Luke 9:18-22

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18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?" 19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” ~ Luke 9:18-22

The heart of today's text is in v.20, “Who do you say that I am?” This is the most critical question of all questions. Getting this question right is critical to our eternal destiny.  Heaven or hell is the result of our answer to this one question. 

It is really a very easy question to answer. It's only hard if we reject the Bible. So anybody who comes up with the wrong answer about who Jesus is has rejected the clear testimony of Scripture. 

God has provided in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, an unambiguous answer to this most important question. According to the Bible, Jesus is the Christ who died on the cross to bare the penalty for the sinfulness of mankind. If we believe in Him and receive His free gift of forgiveness of sin, we will have eternal life.

 

In Luke 9:18, the Lord Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do the crowds say I am?" In v.19 we read, "They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." The crowds never questioned the miracles of the Lord Jesus. The healed people, the people who had been freed from demons were everywhere and their testimonies were available to anybody who asked any questions. But the crowds came up with conclusions that were short of reality. They understood He had to be a supernatural person, but they fell short of the right answer. 

Then in v.20, the Lord Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?'" Peter, on behalf of all the disciples, answered, "God’s Messiah." 

To Peter's response, in v.21, "Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone." He is giving His disciples this warning because their answer could be dangerous. It could result in this crowd starting a revolt against Herod and the Romans. Also, the crowd had already tried to make him a king by force. And He will be the King one day, but this wasn't the time for Him to wear a crown, this was the time for Him to bear a cross. 

So, in v.22 we read, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Here the Lord Jesus gives these guys who had left everything to follow Him, an announcement of His death. They did not sign up for this. They expected Him to rise to a throne and exert His power with them at His side. Yet, when He did rise from the dead, with surprising transparency, the Gospels reveal that initially the disciples themselves refused to believe the resurrection.

Evidently, the disciple were not aware of such passages as Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, that predicted His death on the cross.  They had just reached the pinnacle of their affirmation that He's the Messiah, and now He tells them to not tell anybody about it and He is going to be killed by the religious leaders. In Mark 10:45 we read, "The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many." He came to bear in His own body the punishment for our sins on the cross.

But, after the Lord Jesus died on the cross, then, according to v.22, "on the third day be raised to life." He had to die to pay the penalty of that which separated us from God in the first place. But once He was buried, God raised Him from the dead, indicating He overcame sin and death for us. Not only are our sins cleared out, we now can have a personal relationship with God with whom we will spend eternity in heaven.

In Romans 10:9-10 we read, "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Our eternity hung on just three words, "He is risen!" If He has not risen, Christianity is found to be a sham. Yet, if He did, God has turned our story on a dime. He has risen! The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus kicked death in the teeth and left it toothless. 

Luke 9:12-17

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12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ~ Luke 9:12-17

Today, we come to the heart of the feeding of the 5,000, one of two miracles recorded in all four gospels. This is one of those passages where the compassion and sympathy of the Lord Jesus is manifest on the biggest possible stage. In fact, this is, quantitatively, the biggest miracle Jesus performed.

The feeding of the 5,000 marks the highpoint of the Lord Jesus' Galilean ministry. This true story happened in April of the year. The Lord Jesus had been ministering in Galilee, but now, past the half-way point of His three-year ministry, He is about to leave the area. During all of this time He preached the gospel and performed miracles. His goal was to tell people of the wonderful good news of the forgiveness of sins and a personal relationship with God.

All of Galilee had listened to His messages but a small portion of Galilee believed. The feeding of the 5000 was His high point and the beginning of the end of His ministry in Galilee.

In Luke 9:12 we read, "Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here." 

Now, this is a miracle about feeding people. And it exhibits again this amazing concern of God for the simple things in our lives. Many of these people were locals. And, although this isn't a place where they could get food, the disciples reminded the Lord Jesus to get rid of the crowd, so that they could go get something to eat. Perhaps, the disciples were more motivated by their own hunger. They knew they weren't eating til this crowd left. They had no idea the Lord Jesus' biggest miracle was about to happen.

In v.13 the Lord tells them to "give them something to eat." They had just come back from their mission of casting out demons, raising the dead, healing the sick, and preaching the gospel. Through that trip the disciples had access to the power of God to do the miraculous. But, as illustrated here, the disciples had a horizontal view of reality. They looked around at the 5,000 men, women and children (adding up to some 15,000) and they looked at the five barley loaves and two fish, which they had taken from a young boy (John 6:9).

According to John 6, Philip checked the money bag, and they only had two hundred denarii, two hundred days’ wages, not enough to feed the crowd. The training of the disciples was continuing, they were still in the classroom of the Lord Jesus, and they didn't realize it. God speaks to us through the most unexpected every day and we miss it, just like these disciples.

