Luke Chapters 8 and 9
This overview is meant to be used alongside and in addition to Kay Arthur's Luke study guide.
Luke 8:1-3: Women join those following Jesus
Luke continues a theme related to Jesus’ kind treatment toward women in this passage. It follows immediately after Jesus shows kindness and gratitude to the sinful woman who anoints his feet. The women following Jesus have experienced His healing of either demon possession or illness, and their possessions are helping provide for Jesus’ traveling ministry.
Luke 8:4-18: Jesus teaches with Parables
Luke records many of Jesus’ parables. Here, Jesus discusses seed that is thrown into four different places: the path, the rock, the thorns, and good soil. Jesus addressed the parable to a large crowd, and followed up by explaining the parable to his disciples. Jesus gives a statement on the purpose of parables, “so that ‘’seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand" (v. 10). For those who follow Jesus, he reveals truth about the Kingdom. For those who oppose him, they do not understand his parables. Thus, he becomes a stumbling block for them. Luke ends this conversation with Jesus’ heed for the disciples to be careful how they hear, or to hear his words with good soil from the parable above.
Luke 8:19-21: Jesus defines his family
The ones who do hear God’s words and obey them are linked to Jesus so closely that he identifies them as family.
Luke 8:22-25: Jesus has sovereignty over the storm
This story provides a great example of Jesus’ human nature and divine nature together. As a human, Jesus needs to rest and sleep. As God, Jesus can command a storm to cease and it must obey.
Luke 8:26-39: Jesus casts Legion into the pigs
Luke notes that the evil spirit inside this man immediately recognized Jesus and was fearful of him. Jesus actually shows mercy to the demons by allowing them to enter the herd of pigs rather than cast them into the abyss. This event was so miraculous to the city that they were fearful of Jesus and sent him away.
Theological Consideration:
There is an important theological consideration from this passage involving the deity of Christ. Many who do claim that Jesus was merely a man argue that he never explicitly claimed to be God. However, stories like this demonstrate that Jesus understood himself to be divine. Instead of instructing the healed man to tell the city what he himself had done for him, he instructs him to tell them how much God had done for him. Then, the man went and told the city how much Jesus had done. Jesus seems to understand himself as acting out God’s power through his own healing and casting out of demons.
Luke 8:40-56: Jesus heals two women
This passage contains two stories, one sandwiched between another. The story of the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak is couched in by the story of Jairus’ daughter. Again, Luke continues the theme of Jesus’ demonstrating kindness and compassion to women. This was not the cultural norm. Luke has been demonstrating all along, though, that Jesus is not “normal.” In addition, this story demonstrates the power of Jesus. One woman is healed by simply touching his cloak. The daughter of Jairus is healed after she had been presumed dead by his household.
Luke 9:1-6: Jesus sends out twelve disciples with only his power
Although large crowds continued to gather around Jesus, he continues to pour into the twelve disciples. At this point, Jesus gives them authority to work the types of miracles he has been working (healing and casting out demons). These disciples would be totally dependent on the power Jesus imparted to them. This is seen by Jesus command for them to take no provisional items with them.
It should be noted here that there is an intrinsic connection between healing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom of God. Both have been a part of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom as well as demonstrating God’s authority (kingship) in his miracles.
Luke 9:7-8: Herod is perplexed
The political leader of the day is receiving conflicted and confusing reports about all that is going on with Jesus’ ministry.
Luke 9:10-17: Jesus miraculous feeding
Once the disciples return with news of their ministry experiences, crowds again surround Jesus. After a long day of teaching and healing, Jesus fed all five-thousand men (only the men were counted, but the women and children would have been fed as well) with only five loaves and two fish.
Luke 9:18-27: Jesus is the Suffering Messiah
The first part of this conversation with the disciples illustrates just how powerful Jesus is. Those who saw and heard him believed he was a resurrected John, perhaps even an Old Testament prophet who had risen from the dead. This further confirms the reports that were being given to Herod earlier in the chapter were actually the thoughts of those who saw Jesus.
