1995 issue 11 - sermon on luke 5:12-6:16 - the establishment of the sovereignty of jesus - counsel...

8/12/2019 1995 Issue 11 - Sermon on Luke 5:12-6:16 - The Establishment of the Sovereignty of Jesus - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Luke 5:12-6:16

Introduction

The Parallel

Passages:

Luke 5:12-6:16 and

Mark 1:40-3:19

The similarities between the

parallel passages of Luke

5:12-6:16 and

Mark

1:40-3:19 are:

(1).

The

inclusion of

the same

incidents in

the narrative:

the healing of

the leper and

the paralytic,

the call of Levi

and

the dinner

with Jesus

and

the

tax-collectors,

the question

about fasting, the Sabbath

disputes

and

the healing of the

withered hand; and

(2).

The

relative indifference of both

narratives to

the

geographical

and temporal setting and the

chronological order.

t

is

unusual for Mark

not to

give

some signs of time and place,

but

Luke shows his usual lack of

interest

in

fIxing the time and

place of the incidents.

The differences between these

two parallel passages are: (1).

The different arrangement of

events to fit the purposes of each

Gospel;

and

(2). The differences

in the account of the healing of

the paralytic. Luke omits any

reference

to

locality and Mark

specifically places i t in

Capernaum. And in reporting

this incident, Luke, as would be

expected from one trying to

reach t

he

non-Jewish world with

the gospel, seems to show a

special interest

in

the wide

geographical distribution of the

effects of Jesus' ministry, for

where Mark merely speaks of a

concourse of man, Luke reports

the gathering of Pharisees and

scribes 'out of every village of

Galilee and Judaea and

demands and commission of the

Sovereign Jesus

on

His disciples

is presented. And now in Luke

5:

12-6:16, Luke establishes the

bounds and extent of the

Sovereignty ofJesus: His

sovereignty has no bounds or

limits. It is life-embracing and

invincible , i.e., nothing can

thwart the purposes or resist the

powerful ad

vanCe

of the

Kingdom of God, neither the

powers of the demonic

nor

the

weakness

of

the human.

Therefore, the kingdom Christ

brings to

Hi

s people

is

a kingdom

of cleansing

.

- -

Joe Morecraft

of

human

depravity,

5:12-15,

forgiveness of

sins, 5:16-26,

joy

and

repentance,

5:27-32,

newness of

life, 5:33-39,

Sabbath-rest,

6:1-12, total

health,

6:6-12, and

Jerusale

m; vs.

17. - Stonehouse

The Purpose of

Luke 5:12-6:16

In Luke 4:1-15,Jesus Christ

establishes Himself as the Victor

over Satan, the promised Seed of

the Woman, Who would crush

the serpent's head, Gen. 3:15. In

Luke 4:16-30, He identifies

Himself

as

the kingly-prophetic

MeSSiah Who is the Bringer of

the Jubilant Kingdom of God. In

Luke 4:31-44, the authority and

power of the

Word ofjesus is

manifested

as

that which brings

the Presence of God into the lives

of people. In Luke 5:1-11, the

the renewal

of the church, 6:13-16. God

gave His Son sovereignty over

everything, Psalm 2:6-9; John

17:2; Matthew 28:

18f,that

He

might glOrify God in the eternal

salvation of His people and His

redemption of creation from sin.

Nothing can stop Him from

reaching that Divinely-appointed

goal. No area of life exists

outside the domain of His

sovereign and saving rule. We

are accountable to

His

lordship

in every area oflifli:-Aiia-rliere--

will be no area of life untouched

by

the saving power of His

sovereign rule.

.. Ii

TH

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

t

December, 1995


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Exposition

(5:12-15) The Sovereignty

ofJesus

Over

Human Depravity

The Relation

of

5:12-15

with

5:1-11

Just

as

Peter felt his total

unworthiness before the

sovereignJesus and totally

submitted himself to His

command, 50 this same humility,

sense of unworthiness, and total

submission to the will ofJesus is

manifested in the leper whom

Jesus healed. Luke follows this

inner connection and

is

not

concerned about the connection

oftime.

