesus held the Pure Light as its Origin. This description of Jesus on the Mount is the only place where we find this change unto Pure White produced from the Light within. Yet, we don’t see His Feet at all; not in one word in any of the accounts regarding this Transfiguration, do we find the Footstool. This is the Salvation Jesus, the Jesus of the Day; the footstool is not a concern.

Later in the Book of Revelation, we find the Judgment Jesus, as the Son of man, and then we do see His feet. The Transfigured Jesus is two-fold, the Law and Prophets are talking to Him; thus we see the Son of Man, but we also see Jesus as the Head of the Body with the Body, and so, we see Him as the Son of God as well.

In reference to Transfigured, or the Greek Metamorphoo, we find that it comes from two Greek words, both of importance to the New Birth. The word, Meta means an Intermediate Position or a Position between Two Positions, with the prior being the inferior with the future the Greater. The Greek Morphoo means the Form, thus the Meta Morphoo means the Intermediate Position between Forms. In the classic Greek, Morphoo was used when an artist would change the shape of his clay to represent something. Thus it pointed to the changing process. With the addition of Meta we find the intermediate position, with the intended result as something sought after because of the intermediate position. Does it explain it better? The Transfiguration is the place between places, the position change was to take place, Jesus the Son of man would go to the Cross, the Spirit of Holiness would declare Jesus the Son of God by the Resurrection.

In Galatians 4:19 Paul said, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”; the word Formed is the Greek Morphoo. Paul shows that Christ, being formed in us, is a process, thus Grace is not salvation, it’s the heavenly means to reach the salvation of our souls through Christ. For the Galatians, they ventured off the path, and they heard something which sounded Godly, they had Scripture and the prior commands from God to the men Abraham and Moses. It seemed like the right thing to do, yet it was something which God gave to a people who lacked the Spirit, not to a people who had the Spirit.

Paul also used Metamorphoo in his teaching to the Corinthians regarding the process of growth; however, instead of being translated as Transfigured, it was translated as Changed, showing the intent of the process. Paul said, “Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Cor 3:17-18). The method for the change is the Spirit of the Lord in us, the purpose is to finish the Change unto the Glory of the Lord; thus we are given the Glory within by the Gift of Grace as the evidence of something not seen, to support our faith unto the finished product, which is our hope.

And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah (9:30).

Moses represents the Law, thus the Law of Moses is the Body of Moses; the symbols are displayed before us….. Jesus in us as the hope of Glory, and the Law and Prophets as the Two Witnesses. When Michael contends with the devil over the body of Moses, Michael doesn’t bring a railing accusation, but says, The Lord rebuke you (Jude 9). The dispute isn’t over the physical body of Moses, it’s over the Law being misused.

The False Prophet surfaces with all the self-desires, pride, and ego, or the fullness of the authority of the First Beast, yet when he surfaces, the devil will be bound. The False Prophet will stand with the “working of Satan”; thus those who end, as this Beast, never came against the wiles of the devil in our Season. Rather, they enjoyed them, enhanced them, or used them….even carrying them into the Night. The synagogue of Satan is seen in the Day and Night, and the two horns of the goat relate to two Seasons (Rev 2:9, 3:9 & 13:11).

We know Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the Prophets; now Luke shows they Speak to Jesus, they don’t act for Jesus. The Law and Prophets testify of Jesus, they don’t confess Jesus.

Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (9:31).

This doesn’t stop at the Decease of Jesus; rather it points to the Decease He should Accomplish, or the reason for the Death of Jesus. Here we find that Moses and Elijah appeared In glory, and they didn’t appear as The Glory. There will be many “deaths” to take place on the Cross: The Law and Commandments, as the handwriting of ordinances, will be nailed to the Cross. We will also impute the death of our flesh to the Cross, the death of the power of the sin will be nailed to the Cross, the fear of the world will be nailed to the Cross, as well as many other things binding us to earth, or the world (Col 2:14-16 et al). The Cross becomes the Passover Door, the point where the Blood and Water from Jesus becomes a barrier between the Body of Christ and the enemy.

But Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him (9:32).

Prior Luke told us that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, but here we find that Jesus is the Glory they appeared in; thus the Law and Prophets didn’t incorporate into Jesus, they were the Two Witnesses, assigned to the Night, and they will be the basis to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool. On the Mount we see Jesus as the Son of man and Son of God, as the Light for the Day fills His garment; but we also see the Two Witnesses of the Night, both Seasons accomplished by the Demise in Jerusalem, and surely not all will see the second death, but all will experience physical death, it’s still appointed unto all to die once, then comes the Judgment.

And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said (9:33).