By the way, it was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, who found the little boy with the fish. In John 6:8-9 we read, "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said, 'There's a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many people?'" These “loaves” really were “biscuits.” And the fish were dried fish. With five biscuits and some dried fish, the Lord Jesus wowed them all. 

In v.14 we read, the Lord Jesus "said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." Then in v.15, we read, "The disciples did so, and everyone sat down."

And then v.16, the miracle happens. "Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people." This is the One who made all things. At this moment He was making more from a little. Nobody questions this, and yet everybody there knew that there's no food except what He's creating and He's creating it so that it's distributed among the entire crowd. It's little wonder that they said in John 7, "This is the Christ. This is the Messiah."

According to v.17, "They all ate and were satisfied." There is the theme of John once again, "His fullness, man's emptiness." Except here, everybody is filled. The Greek word chortazō is used. It is also used in Revelation 19:21 which reads, "All the birds will be gorged with their flesh." The scavenger birds at Armageddon, the massacre at the end of the age, will gorge themselves on the flesh of the dead who were slaughtered by the returning Christ. They ate like they had never eaten before. These must have been the best fish and biscuits ever. They ate like they had never eaten before.  

At the end of v.17 we read, "and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over." Now, this miracle was done for benefit of the twelve disciples. When the disciples collected the leftovers, there were exactly twelve baskets full, one for each disciple. The Lord Jesus provided for the twelve what they needed. You will remember, in the previous section there was a twelve year old dying girl, and a woman who had had an issue of blood for twelve years. And here, each disciple, all twelve of them was given a close up reminder of the miraculous provision of God and how He is the fulfillment of all our desires.

Do you suppose the Lord Jesus was expecting one of the disciples to consider all the possibilities? The disciples thought, “we have five loaves, two fish, and … Jesus!” Standing next to the disciples was the solution to their problems but they stopped their counting and worried. What about you and me? Are we counting our problems or are we counting on the Lord Jesus?

Luke 9:10-11

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10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.  ~ Luke 9:10-11

Throughout the three years of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, there were many miracles. Most days He did miracles. And many days He did many miracles. And here in Luke 9:10-17 is His most massive miracle. This was the most visible miracle because He kept multiplying the five loaves and two fish and He handed it from hand to hand for all to see.

The hub of the Lord Jesus' ministry was Galilee which is a small region, fifty miles top to bottom, twenty-five miles side to side and in the middle is a lake that takes up a lot of the space and there's 204 villages crowded around that lake. It was during this time that the Lord Jesus popularity surged because of His miracles.

So, this was the Galileans last opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel message. After this, according to Matthew 15:21, the Lord Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon. Once He was finished ministering there, He came back across the north of Galilee and went east of the Sea of Galilee into another area outside Galilee, an area called Decapolis, a Gentile area. 

Having demonstrated His power over and over, day after day, the Lord Jesus is gradually leaving the region of Galilee. The people there were so deeply and profoundly steeped in their religion, that not long after this, about a year, they were demanding the death of the Lord Jesus.

Now, there are only two miracles recorded in all four gospels, the feeding of the 5000 and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. After this miracle, the feeding of the 5000, the Lord Jesus teaches the crowds occasionally but most of His focus is on teaching the twelve.

In v.10 we read, "When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida." 

The disciples had been out on a short-term mission trip preaching the good news. The Lord Jesus had given them the power to do miracles, cast out demons, heal, and raise the dead. After they had come back, they gave an account to Him of all they had done. Then they withdrew with Him to Bethsaida which was a fishing village on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathanael, according to John 1:43 were from Bethsaida. 

All of the miracles of the Lord Jesus were demonstrations of compassion on human suffering. They reveal the broken heart of God over the pain of mankind. God is compassionate. The reason He fed the 5,000, was due to the fact that they were hungry. One can't ever divorce the power of Christ from the compassion of Christ because the two are in partnership all the way through His ministry.  

Note v.11 which reads, "but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing."  In Matthew 14:14 we read, "And when He went ashore He saw a great multitude, He felt compassion for them and healed their sick." 

The Lord Jesus felt compassion because of their suffering so He healed them. The word ‘compassion’ comes from two words, "suffer" and "with." The verb used here "felt compassion" reveals the pain and hurt the Lord Jesus felt deeply in His bowels. God cares about man's suffering. Compassion and empathy are closely related. Empathy empowers compassion to act in practical ways to receive the problem.

Spurgeon tells us, "The original word used here to describe His compassion is not found in classic Greek. The fact is, it was a word coined by the apostles themselves. They did not find one in the whole Greek language that suited their purpose, and therefore they had to make one. It is expressive of the deepest emotion; a striving of the bowels-a yearning of the innermost nature with pity."

