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Focusing in on Discipleship (Luke 9)

In Luke 8, Jesus taught the disciples about hearing the Word and obeying it (8:4-25) and demonstrated how the weather, spirits, and life itself listens to and obeys His command. Continuing on in Luke 9 it is now the disciples' turn to carry out Jesus' ministry by His authority.


Luke 9:1-6
We see that Luke 9 naturally follows on from Luke 8 not just because it is the next chapter, but the first word is "and," a continuation or equivalence word. Luke 9-

1And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.

3And He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece.

4"Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city.

5"And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them."

6Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Verses 2 and 6 illustrate the continuing theme of listening and obedience. The Jesus sent them out (v2), so they departed(v6). They were to proclaim the kingdom (v2), so they preached the gospel (v6). They were to perform healing (v2), so they did everywhere they went (v6). Luke writes it in such a way that the language and the structure illustrate that the disciples are listening and obedient to the Lord. Am I beating this into the ground? Maybe I am, but this is so important. King Saul was removed from the throne because he did not listen and obey God's Word. Read 1 Samuel 13 and 1 Samuel 15 to see for yourself!

Luke 9:7-9
"Now..." (9:7) hmmm... something is going to happen!

But why does Luke suddenly mention Herod here? It seems out of place. Well at minimum word of Jesus was getting around for the (supposed) King of the Jews, Herod. Luke 9:7b, 8-

7Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

8and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.

Something to keep an eye on... Let's move on for now.

Luke 9:10-11
So the disciples return from their really short term mission and tell Jesus all they had done. Then Jesus "withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida," (9:10) taking the disciples along with him. The word "withdrew" tells me that Jesus probably wanted some alone time; maybe w/ the disciples to talk about how their missions trip went. But the crowds came to Jesus again and He compassionately teaches them about the kingdom and continues to heal people. (9:11) The Master discipler shows the disciples what to do (teaching and healing). He tells the disciples what to do - teaching and healing. And He continues to teach and to heal. As disciplers we should all long to be as Jesus was- a life of 100% consistency: His Words always matched His actions.

We can see this plain as day if we line the verses up next to each other:

Luke 9:2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
Luke 9:6 Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luke 9:11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Remember, when the disciples returned, Jesus' intention was to withdraw with them. But the crowds followed Him to Bethsaida and what is His reaction to His plans being messed up? He welcomes them! I know I've fallen short here many times. Sometimes after a long Sunday of ministry, or in the middle of a hectic Sunday morning, someone desires some of my time to ask me for some counsel. Sad to say, I don't always have the attitude as Jesus had here. I'm too concerned about my own to-do list to welcome someone who is probably seeking me out for some Biblical advice or perspective on some issue they are grappling with.

By the way, to say Jesus' intention to withdraw with the disciples and be alone, yet He was met by a crowd seeking teaching and healing, I am not at all suggesting that Jesus' (God's) sovereignty was subverted. Just wanted to make that clear.

Luke 9:12-17
"Now..." (9:12) The feeding of the 5000 (men) plus the women and children!

Jesus wanted to have a mini-retreat with his twelve disciples, but here we see that the crowd was actually 5000, only counting the men! So after a long day, the people have to eat and Jesus miraculously feeds them with five loaves of bread and two fish. A great spiritual principle I've heard drawn from this is that we only have to bring God what we have and He will multiply it to be more than enough. I think that is pretty awesome! The disciples didn't respond in doubt in 9:13, they just said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people." Just the facts. But we also see that their thinking is limited to the physical reality, "unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people." They thought there'd only be enough food if they only had enough money. With the Lord, "money is no object" and here it is quite literal for there was no money in hand! In the end, they ended up with much, much more than what they started with. (9:17)

Another thing to note here is that Jesus produces more bread from nothing. This reminds me of His confrontation with Satan in the wilderness, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (Luke 4:3) Jesus' response, "It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) In this very story in the feeding of the 5000, the crowd feasted on the word that proceeded out of Jesus' mouth so they could spiritually live and then He give them bread to physically live!

Luke 9:18-27
Luke 9:18 And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?"

Finally, Jesus gets some alone time to pray and then He asks them the key questions, "Who do people say that I am?"

They answer, Luke 9:19-

They answered and said, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again."

!!! Deja vu !!! Luke 9:7b, 8-

7Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

8and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.

The disiples answered Jesus in the exact same way that Luke recorded Herod's curiosity about Jesus! Come on- this has got to mean something!
Who is this Jesus? John the Baptist? Nah, can't be- he's dead. Elijah? Some other old prophet risen from the dead?