Peter wanted to build three tabernacles, but he reacted simply because he didn’t know what to say, it would have been better to “only believe” (Mark 9:6). There are times when we as Christians really don’t know what to do, but we want to do something: start a ministry, feed the poor, rebuke the pastor, rebuke the government, do something, but our desire is based on our self-desires, or the emotions of the moment, not on “Hear Ye Him”. The command will be Hear ye Him, thus faith comes by hearing, unless we Hear ye Him, we are acting in presumption; at this point Peter hadn’t heard. To Peter is seemed like the right thing to do, giving honor to these three figures. However, two of those figures were subordinate to Jesus, the three tabernacles would have made them equal, not the purpose for the vision.

While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud (9:34).

Luke points out that the cloud overshadowed the disciples; the metaphor Cloud refers to Witness. Thus the Witness overshadowed them. How many Witnesses were there? Jesus as the Word is a Witness, the Law and Prophets are Two Witnesses and Peter thought to build three tabernacles; but would it be a Witness? Or would it become a memorial becoming a shrine, turning into idols?

And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him (9:35).

The Voice didn’t come from the Law and Prophets, it came from the Cloud, and in the Cloud was the Father, the purpose of the Witnesses. It’s the Father who will use the Two Witnesses to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool; the Father is not going to use three shrines.

Later Peter will hear Jesus say, “what do you care, you follow Me.” Here is the foundation, “Hear ye Him”; if we run around hearing the Law or hearing the winds of doctrine, how can we Hear ye Him? How do we “hear ye Him?” In days past, God spoke in various manners; but since the words were spoken on this Mount, then the only way anyone hears from God is by Jesus (Heb 1:1-2). If Mohammad didn’t hear from Jesus, he didn’t hear. If anyone didn’t hear from Jesus, they didn’t hear God. “Greater is He in you, than he in the world,” thus the He in you is the New Man, the Spirit of Truth, the voice of Jesus as the Word in us (James 1:21).

The Father didn’t say, “Here My Son, then the Law and Prophets”, nor did He say, “Here is My Son with the Law and Prophets”, nor did He say, “If you want, hear My Son, if not, hear someone else, there are many ways to Me.” This saying narrows it down; there is only one Way, and no matter who they are, they must face Jesus, either at the Table as a saint, or on the last day. Even in the Night, the Two Witnesses are dressed in sackclothe, as they preach repentance, not salvation. The Everlasting Gospel is based in Judgment, but it’s still “Hear ye Him.”

Who is going to administer the Judgment? Every eye will see Him, it will be Jesus as the Son of man. Therefore, the Everlasting Gospel reads, “Fear God, and give glory to Him: for the Hour of His judgment has come: and worship Him who made haven, and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters” (Rev 14:7). “All things were made by Him; without Him was not anything made that was made” (Jn 1:3): in reference to, “In the beginning was the Word”, with, “He came unto His own, His own received Him not” (Jn 1:1 & 1:11). It’s still “Hear ye Him.”

Peter would later comment on this experience, telling us, that although he heard the Voice of the Father, and although the cloud overshadowed him, he still didn’t have the Spirit; he still didn’t have the Better Word of Prophecy. Faith was at Peter’s finger tips, but without the Spirit, he couldn’t mix his faith with the hearing to gain Faith (II Pet 1:17-21). The prophecy came to the scribes from the Holy Ghost; therefore, in order to understand the prophecy, it takes the Holy Ghost to interpret it. Intellectualism can’t interpret it, theology can’t interpret it, the world can’t interpret it, the sons of perdition can’t interpret it, and although all these attempt to, they end with private conclusions (II Pet 1:17-21).

And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone, And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen (9:36).

The phrase, “in those days” refers to the days prior to the Resurrection; thus the knowledge to understand would come on Pentecost. After Pentecost the disciples would be able to present Grace, as they speak of Jesus as the Christ with all the proper authority and power. This again confirms why they were not allowed to speak on Jesus as the Christ of Grace, or Jesus as the Son of man on the Cross.

Jesus didn’t give up on the Jews because of the Cross, rather the disciples were first sent to the Jews after Pentecost (Acts 1:6-8). Salvation through Grace was presented to the Jews, then to the Gentiles; in all cases, the signs and wonders were part of the presentation. The forgiveness of sins by Mercy also has signs and wonders as part of the presentation; they continue until “He who now Lets” takes us out of here. Signs are God’s signature, wonders give the signs validity, and the greatest is when someone is moved from darkness into Light by the New Birth.

Matthew shows the phrase, “in those days,” referred to the time period until the Son of man was raised from the dead (Matt 17:9). This also shows why Matthew said there were fourteen generations from Babylon to Christ, yet only thirteen are listed (Matt 1:12-17). Matthew doesn’t say fourteen generations from Babylon to Jesus, or from Babylon to Christ Jesus; thus he is opening an area hidden from the prior generations. The Body of Christ is the hidden Generation, known as the time, or dispensation of the Gentile.