Compassion is something seldom experienced in this world filled with indifference and cruelty. Most people don’t seem to possess the level of selflessness compassion requires. Our society makes it clear that our acceptance has everything to do with our success and little to do with the grace and compassion. How we are loved and respected is based on our accomplishments and abilities rather than the love and compassion of those around us. But our God is not of this world. 

In a world founded on the notion of works and rewards, cause and effect, God wants to build your foundation on his unconditional compassion. God longs to establish your relationship on the building blocks of his love and grace. It was God’s compassion for us that drove him to send the Lord Jesus to His death. It was God’s compassion for us that led Him to search us out when sin had wedged a great chasm between us. And it’s God’s compassion that drives Him even now to pour out His unfathomable love and affection over us.

Finally, in His writings from prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”  It seems to me this is what God has done for us. Let's do it for others, today! This is compassion!

Luke 9:7-9

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7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. ~ Luke 9:7-9

Herod Antipas the tetrarch was the ruler of the northern region known as Galilee and Perea, which is on the eastern side of the Jordan. His headquarters was in Tiberias, the principal city around the Sea of Galilee. 

There is no record in all of the gospel record, that the Lord Jesus ever even set foot once in Tiberias. Herod's question in v.9 is the most important question ever asked or answered. There is no greater question than, "Who is Jesus Christ?" And there is no more important answer than the right answer to that question.

In Luke 5:34 the demons knew the identity of the Lord Jesus.  They confessed He was the Holy One of God, the Son of God.  The religious leaders were unwilling to entertain this most important question and draw the obvious conclusions. The Scribes and the Pharisees, in Luke 5:21, asked a dishonest question, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies?"

In Luke 7:20, it was actually the disciples of John the Baptist who ask, "Are You the expected one, or do we look for someone else?" This is the compelling question in Luke's gospel: Who is this man?  It is not just the compelling question in Luke; it's also the compelling question in Matthew, Mark and John. 

If anyone wants to find the real Jesus, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. If we seek, we will find Him because John at the end of His gospel, which is the last of the four, sums up the purpose for all four gospels with these words, John 20:31, "But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

Despite the fact the Lord Jesus didn't do miracles to impress people, the miracles were impressive. They were so impressive that Herod learned about them. His miracles made Herod curious and fascinated. Those with whom the Lord Jesus was compared were also impressive. However, the Lord  Jesus wasn't trying to be impressive; instead, He came to lay down His life to pay the penalty that separated man from God.  

Herod the tetrarch was wicked. He was an open sinner and the whole world knew it. So, John the Baptist confronted him and Herod imprisoned John and then beheaded him. This is the guy who asked this most important question.

Thomas answered that question, "My Lord and my God."  The centurion who was watching the Lord Jesus being crucified, said, "Truly this was the Son of God."

In v.7-8 we read, "Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life."  

Notice Herod didn't say, "What is His message?" And, he didn't ask about His miracles. Herod asked the right question, "who is this man?"

He is the One who defended the oppressed, fed the hungry, healed the sick, helped the weak, and gave hope to the hopeless. The world keeps time based on His birth because of his impact. He is the One who came to bring heaven to earth. He is the One who could have dug the Grand Canyon with His pinkie. This is the One who extends grace to those who behead His friend. 

Luke 9:3-6

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3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. ~ Luke 9:3-6

In Luke 9 the Lord Jesus is for the first time sending His disciples out to do ministry. In order to be most effective, they had to do certain things. In v.1-6 we are given the profile of an effective witness. In our last blog we considered a couple of these marks: he shares the message of salvation, and he manifests compassion. The third is found in v.3: he trust the Lord to meet his needs.

In Matthew 10:8 we read, "Freely you have received, freely give." Freely, the disciples received all things from God and now He is challenging them to give it away to others freely. The witness is to never seek to be enriched from the suffering of others. Sick and suffering people will pay anything to someone they think can help them. We must never put a price on our ministry. 

In v.3 we read, "He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt." In Matthew 6 we read, "Take no thought for what you shall eat, or drink, or what you shall wear, you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be added to you.” 

God will always take care of His own. Dependence is a must for the disciple and is a marvelous thing to realize and learn because as we learn it, we get to know the Lord personally. And, the result is the profile of a witness is made known to, in, and through the disciple. It is then he proclaims salvation, he manifests compassion, and he maintains trust.  

The fourth characteristic of the disciple/witness is he is content. In v.4 we read, "Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town." In those days traveling teachers wanted to stay just long enough to get money out of a family and then go to the next place. They kept moving to the next house, collecting more money from everybody. The Lord Jesus is saying just go to one place, stay there the whole time. You start there and you leave from there. This is about looking to Him for our needs and being content. 

The fifth characteristic of the witness is discernment. In v.5 we read, " If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them."  When they reject us and our message, we are to "shake the dust off our feet as a testimony against them."  