-

Lenski

Moreover, his leprosy was

considered phYSically conta

giOUS.

The Hebrew

word

for leprosy,

TSARA'ATH, includes such

diseases as leprosy, syphilis,

smallpox, boils, scabies, fungus

infections, all

of

which are

contagious,

and pemphigus,

dermatitis herpetiformis, and

skin cancer, which

mayor

may

not be contagious.

Because of the nature of

leprosy,

t

is presented in the

Bible

as

a symbol

of sin and

human depravity. More

specifically, it was a symbol of

the loathsomeness and ugliness

of sin, and of its defacing,

and all its effects

on

the

individual

and

society. Depravity

is

a powerful evil,

but

it is

no

match for the omnipotence of the

sovereign Christ. ''Where sin

abounds, grace abounds all the

more,')

This incident establishes the

nature of the salvation Jesus

Christ

brin

gs, for while the Law

of Moses prOvided for the ritual

pUlification of a leper it was

powerless to actually purge a

man

of

the disease.

In

all

of

the

O.T. only twice is it recorded that

God had healed a leper,

Num

12:10f;

II Kgs.

5: 1

and

the

rabbis affirmed

that

it was as

The

Significance

of the

Healing of Leprosy

The Power

of Jesus

to Cleanse the

Corruption and Effects

of

Human Depravity

Anyone identified as

a leper in Israel was

Depravity is a powerful

evil ut it is no match for

the

omnipotence

of

th

sovereign Christ.

difficult to heal the leper

as

to

raise

the

dead. The

cleanSing of the leper

indicates the new

character of God's action

in bringing Jesus among

men. Salvation

transcends cultic and

ritual regulations, which

were powerless to arrest

educed

to

a most pitiful

state of existence. (Lane on

MARK). Besides the physical

ravages of leprosy isolating him

as an outcast, he was ritually

unclean, Leviticus 13:45f, i.e., he

could not participate in Temple

worship, nor could he enter

Jerusalem, although he could

attend the synagogue services if

a screen was provided to isolate

(him) from the rest of the

congregation. - Lane. The leper

was not allowed

to

enter anyone's

hou

se, for his presence would

render the persons and things in

th

e house ritually unclean.

Leprosy brought deep physical

and

mental anguish for

both

the

afflicted individual and

th

e

community in which or near

which he lived. - Lane.

deforming effects on the

individual, and the separation,

division

and

alienation

t

caused

in SOCiety

.

As

].A. Alexander has

written, The design of this

extraordinary prevalence

..

was to

furnish a symbol

of

the

loathsomeness of sin, considered

as a spiritual malady, and

by

the

rites connected with its

treatment, to suggest the only

mean

s

of

moral renovation. The

rules of procedure in such cases

form a prominent

part

of the

Mosaic Law, Leviticus 13-14, and

were st

ill

in full force at the time

of Christ's appearance.

Therefore, Jesus ability to heal

a

man

full of leprosy testifies to

His desire and ability to cleanse a

person from sin, from its ravages

the hold that death had upon the

living, and issues

in

radical

healing. - Lane

The

Sign of

the

Powerful Presence

of

the

Kingdom

of God

By Jesus' power to work

miracles, the coming kingdom of

God is realized and its presence

made evident.

For

the kingdom

of

God revealed in miracles

signifies the REDEMPTION from

all evil

and

the RESTORATION

of the whole of life. - Ridderbos,

The Coming o the

Kingdom

pg.

68

.

lnJesus

' coming the

kingdom of heav

en

not only

reveals itself

as

a power that

brings the rule

of

the evil one to

ruin, a

nd

restores life

up

to now

December, 1995

rHE

COUNSEL of ChalcedoD 5


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liable to disease and death, or as

a message of salvation and bliss

preached to the poor in spirit. t

is also a gift in which those who

receive

it

from God may delight

as in an already present

possession

of

a future salvation

one

day fully to be given them.

RidderlJos, pg . 76.

