Luke 5:29-32 & 6:1-5 Jesus Defends His Disciples

Luk 5:29-32  And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30  But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
31  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luk 6:1-5  And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 
2  And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
3  And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4  How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
5  And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

In these two passages the scribes and Pharisees challenge Jesus' disciples (not Him) about their actions. And instead of the disciples defending themselves, Jesus speaks for them. He is their advocate, their defense lawyer.
It is the same today. If you are Jesus' follower, if you are learning from Him and allowing Him to work in your life, He defends you.

Luke 5:17-26 Who is He?

Luk 5:17  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23  Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25  And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

This is a familiar story; it is also related in Matthew 9:2-8 and Mark 2:1-12. What I see here is this: in verse 20, Jesus forgives the sick man his sins. In verse 21, the Pharisees, who knew the scripture, accused him in their hearts of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. In verse 24, because He knew what they were thinking, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the man's infirmity, as well.
The logical progression is this:

• Jesus forgave sins
• Only God can forgive sins
• Jesus healed miraculously
• Only God performs miracles (this is understood but not explicit in this text)
  
• Therefore, Jesus is God

They were all amazed, filled with fear, and gave glory to God. So should we all.

Matthew 16:4 Seeking Signs

Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.." A similar passage is Luke 11:29-30: "And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. 30  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation."

To whom was He speaking? The Sadducees and Pharisees who knew the Scripture thoroughly but refused to see Him for who He was: God's Son and the Messiah for whom they claimed to be waiting. They counted on their righteousness in the performance of the Torah to save them, yet they twisted it so it meant what they wanted. They were wicked and idolatrous, committing spiritual adultery and justifying it by their works.

So today: Modern Pharisees and Sadducees, people who claim to know Jesus, seek signs. They seek healing, prosperity, and miracles while still living the way they please and justifying themselves. But the only sign they will be given is that of Jonah: he was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale (great fish), then was vomited up to preach repentance to Nineveh. In like manner, Jesus came preaching repentance to us, and He spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth  (Matt 12:40) so we could be justified before God and spread the message of repentance and forgiveness to the world.

Do you seek signs from God? Do I? We must check ourselves! We may need to turn from our sin and seek His forgiveness instead!