Shaking off the dust from the feet was an old Jewish custom. Whenever a Jew traveled into Gentile areas, and they came back across the border into Israel, they would shake the dirt off all of their bodies as a symbol of judgment and disdain. The Jews weren’t to bring pagan dirt into the holy land. 

If we are to be effective witnesses, we must share the message of salvation, manifest compassion, maintain trust in God, demonstrate compassion, and exercise discernment.  

According to v.6 the twelve did exactly what the Lord told them to do. Departing immediately without packing anything, they began doing ministry among the villages proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere. And, the Lord Jesus multiplied Himself twelve times.

The believer is called to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel, to show lost sinners compassion, and to live lives that are marked by trust in the Lord alone, so that no one could accuse us of doing ministry for ill-gotten gain. All the while growing in our God-given ability to discern the situations, people and needs.

Luke 9:1-2

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1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ~ Luke 9:1-2

The Lord Jesus lived for thirty years in the city of Nazareth in virtual obscurity. He lived those thirty years living a perfectly sinless life in order that that life might be credited to the account of those who believe. He fulfilled all righteousness. At the age of thirty, His public ministry began. At that time, John the Baptist identified Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

Luke 9 is half way through the three years. We're eighteen months into the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Only eighteen months or so are left until the cross. Up to this point the Lord Jesus did His ministry all by Himself. All the miracles were miracles He rendered. All the messages were messages He preached. 

In Luke 9, it was time to commission the twelve and send them out to preach the gospel in Galilee. They've had eighteen months of being discipled by the Lord Jesus. With this first mission, the learners are now preachers. This is their first real ministry opportunity. 

They went out two by two to preach the gospel, and to deliver miracles that attested to the validity of their message. They went out for a short period of time, then they came back, they gave a report, and the Lord Jesus used the experience to further instruct them. This is the model of Jesus' discipleship program.

The disciples were the most common of men, just like you and me. They were plain, ordinary people. And they are exactly the kind of people the Lord Jesus chooses to use. They were  already half way through His ministry before their formal training even begins. To this point in time they've just been listening and observing. They've been getting their theological and biblical training. They've been sorting out their theology, but now it's time for formal training to be sent out. And there's only eighteen months left before the Lord Jesus will be gone and they will be on their own.

During the first half of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, He ministered all by Himself. John the Baptist's ministry had faded, and he became a prisoner. The Lord Jesus, at that time, was by Himself in the ministry. It was critical, at that point, to multiply. This is one of the goals of discipleship.

So, these twelve with boring backgrounds, are used of the Lord to further His work in this world. These men worked with their hands, not their brains. They were blue collared, involved in earthly vocations. And, yet they're given the most important task in the history of the world. It is a given that God will always accomplish His will. He is the key to this whole operation, yet He uses twelve ordinary men with the most extraordinary responsibility.

These twelve, minus Judas Iscariot plus the Apostle Paul, were used of God to write the New Testament. When the church was born in Acts 2:42 they met together and they studied the apostles' doctrine. They were used by God to reveal the doctrine. God revealed sound doctrine through them and eventually that doctrine was written down. We now know it as the New Testament.

In Ephesians 2:20, we learn the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles, with the Lord Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. In Revelation 21:14 we learn the names of the Apostles are eternally emblazoned upon the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, the capital of eternity. 

These messengers of Jesus Christ proclaimed salvation. In v.2 we read, "he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God." They preached the message that God has a kingdom and anyone who is willing to believe in that kingdom can be in it.  Even though we're sinners, if we cry out for God's mercy and forgiveness and if we acknowledge Jesus Christ as His Son and Savior, we are included in His kingdom. His kingdom includes salvation from the penalty, the power and eventually, the presence of sin. 

These men had listened for eighteen months, now they were ready to speak what they had heard. When they went out they preached about sin and repentance and grace and mercy from God, and the forgiveness of sin, that God gives to the broken-hearted. They preached the Lord Jesus was the promised Messiah.  And it wouldn't be long before He would give His life for their sins and He would therefore ratify the covenant that provides salvation.

The Lord Jesus couldn't send them out with the right message unless there was a way to attest to its validity because there wasn't a New Testament against which you could measure the preacher. Today, we do not need miracles to validate our message. We can tell whether the message is true or not by simply measuring it against the New Testament. In those days there wasn't any Scripture of the New Testament, a standard that people could go to against which to test a man. And so in order to provide validation beyond question, they were given this power.

The Lord Jesus gave the twelve power and authority over all the demons. They had dominance over the supernatural realm of spiritual beings. This is the very same power and authority that the Lord Jesus Himself possessed. In Matthew 10:8 we learn they also had the power to raise the dead. In 2 Corinthians 12:12 we read, "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance by signs and wonders and miracles." 

