Inside or Outside the Box?

Luke 4&5: Amazing and astonishing are two words used by Dr. Luke to tell about how people reacted to the teaching of Jesus. In his Nazareth synagogue, he is selected to read the scriptures. The listeners were amazed at his gracious words, but as soon as they realize He is pointing to their lack of compassion, they were transformed from meek and mild Dr. Jekyll to the evil Mr. Hyde and sought to kill him.

Leaving Nazareth, he heads to Capernaum and encounters a crowd by the seashore. “Borrowing” Peter’s boat, he challenges Peter to let down his nets. It had been a night of poor fishing, but with some reluctance, he let down his nets and soon was astonished. The net was so full that it was about to break. Yet, Peter’s astonishment turns to “go away from me; I am a sinful man.”

Again, we find Jesus busy teaching as he encounters the religious leaders and uses a parable about wineskins and garment patches as evidence the religious leaders were unwilling to change; they were comfortable with the old ways.

Luke sums up these amazing, astonishing encounters with these words: “The old is good enough.”
Do we, too, respond, “The old is good enough;” I am not ready for a radical change? Jesus is challenging us to stop fishing for fish and begin fishing for men.