A Joy That Will Last
Luke 5:27-39
A Joy That Will Last
Have you lost your joy?
I. THE EXPERIENCE OF JOY 5:27-32
Jesus had cleansed a leper and forgave his sins. (Only God can forgive sins.)
A. The Commencement of Joy 27, 28
When you meet Jesus that is when joy commences!
1. Chosen 27a Levi the tax collector…
*Tax collectors were hated. He was a Jew collecting taxes for Rome!
*He was rich. He was on the job. Jesus chose him! How unlikely!! Are you
unlikely?
2. Called 27b “Follow Me”
*Turn your back on what you are. Give up the Estate, the Country Club membership.
*Turn your back on all that you consider important and “Follow Me”.
*Joy, real joy begins with Jesus. Repent: turn around, change your mind.
3. Committed 28 He left all…rose up…and followed Him
*It was an immediate, on the spot decision that lasted a lifetime!
*He left all…the fishermen could go back to their nets. When Levi walked out on his
job he was through. Has there been a time in your life that you Followed Jesus?
B. The Communication of Joy 29 Levi made a great feast in his own house.
1. Communicating of Joy Is Personal Levi (himself)…his own house…from him
(Levi) for Him (Jesus)…Jesus was the honored guest!
2. Communicating of Joy Is Popular there was a great company of tax collectors
(business associates) and others. Perhaps of the same sort!
*Levi invited those people he knew to meet Jesus. These were all he knew!!
3. Communicating of Joy Is Present Jesus sat down with them…
*Jesus was there! This was a joyful, festive occasion! Jesus was having a good time!
C. The Confusion of Joy 30
Pharisees…these were the religious leaders, and they were the standard.
1. They don’t come to the source, they go to the disciples.
2. What they say is true. Why do you eat with tax collectors and sinners?
*The Pharisees would not have been at the reception. Perhaps the house was open
and they could see what was going on.
*With strict rules of ceremonial purity, to eat with tax collectors and sinners was
unthinkable. To eat with a man meant friendship and full acceptance.
*All were sinners (including the Pharisees), but not all could see their need.
D. The Clarification of Joy 31 (read)
1. God is Looking for the Sick
2. God is Looking for the Sinners…the sick and sinners are candidates for joy. The
Pharisees were neither. They couldn’t see their need. Are you like the Pharisee?
Have you lost your joy?
II. THE EXPRESSION OF JOY 5:33-35
Don’t miss the point: the presence of Jesus brings joy. Mark and Matthew suggests that
the Pharisees put the disciples of John the Baptist up to this question (33). John was an
ascetic, a prophet, mourning and calling, “Repent!”
A. The Problem with Joy 33
What they were seeing didn’t mesh with what they had been taught.
*Fasting was only commanded once in the Old Testament and then only in connection
with the Day of Atonement.
*By Jesus’ time the Pharisees had decreed that godly people fasted twice a week (Mon
and Thurs.) For them, fasting meant mourning. A mournful offering was given to gain
God’s attention. True religion to them was solemn, joyless and gloomy.
*When fasting, some actually whitened their faces to effect an emaciated look. They
refused to wash and wore shoddy clothes.
*The supposition was you couldn’t be spiritual unless you were uncomfortable. The
Disciples were having way too much fun. They did not fast!!
B. The Parable of Joy 34, 35
1. His Presence 34
*Jesus answers the critics of the disciples and their joyous expression.
*The illustration is of a bridegroom and a bride. This would have been very vivid to
the Jewish listener. Jewish weddings were a most joyous occasion. They had a
weekof feasting and celebrating.
*The bride and groom were treated like kings and queens. These wedding guests
wereexempt from all fasting through a Rabbinical rule: all in attendance of the
bridegroom are relieved of all religious observances which would lessen their joy.
*Jesus asserted that His presence justified a feast, and his followers had the joyous
privilege of a perpetual weddingparty. Being in the presence of Jesus brought
them relentless joy!!!
2. His Parting 35
*There would come a time when His disciples would fast.
*At the cross, their sorrow gave way to the joy of resurrection and the coming of the
Holy Spirit. Vss. 36-39 deals with this matter.
Have you lost your joy?
III. THE EXPANSION OF JOY 5:36-39
A. His Parable 36, 37 Not Religion but Reality
The two are given in light of the Great Feast and Fasting. His presence = joy.
1. Garment…He takes a practice of patching clothes.
*To patch the old garment with the new would spoil both.
*The unshrunken new piece would tear the hole even bigger when dried.
2. Wineskin…the skin of goats were used as a container of liquids. At first they are
fairlyelastic, but as they get old they become brittle. New wine as it begins to
ferment would burst an old skin (losing both the wine and the skin). New wine must
be put into new skins. He is speaking of a new direction..new dimensions..new
dynamic!
B. His Presence 38 (read) We are His temple! We are in a relationship with God, and He
is in us!
*Christ produces an expanding joy. Knowing Christ is a perpetual feast, a continual
celebration (love, joy, peace..). The bridegroom is within us and we are the
Bride!!! Because of the bridegroom of our soul, life is a celebration!
*When Christ fills our life, the life (His life) begins to expand. He expands us beyond
ourwildest dreams. Once Christ takes up residence in our lives, every aspect of our
being undergoes a change. Christ keeps increasing our spiritual capacity. The
more wereceive, the more we are able to receive.
*Everything the old temple did, He does better. We are not friends of the
Bridegroom,we are the Bride!! Old structures cannot hold us because new life
resides within.
C. His Problem 39 Those who are sick and are sinners.
*Many who have never tasted the new are determined to never try it. What they have is
good.
*Jesus is offered. They must realize their old life is not adequate…joy is missing!
Joy Is Missing?
Jesus With Them Brings Joy!
Jesus In Them…expanding their lives to full and over flowing.
IT WILL TAKE SOMETHING NEW!