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Published: Jan. 12, 2008, 11:07 p.m.

b'In Luke\\n4:31 Jesus teaches at the synagogue in Capernaum on the\\nSabbath. For the first time, Jesus publicly commands an unclean\\nspirit to listen to Him, and instantly it comes out of the man. This\\nvery important event along with the healing of Peter\'s mother-in-law\\nare the first episodes that bring Jesus into the public eye as a\\nhealer and miracle-worker. These form a turning point Jesus\'\\nministry, for He is now unable to travel anywhere without large\\ncrowds following Him.\\n\\n\\n

In Chapter 5, Luke opens\\nwith the catching of a multitude of fishes and Peter\'s confession on\\nthe Sea of Galilee where, amidst a tremendous haul of\\nflopping fish, Peter becomes convicted, kneels down and asks Jesus to\\nleave the boat (without realizing that there is no place to go). John\'s\\nGospel tells us that Jesus knows Peter before this event, but\\nLuke here highlights the moment where Jesus first breaks through to\\nthe man who would become the Rock.

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In verse 12, Jesus heals a\\nman with leprosy, an event which compels "great multitudes\\ngathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities. But he\\nwithdrew to the wilderness and prayed." Because the recipients\\nof Jesus\' miracles do not heed his words to "tell no one,"\\nthe crowds that follow Him become increasingly burdensome. \\n

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The healing of the paralytic is the dramatic moment that turns the\\nPharisees against Jesus. Luke says "the\\npower of the Lord was with him to heal," a subtle reminder that\\nJesus did not even do miracles unless they were in accord with the\\nwill of the Father (v. 17). The room being full of dignitaries and\\nscholars, earnest men creatively carry a paralytic up to the roof,\\nseeking to bring him in through it and lay him before Jesus. One\\nmust note that Jesus "saw their faith," the faith of the\\nmajority in the crowd, before saying, "Man, your sins are\\nforgiven you." Because God alone can forgive sins, this miracle\\nforces all to decide whether He is God\'s chosen one or a blasphemer. \\n

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Luke then describes the\\ncall of Levi the tax collector, commanding him to "follow me"\\n(v. 27). The Pharisees and scribes murmur at this, and Jesus\\nresponds, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but\\nthose who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous, but\\nsinners to repentance" (v. 31-32). His indictment of their\\nmaligned form of religion truth brings to mind the words of Fulton\\nSheen, "those who deny the disease make the cure impossible."\\n

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We close with the incident\\nof verse 33, when they question "the disciples of John fast\\noften and offer prayers, and so the disciples of the Pharisees, but\\nyours eat and drink." \\n

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And Jesus said to them,\\n"Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with\\nthem? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from\\nthem, and then they will fast in those days." He told them a\\nparable also: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts\\nit upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the\\npiece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine\\ninto old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and\\nit will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine\\nmust be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine\\ndesires new, for he says, \'The old is good...\'" (36-39)

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Jesus makes it clear that He has not come to fit inside ordinary Judaism,\\nbut to transform the establishment entirely in accord with the\\nFather\'s will. All too often, those who are the most invested in\\ntraditional ways are the most unwilling to give up their old wine and\\naccept God\'s challenging\\ninvitation to new wine. \\n

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As we read of Jesus coming\\ninto Galilee, we must digest these verses and examine where we stand\\nwith God, asking Him what we must to do follow Him. We must be like Levi,\\na man undoubtedly engrossed in the world who left everything to follow\\nHim. Will we be among those religious that don\'t leave their\\ncomfortable lifestyle to follow Him, or will we respond to Jesus in a\\ncredible way and amend our lives?

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