Bible 101 - Luke 7-9

Presented April 10, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee is thriving: crowds make it impossible for him to move easily from place to place. He's in demand as teacher, preacher and healer. He casts out demons, brings the dead back to life, touches people, and they touch him. People are amazed at his authority and teaching; they are eager to be with him - tax collectors, Roman army officers, synagogue leaders, desperate women, lepers, children and their parents. They follow him from place to place, and along with those who are his disciples, there are critics. The Pharisees and other religious leaders of the day are openly critical of Jesus: he forgives sins (only God can do that, they say); he "works" on the Sabbath (what an outrage!); he associates with people whom nice people shun (tax collectors and prostitutes). Even his dietary habits outrage them: he doesn't fast, and he even picks grain to eat on the Sabbath. In Luke 6:11, following Jesus' Sabbath healing of a man in the synagogue, they are described as "furious" and discussing "what they might do with Jesus." He's a threat. Jesus, as Simeon said at his presentation, is causing the "falling and rising of many in Israel, and is a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed." The religious establishment is being shown for the fraud it is by Jesus' teaching and ministry, and they can't stand it. Jesus, however, has found a home with common people, and his 12 companions, chosen after prayer (ch. 6), see him as a miracle worker, a prophet, and are beginning to ask whether he's more.

Luke 7:36: At the end of this chapter, we are shown a scene that contrasts a Pharisee and his self-righteousness with the humility of a prostitute who believes in and loves Jesus. The Pharisee, whose name is Simon, gives a banquet and invites Jesus. While Jesus reclines at the table, a woman "who had lived a sinful life," came to him, cried over him, washing his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with a costly perfume. The guests were outraged; obviously Jesus didn't know the character of this woman or he wouldn't allow her to touch him. But Jesus tells his host: "You provided no water for me to wash my feet; she has washed them. You provided no towel to dry them; she has used her hair. You gave me no oil to refresh myself; she has poured perfume on my feet." And then he tells Simon a story about a man who forgave two of his servants debts - one large and the other small. "Simon, who loved him more?" he asks. Simon supposes that the one who'd been forgiven the most loved him most; "just so, " Jesus replied, and he tells the woman "your faith has saved you; go in peace." He forgives her sins, and they were many. She has demonstrated her love.

Luke 8: This chapter begins with two familiar parables: the first is the parable of the sower and the second, about a lamp. The sower would have been a common sight in Israel - someone scattering seed to plant a crop for later harvest. And the seed would have gone where it was desired as well as on rocks, on paths and in weeds. Jesus uses this parable to illustrate the way his words fall on different kinds of hearts: those ready for the seed, those who are at first enthusiastic but later fall away because of distractions or hard hearts. The seed is the same; the soils differ. This parable is one the disciples ask Jesus to explain and he does. Then he tells them a lamp isn't lit to be hidden; in the same way, we aren't given knowledge (seed) for our own use. We are given knowledge in order to show others what Jesus has done for us by the change in our lives. We are to reflect Jesus as lights in the world.

Luke 8:19: Jesus' mother and brothers come to see him, but the crowds are so great they cannot get to him. He's told of their presence; he tells them "my mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." He doesn't deny his physical family; his love for Mary was so great that from the cross, he asked John to take care of her. But he continues to point to a different way of seeing things. He's brought a new message and it demands a new response.

Luke 8:22: The rest of the chapter involves demonstrations of Jesus' power over nature (a storm), over demons, over diseases and death. In the first instance, the disciples are out in the boat with Jesus and a storm threatens to sink them. Jesus sleeps through their bailing and fear; finally they wake him sang "we're going to drown," and Jesus "rebukes the storm" just as he'd rebuked Peter's mother-in-law's fever and the demons who'd come out saying "we know who you are." The disciples are amazed as his control of nature. Then on the other side of the lake, they come to a cemetery where a demon-possessed man lives. He's full of demons, and his name, Legion, reflects this. The demons have made him so crazy, he can't live near people. The demons recognize Jesus, and ask him to allow them to go into a herd of pigs; he does. The man is sane and dressed once again; the pigs run over a cliff and drown. The people who own the pigs are frightened of such power and ask Jesus to leave. They ignore the man's healing; they see only the loss of their pigs. May we not be so blind! The final two incidents involve the 12-year-old daughter of a synagogue ruler named Jairus. The little girl is sick, and Jairus asks Jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter. While Jesus is on his way through the crowds, he feels a purposeful touch. He asks who it was. The disciples are dumbfounded by this question: "Crowds are pressing in on you and you ask 'who touched me?'" But Jesus knows the person who touched him has been healed. He wants to meet her; she comes forward and we see her trembling, falling at Jesus' feet. She's been sick for 12 years with an "issue of blood," meaning her gynecological problems had ostracized her from her family and the synagogue all that time as "unclean." In her desperation, she'd gone to Jesus, hiding in the crowd, thinking if she only touched his garment, she'd be healed. Such faith! And Jesus tells her "Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace." What wonderful words these were; she's been restored to health and her family and community. While this was going on, Jairus sends word that his daughter is dead, but Jesus goes on to his house The mourners are there, but Jesus pushes through them with Peter, John and James, and the child's parents, saying "Just believe; all will be well." He goes into the girl, takes her by the hand, and tells her "My child, get up." She is returned to life. In these two incidents, a young woman just at the beginning of womanhood is given back her life, while a woman whose life had been on hold for 12 years is also restored to spiritual and physical health.

