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There is a lot of information to sift through in Luke 4 and if I commented on all of it I would be here all morning. The one thing I will focus on is Luke 5:37-38 where it says, “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.” I’ve read this passage a hundred times, but I didn’t fully understand it until recently when a pastor named Stan Mitchell explained it in one of our Devos at work. Jesus was simply saying that the traditions and rituals that were in place up until that time were to rigid to hold the new message He was bringing. Very much in the same way, we need to be very careful that we as a “modern” day church don’t become so rigid that we can’t adjust to the needs of this ever changing world.
Daily Devotion 
I’m so thankful for Jesus’ example in this chapter of how to develop relationships with people outside of a relationship with God. We see Jesus befriend Matthew in our reading today and at the time, Matthew was a tax collector-the lowest of the low. But Jesus chose him to teach him and carry on His teachings after His death and resurrection. The Pharisees couldn’t get it. They couldn’t imagine the Son of God spending time with sinners or worse, tax collectors. But Jesus set them straight saying, “The healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31, 32 HCSB) I have a lot to learn in this area.
I LOVE how Stan Mitchell breaks this down. It was part of an entire series at his church called, “What would Jesus undo”. Do yourself a favor and and listen to all of them. He’s up to six. #6 in the series just come online. The rest are gone, but when he’s done with the series, you can get the whole thing on CD. I would suggest listening to #6 at least, and if this series continues, keep listening. You will be extremely challenged. This man will make you think, sometimes for days, over what he has just presented.
http://gracepointe.net/resources/sermon-access/podcasts/
My favorite part is when Peter realizes it’s Jesus and says, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” How many of us have been taught this through our years at church? We are sinful. We are unworthy. We are dregs. Jesus’ response? “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” No sense of condemnation. No sense of judgement. He understands Peter’s fear, but completely diffuses it. Yes, we sin. But because of our relationship Jesus, we are not seen by him as sinners. We aren’t unworthy. He has made us worthy. If we weren’t worth anything to him, why would God have bothered sacrificing his own son for us? Makes me think we are pretty worthwhile in God’s eyes. Not something for us to get high and mighty about, but exactly the opposite. It’s when I reflect on this, that I hit my most honest level of humility and a place of complete and utter focus on God. I know how dark my heart and soul can be, yet the God of the universe considered me worthy enough to come down and rescue me. Wow. Suddenly my focus comes off of me and what a “worthless sinner” I am, and places it completely on God in speechless awe, which is kind of the goal, no?
Sorry, I have one more observation:). I’m kind of passionate about the whole “I’m forgiven so let’s quit living in the past” thing:).
When Peter admits he’s sinful, notice how Jesus doesn’t even give that comment any energy! He doesn’t stand there and say, “You know what, Peter? You’re right. You’re a piece of trash.” And when you see that when he interacts him interact with anyone who came to him with recognition of their sin. It’s like he’s saying, “All right, that’s out in the open. Dirty laundry aired. Next? We’ve got work to do! You’ve got a life to live, so get on it!” The only folks he calls broods of vipers and other nasty names are the religious elite who don’t acknowledge their current state. If he’s not dwelling our short comings, why are we? We’ve got stuff to do! And sitting and wallowing in all the crap we’ve done just gets in the way, and actually is quite a sinful activity. That’s the Good News!!! We don’t have to wallow! It’s done. Finito. Basta. I sometimes here Jesus say to me when I ruminate on some serious crap I’ve done, “Um, will you get over yourself? There’s so much we’ve got to move on to. Come on! Let’s go!”
OK. I think that’s all I’ve got for this reading:).
v16 “but he would withdraw to desolate places to pray”. So much in that short verse. It’s a great reminder of the value and need for prayer. I mean, if Jesus had to set time aside regularly to pray, who are we to think we can get by without it? That he had very healthy boundaries, to put contemporary terms around this, is evident here. In the previous verses we see Jesus moved to compassion to heal one man and the following verses show that more and more were seeking him and healing. As compassionate as we see Jesus each time he’s approached by the sick, I can imagine how difficult it was for him to leave them but he recognized, he knew, the value of that time in a desolate place. It’s a great reminder to me to not feel poorly about needing to take time myself.
I think it’s interesting that Jesus considers spiritual healing more evidential of God’s power than physical healing. After Jesus healed the man of leprosy, He told him, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.” I find it amazing that Jesus focused on the spiritual proof rather than the physical proof. Think about it, any person who saw the man would be in awe of his leprosy disappearing, and I’m sure that would be enough evidence. But that wasn’t what Jesus focused on. As always, He cut to the heart of the matter, the spiritual condition of man. An obedient heart is better proof of God in your life than any physical healing that could occur. In my current health situation, that means a lot actually!