Jesus, the great teacher, focuses the question some more, "Who do you say that I am?" (9:20) Peter gives the modern day classic, and safe Sunday School answer, "The Christ of God!" (I'm just making fun. Good going Peter!) But Jesus says something that is completely unexpected, Luke 9:21, 22-

21But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,

22saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."

Why in the world does He say this? Now, remember, Jesus is saying this to only the twelve the disciples. The crowd of people are not there with Him now.

From Luke 7:7b, 8, and 19 (see above), not everyone "got it" that Jesus is the Son of God. Some thought He might be John the Baptist, or Elijah, or some other resurrected prophet from the Old Testament. Jesus' instruction to the disciples to not tell anyone (9:21) that He is the Christ is key. Jesus thinks that the crowds that have been listening to Him teach and those He's been healing, they should in fact get it. Why do I say this? I go back to Luke 8 and the parable of the sower and the seed- When faced with a huge crowd of people, Jesus taught in such a way that the disciples would get it, but the crowd wouldn't. Here in Luke 9, it's clear the crowd doesn't get it. After feeding the 5000 miraculously, there are those who are still perplexed as Herod was, "Is this John, Elijah, or some other prophet back from the dead?"

Now, speaking to just the twelve disciples, He really gives it to them, those who get who Jesus is, the Christ-

23And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

24"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

25"For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

26"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27"But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

DENY. In order to be Jesus' disciple, I gotta be completely self-less. I have to give it all up. Everything. MY wealth. MY friends. MY family. MY dreams and ambitions. MY pride and dignity. EVERYTHING. In reality, everything is His anyway. As we saw in the story of Job, it can all be gone in an instant. It is the sovereign God that owns and controls everything. So I'm just fooling myself to think that it is "mine."

CROSS. Now that I'm totally empty, I don't have anything. I'm basically dead, as Jesus was going to be on that cross. Why dead? Because you can't take anything to the grave.

FOLLOW. Now that I have nothing, I'm ready to have everything by following him.

I love how Jesus puts true discipleship into terms an investment banker, venture capitalist, entrepreneur or CEO would understand. Luke 9:24-25, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

Finally in Luke 9:26-27 it comes full circle. If we are ashamed of Jesus and His words, then He will be ashamed of us at His 2nd coming. Remember the seed in the good soil? Luke 8:15-

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."

If we do not obey, if we do not bear fruit with perseverance, Jesus tells us that we are in fact ashamed of Him. That is something that we should all ponder for a long time. From MasterLife, we memorized John 15:8, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." A true disciple is not ashamed of Jesus, the discipler, and so he will bear fruit, glorifying the Father.

Luke 9:28-45
I have always wondered about the Transfiguration. Why is it important?

What does it mean to be transfigured? Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster:

give a new and typically exalted or spiritual appearance to : transform outwardly and usually for the better

This is a really weird word to use here and the word is not even in the text. It is the word used in most Bibles as the heading for this section. From the definition, we see the transfiguration is not that Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah, but that His appearance changed. Luke 9:29-

29And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.

So that is the transfiguration! I actually used to think that the transfiguration was Jesus appearing with Moses and Elijah in some weird way. Hard to explain.

But this story is significant for it testifies to who Jesus is.

Who do the people say Jesus is? John the Baptist or Elijah or a risen prophet? (Luke 7:7b, 8, and 19)

The appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountain dispels the crowd's notion that Jesus was Elijah, for John the Baptist was the 2nd coming of Elijah, nor that He was a great prophet returned from the dead, a la Moses!

Who do the disciples say Jesus is? The Christ of God! (Luke 9:20)
Most importantly, who does God say Jesus is? That is the answer that really matters! Luke 9:35-

35Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"

That should settle any doubt who Jesus is. The Father's final words are really interesting, "listen to Him!"

Jesus and the three (Peter, James and John) come down from the mountain and immediately Jesus is asked to heal a boy possessed by a spirit. For some reason, the other disciples were not able to cast out the spirit. In Luke 9:41, it appears that Jesus is rebuking the man for his unbelief, but I think it is actually directed at the disciples:

41And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."

I'm guessing that it was the disciples unbelief that caused them to be unable to cast out the spirit. For in 9:44, Jesus says to the disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." Jesus is saying, in effect, "You guys, please really pay attention to my words, for I am going to be taken away soon."

Note that in this section there are two commands to listen to Jesus' Word. First from the Father in 7:35, "Listen to Him!" and here in 9:44, "Let these words sink into your ears..." Luke 9:45 tells us that they didn't understand what Jesus' was saying, but also that the meaning was concealed from them.

Luke 9:46-56
Luke 9:46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.