Luke 9: Jesus sends out the 12 apostles (apostle means "sent one") to minister with power and authority. He instructs them to go into the villages around Galilee, taking nothing with them except the message he's given them. This is missionary training and a test. How much have they heard? How deep is their commitment? He's also multiplying himself. So off they go to preach and heal; later he sends out 72 to do the same work. If being with Jesus changes us, and if what he's done for us brings healing, we are to tell others. Like the leper who danced all the way to the priest, or the widow whose son was brought back to life, we are to let others know what Jesus has done for us. Herod is told about the excitement in Galilee, and he's puzzled. Who is this Jesus? Herod had had John the Baptist beheaded. Now he wonders if John has returned to life? Or has Elijah come back? Herod wants to find out for himself, and to see Jesus. It's not until the last hours of Jesus' life that Herod's desire to meet Jesus is realized. And to Herod, Jesus says nothing (23:8-12).

Luke 9:10: The disciples come back from their missionary tour and Jesus wants time alone with them to hear their reports. And so they go to Bethsaida, or to a remote area near it, so that they can talk privately. But there's no privacy in Jesus' life: crowds follow them. And Jesus, we're told, "welcomed them." He taught and healed the sick over a long afternoon, and finally, as the sun was going down, the disciples wanted to send the people home. But Jesus told them "give them something to eat." The disciples report that all they have are five loaves and two fish. And they suggest that they could buy more food. But then we're told there are 5,000 men there, and by simple math, we can add women and children and come up with at least 15,000 in the crowd. Jesus is calm in this crisis, and since the disciples had recently returned from a ministry of healing and preaching, we should expect them to be calm, too. Jesus tells the people to sit down "in groups of 50," and Jesus takes the food they have, gives thanks to God for it, breaks the food into pieces and gave it to the disciples to serve to the people. Everyone ate until satisfied - leftovers filled 12 baskets. A couple of notes: Jesus was once again testing the disciples' faith. Could they respond to human need with faith in Jesus? They appear to have more faith in their ability to shop at Vons than to take a small lunch and distribute it to such a huge crowd. Secondly, Jesus asks the crowd to sit in groups. He likes order. We saw this in creation; God is not a God of chaos; he is a God of perfect harmony and balance. Groups of 50 would arrange the crowd in manageable sections so that the disciples could serve them without a riot.

Luke 9:18: Jesus is once again praying in private. Recall that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus advises the people not to make their prayers, fasting and charitable giving public. All these activities are good and proper, but they are not to be done for "show"; instead, each activity should draw us closer to God. He said "when you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matt. 6:6). Jesus by example shows his disciples what a life of prayer should be. And then he asks them "Who do the crowds say that I am?" He already knows, but he wants them to articulate what they've heard, and then what they believe about Jesus. They give Jesus a list of names: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the OT prophets who's come back. And then Jesus asks them the most critical question any of us face and all of us must answer: "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter, who emerges as the group's spokesman, says "You are the Christ of God." Peter tells Jesus (and at the same time himself and the other 11 disciples) that Jesus is the foretold Messiah. He is the one all the prophets, including John the Baptist, pointed to. But Peter and the others do not really understand what this means. Jesus will tell them three times "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life" (9:22); this is the first such telling. Imagine their shock and inability to absorb what Jesus has told them! It's too much. Especially when Jesus adds that there is a cost to being his disciple. "You must take up your cross and follow me," he tells them, defining the means of his own death.

