1. A few days later Jesus returned to Capernaum, and, as was typical, the word got out that He was staying at someone's house.
2. And so when it became publicly known whose house it was, people started gathering there...so many, in fact, that there wasn't room for all of them, not even around the doors. So everyone just stood wherever they could, practically piling in on top of one another, while He was inside discussing the Word.
3. Then four men came to the location, carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They had picked the man up and brought him there with the intention of getting Him to Jesus.
4. But the crowd around the house was so thick and impenetrable that there was no way for even one of them to get through. So they climbed up on the roof and dug through it directly above Him. And when they had made a large enough opening, they let down the man's stretcher through it.
5. And when Jesus saw the boldness of their faith, the compassion that they had for their paralyzed friend, along with their undaunted determination and spontaneous ingenuity, He stopped what He was doing and immediately acknowledged them. But He said something quite unusual and unexpected to the paralyzed man...instead of speaking to his obvious physical condition, He said to him, "My son, all of your sins are completely forgiven and removed from you!"
6. Well, some of the local religious scholars happened to be there in the crowd, and when they heard these words, they started whispering among themselves, saying,
7. "Wait a minute...He can't talk that way! That's total blasphemy! God and only God has the power and authority to forgive sins!"
8. Jesus, of course, knew what they were thinking and saying...He had made this statement to evoke such a reaction from them...so He said, "Why do you have such a problem with this?
9. I mean, which is simpler...to say to the paraplegic, 'I forgive your sins,' or to say to him, 'Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking'?
10. I'll answer the question for you, and at the same time make it clear to you that the Son of Man is authorized, beyond the shadow of doubt, to do either, or both...and to reveal that the word of forgiveness and the word of healing are basically the same thing!" Then He focused on the paralyzed man, and said to him,
11. "Get up! Pick up your stretcher, carry it out of this house, and walk home!"
12. And instantly the man got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out as Jesus had commanded, with God and everyone there watching him. The religious scholars were speechless, but everybody else there was absolutely amazed. They started praising God, saying, "We have never in our lives seen anything like this!"
13. After this, Jesus went out beside the lake again, and a large crowd came to Him there, and He began to teach them.
14. When He finished, He took a walk, and as He strolled along He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector's booth. People typically avoided the tax collector, if at all possible, going out of their way to walk as far as they could from his booth...but Jesus went right up to him with no hesitation, and said to him, "Follow me!" This bold action on Jesus' part was so unprecedented and surprising, that Levi just got up and followed Him.
15. That night Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, and many other tax collectors (who usually were never invited to dinner parties) were there, along with many other people who had the reputation of being sinners (and were seemingly always at a party)...all eating with Him and His disciples, enjoying lively conversation, and having a good time. At this point in Jesus' ministry there was quite a large, eclectic group that followed Him.
16. When the religious leaders, namely, the Pharisees, saw Him openly socializing with and befriending this strange mix of characters...all disreputable for different reasons...they asked His disciples: "Why does He unashamedly eat with tax collectors and sinners? Doesn't He know that He is being seen with all the wrong people?"
17. On hearing this, Jesus quickly shot back, "It's not the healthy ones who need a doctor, but those who need healing. You might as well know that I have not come to call the ones you call righteous, but rather the ones that you call sinners."
18. Now John's disciples, in contrast to those who were following Jesus, were intense and very serious, and they and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people who noticed the difference came and asked Jesus, "Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but Yours are not?"
19. Jesus calmly answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is celebrating with them? They can't do it as long as He, the Guest of Honor, is still at the party.
20. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then and only then will they fast.
21. Look...I'm giving you a whole new way to think about these things. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, do they? No, because if they do, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear even worse.
22. And to further illustrate my point...you know that people do not pour new wine into old wineskins. That's because, if they do, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined and unusable. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins....new garments...new wineskins...new thoughts...new perspectives...that's what I'm talking about!
23. But old wineskins (old ways of thinking) aren't so easily done away with. Case in point, one particular Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and His disciples were walking along with Him. At a certain point they became hungry, and without giving it a thought, began to pick some heads of grain there in the field and started eating them.
24. The ubiquitous and ever-vigilant Pharisees were scandalized by this, and said to Him, "Look...look...Your men are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath! Why would they do such a thing?"
25. Jesus just looked at them for a minute and then said, "Gentlemen, have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry and in need?
26. Go look it up...in the days of Abiathar the High Priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. Not only that...he also gave some to his companions to eat."
27. Then He said, "Don't you get it? The Sabbath was made for people...people weren't made for the Sabbath! You need to align your priorities with what is actually important to God!"
28. And if that bit of new wine was difficult for them to swallow, He made it even more challenging for their old wineskin-mindset by saying, "I can say this with all confidence because the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath!"
12. And immediately, the pulsating force of this same Holy Spirit from within virtually forced Him out into the wild...driving Him to go to a desert place, both physically and spiritually, where He could experience complete and total solitude.
13. And for forty days and nights He was out there alone, being tested in His thoughts by the Adversary...exposed to the elements and the wild beasts. But, during the entire trial period, angels took care of him.
14. Now after John was arrested and put in prison for confronting Herod about his adulterous relationship, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,
15. Saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is here now...as accessible and close to you as your own hand! Change your mind...rethink everything...and believe completely in a message of good news...the good news of the Gospel!"
16. One day, as He was walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew skillfully fishing with nets. Their expertise made it obvious that they were professional fishermen.
17. And Jesus, taken by their command of the art of fishing, said to them, "Hey...let me cast this vision to you...come with Me and be My disciples, and I will make a new kind of fisherman out of you! I'll show you how to catch people for the Kingdom of God, using the same methods and ability that you currently have at your hand."
