Luke 9:1-4 - Sent out

9:1,2

So far we have read of Jesus healing people and casting out demons, now we get a very important development. This power and authority is given to the twelve disciples. If we read the gospels we see that Jesus wanted people to have faith, and here we see Him giving power and authority to the twelve. So there are two important points. One is that normal men had the power to heal and cast out demons, and that the power and authority was given by Jesus. So what does this mean for us today? There are some who see this as being only for the New Testament times, and in particular as being  a sign of approval on the apostles. Some would also say that the demons have now all been defeated and casting out of demons is no longer relevant. However, this view seems to me to have no Biblical justification. Later on in Luke the seventy two are sent out and they experience demons obeying them, so the power was not limited to the twelve. In Acts we find that apostles carried on healing and casting out demons,  so we see that demons were still active. And a cursory look at life would seem to imply that demon activity is still ongoing. Moreover, the letters speak of the gift of healing.

Perhaps most importantly, the purpose of the healing and casting out of demons was the proclamation of the kingdom of God. That kingdom still needs to be proclaimed. However, it needs to be said that often we make a complete mess of this aspect of the church’s mission, either turning it into a show, or just having little idea of what we are doing. We need instruction from the Lord on this matter.

9:3,4

The disciples were to travel light. They were to be dependent upon the people they went to preach to. If someone welcomed them, then they were to stay in the house until their mission in that town was complete. Now these instructions are not a blanket command that we should never prepare for anything! Proverbs, Acts and the letters commend preparedness, but there is an attitude we should have. We can become so obsessed with planning that we do nothing, or that we end up no longer relying on the power of God.

Luke 8:49-55 - Brought back to life

8:49,50

Meanwhile Jairus must have been getting increasingly agitated, wondering if Jesus was ever going to come and heal his daughter. He may also have been feeling angry that Jesus was spending so much time on this woman. This may be a wrong reaction, but it is a very human one, and one that most of us would share have. Then news comes that seems to say the game is up and all is lost, he receives news that his daughter is dead.

Jesus counters this, telling Jairus not to be afraid but to believe. In dealing with us in times of our lives when anxiety seems to take a hold we will often find that the solution will only come when we stop being afraid. The first step is often to still our souls before the Lord.

8:51,52

Jesus kept most of the people out, only His closest disciples and the mother and father. Why did He do this? The “charismatic” answer is to get rid of those with a spirit of unbelief. There may be something to this, the wailers and the mourners certainly weren’t going to help matters! However, it could also be out of concern for the girl, and simple practicality.

Jesus commands the wailers and mourners to stop their wailing and mourning. Now why did He do this? Was it because the girl was not actually dead, but just in a deep sleep or coma, or was it because she was dead but He knew that He was going to bring her back to life? The latter is the more likely in view of the next verse. What is certain is that Jesus knew what was going on and He was going to bring life to the girl.

8:53-55

The crowd laughed, being convinced that she was dead. Now we need to remember that people of those days were far more accustomed to encountering death than we are, so notions that they were a bit ignorant and gullible are wide of the mark, and in terms of recognising death they were more knowledgeable than we are.

Jesus took the girl’s hand and spoke gently but directly to her, telling her to get up. “Her spirit returned”, indicating beyond doubt that Luke thought she was dead before Jesus healed her. She got up at once. It is the word of God that gives life, as it did right back in Genesis. Jesus then takes care of her practical needs, telling them to give her something to eat. Unlike the demoniac, Jesus tells the parents to keep quiet about the matter. Given that a good few people knew she had died, it is difficult to see how this could be done.

Luke 8:44-48 - Who touched me?

8:44

She came up behind Jesus, possibly too embarrassed about her condition to see him face to face, and touched His cloak. She was healed at once. Why did such a tentative approach to Jesus have such a dramatic effect? Because she had faith. This incident is a reminder that we cannot judge the faith of someone by outward actions alone. As James says, faith without actions is dead, so faith will produce an outward effect. However, I am sure we all know people who for a time have been very effusive in their “faith”, but then have fallen away. Conversely, there are people who do not make a show of things, and in some ways may seem to very timid, or to have many problems. Yet despite all the obstacles in their lives, they still approach Jesus. We should expect to see faith rewarded.