The heading in the NASB says "The Test of Greatness." I would title this "Determining the Real Disciples"
Jesus gives three indicators:
First, the greatest disciple is the one who receives the one who seems the most insignificant. Jesus used a child as an example.

Second, John asks about someone who is casting out demons in Jesus' name and he tried to stop him for he was not one of the twelve. Jesus answers, "Do not hinder him, for he who is not against you is for you." Sometimes we take Jesus' word out of context and take it to mean something else. I think John may have been getting an elitist attitude- he was one of the three to witness the transfiguration! They tried to stop that other demon caster for "he does not follow along with us." The sense I get is that if you weren't part of the twelve you weren't elite enough to be casting out demons is Jesus' name. Jesus rebuts John.

Third, on their way to Jerusalem, the Samaritans would not let them pass through one of their villages. James and John, one of the "elite three," asked Jesus, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" They must of felt pretty self-righteous being in Jesus' personal entourage. Perhaps they were thinking, "Who do these Samaritan's think they are? The Messiah is passing coming to town!" Again Jesus rebukes them and they continue on to another village.

Luke 9:57-62
This is an incredibly beautiful passage that closes out the chapter in an amazing way. The heading in the NASB says, "Exacting Discipleship." I think that is pretty accurate!

The central issue in this passage is that of following Jesus. Let's look at the statements by three prospective disciples and Jesus' responses:

The first one:

57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."

58And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

The second one:

59And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."

60But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."

The third one:

61Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."

62But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

After pondering these three responses, I think Jesus' responses are a parallel of Luke 9:23-

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

Here are the correlations:
Luke 9:58- "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
Luke 9:23- "He must deny himself"
Foxes and birds have homes, but the Messiah is homeless!! Jesus is asking the this prospective disciple, "Are you ready to deny your wants? Even your needs? Are you ready to give that all up?" This is a tough one for us. In America, especially Chinese, we pride ourself in home ownership. In church, the members pride themselves on owning a church building. It seems that if a church doesn't already own a church building, it almost never fails that that is one of the prime topics on their mind- How can we own our own building?

Luke 9:60- "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:23- "Take up his cross daily"
This guy wasn't ready to die to himself. He was waiting for his parents to die first. I've met some Christians who just can not die to themselves because they are unknowingly waiting for their parents, who do not approve of their faith, to die before they can be fully devoted to God!

Luke 9:62- "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:23- "Follow me"
Once you follow, your eyes have to be fixed on the leader- the one in front, not the one behind. If you're apparent, you know this from just walking through the supermarket with your young children. If you're walking on ahead of them a little, and they are to follow you. Once they take their eyes off of you, within seconds they won't be following anymore. They are lost!

Conclusion:
In Luke 9, Jesus focuses intently on the training of the disciples. He is not on the journey leading to His death in Jerusalem. "Let these words sink into your ears," He tells them. He lays out what it is to be a disciple in cold hard terms, no more elaborate parables. Luke 9:23, the 1st MasterLife memory verse says it all: Deny, Cross, Follow. The chapter closes with Jesus' elaboration on what it is to truly follow in relation to denying oneself and carrying the cross daily. This is God's Son, His Chosen One; and this is how we're supposed to listen to Him.

Listen... and Obey (Luke 8)

In Luke 7, we saw that our response to Jesus is based on who we think He is. We can think of it as being directed to any person, "Who do you say that He is?"

Now in Luke 8, I believe the story is focused on the disciples and their training. Jesus' discipleship of the Twelve is in very hands on. Luke 8:1 says that "soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village and another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God." Luke makes a point to note in the very next sentence that "the twelve were with Him" and some of the women He had healed and others who were giving Him financial support. (8:3)

Luke 8:4-14 is the very familiar Parable of the Sower. I am not going to get into the parable in the conventional sense, since it is well known, but more importantly, Jesus plainly explains the parable to the disciples. There are a few important details which shed light on why Jesus told this parable.

Luke 8:4 "When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable..." It seems that Jesus taught by way of a parable because of the crowds. As I noted in my thoughts on Luke 6, the many people surrounding Jesus had varying depths of intimacy with the Lord. Here the groups with which He had the least intimacy, crowds from the surrounding cities, were coming to hear Him teach.

The last part of Luke 8:8, after Jesus had told the parable, He concludes mysteriously, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." The word or idea of hearing and listening is all over this chapter. For some reason, Jesus taught, but understanding was only granted to the disciples! Luke 8:10-

"To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND."

