You have words of eternal life.

Luke 4:31-5:11 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; ³² and they were amazed at His teaching, because His message was delivered with authority. ³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. ³⁶ And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.

³⁸ Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. ³⁹ And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and served them.

⁴⁰ Now while the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He was laying His hands on each one of them and healing them. ⁴¹ Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” And yet He was rebuking them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.

⁴² Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, because I was sent for this purpose.”

⁴⁴ So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

5 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Today’s text says: Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. 

That Peter, James and John left everything to follow Jesus, begs the question; Was it because of the large catch that He provided, or was it the words they heard as Jesus taught the crowd from the boat?  Too often, people tend to seek and follow the miracles, rather than the words of the teacher. Mark 16:15-20 says: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  The signs and the miracles are not meant to replace or supersede the preaching of the gospel, but rather to confirm it. If more people would truly seek and follow the teacher, Jesus, more would find the healer and the miracles they need.

In John 6:61-69, after Jesus delivered a difficult message, it says: Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this offensive to you? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have already believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”  Many of the teachings of Jesus are offensive to many today. As a result, many no longer follow and walk with Him. Still, many are quick to seek and claim the benefits of following Jesus. Jesus words, even or perhaps particularly the ones which may be offensive, are the words of eternal life. They are meant for our benefit.

To receive a miraculous healing or deliverance form Jesus is truly a blessing. But, the truth is, the miracle is meant to confirm who Jesus is, that He is the Christ, the Lord and Savior. In Mark 8:36 Jesus asks: “What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”  Here’s the thing: Everyone who is saved by Christ will be healed and whole, if not here and now, then in eternity, but not everyone who is healed will be saved. Revelation 21:3-8 says: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

May the words of Psalm 119:97-105 be our declaration and prayer as we seek to follow the teacher.  How I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than those who are old, Because I have complied with Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, So that I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Amen.