8:45,46

Jesus knew that something had happened, power had flowed from Him. Now this is interesting. When the woman touched Jesus’ cloak there was no personal interaction between them, yet the power of God still flowed into her to bring healing.

Peter thought Jesus’ question somewhat ridiculous as there were so many people around Him, but Jesus is interested in individuals as well as crowds. God is God of the whole universe, but He also knows each person in that universe.

8:47,48

The woman had hoped not to be noticed, but this was so unavoidable as Jesus was on the look out for her. So she came nervously to Jesus, falling at His feet. She told Him what had happened.

Jesus told her that her faith had healed her and that she should go in peace. Jesus addressed her as “daughter”, emphasising the fact that she was accepted after years of feeling rejected. So there was physical and emotional healing, the two often go together.

Luke 8:40-43 - Two needy people

8:40-42

NIV has “a crowd welcomed Him”, ESV (and the Greek) has “the crowd welcomed Him”. The significance is that the crowd is probably the crowd of v1-21.. Jesus had gone away and they were all waiting for Him to come back. Jairus was especially keen to see Jesus for his only daughter was very seriously ill. Jairus was a “ruler of the synagogue”, he was probably in charge of organising the services. He fell at Jesus feet, remember the healed demoniac was sat at Jesus feet. Jairus came to Jesus in humility. So we have a relatively important man in desperate need calling upon Jesus’ help. Jesus was surrounded by a crowd and they were all pressing in on Him.

8:43

At the same time a woman came to Jesus. She had been suffering from a discharge of blood for some twelve years. She had spent a lot of money, but no one had been able to heal her. There is also a noteworthy aspect related to the synagogue. The blood would render ceremonially unclean, so she would be excluded from many synagogue activities. So there is an interesting juxtaposition with Jairus. One is a respected and important member of the synagogue, the other is something of an outcast. It is perhaps significant that Mark adds that not only had the physicians been unable to heal her, she had actually got worse! Luke, himself a physician, does not mention this latter fact ...

Luke 8:34-39 - Please go

8:34,35

Not surprisingly these events caused some consternation. Those looking after the pigs went to the town to tell people what had happened. The people then came to see. There is no record of what they saw of the pigs, presumably an absence of pigs. They did come to Jesus and they saw the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind. This is what Jesus does for a person. He restores our dignity and soundness of mind, and we adopt an attitude of worship and obedience towards Jesus. This was such a dramatic change that the people were afraid.

8:36,37

Apparently there had been some who had seen all the events take place, and they told the others what had happened. The people then asked Jesus to leave. Why were they afraid? Maybe it was because they were afraid of losing money now the pig business had taken a severe downturn, or maybe it was just a fear of His power. Whatever the reason, we should note that it is not just the religious leaders who made the wrong response to Jesus, ordinary people are equally capable of making the wrong response. We see the same on the cross. One thief mocked Jesus, the other thief believed in Him. We sometimes have a tendency to eulogise the poor or to demonise the rich, both these reactions are wrong. All men and women are sinners, and all of us can be saved by the grace of God.

So Jesus left. In one sense these are very sad words, yet the people got what they asked for. People often ask “how can a God of love send people to hell”. On the day of judgement it will be more a matter of “why did we not respond when we had the chance”. May we learn our lesson today, before it is too late.

8:38,39

The now free man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him away. So those who, unless they responded later, were on the road to destruction got what they wanted. The man who now loved Jesus did not get what he asked for. God gives us the best for us, which is not always the same as what we want. On several other occasions in the gospels we read of Jesus telling people to keep quiet about what He has done for them. Here is one of the rare occasions where Jesus tells the man to tell others what He has done for him. Why the difference? Maybe it was because this was a Gentile region, so there was less chance of people misunderstanding the Messiah concept. Moreover, as Jesus was leaving the area He would not be around.

