Jesus Christ Calls Levi to Follow Him & He is Questioned About Fasting. Bible Study. Luke Ch 5 Pt 3

Here is a teaching on part 3 of chapter 5 of the book of Luke. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Holy Spirit, please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. Lord, I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and they implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Luke Chapter 5 Part 3:

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.”

Alright, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verse 28, Levi knew that Jesus was the Christ and the importance of leaving everything to follow him. It's amazing that Jesus could just go up to someone and say "follow me," and they would just leave everything and follow him. It makes me wonder if Jesus had that to me, would I just leave everything and follow him? I would like to think that I would, but sometimes we can get so caught up in materialistic things and people of this world and different things that it's hard to just leave everything and to follow the Lord. Like I went over 2 days ago in part 1 of chapter 5 of the book of Luke, that's exactly what we have to do. We have to just leave everything behind and follow Jesus. We are nothing without him. He gives us everything. He makes us new and it's so important for us to follow him, to seek to live and have a heart like Jesus, to obey his commands, and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In verses 29-32, Levi had held a banquet for Jesus at his house and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others that were eating with them. The religious leaders complained to the disciples and asked why they were eating with sinners and tax collectors. In verses 31-32, in Jesus's response to these religious leaders, he said that he didn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We are all sinners. Every man and woman is a sinner. Jesus didn't only associate with righteous people. Jesus loved and served everyone and Jesus will save anyone who comes to him and asks for forgiveness.

Oh hey friend, sorry to interrupt this blog post, but I just wanted to remind you guys that "Christ Transforms Me," my 90-day journal is available for purchase on Amazon. Until further notice, all of the money that I receive from the purchases of that journal will be donated for the disaster relief of the people that were affected by the tornadoes that hit my hometown in Kentucky. To learn more about the journal or to purchase one, go to www.faithfuelsmyfire.com/journal

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 guests 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 patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he 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. If he does, 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 he says, ‘The old is better.’”

Alright, so those are all the verses of part 3 of chapter 5 of the book of Luke, but I'm going to discuss all of these verses with you guys here. In verses 33-35, they asked why Jesus' disciples don't fast. Jesus was with them at the time, so just like the joy of a wedding and having the bridegroom there, they had that joy so there was no reason for them to fast, But there would come a time when Jesus was taken from them and then they would fast. They didn't realize it at the time that Jesus would be crucified, raise again 3 days later, and then taken back up to heaven with God the Father.

In verses 36-39, with this parable, Jesus was showing that you can't fit his new life into old forms and that he hasn't come to patch up their old practices. I'm actually going to go into Ephesians chapter 2 and read verses 13-16 with you guys and they say: 13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility; 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." So with the crucifixion of Christ, with his blood, he washes us white as snow and we are dead in our sins and alive in Jesus. Whenever we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and forgive us of our sins, we are made new. But as Jesus says in verse 39, the sinful man that is set in his evil ways and that lives by the sinful nature and by the evil inclinations of his heart, is not going to want the new life that Jesus provides. And he's not going to want to be saved because he thinks that his way of life and living in the sinful nature is better.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. Jesus loves sinners

- We are all sinners and he loves every one of us

- He wants us all to come to him and ask for forgiveness and give us all eternal life

2. The disciples had joy when Jesus was with them

3. Jesus makes all things new

- Whenever we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and forgive us of our sins, he cleans us whiter than snow and we are dead in our sins and alive in him and we have a new life in Jesus

Luke Ch 5 Part 3 Study Guide

What would you do if Jesus came up to you and told you to follow him? Why?
Who did Jesus come to call to repentance? Why?
Why did Jesus’ disciples not fast?
How are we made new?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on part 3 of chapter 5 of the Book of Luke. Tomorrow we're going to go into chapter 6 part 1, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.

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