The disciples asked for an explanation of the parable (8:9) so He explained it, in Luke 8:11-15. In His explanation, the central theme is hearing then what is the response to what was heard- the Word of God. The various types of ground represent the people, and all do hear the Word, represented by the seed. But all have different outcomes or responses to the Word.

Jesus told taught by way of the parable for He was in the midst of the crowd; in terms of the parable, there were all different types of soil. Some would get what He was saying, some wouldn't. Now why would Jesus want some to get it and others to not get it? Back to Luke 8:8, He clearly says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Jesus is actually quoting from Isaiah 6:9-

8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

9He said, "Go, and tell this people:
'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.'
10"Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed."

11Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered,
"Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12"The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13"Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled
The holy seed is its stump."

The message that Jesus is bringing is the same one that Isaiah was sent to preach. Paul actually quote the same verse at the end of Acts which is very enlightening. In Acts 28:11-31, Paul finally arrives in Rome and the Jews want to hear what he has to say about this "sect" (Christians), who they knew "it is spoken against everywhere." (Acts 8:22) So these were Israelites living in Rome and, in modern church lingo, we would call them "seekers."

Paul proceeds to share the Gospel with them, but they have a mixed response. Acts 28:24-28-

24Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.

25And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,

26saying,
'GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY,
"YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
27FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES;
OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

28"Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen."

In the end, it appears that none of the Jews accepted Christ, as far as we can know from Luke's account. (Remember? Luke also wrote Acts!) Some were persuaded, but other's would not believe. Because they couldn't agree, I'd say they gave up and left. Then Paul quotes Isaiah 6 as a judgement against them, sadly, "hearing they do not hear." I think Jesus had the same judgement when met with the crowd in Luke 8.

Jesus concludes the explanation of the parable with the good soil, Luke 8:15-

15"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Recently, I was listening to one of Blythe Followwill's "New Covenant Parenting" classes where she noted that to "listen and to obey" is a Greek idea. Where as, in Hebrew, the listening, or hearing, implies obedience. In Chinese, it is the same, when we say that a child listens to his parents, the obedience is assumed. Jesus teaches in this way perhaps He knew His Words would be read by Gentiles like you and me. Further Luke was definitely Gentile, and likely, a Greek.

So Jesus concludes by describing the good soil and the fruit it will bear.


Luke 8:16-21, The Parable of the Lamp
Jesus immediately follows up with another well known parable about the lighting of a lamp. On its own, this parable is very nice with the obvious meaning which Jesus explains. By telling this parable after the parable of the sower, which ends with the good soil, I believe this parable is a continuation of the previous parable using a different illustration. If the hearers (soil) received the Word (seed) in an "honest and good heart, and hold it fast" then fruit will come w/ perseverance. The lamp represents the disciples who have light now (the light of God) and that light will shine. This parable is directed squarely at the disciples.

Finally in Luke 8:18, Jesus ends this short parable on the hearing theme again, "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him."

When Jesus' mother and brothers came to Him, He has a very peculiar response, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." What a strange way to speak of your mother and brothers! Is He dissing them? If He is, then it's pretty messed up! But I don't think that's what He's doing here. Jesus is saying that those who are most intimate with Him are those who hear the word of God and obey. There's that theme again of listening and obeying!

This concludes the teaching part of listening and obeying, now Jesus demonstrates it in amazing fashion in the rest of this chapter.


Luke 8:22-25, Jesus Stills the Sea
One day, Jesus and the disciples got into a boat and He says to go to the other side of the lake. So they go. The disciples listened and obeyed!

As they were on the lake, Jesus falls asleep and a storm comes upon them. The disciples are terrified for their lives. They wake Jesus. Luke 8:24, 25-

He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. 25And He said to them, "Where is your faith?"

Kind of interesting: Jesus rebukes the storm, then He rebukes the disciples! "Where is your faith?" The disciples response is telling- Luke 8:25b, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?" Again, Jesus speaks (the Word of God) the winds and water listened and obeyed!

Luke 8:26-39, The Gerasene Demoniac
This story interesting because it clearly shows that demons and evil spirits recognize that Jesus is the Son of God. We're not demons or evil spirits so how does this relate to us? It is not enough to merely recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, even the demons recognize that, but we must put our faith in Him. We must give ourself completely to Him; as Paul says, a bondservant of Jesus Christ.

In the previous story, we saw how Jesus is Master of the physical world- commanding even the weather! Here, Jesus is Master of the spiritual world- He casts out thousands of demons inhabiting a single man.

After the healing is performed, the man is sitting down at Jesus' feet (8:35), presumably, listening to the Lord's teaching. Jesus tells the man to go home and testify of the great things God has done for him and he obediently goes.