The Request of the Leper

The Prostration

of

the

Leper Before his Lord

When the man with advanced

leprosy. ( fu1l9f leprosy ), saw

Jesus, he fell on his

face

and

implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if

You are willing,

You can make

me clean.''' His request places

his cleansing entirely into the will

ofJesus. Lenski. Everything

about the leper's response to the

presence ofJesus revea

ls

his total

submission

to

His sovereignty.

He prostrates himself before Him

and calls him Lord. Although

this title can mean only,

S

ir,

however the leper's attitude and

request reveal that his falling on

his face and his calling Jesus,

KURIOS, means far more. It is

less WHAT he asks that reveals

his attitude than THE

WAY

in

which he asks. - 1-enski

The Submission of the Leper to

the Will of his Lord

The leper confesses that he

believes fully in the power of

Jesus

to

heal his advanced

leprosy:

You

can make me

clean. Yet

he

adds,

..

if

yo

u are

willing ... He is not voicing

doubt in regard to the will of

Jesus

but his own humble

submission to that wilj1 --

Yet

he leaves his healing to the will of

Jesus, to determine whether in

his superior counsel it be best to

grant him healing. --- The man's

. humble subrrtission, his placing

his own sad case completely into

the hands ofJesus just as a true

child of God must always place

himself into God's hands, mark

his faith in Jesus

as

being ofthe

highest type. And it is thus plain

that a petition such as this can be

addressed only to a divine helper,

to one whose will is the very will

of the all-loving and all-wise

God. The leper is willing, ifJesus

so wills, to remain in his living

death. Submissive faith can

go

no

farther. --- Who is able to say

how this leper came to such a

faith? But his case is one that

shows clearly how the teaching of

Jesus produced the mos t blessed

effects. - Lenski

The Healing of the Leper

Mark 1:41) The

Compassion ofJesus

Mark adds that Jesus was

moved with compassion at the

plight of the leper, and

therefore

healed

him.

The more correct

translation of the Greek here

probably should be moved with

indignation. Assuming that

Jesus is the subject, the anger can

be understood

as

an expression

of righteous indignation at the

ravages of sin, disease, and death

which take their toll even upon

th

e living, a toll particularly

evident in a leper. -Lane

The Touch ofJesus

.The healing of the leper

consisted simply in a touch and a

declaration. The touch ofJesus is

significant from two perspectives:

(1). it was an unheard-of act of

compassion which must have

moved him, (the leper), deeply

and strengthened him in his

conviction he had not asked

for

help in vain. - Lane. (2).

t

6 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon , December, 1995

shows thatJesus did not hesitate

to act in violation to expected

cultic and ritualistic procedure

when rescuing the perishing

demanded it. The ceremonial

law gives plate to the law of love

when the two come into

co llision

.

- Schrenk

in

Lane.

There was

fl

magic in His

touch. The healing power did

not originate with Jesus' fingers.

It came straight from the divine

and human Jesus, for His

alrrtighty will

and

infinitely

sympathetic heart. There was

healing power in that touch

because He was, and is 'touched

with a feeling of our infirmities,

Heb. 4:15. - Hendriksen

When the Son of God took

upon Himself our flesh ,

he

did

not only deign to touch

us with

his hand, but was united

to

one

and the same body with

ourselves, that we might be flesh

of his flesh; Gen. 2:23. -Nor did

he only stretch out his arm to us,

but descended from heaven even

to hell, and yet contracted

no

strain from it, but, retaining his

innocence, took away all our

impilrities, and sprinkled us with

his holiness.

By

his word alone

he might have healed the leper;

but

he applied, at the same time,

the touch of his hand, to express

the feeling of compassion. -- The

stretching out of his hand was

therefore an expression and

tOken of infinite grace and

goodness. - Calvin

The CommandofJesus:

I

am

willing; be cleansed

Two words, full of majesty,

sovereignty and omnipotence, are

all the leper needs: THELO, ( 1

am willing ),

KATHARlSTHETI,

( be cleansed ). This

is

the only

case

in

which Jesus utters


4/5

THELO, (I will), which reveals It comes from a word meaning, his heart . But his testimony

that His own will and power do

to snort with anger, therefore

would have already been given,

the deed and not a power that

the word is to be translated, to

which could be used with the

has merely been delegated to him sternly enjoin, to strictly charge. people regarding the truthfulness

for a moment only. Others work The word Luke uses in Luke 5:14 ofJesus' claims.

miracles in the name and by the is PAREGGElLEN, simply

(The priest would have been

power ofjesus; Jesus, God's Son, meaning to charge, command,

the one officiating

in

the Temple

has this power in Himself. His transmit a message. Why did

at Jerusalem.)