The jest of our text today is this: God demonstrated His compassion in the realm of people's sorrows, sufferings, anxieties, fears, and death. And, when He sent out His disciples, He sent them with two main weapons: the gospel and miracles which both demonstrated His compassion.

Finally, God’s word was never given to us to be a dead letter, it was given to transfer His heart to us. If this is not so, the word of God then becomes simply facts and information, stored memory disconnected from any life-giving power. At the end of it all is God's desire for us to be given His heart for others and we minister to them accordingly.

Luke 8:49-56

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49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. ~ Luke 8:49-56

Today, we come to the fourth of four stories that Luke uses to put on display the power of the Lord Jesus over nature, demons, sickness and death.

Of all the fears in the human existence, the ultimate fear is the fear of death. Death is the most certain fact of life. People naturally have an intense dread of death and do everything they can to push it as far away as possible. The ultimate distinguishing mark of Jesus Christ, the ultimate proof that He is God, is His power over death.

Life will always present something before us that leaves us vulnerable, that which throws us off. No matter what our advantages are, we will always be tested in an area that we cannot fix by ourselves. This is good, because it is in this context that we are desperate enough to cry out to the only one who can do something about it. 

We see this again right here in Luke 8:49-56. Here's the story of the raising of a twelve-year-old girl who was the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official in Capernaum. After being implored by Jairus to come to his daughter's side, the Lord Jesus was interrupted by the woman with the twelve year issue of blood. Meanwhile, the daughter died. And Jairus' anxiety, no doubt, was being elevated at every moment. As is always the case, interruptions have purpose, they are not random. 

Satan is the one who introduced mankind to death, making us  all subject to the bondage of all kinds of entropy. But, going all the way back to Luke 7 with the raising of the man in Nain from the dead, Luke is chronicling the power of the Lord Jesus over death.  

The town of Capernaum, the town at the very northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, was the center of operations for the Lord Jesus' ministry. The town of Capernaum saw many miracles, perhaps in the hundreds. And here Luke provides for us another one of those miracles, the miracle of raising a dead girl.

In v.49 we read, "While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore." The worst had happened, the delay had proven deadly. While the Lord Jesus was giving Himself to an outcast, the lowliest person in the crowd who shouldn't have even been in the crowd because she was an untouchable, the twelve year old child of the most important person in town had died. In caring for the most rejected, the Lord Jesus had ignored the most respected.  

"Don't bother the teacher anymore," were the words of the messenger. The Lord Jesus is identified as the teacher, that's the best way to identify Him.  Even though we're going through miracle after miracle after miracle in Luke, He was teaching all the time. 

At this point, Jairus spoke to the Lord Jesus. Luke doesn't record it but Matthew does. In Matthew 9:18, we read, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live." What faith! The messenger didn't believe.  He said don't bother Him anymore, it's too late. Jairus had been there, no doubt, in the Luke 4 when the Lord Jesus had cast the demon out of the man after having an amazing conversation with him right in the middle of the synagogue service. Jairus had faith that the Lord Jesus had the power of God. His faith was unwavering and her death did not diminish his faith.

When the Lord Jesus heard Jairus, He said to him, "Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." The Lord Jesus healed many people who didn't believe. He healed many without faith. He never saved any without faith, never will. But He healed many without faith. And, sometimes He used faith as a channel through which He could operate. In this case it isn't necessarily cause and effect, He doesn't say, "If you believe she'll be made well." He simply says believe, she'll be made well, she'll be restored.

This story is a microcosm of what the Lord Jesus promises to all of us. He promises us life even though we face death. The Lord Jesus finally makes it to Jairus' house. A significant time had passed, maybe an hour, maybe two hours. I don't know however long it would taken.

When the LordJesus arrives, Mark paints the scene of chaotic disorder. In v.51, "When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother."  When the Lord Jesus left the crowd, He allowed only Peter, John and to go, not the crowd.  He stopped the crowd from following Him.  He did this because He knew the chaos would be there, He didn't want to add more chaos. 

In v.52, we read,"Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep."

According to v.53, the people there began laughing at the Lord Jesus. In doing so, it is made clear that she was dead. In v.54, we learn that He went into the room and took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" According to Matthew's account, Jairus had said, "if You would just put Your hand on her, she will live."  

This little girl and the woman with the issue of blood were both untouchables. You see, the law said the Lord Jesus couldn't touch a bleeding woman or a dead body. It would make him unclean. The woman herself was declared unclean. She was untouchable. Nobody touched her. He couldn't touch the dead girl, either.