Luke 8:40-56, Two Miraculous Healings
This section seems to be a sort of transition section leading in to Luke 9. After the parables of the sower and the lamp, Jesus has taught the disciples by taking them along with Him as He ministers. I bet the miracles and healings were as much about compassion and omnipotence as much as they were meant to teach the disciples by illustrating Jesus' truth.

Here Luke tells us about the healing of two people amidst two different circumstances. As Jesus is on His way to heal the synagogue official's daughter, a woman with a twelve year hemorrhage is healed by faith when she sneaks in touch His cloak. He commends her for her faith and sends her off in peace. Jesus healed her by her faith.

In contrast, when He finally arrives at the official's house He tells the family that the girl is merely asleep. They have the audacity to laugh at Jesus for they knew she had died! (8:53) Jesus proceeds to heal the girl though! Jesus raises the girl from the dead in spite of the family's lack of faith! I wonder if this synagogue official was in fact a desperate Pharisee. Though they doubted Jesus and every turn and sought to find Him doing wrong, this father went to get Jesus to heal his daughter, probably as a last resort. His unbelief is really striking, and I hope they counted their blessings as their daughter was raised from the dead. In fact, I would love to ask God in Heaven, "Did this synagogue official happen to be a Saducee?" With God's sense of humor, I wouldn't put it past Him! For the Saducees did not believe in the resurrection. (Luke 20:27) I'm guess that their unbelief is the reason Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone of the event.


Conclusion
In this chapter, Luke describes Jesus' training program for the disciples. Jesus teaches in a way that is appropriate in a mixed crowd of skeptics and devoted disciples by way of two parables. Understanding has been granted to the disciples. The parable of the sower teaches that all will hear the Word of God, but not all will believe. The parable of the lamp on the lampstand teaches that those who believe will be like a shining light that should not be hidden. It is those who listen and hear and obey the Word of God. It is these who are most intimate with the Lord, deeper even than familial bonds.

Then Jesus lives out His teaching on hearing and obedience by taking the disciples to different places, encountering different people, places and things. If the physical elements obey Him, if the evil spirits recognize His authority and obey Him, should we not as disciples obey Him even more so?

This chapter of the training is over. In Luke 9, Jesus give the disciples His authority to go and teach and heal; the same things He's been doing all along. Now it's their turn!

Who do you say He is and what is your response to Him? (Luke 7)

Again, I struggled for many days on another passage- this time Luke 7.

I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me and has revealed a common thread in the Jesus' encounters with the Centurion's envoy of Jewish elders, then John the Baptist's disciples and, finally, the Pharisee at his house. Thinking about it more, it is quite clear that at issue is what we think about Jesus determines our response to Him. This is the fundamental question of the Gospel- If Jesus is who He says He is, then how do you respond?

Luke 7:1-10
The first story, in Luke 7:1-10, involves the faith of the Centurion, a Gentile! Remember that Luke was a Gentile in the early church, so it's key that he highlights the great faith of a fellow Gentile. Being a Gentile in Israel, the Centurion knew that Israelites did not associate with Gentiles since they would be deemed unclean. Rather than go to see Jesus himself, he appeals to the Jewish elders to appeal to Jesus to come and heal his "highly regarded" slave. The elders appeal to Jesus is based on the Centurion's merits as he has treated the Israelites favorably, even building them a synagogue! And so Jesus goes with them. At first, it appears that Jesus decides to go heal the slave based on the Centurion's deeds- his treatment of the Israelites, but reading further it is not quite what it seems.

The Centurion sends a second envoy, his friends, to tell Jesus that He doesn't need to come to the house, even though He's not far off. Rather, the Centurion sees Jesus as analogous to himself- that both are of authority with servants to do as commanded by the master. Surely, Jesus could heal the slave without needing to physically come to the house. Now we see that the slave is healed not because of the goodness of the Centurion, but because of his great faith!

Jesus' response, in Luke 7:9, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith," reminds me of Luke 4:24-27 where His words turned a synagogue full of worshipers into a lynch mob. (See my previous post on Luke 4.) Here and in Luke 4, God sends a prophet to a Gentile!

The raising of a young man from the dead in Luke 7:11-17 is a segue way into Jesus' encounter with John's disciples.

Luke 7:18-23
The news of Jesus reaches his cousin, John the Baptist, and John sends two disciples to find out if Jesus is the "Expected One." Jesus responds quoting some Hebrew Scriptures- Isaiah 35:5 and 61:1. Remember that Isaiah 61:1 was part of Jesus' reading at the synagogue in Luke 4. Jesus answer to John is a clear affirmative. Essentially, Jesus is saying, "I am fulfilling the prophecies of the Messiah from the book of Isaiah," therefore He is the Expected One.

