Author: michael

¹One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5)
Here we see Jesus and his disciples passing through the grainfields, his disciples picked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands and ate the kernels.  Some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus then quoted from the Old Testament verses about David and his men entering the temple of God when they were hungry and eating consecrated bread which was lawful only for priests to eat.
It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is a most holy part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.” (Leviticus 24:9)
Here it says the consecrated bread was for the priests, Aaron, and his descendants to eat in the temple.
So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. (1 Samuel 21:6)
Here the priests gave the consecrated bread from the temple to David and his men. consecrated bread was only for the priests to eat, but because David and his men were hungry, the priests gave them some to eat.
but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. (Exodus 20:10)
This passage says that no work can be done on the Sabbath, but it doesn’t specify the details. Jewish tradition defined work, prohibiting many tasks including cooking.
If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain. (Deuteronomy 23:25)
This passage says that picking the kernels of your neighbor’s grainfield with your hands is permissible, but the Pharisees considered this as work.
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
Here Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, to give them rest and for worshipping God, not as a burden or restriction that prohibits many activities.
Finally Jesus says: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” The Son of Man is Jesus Christ himself, he is the Son of God, he is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He has the authority to define the true purpose of the Sabbath.
May God bless you and your family!

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” ³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” (Luke 5:33-39)
From the parallel passage, we know that John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus and said: “we and the Pharisees always fast, but your disciples eat and drink, and do not fast.” We know that the Pharisees fasted twice a week. Jesus then said that while the bridegroom was with his friends, his friends did not fast, but when the bridegroom left them, they would fast. Here, the bridegroom was Jesus himself. After his death, the disciples would fast. Jesus was not against fasting, but rather that the time did not yet come. Jesus continued with a parable: “No one patches an old garment with new cloth. For the patch only damages the garment, making the tear worse.” Here, the new cloth represents Jesus’ new teaching, and the old garment represents the old life under the law, and also our old life. Jesus’ teaching is not about reforming the old life, but about putting on new clothes, becoming a new person, and living a new life.
²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Here, the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the new self, to wear new clothes, not patched old clothes. The Lord Jesus continues: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the skins, and the wine would spill out, and the skins would be ruined.” Here, the new wine represents the Holy Spirit, and the wineskins represent life. The Lord fills the new self with the Holy Spirit, not the person under the law or the old self. People prefer the old life to the new life.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!(2 Corinthians 5:17)
When a person believes in the Lord, is baptized, is born again, and he receives the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit dwells in his heart, it is like the new wine in the new wineskins.
May God bless you and your family!

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. ²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:27-32)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus called Levi, who is Matthew, the author of the Gospel of Matthew. Levi was a tax collector, and at that time, tax collectors were Jews who collected taxes for the Roman government. They were considered traitors by the Jews, they often overcharged and pocketed the money, so the Jews disliked them. Here we see Levi hosting a great banquet for Jesus at home, inviting many tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied, the healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do. He did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. The sick and sinners came to Jesus and were healed, confessed their sins and repented, and Jesus forgave them.” The Pharisees, however, were self-righteous, did not believe in Jesus, and were often hostile towards him. In a parallel passage, Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He has mercy on sinners, calls them to repentance, and forgives their sins. He also wants us to have mercy and forgive others. May God bless you and your family!

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” ²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Luke 5:17-26)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus was teaching. Some men carried a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus to be healed. Because there were too many people, they could not go in, they climbed onto the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” Here it speaks of their faith, including the faith of those who carried the paralyzed man. Because of their faith in Jesus, the Lord said that his sins were forgiven. But the scribes and Pharisees, hearing this, said that Jesus was speaking blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins. They did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus asked them, “Which is easier, saying ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or saying ‘Get up and walk’?” Saying “Your sins are forgiven” seems easier because it cannot be proven immediately, both require God’s power. Jesus healed the paralytic with a single sentence, demonstrating His authority to forgive sins and revealing His divinity.
May God bless you and your family!

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” ¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:12-16)
Here we see a man with leprosy, upon seeing the Lord Jesus, he humbly prostrated himself on the ground, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He believed that the Lord Jesus had the power to heal, and that he could be healed if the Lord was willing. The Lord Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I am willing; Be clean!” His leprosy was immediately healed.
Leprosy was considered a very serious matter among the Jews. Nearly two long chapters in Leviticus address this issue (chapter 13, 14). According to the law, a person with leprosy must absolutely not live among the crowd, but must “live alone outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:46). Normally, people should not touch a leper to avoid contamination, but the Lord Jesus touched him, and cleansed him. After his healing, the Lord Jesus told him not to tell anyone, but to show himself to the priest and then offer a gift according to the Old Testament law.
² “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, ⁴ the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. (Leviticus 14:2-4)
Here according to Leviticus, after a leper was cleansed, he should be brought to the priest for verification, and after confirmation of cleansing, a gift should be offered.
⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:45)
Jesus told the man not to tell anyone, but he spread the news, preventing Jesus from openly entering the city and hindering His work.
We see that many people came to Jesus to hear His word and to be healed of their sicknesses, but Jesus withdrew to the wilderness to pray. This shows the importance of prayer.

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11)
Here we see that everyone went to the Lord Jesus to hear the word of God. The Lord Jesus got into Simon’s boat, told Simon to pole it out a little from the shore, and then sat down to teach the people from the boat. Afterward, He told Simon to take the boat out into deep water and cast his nets to fish. Simon didn’t catch any fish all night, but he obeyed the Lord’s words and caught many fish. The nets almost broke, and the boats were filled with fish, almost sinking. Simon, seeing the Lord Jesus’ power, felt unworthy. The Lord Jesus told Simon and his companions that they should be fisher of men. The many fish here represent the future harvest of men, obedience brings fruit, spiritual fruit. The Lord Jesus called them, and they left everything to follow Him.
Before this, the Lord Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, simon already had a relationship with the Lord Jesus. This miracle made them trust in the Lord Jesus and left everything to follow Him.
May God bless you and your family