And so He did as Jairus had asked, though He could have spoken to her, He didn't have to touch her. His touch is a demonstration of His willingness to do what people asked Him to do in the way they asked Him to do it. He commanded her to live, the same way He had spoken life into existence on the sixth days of creation with the same power, the same way He commands life into every living thing. With that command the Lord Jesus shattered death, broke its hold and severed its chains.  

According to v.55, "Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat." Her life came back into her body. And, when she comes back to life, she gets immediately out of bed and eats.  There's no recovery period from being dead. And that's the way it is with every miracle Jesus did. It is total and complete and full.  

In v.56, we read, "Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened." Her parents were astonished. Luke uses the Greek verb existēmi which means “to stand outside yourself.” They were out of their minds. We've seen this same reaction all the way along.  In v.25, the disciples when the Lord Jesus stopped the storm were fearful and amazed. In v.37, The people of the Gerasenes were gripped with great fear when they saw the power of Jesus. The woman with the issue of blood in v.47 came trembling and fell down before Him. And here the parents literally are out of their minds. And He says to them, "Tell no one what happened." The same reaction is found in all of these situations in Luke 8.

Then the Lord Jesus closes out this story by saying to the parents,  "tell no one what had happened." But, in Matthew 9:26 we learn the news went out into all the land.   Everybody knew there was a resurrection. 

We are worshipers before we are witnesses. Before we rush to give a testimony, we must have a story with Him to tell first. And, of course, this requires worship. I'm not talking about singing songs in the meeting place of the church. I'm talking about having your world ordered and defined by Him. This only happens in response to seeing Him for who He is. Perhaps, this is why we neglect being the witness.

Luke 8:40-48

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40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” ~ Luke 8:40-48

As mentioned in the last few blogs, in the second half of Luke 8, there are recorded four miracles which demonstrate the power of the Lord Jesus over nature, demons, sickness and death. Today, we continue with the third of these four, the power of the Lord Jesus over sickness in Luke 8:40-48.

The rebellion of man against God has woven into the fabric of our universe the deadly force of death, introducing sickness, sorrow, suffering and death. And, since God made us for relationships and has given us the capacity to love, our potential is greatly marred until we come back into a personal relationship with Him. We lack peace with ourselves, others and, most importantly, with God.

When the Lord Jesus returned to Capernaum, according to v.40, there was a large crowd waiting for Him. They had been waiting for a while. In the crowd were people who hurt, who suffered, who were in pain and who had sorrow. Some of them were quite anxious, such as Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, who had a twelve-year-old daughter who was dying. 

In v.41-42 we read, "Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying." Jairus was one of the most respected men in the area. He was a  leader in the community and in the synagogue. But, his twelve year old daughter was sick, so sick she could die.

Reminiscent of the demon-possessed man, Jairus "came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house." It was pretty startling for an official of the synagogue to beg at the feet of the Lord Jesus. He was a man of great respect. He was tantamount to an elder in the church in the community, spiritual, devoted to the Lord, at least to the religion of Judaism, devoted to the people, a leader of the people, trusted in terms of wisdom, knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures.  

The leaders of the local synagogues were connected to the Scribes and Pharisees, those who were doing everything they could to destroy the Lord Jesus and His ministry. This is why it is so surprising that Jairus bowed at the feet of the Lord Jesus. But, this was Jairus' beloved daughter, and he would do anything to help her, anything.

Desperate people do desperate things. This is the very same synagogue that the Lord Jesus had an encounter with a demon-possessed man. The Lord Jesus was sitting in the synagogue and all of a sudden the demon-possessed man screams, the demon takes over his voice and the man screams, "What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have You come to destroy Us?" And then the demon says, "You holy One of God." The demon gave an accurate testimony. Jairus had witnessed the power of the Lord Jesus over demons that day.

At the end of v.42 we read, "As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.” He was trying to get to Jairus' house and the crushing crowd with all the needy, desperate people pushed in on Him. Jairus was hoping the Lord Jesus was going to get there before his daughter died. His panic was elevated because they couldn't get through the crowd.

Then to make matters worse, according to v.43, "a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her."  

According to v.44, this woman reached out, grabbed His cloak and "immediately her bleeding stopped." This woman had lived through twelve years of suffering.  We don't know what caused her issue but it made her ceremonially unclean. She couldn't go to the temple or to the synagogue. She couldn't be with her husband. She couldn't touch her family, she couldn't touch her children. She was shunned because she could transmit her ritual uncleanness to others. So, this was a huge gamble on her part to go out into this crowd. But, she was desperate.

She knew what the required boundaries were for her, but she ran the risk and she reached out to touch the edge of the garment of the Lord Jesus. At that moment the Lord Jesus stopped, seeking who had touched Him. He healed people without faith all the time. But, to this point, He never saved anybody without faith. And this woman is on her way to salvation. 