Luke 7:24-35
Jesus uses the encounter with John's disciples to highlight the problem of "this generation": they've utterly rejected John the Baptist and Jesus, both God's messengers. In a sense, God "can't win." John was a prophet that rejected all earthly things by living in the wilderness, yet he was rejected by the majority of the people. "He has a demon" they said. (Luke 7:33). Jesus on the other hand came "eating and drinking" (Luke 7:34) and the people accused him of being gluttonous and associating with sinners.

Luke 7:36-50
"Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him..." (Luke 7:36) Though it was the Pharisee who desired Jesus to dine with him, he showed none of the customary common courtesy afforded to a guest in their society and period. Jesus bluntly calls him out in Luke 7:45-46 -

45"You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.

46You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume."

Jesus drew a stark contrast between the Simon the Pharisee and the prostitute. Both were in the presence of the Jesus, yet each responded to Him differently. The Pharisee's intention of inviting Jesus over for dinner is in serious doubt. Why in the world did he invite Jesus if he were not going to treat Him as a guest? I believe the Pharisee merely wanted to expose Jesus to be a fraud. "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner," he said in Luke 7:39. Yet, he acknowledges Jesus as Teacher in v40.

Something to note is how Jesus addresses Simon in v40, "Simon, I have something to say to you." Jesus says Simon's name first, before making his statement. Contrast w/ Simon's response at the end of that verse, "Say it, Teacher." Simon doesn't address Jesus by name or title (Teacher) first. I wonder if this is a sign of disrespect? derision?

In his own home, Simon disrespects Jesus. In contrast, the prostitute, a sinner that is unwelcome in the home of a Pharisee, gives Jesus ultimate respect.

The key is in Luke 7:47-

"... her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

This harkens back to the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the 1st Beatitude-

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The poor in spirit is the one who is forgiven much for they realize that in their utter moral and spiritual emptiness they must turn to God and love Him and hence inherit the kingdom of heaven. The supposedly "rich" in spirit is the one who is forgiven little and hence does not think he needs God at all, nor loves God.

This is classic gospel material! Who do you say Jesus is and how do you respond to Him? Our answer and our actions to this question determines our fate for all eternity!

Who do we identify with? The Centurion, a Gentile, believed in Jesus. The funeral procession believed in Jesus at the sign of His miracle. John the Baptist, Jesus' own cousin, sent disciples to confirm that Jesus was who they thought He was. Finally, there is Simon the Pharisee and then the prostitute- a supposed man of God who rejects the very incarnation of God, while the lowliest sinner recognizes her own sinfulness in His holy presence.

As I think about it, I find that I tend to be like Simon. I usually think that I can handle things on my own. A common indicator is my prayer life or lack thereof, or prayer struggles. Many times when faced with challenges at work, at home, or at church; or have major decisions to wrestle with- my wife will ask, "Have you prayed about it?" or "Have you asked God for help?" and sadly, my answer is more often "no" than "yes." Where I should realize that I am limited, while God is limitless, then I would go to Him 1st not last. Though I profess with my mouth and believe in my heart that He is my Lord and Savior, in day-to-day practice, I find that I think I can be the lord.

The Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49)

In all honesty, in addition to slacking off and not blogging, I've really been pondering this passage since my last post. "How can I write about the Sermon on the Mount in just one blog post?" I thought. This is stuff that you can think about for the rest of your life! Albeit, Luke's record of the Sermon is a shortened version compared to Matthew's.

The very 1st verse, Luke 6:20, tells us that this message is intended for His disciples: "And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say.."
The blessings and woes in Luke 6:20-24 are in a parallel structure:
20b "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21a "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

21b Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22"Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23"Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

25a "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

25b Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

I won't get into the specifics of each verse, rather, let's look at the bigger picture. Jesus is talking to His disciples here and is drawing a dividing line between those who are true disciples and those who are not. He's saying that if we are His real disciples, as (He implies) the prophets were (6:23b), then we will be hated, ostracized, insulted and scorned for His sake. But we are to "be glad,"for the present persecutions do not compare to the future reward in heaven!

On the flip side, we should beware when all men speak well of us, for the false prophets were treated in the same way!

Jesus foreshadows how the population at large (men/all men) will persecute the true followers of Christ, but will laud the false prophets!

Jesus continues in 6:27 by saying, "But I say to you who hear..." and then teaches them true Christian behavior. Reading Luke 6:27-38 again and again, I'm struck by how utterly impossible it is for anyone to live perfectly this life that Jesus lays out. But is it really impossible? I don't think it is, but it IS impossible by our own strength. Think about it- how many Christians do you know who actually live this life that Jesus prescribes?