D

ei

ty shines out through the

veil

Mark use such a strong word?

The

Order

to Make

of His flesh in all His miracles, Mark's language is so strong that

In. 1:14. - Lenski. it seems more appropriate in an

Sacrifices for Cleansing

The Instant

of Healing

address to a demon than to a

Jesus is here ordering this

The leprosy completely and

man whom Jesus has just healed:

man to carry out the complex

'he inveighed against him and and detailed Biblical ceremonial

instantly disappeared in a split

drove

him

away.' - Lane. This reqUirements required

by

Mosaic

second. The brevity with which

haste and this stem order have legislation for the ritual

the astounding fact is recorded

only one explanation: the news

purification of leprosy, remOving

should be noted; throughout the

as

to how this man got rid of his

the ceremonial uncleanness of

Gospels the mighty miracles are

leprosy was not to reach the

the man, Leviticus 14:1-32.

recorded in this

way. That

is

one

priests in Jerusalem until they Jesus took every detail of Biblical

of the plain evidences of

had in all due legal form

Law seriously. The result of the

inspiration. No ordinalY writer

pronounced him clean of leprosy.

week of rituals and

sacrifices

of any age, if left to himself,

The priest to whom the man

would be the restoration of the

would be satisfied to state just

presents himself is not to know

leper to covenant society and to

the fact and nothing more. -

this man's story until afterward. -

covenant worship at the Temple,

Lenski

Lenski

because the physical examination

The Charge to the Leper

The Reason for Jesus Charge

of the healed leper by the priest

The modem reader is

to the Healed Leper

would be sufficient, legal

surprised atjesus' charge to this

The Order to Keep Silent

Until

tes timony t the now

healed leper-- And He oldered

the

Priest Has

indisputable fact that the man

him to

tell

no

one

, But

go

and

show

Seen

im

and

Testified

to

was free from the infection of

yourself to the priest,

and make an

His Good Health

leprosy.

oJJeringJor your cleanSing, just as

Jesus ordered him not to tell

Regarding the ritual with the

Moses commanded, Jar a testimony

anyone about his healing, but to

two birds recorded in Leviticus

to them.

14:1-8, John

Ca

lvin makes these

go and show himself to the

Levitical priest, and to make an

enlightening comments: The

The Sovereignty of]esus Over

offering for his cleansing, just as

sum of the rite respecting the two

the Healed Leper

Moses had commanded in the

birds tends to this, that the

Jesus understood His

Bible, for a testimony to them.

cleansing from leprosy was a

relationship to this healed leper

Why?

As

we have said, the priest

kind of resurrection. Two birds

as one of Master and servant,

for

to whom this healed leper was t

were placed before their eyes; the

He

ordered him to mention to

show himself was not to know

liberty of one purchased by the

no one what had taken place

how he was healed until he

had

blood of the other; because the

until he had shown himself to the

examined him and officially

former was not let

go

until it had

priest. The Greek verb in Mark

pronounced him healed and

been first dipped

in

the blood ... n

1:43 for ordered,

clean. Then he could tell the

Why the necessity for all the

EMBRIMESAMENOS denotes a priest about Jesus, and the priest

offerings and rituals in Leviticus

sternness, sharpness, and even

would be in a corner.

He

would

14:9-35? Some of these

harshness in the command given.

be forced to believe or to harden

offerings, such as the guilt

December, 1995 TH COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

7


5/5

offering, were concerned with

restitution and satisfaction for

loss of setvice done or for

transgression of God's law. By

being excluded from the Temple,

the leper had , as it were,

defrauded God of His proper due

in service, worship and offerings.