Evidence for the Resurrection - A brief primer

This is just a very brief primer on the evidence for the resurrection. There are many sources on the internet and books which go into things in much more detail, but it is important for us to know that while ultimately it is by faith that we know that Christ is risen, this belief is actually supported by the evidence. So here is a brief summary of the main points.

Positive Evidence

1. The gospels themselves and the New Testament letters. The New Testament was out together within a relatively short timeframe of the events of Easter. The evidence for the reliability of the New Testament documents is overwhelming when compared with other events of similar antiquity.
2. The church. How would the church have got started and grown without the resurrection?
3. Personal encounters with the risen Christ. If Christ was not risen, how is it millions of people, myself included, claim to know Christ?

Negative Evidence - Countering the arguments against the resurrection

None of the arguments against the resurrection stand up to scrutiny. Here are several examples.

1. The disciples made it up

If this was true then why didn't the authorities just point to the tomb where Jesus was buried?

If they had made it up would they have been prepared to die for a lie?

2. The disciples moved the body

Surely the body would have been found at some point? And again, why would they do it, and why would they be prepared to die for their faith?

3. They had hallucinations

There were multiple appearances to different people in different circumstances. This makes hallucinations a totally implausible explanation. And again there is the question, why didn’t the authorities point to the tomb?

4. Jesus never actually died on the cross.

Muslims believe something like this. Sometimes it is referred to as the “swoon theory” saying that Jesus merely swooned and was revived by the cool of the tomb. This is perhaps the most ridiculous suggestion. Jesus was severely beaten before the cross itself, He could not even carry His own cross.

The Romans were experts at two things, building roads and killing people.

Even if Jesus had not died, which is most implausible, what state would He have been in even if the “cool of the tomb” had revived Him? And how did the stone get moved?

5. The disciples were gullible and would believe anything

The gospel records clearly show that the disciples were not gullible, and had no expectation of Jesus being raised from the dead, even though Jesus told them He would be. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had been told by the women and Peter that the tomb was empty, yet they still did not believe that Jesus was alive until He appeared to them.

The long and the short of it is that it is perfectly reasonable to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. It is a unique and an amazing event, but it is also one whose veracity is supported by the evidence.

In summary, my belief that Jesus rose from the dead has no problems with the evidence, whereas, those who deny the resurrection have enormous problems with the evidence.

We can confidently rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Luke 8:30-33 - Poor little pigs!

8:30

More detail is given about this exorcism than most others, maybe this was a more entrenched case of demon possession. Jesus asked the man his name, but it was the demon that replied. The demon is referred to as singular (see v29), but the demon replies that its name is Legion because many demons had entered the man. We see here the terrible things that can happen to a person, but we will also see that notwithstanding that, Jesus still set him free. No matter how desperate our circumstances, Jesus is our effective salvation. Perhaps that is why this incident is dwelt on. Many times the dealing with demons by Jesus is dealt with in a matter of fact manner, but if are the one who is suffering we can think of a thousand and one reasons why although someone else can be helped by Jesus, our situation is so bad, or we are so bad, that Jesus would not want anything to do with us, or is unable to help us. Jesus can rescue anyone from anything.

8:31-33

The Abyss is the place of confinement for evil spirits. This was almost certainly in Gentile territory, for Jews were not allowed to keep pigs. The demons begged to be allowed to go into the pigs. Now at this point animal rights folk will get very upset, well tough! A man is more important than many pigs. Jesus did not make them enter the pigs, but maybe it was because these “unclean” animals were being kept that Jesus let them enter the pigs. Anyway, we need to have a proper perspective on animals. We are to look after animals well, but there is no way at all that animals are anywhere near as valuable as people. Anyway, the demons went into the pigs, and the pigs went over the cliff and drowned. Poor little pigs!