And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met Him (9:37).

Luke explains, it was the next day,and  the only thing happening on the day of the Transfiguration was the transfiguration. This tells us, that during our time of transfiguration we place our hearts on “Hear ye Him”.

Moses had three mountains, Sinai, Gerizim, and Ebal; Jesus also had three mountains. The Sermon on the Mount brought us Pardon and Mercy, the Transfiguration points to Grace, the Cross on Golgotha gave us Jehovah-Jireh. Recalling how Jesus said He would be raised similar in manner as Moses raised the serpent, we also recall the Staff Moses used was called a Nace, which also means Standard or Staff and metaphorically means Cross by it’s shape. Thus, Jewish history shows that Moses placed a Cross piece near the top of the Staff to hang the serpent from. Of course this doesn’t mean Jesus is the serpent, it shows how He defeated the serpent(s) through death (Heb 2:14).

The Mounts of Jesus are all for us, and not one is against us; not one holds a cursing in any aspect. When Jesus came down from the Sermon on the Mount, He found sickness; when He came down from the Mount of Transfiguration He found demon possession, as well as unbelief among His disciples. Yet He healed the sick, cast out the devil, then provided the method for His disciples to overcome unbelief. Thus, Jesus always provides the answer, or a route of escape.

And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech Thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not (9:38-40).

When Peter, James and John were on the mount they heard the Father say, “This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him”; when they come down from the mountain there was another father with his only son, but the devil was tearing this man’s son to pieces.

Matthew shows that the demon tossed the child into the fire and water; thus the child was possessed with an evil spirit of suicide. The demon brought fear, but the Mount of Transfiguration established faith. The battle of the works of the devil attacking at the base of the mountain shows the devil had no place in the Transfiguration, neither has he any part in ours: greater is He in us.

And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring your son here (9:41).

If there is no other verse in the entire New Testament which tells us how the children of promise have authority, this is it. Jesus merely asked, “why don’t you have the faith to believe in the Power I have given you?” This man would never have brought his son if he didn’t have some belief, but his belief was based in someone else doing the effort. How many times have we heard someone who goes to church,and even claims to have the Spirit say, “why don’t you cast the devil out of them?” They have the same power, but their belief is centered in someone else doing the effort. This man admitted how he “besought” the disciples; the word Besought is the Greek Deomai meaning to ask or make known a need that one is unable to fill. This man came expecting, but things weren’t turning out the way he thought, causing his unbelief to gain over his belief. His belief was still based in others doing the work, or in what the disciples could do; thus when they began to fail, his belief took a trip to another country. By limiting his belief to the efforts of man, he was using his own pre-conceptions as a guide. This is different from Jairus, or the Centurion. Jairus believed Jesus was able; he didn’t run around expecting the disciples to do what he knew Jesus could do. We tend to do the same, rather than considering it’s the Power of Christ through the person, we chase after the person, ending with putting our belief in the person.

And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father (9:42).

This is the Power of the Transfiguration, giving us three areas, the removal of evil spirits (attitudes, or the flesh), then the healing of our souls, then the Deliverance. The actual event was given to us in Matthew and Mark, but Luke explores the Power of His Christ. All of us: came from Babylon, all followed the spirit of disobedience, and all took of the fruit or used it to our advantage. Contrary to what the world assumes, the spirit of disobedience is bent on tossing us into the fire of hell, or into the depth of bitter waters.

Jesus wasn’t putting on a show, He cast the devil out, then presented the free son to his father. The weapons of our warfare are Mighty Through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We say unto the Mountain, Be Gone; then have faith in the ability of Jesus to clean us, then present us to the Father.

And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, He said unto His disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men (9:43-44).

These sayings refer to the many times that Jesus would tell them how He must die in Jerusalem. The disciples saw the Mighty Power of God, and anyone would assume that no one could touch Jesus, that no one could harm Him. Yet He is telling the disciples that there will be pain, harm, and what would appear to be evil events taking place; therefore, they were not to form preconceived conclusions. Rather, they were to believe in what Jesus told them, as a foundation for holding faith in the adverse event.

But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask Him of that saying (9:45).

We now understand how these disciples preached Mercy through the Pardon of sins, with signs following, yet didn’t have a clue about the Cross and Resurrection. Mercy is still the ability for us to operate in Grace in a Godly manner.

Prior Luke taught us about denying the self, now he joins the concept to picking up our Cross.

Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great (9:46-48).

The word Least means “In decrease,” suggesting humbleness; the word Greatness would become evident when the Spirit confesses Jesus through them after Pentecost. The Greater Works are performed when we no longer give a theological opinion, but allow Christ to live through us. This also goes back to the “least in the kingdom,” showing how the least in the kingdom is greater….that is… when they don’t go about attempting to make everyone think they are great.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils, in Thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us (9:49).