Her physical problem was solved. But, she needed to be restored socially and spiritually. This called for a public restoration and the testimony that she had been healed. And, when healed spiritually, she would be able to go to the synagogue and the Temple. Only the Lord Jesus could grant such a need and only He could affirm that she had come into a personal relationship with Him. 

According to v.45, the disciples were critical about the Lord Jesus' question of "who touched me?" They thought, "How could anyone be singled out in such a big crowd?"

In v.46 we read, "Somebody did touch Me for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." The Lord Jesus called this lady to reveal herself. It isn't that He needed the information. He just wasn't done with her yet. He knew her and He knew her life story and He knew her need.

The power of God is not impersonal. It is personal and when His power flows to us, He feels it. When His life pours into us, we feel that power, that infusion of spiritual power into our lives as we see it evidenced in our lives. The Lord Jesus, actually, personally felt the outflow of His power, His re-creative power to change the woman. God is not detached from this world and our lives. When He touches our lives and His power flows, He feels the flow. No one receives the power of God into His or her life without personal involvement from God. 

In v.47 we read, "Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed." 

This needy woman came trembling under the weight of realizing she was in the presence of God. She falls down before Him. She declares in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, in order to be healed. And how He had responded, she had been immediately healed. 

Now that the social part had been taken care of, the Lord Jesus says to her, in v.48, "Daughter." This is the only time in the whole New Testament He ever addressed anyone with that endearing word. 

The Lord Jesus continued, "your faith has healed you. Go in peace." She was not only healed in her body, she was not only healed socially, now she was healed  also in her spirit. She was at peace with God. And, the Lord Jesus says, "Go live your life, being defined by the God of peace."

Luke 8:34-39

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34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. ~ Luke 8:34-39

Deliverance was now the new theme of the once demon-possessed man. I can only imagine what it was like to be able to think again, to be able to behave as the man he was before these propagators of darkness came into his life. This once isolated man is now sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus. As a result, according to v.34, those tending the pigs, those who had seen the miracle of deliverance happen, ran into town to tell everyone the things they had witnessed.

In v.35 after hearing the testimony of those tending the pigs, the towns people went out to see what had happened. And, the people were afraid at what they saw. They saw the once uncontrollable man in his right mind sitting at the feet of the one who had delivered him from the demons who had controlled him for so long. 

The demons exerted their power, yet, the Lord Jesus brought a greater power. We live in a world where some exercise their power, yet God is more powerful. And, knowing this, we bow before no one but the one with the greatest power.  

In Isaiah 43:18 we read, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old." Despite the fact that the demons were gone, this man had to work at being defined by the Lord Jesus henceforth. There would always be the possibility that this man would be defined by wickedness, again. We do not have to be in jail to be imprisoned. 

The townsfolk contradicted the experience of the freed man. It is the nature of sin to blind. But they didn't see sin as sin. For them sin was normal, it was comfortable. It is the nature of sin to hate the uncomfortable truth. It is the nature of sin to reject blatant proof. It is the nature of sin to resist unfamiliar righteousness. It is the nature of sin to cling tightly to numbing comfort. Here we have irrefutable evidence that Jesus is God. Here we have a miracle that is so massive that demonstrates His power over the supernatural world.

Again, we see the same thing that we have seen with the previous story. The people realized they were in the presence of God are were frightened, and terrified. When the Lord Jesus stopped the waves, the disciples rightfully were frightened in His presence. Whether He is healing or raising the dead, the Lord Jesus creates a certain amount of terror in those who were witnessing His power. 

A fearful awe is good, but fear that drives us away from Him isn't. "The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified. We aren't afraid of God, we aren't afraid of Jesus, we aren't afraid of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have ended up with a need-centered gospel that attracts thousands...but transforms no one." Mike Yaconelli

Instead of being naked, the man was clothed. Instead of wandering aimlessly, the man was sitting at the feet of Jesus. Instead of being in the tombs, the realm of the dead, he was sitting among the living, Jesus and His disciples. Instead of shrinking and screaming, the man was quiet. Instead of deadly and threatening, he was peaceful. Instead of tormented, he was comforted. Instead of insanity, there was sanity. Instead of chaos, there was tranquility. This is a incredible picture of the salvation the Lord Jesus came to deliver. 

Notice v.36 which reads, "Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured." We would think these folks would have been convinced of the Lord Jesus identity, because this was a tremendous miracle, but they were not. The idea that we are convinced by the most powerful of miracles just isn't true. Only the word of God creates faith in the willing. The word of God is representative of the truth for His word describes things as they should be, in keeping with His reality.

In v.37 we read, "Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left." These people saw miracle after miracle after miracle for three years. And at the end of that time they wanted the Lord Jesus dead. I can't imagine a more dramatic event than sending thousands of demons out of a man with a word. And the proof of it in the drowning of this herd of pigs. But the truth of the matter is, this is hard soil back from Jesus' story in John 8:5-12. The seed of the truth fell on hard hearts and it didn't penetrate.