Jesus summarizes this Kingdom life in 6:35-

35"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Note in the verse 35, "and you will be sons of the Most High." The word here is "and"- an equivalent statement. Not "then" - i.e. if you do all this, "then you will sons of the Most High." There is an incredible difference between "and" and "then." "AND"- If we're sons of God, then will do those things. "THEN"- If we do these things, then we will be Sons of God. "Then" is what turns it into a performance based cult = false prophets and teachers.

Also, in v35, Jesus calls us to be like God, for He Himself does the things He wants us to do. This reminds me of the O.T. law where it says again and again, "Be holy, for the Lord your God is Holy." In v36, Jesus additionally calls us to be merciful, just as the Father is merciful. (If you're a fan of the movie "Gladiator".... "Maximus the Merciful!")

Suddenly, in Luke 6:39-49, Jesus speaks to the disciples in parables. Some short commentary-
39And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

I wonder if Jesus here is warning the disciples against the teachings of the Pharisees. At the beginning of the chapter 6, it He clearly showed how utterly lacking the Pharisees were in their understanding of the Law, "Have you not even read...?" (6:3)

40"A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Jesus is the teacher, not the Pharisees. Fully trained disciples will be like Jesus!

41"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

I believe Jesus again is warning against the Pharisees. It is as if He were saying, "How can you purport to be teaches of the Law when you yourself do not understand it and are not keeping the spirit of the Law?" This is a reminder to me as a teacher, that I need to really watch out for being a hypocrite.

43"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."

If we took Luke 6:27-38 on it's own, it would seem that the Christian life is a real burden! "How impossible it is to live up to Jesus' standard?" Well, of course it is, for Jesus is the Holy God, so His standard is pure holiness. Yet, in 6:43-45, this Christian life is not to be a burden if we have the "good treasure" in our heart. We find out later that that good treasure is the Holy Spirit which Jesus sent to live in every Christian. The Holy Spirit brings forth what is good!!

And finally, Jesus' conclusion:
46"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

47"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

48he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49"But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

Do not be so quick to assume that you are, or I am, the wise builder. Do we do what the Lord says? Or are we disobedient? Are we living life by the Spirit or a life of burden by our own effort? True discipleship is by the Spirit, in obedience to God; and that life may not be a comfortable life, but it will be a blessed one. The man that truly lived this out, other the Jesus, was the Apostle Paul. In all his suffering and trials, he rejoiced in his salvation! This is the Kingdom Life, this is life the way God meant it to be lived!!

Model Minister and Ministry (Luke 6:12-19)

Luke 6:12-19

After the two Sabbath confrontations w/ the Pharisees earlier in chapter 6, Jesus spent the entire night on a mountain in prayer to the Father before He chose the Twelve. The magnitude of Jesus next two acts - appointing of the twelve apostles and the Sermon on the Mount - is really underscored that He spent the entire night in prayer. I probably would have went to bed early so I'd be rested for the big day!

In 6:13 and 17, Jesus presumably had a fairly large following of disciples, but from the larger group, He chose the Twelve. And "whom He also names as apostles." In Greek, apostle means "one sent out." Mark 3:14 clearly gives the purpose for Jesus' selection of the Twelve: ... so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach; this is consistent with Luke's account here.

Picture in your mind what is happening here: Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray. He called His disciples to Him and chose Twelve. Then He and the Twelve come down from the mountain. And "there was a large crowd of His disciples and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon." It is interesting to note the intimacy level of each group. From the most intimate to the least:

1. Jesus and the Father. (ratio of 1:1)
2. Jesus and the Twelve. (1:12)
3. Jesus and the large crowd of disciples. (1:Many)
4. Jesus and the throng of people. (1:Lots More)
   

A criticism I've heard of pastors is that sometimes people or groups of people feel neglected: "He's never called me on the phone or visited me at home." "He spends so much time with this group, but not with that group." Perhaps sometimes these criticism have some basis, and I'm not even going to argue from a practical standpoint if a pastor can give each of his congregants equal time and attention. But observing Jesus' example, He clearly spent more time with some disciples than with others. Even within the Twelve, we see that He spent more time w/ Peter, James and John (ratio of 1:3).

My desire is to follow Jesus' ministry model. As a disciple, I seek to spend time w/ my discipler and for him to send me out to teach. Likewise, as a discipler, I want to spend time with my disciples and send them out to teach. (Although, I may be discipled by someone and I may disciple some people, Jesus is the true discipler of us all.)