The prior teaching was a warning not to hinder the children, and now John recalls how he rebuked one outside the group; however, John isn’t bragging, rather he is asking what he should do. John like many of us, rebuked one for doing good, simply because they were not among us, yet, it was a hindering act. Now John is very concerned, he knows it was wrong, but it’s done, now what?

And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us (9:50).

Jesus did not say, “those for Me, are not against Me”; rather He used the plural, “Us”, showing that even if the man was a son of perdition, he couldn’t do works without leaving some seed on the ground. Paul reflected on this by saying that, some preach Jesus out of Agape love, yet others from the carnal heart of strife and envy, nonetheless, Christ is preached; and if the people hear about Christ, they will have the opportunity to believe (Ph’l 1:15-18). Paul is talking about the hearing, not the speaking. James refers to the speaking, showing that speaking from envy and strife is still using the wisdom of the world. Paul’s comments indicate that even if someone preaches from strife and envy, some truth will come forth; if the hearer is seeking Truth, they will gain, but the speaker is still in trouble. This is the same thing we saw in Mark 16:16; even if they don’t believe, someone will hear, and those who hear and believe the signs, will follow.

And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem (9:51-53).

Prior, He talked about what was going to happen in Jerusalem, and the center of His focus has changed to the Cross; the people lacking understanding rejected Him. Their time would come after the Resurrection and Accession when the disciples receive Power from on High. These steps to the Cross all show how much pertains to the one week, as well as how much the Lord loves us. Jesus didn’t suffer to gain some spot in heaven, and He didn’t suffer to make Himself a martyr; He did it based on His love for His brethren, of which we are a part.

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, will You that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijas did? (9:54).

Here James and John received the concept of being Elijah; yet they misinterpreted the call, presuming they were to do the acts of the man Elijah, rather than preach the message. When Elijah called fire down from heaven, it was based on the king seeking idols, with the question, “Is there no God in Israel?” (II Kings 1:1-10). In essence James and John were suggesting that Jesus was seeking idols, and there was no God in Israel; wrong time and season, yet it was something Elijah did. Before we ask, “where are the Elijah’s,” we better determine what aspect of Elijah we are seeking.

But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village (9:55-56).

Here we find the basis for the test of the spirit; the spirit that James and John heard, was the spirit lusting to envy centered in death, not life. Jesus said, “what manner of spirit you are of”, rather than “your spirit”  thereby showing their confession was the evidence of the spirit they were hearing, not as a result of some demon in them. Clearly if this was a demon, Jesus would cast it out, thus they “heard”, but from the wrong source.

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest. (9:57).

Luke is still linking phrases, rather than looking for a chronological order. This man wanted to Walk In The Way, but allowed his mind to bring “an hindrance.” The hindrance is another wile of the spirit lusting to envy; thus the ability to follow Jesus was there, but so was the ability to reject the call. If we can rebel, we have the power to submit as well. If we can hate, we have the power to love as well, but it all depends on our desire, determined by what we want to do. This man said he wanted to follow Jesus, but now the test of his words.

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head (9:58).

This doesn’t mean that Jesus was poor, or rich, it means He was self-less. The foxes rest, the birds rest, but the earthly ministry of Jesus shows that He picked up His Cross long before He entered Jerusalem. When the people came, He was ready, and when the people were in need, He was ready. Jesus warns the scribe, that doing the work of the Lord and holding to the self nature won’t work; this servant must make a decision.

And He said unto another, Follow Me, but he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury the dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home, at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (9:59-62).

Two men with two different desires, one said he wanted to follow, another was asked to follow, yet both formed excuses; therefore, both had the ability to follow, but both wanted to return to take care of something they felt was more important. The first wanted to wait until his father was dead; the second wanted his family to understand what he was doing. So, neither had their heart on the calling.

To the Jewish mind, this verse is offensive, since no Jew would allow a dead body to lay around; but they fail to see the intent and message. Jesus isn’t talking about the physically dead; rather He is talking about those who attempt to save others, while they are still accounted among the walking dead. This is not to be confused with being crucified with Christ, since the purpose is to gain Life; here, it’s being of the world, thinking they can save mankind.

None of us can look back to what was, or long for the “good old days”, since those times were centered in death and darkness. The time before us is the greatest time yet which is Progression in Growth to reach the potential God saw in us before the world began. The time before us is the greatest time yet, Progression in our faith, leads to Progression in Grace, we haven’t seen anything yet. This looks like a good spot to stop, the next Lesson will pick it from here.

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By Rev. G. E. Newmyer – s.b.i. les14 rev6/© 2003