Getting to Know Jesus More #7

We saw yesterday in Luke 9 that Jesus had sent out His apostles two by two to preach and to heal. They came back. Verse:

10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

This is probably the best-known miracle of Jesus apart from the resurrection, as it is the only one all four Gospel writers include.  That may be because so many people were personally impacted by it, especially the twelve. Each one was left there holding their own personal basket of leftovers, all of them knowing how much there was to begin with.  It was also a personally piercing reminder of how much more they all needed to learn about Jesus and serving Him, as He had first instructed them to provide the meal.  There is so much more we all need to learn about Jesus, what He can do, and what He wants to do through us. 

Getting to Know Jesus More #6

The end of Luke 8 is one of those places where there really should not be a chapter break, as Luke continues with the next logical step in the opening paragraph of chapter 9:

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.[a] 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

In chapter 8, Jesus had really picked up speed in His ministry: going more places, getting more followers, doing more dramatic miracles. To continue on, He needed help, so he gave them power and authority to be His ambassadors, preaching and performing miracles, so the Good News could travel farther and faster. Luke now ties in something Theophilus, the Roman official he is writing to, can check out:
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.

As we saw earlier, one of Jesus' woman followers had connections to Herod's court. She could attest to the fact that Herod wanted to meet Jesus but was afraid of Him. That says a lot about a person who was willing to kill anyone who got in His path. Herod in one sense was asking the same question the apostles had asked on the ship: "Who is this man?", but as he does, he is not willing to get close enough to find the answer.  How about you?

Getting to Know Jesus More #5

 In the middle of Luke 8, we have seen Jesus begin to intensify His lessons and miracles, as the apostles wrestle with this question: “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” Jesus is on His way to heal another only child, when we find this in the middle of verse 42:

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” A lot of things here are similar to what we have seen before: an illness no one else could heal, a woman humbly coming up behind Him to stay out of the limelight, the power of God flowing out of Him, Jesus' pronouncement of peace. There is nothing new here, but there is a difference.  Jesus wants to make it clear that in the midst of the increasing crowds and bigger miracles, He has not lost sight of one soul.  Though we have seen that His healing power just kind of flowed out of Him, He does not want us to see it as some impersonal force. Just as the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, Jesus was very aware of each person whose life He touched.  Though He was already on His way to heal another, Jesus was not too busy to stop.  Just because Jesus' miracles were becoming bigger did not mean He could not see individuals in need, like you and me, and personally respond to them.  

Getting to Know Jesus #4

We are nearing the end of Luke 8, where Jesus has intensified His miracles, having just gone across the Sea of Galilee to cast out thousands of demons. 

Verse 40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

Then, after an interruption we will talk about tomorrow, we pick up in verse

49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Jesus had spoken in this synagogue in Capernaum often, indicating this leader must have been open to the Gospel, unlike many of the religious leaders.  When word came that it was "too late", because his daughter had already died, Jesus encouraged him to not give up. The man had Jesus continue His journey. Anyone who was hesitant to believe Jesus could still do something was asked to leave, and a limited audience was left.  Not only did Jesus restrict who witnessed the event, He told those who did see it to not tell what had happened: now show or tell.  Why? Jesus had done miracle after miracle in that town. Those who refused to believe after seeing and hearing the Good News over and over again would not be persuaded by one more miracle. How much have you seen and heard of what Christ has done? Have your grown dull of hearing?  Unable to see what He has put right in front of your face?

Getting to Know Jesus More #3

In the middle of Luke 8, we began to see Jesus respond to the disciples' question: “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” We saw yesterday that instead of seeing Him just heal a demon-driven man, Jesus drove out over a thousand demons at the same time. They now see what kind of impact that would have:
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

The impact on the delivered man was totally life-changing: he now was in his right mind, clothed, and ready to tell anyone and everyone what Jesus had done for him.  The impact on the community was great as well - in a negative way. When Jesus was healing one person at a time in Israel, there was a mix of praising God and a group of negative, self-righteous people.  Luke notes that though everyone came out to see and hear, all the people from all the region asked Him to depart. Why would they do that? Spiritual apathy. They wanted things to stay the same. They were afraid of what kind of change Jesus would expect in their lives.  The more we get to know Jesus, the more change we can expect in our lives. Many do not want things to change, even though it is the best thing we could ever hope for. 

Getting to Know Jesus More #2

We ended our study yesterday in Luke 8:25, where after witnessing Jesus calm the storm with His voice, His disciples remarked: “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” Maybe we don't know Jesus as well as we thought we did, and we need to get to know Him more. Verse:

26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

The disciples had seen Jesus heal many afflicted by demonic activity, but this takes it to a whole new level - a man, Matthew says there were two of them, but we are talking thousands of demons haunting that area and afflicting one or two men.  Mark tells us there were about two thousand pigs the drove into the sea. When the disciples seriously asked "Who then is this", it opened up a whole new world about Jesus. Maybe we need to ask God to help us see more about Jesus. 

Getting to Know Jesus More #1

Jesus' apostles had seen and heard so much following after Him: the miracles, the messages of the Kingdom of God, the masses of people who came to see and hear Him. What more could there be? Luke 8:

22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

It seemed like any other day with Jesus: going somewhere to hear Him preach and watch Him heal. Then one of those sudden storms came up - the worst they had ever experienced, and those among them who were fishermen had experienced a lot. They were convinced they were going to die, while Jesus slept through it all. They woke Him up, He spoke up, and immediately the winds and the waves calmed down. After all they had seen to this point, nothing compared; Jesus rules over the forces of nature with the sound of His voice.  This experience introduces events that raised their understanding of Who Jesus was and what He could do to a whole new level: they had a lot more to learn about Jesus. So do we.