Jesus' Outreach to Outcasts

God Saves Gentiles! Luke Has Good News!

A study of the NT book of Luke

by Pastor Frank Rice

Luke 5:27-39

Most of us, although we would be hard pressed to admit it, are guilty of being separatists! We pick and choose those with whom we want to identify, based on what others might think of us and on how these associations may enhance our image! (Am I right?) Is that a problem? The correct answer is, YES! Jesus reaches out to outcasts and is unintimidated by those who are more worried about their own self-image than about the eternal welfare of others! He reaches out to those we’d rather ignore!

 

❖      The Lord reaches out to a loathsome outcast of society (v. 27).

1. This incident seems to follow on the heels of the four-men lowering the paralytic to Jesus and the miffed Pharisees’ fit!
2. The Lord spots a despised toll-collector doing what he does best, taking advantage of people and abusing his authority! “He paid careful, thoughtful attention to him.” (Garland)
3. He issues an abrupt and authoritative invitation (command) to follow Him. Jesus is the One who initiates the conversation with Levi.
4. Jesus’ “conscious selection of this man challenges all cultural views of who is the potential object of God’s mercy.” (Bock) This isn’t the first time he’s heard His voice!

 

❖      The guy wastes no time nor does he ask any questions (v. 28)!

1. The order of his three distinct actions may be intended to communicate more than we might realize at first glance!
2. The fact that “he left all” implies that he made a conscious decision before he took any physical action. “Leaving everything means walking away from any loyalties that would compete with loyalty to Christ.” (Garland)
3. His decision led him to get up and follow Jesus! “He does not yet know where the path will lead. His willingness to give up everything at the start shows his readiness to stick it out to the end even when the going gets rough.” (Garland)

 

❖      The Lord gets invited to a friendship party by this man (v. 29)!

1. Jesus seems to have no qualms about hob-knobbing with the likes of this man’s friends and associates!
   1. This great feast in a great house had a great number of all sorts of undesirables with whom “polite society” would disassociate! They all sat down together! (Great! Right?)
   2. “They sense that He cares for them and does not just preach at them.” (Bock)

 

❖      The religious elite grumbled their inquiry concerning Jesus’ table fellowship with derelicts (v. 30)! (This encounter happens some time later.)

1. “That this encounter comes after the party is clear, because the Pharisees would not have come to such a party, as their question shows, even in the unlikely event that they had been invited. The appearance that the leaders are near or at the party is a result of literary compression.” (Bock)
2. They figured Jesus and His followers were religious and therefore obliged to mingle with others like themselves.
3. They figured the party attenders were NOT religious but a bunch of low-lifers, society’s outcasts. (It didn’t compute!) “Shared meals symbolized shared lives – intimacy, kinship, unity – throughout the Mediterranean world.” (Green)
4. “The Pharisees and scribes picture those who are too concerned about separation to reach out to those in need… Association with outcasts is part of outreach. Jesus sees in the outcast an opportunity for God to show His grace.” (Bock)

 

 

❖      The Lord responds to their query by stating the purpose for His attending the party (vv. 31-32)! (He has a well-defined purpose!)

1. He uses a truism to get an affirmative nod from them. Only people who recognize they are sick see their need for a doctor. (They knew that! But what was He saying to them?)
2. He states His purpose for attending the party, to call sinners to repentance! (He is in no way endorsing their brand of righteousness, only the fact that they see themselves as righteous, not needy.)
3. Repentance is “a fundamental change in thinking that permanently and radically alters the way things used to be. It requires an abandonment of his former ways of thinking and living.” (Nave, Garland)

 

❖      The religious separatists seize the opportunity for a follow-up question (v. 33). (This must have been bothering them.)

1. They know that genuinely religious people do religious things, things like fasting and praying. This is standard!
2. They have noticed that Jesus’ followers do not practice the aforementioned standard religious practices.
3. Let’s be kind and assume that at least some of these men were honest inquirers. That may be too generous!

 

❖      The Lord responds to their agitated concern by explaining the reason His followers refrain from religious practices (vv. 34-35)!

1. He asks a simple question for which there is only one intelligent answer, hoping for a thoughtful response. (The correct response is “no.”) They seem to be cautious.
2. He makes a statement that veils His ultimate purpose. He identifies Himself as the bridegroom who will be removed, making it appropriate for His followers to then fast.

 

❖      He points out the absurdity of patching an old valuable garment with a piece cut out of a new one (v. 36)! Who does that?!? It would ruin both and render both practically useless! “Only a fool would cut up a new garment to repair an old one, particularly if the patch worsens the problem. The obvious solution is to replace the old one with the new.” (Garland)

 

❖      He points out the absurdity of pouring new wine into brittle old wineskins, ruining container and contents (vv. 37-38). Who does that?!? New wine must go into new wineskins! The old cloth and old wineskin served their respective purposes and must be replaced.

 

❖      He points out the difficulty of quickly changing “tastes” (v. 39).

1. What is tried & true brings comfort & security. They’re satisfied with their religiosity and weren’t about to change! “One will not try what one does not sense the need for.” (Bock)
2. What is new brings discomfort & insecurity. Who changes easily?!? Those satisfied with the way things are will rarely entertain thoughts of change, even though they may be dead wrong!
3. “The impossibility of a syncretistic approach to traditional Judaism and the new way is also highlighted by the account. What Jesus offers is not mixable, even with a venerable faith like Judaism.” (Bock)
4. “Luke does not present Christianity as the latest thing but as the fulfillment of the ancient promises to Israel.” (Garland)
5.  “The point is simply that the gospel cannot be contained within Judaism without destroying both.” (Bock)

 

Jesus followers “need to seek and associate with the outcast as a part of their mission, even though there might be some who would frown on such personal relationships.” And “Disciples should seek the lost and relate to them in a way that allows the offer of God’s grace to be extended to them.” (Bock)