There was a pub in Plymouth, England that we affectionately called the Docker’s Armpit.  From the outside it looked something like the one pictured above.  It had a smell of old beer about it and it was in a rundown part of town near the Royal Naval Dockyard.  There were a number of characters who were there, but I didn’t talk to any of them.  They didn’t look very friendly, and I was a little too good for them in my own mind. 

Jesus never had that attitude.  In the passage below he reaches out to a fisherman, a leper, and a partying tax-collector.  I would be prone to think of these types as blue-collar ruffians, contagious nightmares, and officious materialistic swine.  When I think a little harder I remember that my grandparents worked the land and worked in the navy, I have psoriasis which would be considered leprous, and I am definitely not free from accumulating possessions and enjoying a party.  What would I have done if Jesus had considered me not his type?

Jesus responded with compassion to those who reached out to him.  However, those who reached out to him had an accurate assessment of their own condition.  Who reaches out to those who are enjoying a beer at your local Docker’s Armpit?

Luke 5:1-32

¹One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, ²he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

 ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down^[b] the nets for a catch.”

 ⁵Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

 ⁶When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

 ⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

   Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” ¹¹So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

 ¹²While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.^[c] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

 ¹³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

 ¹⁴Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

 ¹⁵Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

 ¹⁷One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

 ²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

 ²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

 ²²Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

 ²⁷After 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, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

 ²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰But 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’?”

 ³¹Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Questions

1. What people did Jesus reach in this passage?
2. What was each person’s attitude toward Jesus?
3. In what condition did Jesus leave each person?
4. How are you presently aware of your need for Jesus?
5. How can you, although you are needy, reach out to someone you find irritating, dirty, threatening, or draining?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. Where was Jesus when people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God?
2. How many times is the verb ‘saw’ used in this passage in the NIV?
3. Why does Peter let down his nets?
4. What questions do the Pharisees and teachers of the law begin asking themselves?
5. How does Jesus answer the question, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?

Interpretation

1. What qualifies a person to be touched by Jesus?
2. What disqualifies a person from being touched by Jesus?
3. How does sight play an important part in this passage?
4. Why does Peter want Jesus to depart from him?  Why is Peter afraid?
5. What diseases were classed as leprosy in the Bible?

Application

1. When did God cal you to follow him?  What condition were you in?
2. Why do Christians have less ‘sinner’ friends as they grow older?
3. Name Christians you know who hang out in hospitals,  gay and lesbian communities,  government buildings, bars, or nightclubs.  Are they ‘calling sinners to repentance’?    Who should be in these locations calling sinners to repentance?
4. How are the sick healed today? 
5. How do Christians approach AIDS?      http://articles.cnn.com/2006-06-05/us/warren.aids_1_aids-pandemic-hiv-painful-reminder?_s=PM:US  http://bigthink.com/ideas/3355