Nitpicking the Son of Man (Luke 6:1-11)

Luke 6:1-11

Luke 5 ends w/ the metaphor of the new/old wine and wineskins. Appropriately, this metaphor is demonstrated in real life at the beginning of Luke 6 where Jesus declares himself the Lord of the Sabbath.

I love the "feel" of Luke 6:1, "Now it happened that..."- so matter of fact... like, "It just so happened that..."

Well, it just so happened that Jesus and His disciples were passing through grain fields on the Sabbath and some of them were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Note how Luke phrases the action here. To make the sentence concise, I'd write that "some of them were picked heads of grain to eat." But Luke records it as three actions:

1. Picking the heads of grain.
2. Rubbing them in their hands.
3. Eating them.
   

Now the disciples have gone and done it- they've broken the Sabbath! The Pharisees have caught them with their hands in the cookie jar, or in this case, the grain fields. "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" some said (Luke 6:2).

Jesus' begins His response in a very peculiar way, "Have you not read..." The focus is put back on the Pharisees! In fact Jesus answers their question with a question in return! Essentially, Jesus is saying, "Do you not know if you are the teachers of the Law?"

The incident of David eating the consecrated bread, which only the priests were allowed to eat, was in fact a breaking of the Law (Leviticus 24). Yet the Pharisees would not speak against the great King David. (At the time of the incident, he was not yet officially king over Israel.) If it was OK for David and his men to break the law, then isn't it OK for Jesus and His disciples? His very next statement, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." What does this mean?

In the parallel account in Mark 2:23-28, v27 gives us a hint. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In fact Jesus is indirectly testing the Pharisees most basic understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Pharisees were completely caught up in what they thought could and could not be done on the Sabbath that they missed the whole point. In fact, they defined work so strictly, it was a burden to keep the Sabbath. In Mark 2:27, Jesus sheds the light on the Sabbath by going all the way back to Genesis 2! God didn't institute the Sabbath as an extra burden for man, but rather the Sabbath was created as a good thing for man. God, in His omnipotence, certainly did not need to rest, but the 1st Sabbath was an example for us. Certainly, Jesus, being God, and through whom all things were created (John 1), is greater than King David, and the one who instituted the Sabbath, would know it's original intent better than anyone else.

Now why does Jesus refer to Himself as "the Son of Man" in Luke 6:5? This title is a Messianic reference from Daniel 7:13-14. Hence the Messiah, God the Son Himself, the Lord of the Sabbath, defines what is the Sabbath.

Proceeding to Luke 6:6-11, the story picks up on another Sabbath. As was His custom, Jesus entered the synagogue to teach on the Sabbath. Yet again, the Pharisees were waiting for Him to slip up. Jesus commands a man with a withered to get up and come forward and then He poses a question to the Pharisees- "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" They didn't answer Him, but I don't think the question was meant to be rhetorical since He looked around at them (v10) presumably waiting for an answer. Is it not right to do good on any given day than to do harm, let alone on the Sabbath? Any child would easily answer it is better to do good on the Sabbath. But the teachers of the Law did not give any response!

Hearing no response, Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" This is utterly hilarious- for the Pharisee are waiting for Jesus to break the Law again to find cause to accuse Him. Jesus could have healed the man's hand by touching it, or saying "Be healed," etc., yet all He did was ask the man to stretch out his hand. And it was healed! Now, if I were one of the disciples and knew what was going on, I probably would have been gnawing at my tongue to avoid busting out laughing in the middle of synagogue! As legalistic as the Pharisees were, they had nothing on Jesus. Technically, all He did was tell the man to stretch out his hand!

From this story, we see how Jesus declared that He was indeed the Messiah, not only in title (the Son of Man), but by demonstrating His deity as creator of the Sabbath, as author and preeminent authority of His Word, and as healer.

The application from all this is to learn from how the Pharisee completely missed the point of the Law and were so short-sighted that they did not recognize the Messiah when He was right in front of them. The Pharisees were the ones interpreting the Law, dictating what could and could not be done on the Sabbath. Now, the author of the Law, and the One who instituted the 1st Sabbath to be a blessing to man was here to set the record straight.

Today, I miss the mark on the Sabbath as the Pharisees did in their time. Our Sabbath is celebrated on Sundays and it is a good reminder that it is to be a day of rest as God originally intended it to be- a blessing for us rather than a burden. Truth be told, recently I've been so enmeshed in "ministry" on some Sundays that it had become a burden for me rather than a day of rest and of blessing. Pray that I would heed the instruction of the Son of Man, the Lord of the Sabbath.