The offerings made reparation

and satisfaction for the default in

this service.

The Meaning of

for

a

testimony to

them

In keeping with the somber

tone of the narrative it seems

necessary to interpret the phrase

in the negative sense demanded

in the second instance

officially pronounced

him

clean

they will have a new testimony

regarding the Messiah whom they

rej

ect, a testimony that is backed

by their own findin

g.

- l.enski.

'Jesus' statement thus means that

if

th

e priests establish that

healing has taken place

and

accept the sacr

ifi

ce for

cleansing

but fail to recognize the person

and power through whom

healing has come, they will stand

condemned by the very evidence

which they have supplied. -

Lane. And thus , Jesus displays

His sovereignty over His enemies

and

critics by

fOl'

cing them into a

himself to the priest as Jesus

had

ordered him? We do not know.

However, we do know that he

blatantly disregarded the

injunction to silence, and

assumed

th

e posture of a

missionalY, declaling publicly

over an extended area

what

he

had experienced from Jesus.

Lane. t is understandable why

the man would have been so

zealous to s

pr

ead the good news

about Jesus

and

His healing

power, surely out of a desire to

honor and praise Him for the

healing, and to assist Him in His

ministry. However, the healed

leper would have

where it occurs, Mk.

13:9, 'as a testimony

AGAINST them .' -

Jesus displays

is

sovereignty

over

is

enemies and critics

assisted Jesus in His

ministry far more

effectively

had

he

simply obeyed jesus'

command. Instead,

o

ut

of zeal for the One

to wh

om he was

grateful, instead

of

La

ne. A testimony or

witness is an

incriminating testimony

which may serve as

evidence for the

prosecution.

t

is a

y

forcing them into a crisis

situ -

tion where they must choose to

elieve

or to harden their he rts

piece of proof which

may become an accusa tion.

To whom is jesus referring

when he says that the priest's

. pronouncement of the leper's

healing would be for a testimony

to

them? More than likely,

t

hem refers

to

the priests in

j erusalem who were increasingly

hostile to Jesu

s,

rather than to the

multitudes who witnessed the

mira

cle.

To these priests in

Jerusalem 'J esus sends this man

as a living testimony. Jesus, who

has been away from Jerusal

em

for

a long time, sends

th

em this

man

,

who for eight days is to be a

silent

pr

eacher to them, a living

witness of his gracious will and

power, and also of his reverence

for the law

of

Moses ....

When'

they finally learn this man's story

after they themselves have

g inst

Him,

clisis

si

tuation where they must

choose to believe or to harden

their hearts against Him.

The Effect of the

Healing

on the Region

But the news

about

Him

was

spre

ading

even

Jart

her,

and

great

mult

itude

s

were

gathering to

hear

Him and

t be healed oj

their

sic1messes, Although Luke does

not

mention it, Mark tells

us

why

the news abo

ut

Christ

and

His

healing miracles spread so

rapidly---

But he

(the h

ea

led l p l ~

went ou

t a

nd

began to

proclaim

it

Jr

eely and to

sp

read

the news

about,

to such an ex tent that Jesus could

no

lon

ge

r

publicly

enter a city but

stayed out in unpopulated

ar

eas;

and th

ey we

re

coming

to

Him

Jrom

eve lywhe

re,

Mark 1:45,

Did the man ever show

assisting

Him

, he

hindered His ministry

in the cities.

To say that j esus could no

longer publicly enter a city, is

NOT to say that His sovereignty

and omnipotence were anyway

restricted by the disobedience of

the leper. Could no longer

is

to

be taken in a moral sense, i.e.,

without defeating His

own

purpose by exCiting

tumult

in the

towns th rough which He passed,

and wh

ere the premature

announcement of His miracles

h d pr

edisposed the people to

undue excitement.- Alexander

on

MARK TO E

CO

NTINUED)

IThe leper uses the condition

of expectancy, EAN with the

subjunctive, which shows his

hopefulness.

December, 1995

t

THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon t

9

1995 issue 11 - sermon on luke 5:12-6:16 - the establishment of the sovereignty of jesus - counsel...

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