They saw the Lord Jesus as a greater danger than that formerly demon-possessed man. They would rather have a maniac than the Son of God. They would rather be terrified by Satan than terrified by God. They would rather endure the presence of demonic danger than the presence of divine deliverance. They preferred the unholy to the holy. They preferred a tomb dweller over the Lord of life. Just like Israel. They were not asking Jesus to go away because He messed with their economy, killing their pigs. 

The whole town and the whole region wanted Him to go away because they were terrified of His holiness. You know, the world is really comfortable with pigs and maniacs, but it's not comfortable with Jesus Christ. This is the blindness and the damning darkness and ignorance of sin.

By the way, the Lord Jesus never came back to that city. They begged Him to leave and He got into the boat and went back to Capernaum. This was a damning rejection and Jesus never ever came back. 

In v.38 we read, "The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying." The demons begged the Lord Jesus to not send them to the abyss, the townspeople begged Him to leave, and the man who had been delivered begged the Lord Jesus, "Let me go with you." 

In response to the once possessed man the Lord Jesus said in v.39, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him."  Legion became the first missionary to proclaim what Jesus can do for the willing heart. 

"The man," according to v.39, "went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." The demoniac was the first Gentile missionary. The Lord Jesus sent him back to his own people to tell them what great things God had done for him. He told them what the Lord Jesus had done because He experienced a connection with the Lord Jesus for Himself.

You see, this is Christianity, a personal relationship with God. It is not about our behavior or our performance, it is about getting to know God personally. I trust this has happened to you.

Luke 8:30-33

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30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. ~ Luke 8:30-33

As we mentioned in the last two days blogs, in the second half of Luke 8, Luke records four miracles. Through these four miracles the power of the Lord Jesus is seen over nature, demons, sickness and death. Today, we continue with the second of these four, the power of the Lord Jesus over demons in Luke 8:26-33.

When the Lord Jesus asked the man his name in v.30, he said, 'Legion,' because many demons had gone into him." Legion is not a name, it describes a group of six thousand Roman soldiers. This poor and frightened man literally was the home of thousands of demons. In fact, in Mark 5:13 we discover the herd of pigs into which the demons went numbered two thousand. And these demons had held this one man in bondage for so long. 

In v.31 we read, "And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss." These fallen angels ask the Lord Jesus to not send them into the bottomless pit. They didn't have a choice in the matter. On the other hand, they are not like human beings, they're not confined to the limitations of the human brain. They have far superior intelligence. They have superior might. In 2 Kings 19, we learn one angel killed 185 thousand Assyrians. And, yet, they didn't have a choice. Their will was subservient to the Lord Jesus.

Once created, demons never die, and they never grow old. They are not confined by space and time. They are not omnipresent but they're fast and they move the way spirit beings move. They make up a large and powerful group. 

The Lord Jesus demonstrates clearly that He is God as He demonstrates His power over these demons. These demons were tormenting this guy and they don't want to be tormented. Oh, the irony. Those who torment do so because they have been tormented and they arrived not upon God's purpose of the said torment. The purpose, of course, is that we are led to faith in the God of the Bible. We pity those who are treated badly and we should. But, they are in a blessed position because when we are most down trodden, we tend to look up to Him when we have bottomed out.

The alternative is a victim's mentality which I find most pathetic. Power, real power is accessed through weakness. This is the way of God. All other power leads us to bondage of some kind, most often the bondage of pride and arrogance.

According to v.32, "A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission." This is the first mention of deviled ham in the Bible. Remember, this is Gentile area. And, these Gentiles raised pigs which have cloven feet and were therefore unclean animals and not to be eaten. And so, in this is Gentile area, they were raising pigs. And the demons entreated Him to permit them to enter them. 

I wonder how this man became demon-possessed. Since he lived among the Gentiles, did he open himself up to the habitation of demons through totally ignoring God's definition of all things? Was he practicing black magic or was it an experiment with a ouija board or a pendulum board? For one to be possessed, there has to be a conscious way that one opens oneself up to the possibility. We are not told how it happened to this man in our text.

In v.33 we read, "When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned." So they didn't go into the abyss, that incarcerated place, but they ran into the abyss of the Sea of Galilee. The pigs drowned but the demons didn't. No created being ever really dies, including evil spirits. 

These demons recognized something that many people do not. They recognized and believed in the existence of God. They also recognized the authority of the Lord Jesus. In the end, two thousand pigs went careening down a hill, drowning. All of these events happened to show that the demon-possessed man had been delivered, and the Lord Jesus is sovereign over all.