Peter recognized who Jesus was, the Christ (Messiah or Anointed One). Certainly Jesus next words to the disciples caused great confusion. This is demonstrated in the parallel event told in Matthew’s gospel (chapter 16) and Peter's rebuking of Jesus. Israel’s hope in a coming Messiah led to an expectation of a strong, brave leader who would overthrow whatever pagan nation held God’s people in captivity (in this case, Rome). Jesus’ next statement explains why he instructed them to tell no one of Peter’s confession. The Jewish expectations of the Messiah did not line up with Jesus prediction of future suffering, rejection, and death at the hands of Jewish leaders.
In Luke’s progression, Jesus is identified as the Christ by angels (2:11), Luke (2:26), demons (4:41), Jesus (4:18), and now the disciples. This is also the first time Jesus acknowledges (in Luke) God’s plan for his suffering and death.
Jesus then addressed all of the crowds on the cost of discipleship. These verses are very powerful in understanding what it means to follow Jesus. At this time, the crowds did not know that Jesus would be picking up a cross and carrying it to his own crucifixion on behalf of their sins. It is amazing to see that Jesus does not ask anything of his disciples that he is not willing to do himself. In fact, Jesus picked up his cross and laid down his life for us, despite knowing that we would constantly fail to surrender our lives completely to him.
Luke 9:28-35: The Transfiguration
It is important to understand this miraculous event in its context. This story is tied to the previous conversations between Jesus and both the disciples and the crowd by Luke’s mentioning of it being “about eight days after these sayings.” This event provides answers to some of the questions raised in the previous chapters.
It is truly God’s plan for Jesus to depart from Jerusalem (v. 30).
Jesus is not Elijah.
Jesus is the Chosen One, the Christ (v. 35).
Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. Their presence refutes the earlier claims that Jesus was a resurrected Old Testament figure. His glorious appearance and dazzling white clothing, as well as God’s statement to Peter John and James, confirm that he is the Christ. God’s imperative, “Listen to him!” is very crucial considering the previous company they were in. Above Moses (the law) and above Elijah (the prophets), the disciples were to listen to Jesus. He has the authority to speak over these things, and to rightly interpret these things.
Luke 9:37-43: Jesus heals a possessed boy when the disciples could not
This is another story demonstrating how powerful Jesus was. Though the disciples had been given his authority, they were not able to remove this spirit from the boy. Jesus response, “O faithless and twisted generation,” suggests that they could have removed the spirit, had they had enough faith.
Luke notes that all of those present were “astonished at the majesty of God.” It is becoming increasingly clear to those involved truly see Jesus as an agent of God’s power.
Luke 9:44-48: Jesus reminds them of his impending death and the disciples’ lack of understanding
In the midst of the disciples’ amazement at his power, Jesus reminds them of his dark and deadly future in Jerusalem. Luke notes that the disciples did not understanding what Jesus was saying. This is demonstrated in the conversation that takes place next.
Jesus responds to the argument amongst the disciples about who was the greatest with a step parallel.
“Whoever receives this child, receives me”
“Whoever receives me, receives him who sent me.”
Jesus ends the argument by stating that whoever is the least among the disciples is the one who is truly great. For Jesus, humility is the ultimate sign of greatness. This is in direct contrast to the disciples’ discussion on who among them was the greatest.
Luke 9:51-55 Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem
Verse 51 is an important marker in the book of Luke. From this point forward, Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem and, ultimately, his death. This theme of Jesus “setting his face toward Jerusalem” runs from this verse to Luke 19:27. The Samaritans rejected Jesus because they did not believe that Jerusalem is the place where God should be worshiped, and Jesus had already set his face to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:57-62 Jesus responds to those wanting to follow him.
Jesus’ responses to those desiring to follow him are pretty harsh. They do not exactly fit within a “seeker model” of church in our culture. These responses echo Jesus’ earlier claim that whoever wishes to follow him must “lose his life for [his] sake.”
Application Questions:
Are we willing to accept and minister to those who culture identifies as “outcasts” or “less-worthy” as Jesus did?
Are we cultivating a heart that could be described as “good soil” for the Word of God to fall on?
Do we trust in the sufficiency of Jesus for our lives as ministers of His gospel? Are we willing to leave behind our tunics, money-bags, etc.?
Are we striving to be “great” by the world’s standards, or humble according to Jesus’ standard?
Do we count the cost of following Jesus?
Do we lay our lives down for him?
Do we teach others the true cost of following Jesus, or do we make it out to be easy and painless?
No comments:
Post a Comment