18. And the persuasiveness of His words, the presentation of this concept, and the perfection of the timing of it all caused them to drop what they were doing right then and there, and start following Him, no questions asked.
19. He then went on just a little farther down the beach and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were in their boat putting their nets in order and mending them.
20. And, being equally impressed by how diligent and detailed these young men were in their work, He called out to them, making the same offer. And, as the other men had done, they abandoned what they were doing, leaving their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed Him.
21. Their first destination together was Capernaum, and the Sabbath came while they were there, so Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
22. The people who came that day were amazed at His manner and delivery, because He taught them as One who had authority...as One who made a real connection with the Scriptures, and who understood the purpose and intent of the Law within the context of the big picture. This was remarkable to those who regularly attended, because the men who typically spoke there sounded nothing like this.
23. As Jesus was delivering His message, a man in the synagogue who was under the control of a rebel spirit began to cry out,
24. "What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to terminate our tenure, and to put an end to our rule so that You can set up Your Kingdom? I know who You are...You are the Holy One of God!"
25 "That's enough! Stop being so loud and obnoxious...and stop interrupting My teaching session!" said Jesus sternly. "In fact, I want you to come out of him right now!"
26. And the spirit was reluctantly obedient to Jesus' authority, shaking the man violently, and coming out of him with a shriek.
27. Well, this encounter just amazed the people that much more, and they asked each other, "What is this all about? Not only does He teach with fresh revelation, He does so with complete confidence! And He openly converses with those from the spirit world, even giving them orders...and they recognize and confess His lordship over them, and bow their knees to Him!"
28. And it goes without saying that the news about Him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
29. As soon as they left the synagogue that day, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
30. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her.
31. So He very matter-of-factly went to her, took her by the hand, and just helped her up. And with this simple gesture, the fever left her, and she immediately felt so much better that she insisted on making dinner for all of them, and on serving it herself.
32. That evening after dinner, many local people who had received word that He was in the neighborhood brought to Jesus those who were sick and/or were under the influence of a rebel spirit.
33. Eventually it seemed as though the whole town had gathered at the door of His hostess' home,
34. And Jesus went right into healing mode, curing many who had various diseases. He also expelled many rebel spirits, but He wouldn't permit them to say anything, because they knew too much. They recognized who He was, immediately, and so He wouldn't allow them to publicly say things about Him that He, Himself, wasn't ready to say.
35. And, even though this went on for several hours, very late into the night, He was up before the first light of dawn. He left the house and went off to a solitary place where He could pray.
36. Simon and his companions got up a little while later and went out to look for Him,
37. And when they finally found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is already looking for you this morning!"
38. Jesus replied, "Then let's go somewhere else...to all the nearby villages...I need to preach in each of them also, because that's why I have come into this physical dimension."
39. So they began to travel throughout Galilee, and He preached in their synagogues, and dismissed any rebel spirits that He encountered from their respective assignments.
40. In one of the villages a man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
41. Jesus was indignant. "What do you mean 'If I am willing'? I am always willing!" But to show that He was also able, He reached out His hand to the man and simply said, "Be clean!"
42. And immediately the leprosy left him, and his diseased skin was completely cleansed.
43. But Jesus sent him away with a strong warning.
44. He said, "Look...I really don't want you to tell anyone about this. Just go and discreetly show yourself to the priest, and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
45. But the man did just the opposite...the rebel spirits in the area did exactly as they were told, but the local people usually did not. The man went out and began to talk freely to everyone he met about his miracle, spreading the news everywhere. And, as a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly because the crowds were becoming uncontrollable. From that time on He had to stay outside in lonely places. And even then the people still found Him, and came to Him from everywhere.
1. The beginning of the earth-revelation of the Good News...the manifestation of the Gospel in the now...seen in this dimension in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2. Living out His earth-life exactly as it was written by the prophet Isaiah: "Watch this! I send My messenger before Your face, who will make Your path ready for You...
3. A voice of one crying in the wilderness...shouting out the message in the desert, which is 'Prepare the way of the Lord! Make His entry-way smooth and straight and level!'"
4. And, as Isaiah had prophesied, John, the Forerunner, did appear in the wilderness-like desert, preaching the need for a paradigm shift, which he symbolized by publicly performing the rite of water baptism.
5. And his unusual ministry so caught the attention and imagination of a spiritually-starved people, that the masses thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they voluntarily confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a new reality.
6. Everything about John, including his appearance and diet, was unusual. He wore clothing woven entirely of camel's hair, and had a large, leather belt strapped around his waist. He was vegetarian, and basically only ate the carob-like pods that came from the tops of the locust tree, and wild honey.
7. As he preached, he said, "I am delivering an important message to you, but there is One about to come on the scene Who is stronger and more powerful and has more authority than I...in fact, I am not even worthy or fit to stoop down and unloose the straps of His sandals.
8. I can and have baptized you with water for the changing of your life by the changing of your mind...altering your perception is what you can do...the part that you can play to enter the Kingdom...but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit...a work that He will do for and in you that you cannot do for yourselves! The baptism in water is a great start...it is the genesis of the Kingdom...but the baptism of the Spirit is about a finished work...it brings the ultimate revelation of the Kingdom!"
9. During the time that John was saying these things, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10. And at the moment He came up out of the water, He perceived that the sky was split open, and God's Spirit...the Holy Spirit, in a visible incarnation of that of a dove...came down on Him, and remained there until it (He) was absorbed into Him.
11. And when that happened, an other-worldly voice began to speak loudly, saying, "You are my Son...My Beloved...chosen and marked by my love, in Whom I take pleasure and with Whom I am completely and absolutely delighted!”