Luke 9:28: Jesus, aware of the newness of what he's told them, keeps teaching. And just over a week later, he takes Peter, John and James up a mountain to pray. And there, in the midst of their prayer meeting, something wonderful happens. Jesus' appearance changes, he glows and shines, and with him are Elijah and Moses. Their conversation is animated, and it involves Jesus' coming death. These two OT representatives - Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the great prophet whom God took to heaven in a whirlwind - know Jesus is here to accomplish the redemption of the world. From this incident it's clear that it is well into the third year of Jesus' ministry. He's about to turn toward Jerusalem. In the meantime, three very startled disciples are watching this exchange, and they can hardly believe what they are seeing. Peter speaks up: "Let's build three shelters." Peter, like many of us, not only wanted to express his delight in what he saw, but he wanted to preserve it. Let's build a memorial here, he suggests. And then God speaks from a cloud: "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." And the glorious scene evaporates; Jesus is there with them just as he was when they climbed the mountain. The transfiguration or metamorphosis of Jesus into his heavenly glorified state had a dramatic impact on Peter, James and John. Peter writes of it in II Peter 1:16-18, saying "we were eye witnesses," and they were also "ear witnesses" to God's voice. They saw a sight no other humans had witnessed before; they were unable to speak of it for months to come.

Luke 9:37: When the three disciples and Jesus came back down the mountain, a crowd was waiting, stirred up over a man and his son. The man shouts: "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son," and he tells Jesus that the boy is possessed by a demon, and has been tormented by it for years. He adds that this is his only son, and that he'd asked the disciples to heal him, but they could not. Jesus is clearly frustrated by the ineffectiveness of the disciples. Haven't they learned to believe in him yet? Haven't they witnessed the power of prayer and the authority of the Holy Spirit? Jesus heals the boy, "rebuking the evil spirit," and giving the son back to his father. Once again, we see a life and a relationship restored. First we saw it with the leper, then the man with the withered hand is healed and given the ability to work again; we saw a widow's dead son raised from the dead and given back to her; we saw a woman healed after 12 years of illness that separated her from her family and community; we saw a 12-year-old girl given back to her family. We saw a slave healed and restored to his master, the Centurion; over and over, Jesus has touched people and they are made whole as spiritual, emotional and physical beings. The crowd is amazed, but Jesus, taking his disciples aside, tells them for the second time that as the Messiah, he will be betrayed into the hands of men. Luke adds: "they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it." Jesus has shown them a glimpse of heaven; they've seen yet another miracle, but away from the crowds, he's preparing them for Jerusalem.

Luke 9:46: Several incidents follow which show just how much preparation is ahead of Jesus; they still are unable to comprehend the kind of Messiah he is. First, they argue about who will have the best positions in the kingdom the Messiah will establish. Jesus has plainly told them he'll be betrayed, killed by the religious leaders and then will rise again. They are thinking about a Messiah who will over throw the Romans, and when that occurs, they want to be secretaries of state and defense, prime ministers and treasurers. Jesus answers them indirectly by bringing a child into the circle. He says "whoever is the least among you is the greatest." A child had little status in the society of that time; this "least among you" is what a disciple must be: not one looking for a position of power, but a humble child, willing to be taught and guided. Next they tell him a man has been driving out demons in Jesus' name and ask if they should stop him. Jesus, who'd just witnessed their inability to drive out an evil spirit, tells them not to get in the man's way because "whoever is not against you is for you." Apparently followers of Jesus ARE understanding that in his name, they, too, can do the works of the Father.

Luke 9:51: "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." A turning point has been reached in Jesus' ministry. He's heard a disciple say "you are the Christ." He's shown himself to three of his disciples as the glorified Son of God, the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He's told them that he's to be killed. And now, he turns south from Galilee and heads for the city where everything will come to its climax. He decides to go through Samaria, an unpopular move. The Samaritans were intermarried Jews with a mixed religious practice. They were avoided by most Jews traveling from the Galilee to Jerusalem; travelers would go to the eastern side of the Jordan for a route that detoured around Samaria. Jesus is ready to take a direct route, but messengers sent into Samaria are spurned. James and John, often called the "sons of Thunder," want to call down fire from heaven to consume them. But Jesus rebukes them, and they press on to another village.

Luke 9:57: Now at the close of this chapter, Jesus reiterates once again the cost of discipleship. He's told them before that they'd need to "take up their own cross daily" to follow him, and that losing their lives for his sake would bring them true life. Now in a series of encounters, people say they'll follow Jesus but he suggests that they must give up comfort and stability to do so ("foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."). Another man is invited to follow Jesus but says he must wait until his father dies. Jesus tells him to "let the dead bury the dead," meaning the spiritually dead would take care of that duty, whereas someone who wanted to be truly spiritually alive should be out spreading the Gospel with Jesus. A third man says he'll follow Jesus, but he must first go home to say good bye. Jesus says come now. All three incidents point to one truth: Jesus must be our priority and anything that gets in the way (career, family affairs, financial security) must be abandoned. Jesus must come first.

Next week: We'll see more of the Pharisees' attack on Jesus.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.