Devotions

Do Not Be Afraid Only Believe

by  • 

Jesus had been going from town to town, crowds in every place, people needing his touch for healing, in Luke 8:42 “the crowds were pressing against him”. Yet, he took time to deal with each situation individually even if it seemed that he arrived too late. But Jesus also saw the great need around him and was training his disciples, sending them out with power and authority to spread the gospel of the kingdom. As they returned, they were quickly faced with a crowd of five thousand men in Luke 9:12 “in a desolate place” and Jesus says in Luke 9:13 “you give them something to eat”. His disciple had seen power and authority in action, now they were learning provision.

Who Touched Me?

Luke 8:40-48 

Do Not Be Afraid! Only Believe

Luke 8:49-56
Jairus had come to Jesus in Luke 8:40 “And he fell down at the feet of Jesus and began imploring him to come to his house, 42 because (his) … daughter … was dying”. Jesus responded, but “the crowds were pressing against him”. And then in Luke 8:46 “Jesus said, “Someone touched me””. Jesus was moving in the right direction, but the circumstances intervened, he couldn’t move fast enough and then Jairus got the message in Luke 8:49 “Your daughter is dead”. It was too late. But Jesus was there ans spoke in Luke 8:50 “Do not be afraid! Only believe, and she will be healed.” It wasn’t too late for Jesus. In fact, there are many times when God intervened after it was too late and brought victory for his people. Jesus took the few that could believe in Luke 8:51 “Peter and John and James and the father and mother” and dismissed all those that were in Luke 8:52-53 “weeping and mourning … (and) laughing at him (Jesus)” and called the child back. 

He Gave Them Power and Authority

Luke 9:1-6
The disciples have seen Jesus teaching and healing and freeing people from demon possession through Luke 9:39 and as Jesus returns in Luke 8:40 “the crowd welcomed him”. And in Luke 8:42 “the crowds were pressing against him”. Jesus takes time to minister to the woman in Luke 8:48 and to the child, the daughter of Jairus in Luke 8:54 and then he takes a new approach in

Luke 9:1-2 “summoning the twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”

Jesus faces the physical limitations of being human. No one man can do everything. Jesus begins duplicating himself. But they are not sent with missionary board support as we have sent many. They were sent with “power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases”. If the people they went to did not take them in and provide for them, they were to walk on until they found someone that would welcome them.

There was though, one more thing Jesus gave them. He gave them a place to come back to. in Luke 9:10 “when they returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along”.

With their recent experience going out two by two, Jesus begins their next lesson in Luke 9:13 “you give them something to eat”.

But lets backup, when he had sent them out, he had said in Luke 9:3 “Take along nothing for the journey—neither a staff, nor a traveler’s bag, nor bread, nor money, nor to have two tunics apiece”. Jesus was expecting the house they entered to provide as is recorded in Matthew 10:13 “And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it” or we could say, let that house be blessed.

Jesus had wanted them to learn to bless and break and multiple because the Lord doesn’t take from us, he brings blessing to us. Jesus had wanted them to learn that wherever they were, they had the power and authority to be the blessing and “give them to eat”. They had not been sent into homes to get what they needed. They had been sent to deliver what those homes needed, healing and freedom, the blessing.

He Was Greatly Perplexed

Luke 9:7-9

We Are Here in a Desolate Place

Luke 9:10-17 

Who Do You Say That I Am

Luke 9:18-22
John the baptist had sent his disciples to inquire who Jesus was in Luke 7:18-23. Then Herod beheaded John in Mark 6:21-29. When John’s disciples came to report what had happened, Jesus responded in

Mark 6:31 “And he said to them, “You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time.””

Jesus was wanting time to grieve the death of John with them, but the crowds followed and in Luke 9:10-17 they fed the five thousand and finally they were able to get the quiet time away they had been wanting.

Now, Jesus asks in Luke 9:18 “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and his disciples say, the people think Jesus is a prophet risen from the dead in Luke 9:19 “John the Baptist … Elijah … one of the ancient prophets has risen”. John had just been beheaded so this doesn’t make much sense because Jesus had already been on the scene with John. Based on their scripture, the Old Testament, “The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.”1 And since, “Miracles were prominent in Elijah’s ministry, given as a sign to confirm him as God’s spokesman and to turn Israel’s kings back to God.”2 when people saw the miracles performed by Jesus, they might easily make the connection to Elijah. And, “The story of Elijah also is reflected in Luke 9:54, when two of Jesus’ disciples ask about calling down fire from heaven (compare 2 Kgs 1:10, 12).”3

But Peter has the revelation when Jesus asks him in Luke 9:20 “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Take Up His Cross Every Day

Luke 9:22-27

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 8:40-56
  • Luke 9:1-27

References

  • 1. Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Lk 9:19). Biblical Studies Press.
  • 2. Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Elijah. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 692). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
  • 3. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 9:19). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Devotions

Where is Your Faith

by  • 

We may think that Jesus was personally wealthy, but that isn’t what is indicated here. It seems that there were people, not his disciples, that were following him and supporting his work in Luke 8:2-3 “some women” and “many others who were helping to support them from their possessions”. After ministry to crowds, Jesus went across the sea of Galilee and as he spoke to the storm, it quieted. And then he spoke to the demons that had possessed and tormented a man. The demons left. Jesus demonstrated the authority of the kingdom of God over nature and over spirit beings. Even so, his disciples still didn’t understand as they said in Luke 8:25 “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?” They really won’t understand until after the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8. 

And Many Others Who Were Helping to Support Them From Their Possessions

Luke 8:1-3
We often think about Jesus and his twelve disciples traveling together from town to town through the years of his ministry. But there are few references to the others that were with them. Yes, there were crowds of people and there were scribes and Pharisees from many cities in

Luke 5:17 “Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem”

Here we find in Luke 8:2-3 “some women” and a few by name and “many others who were helping to support them from their possessions”. This does not include men because “The Greek phrase used here appears in the feminine form, indicating that Luke is referring specifically to women. (and the phrase) helping to support them from their possessions Refers to financial support, as well as food and lodging (compare Matt 27:55).1

We sometimes think everything came to Jesus supernaturally. And there were times when he fed the thousands in Matthew 15:36, Luke 9:12-15, when he sent his disciple to get a coin from the fishes mouth to pay the tax in Matthew 17:24-27, when he told Simon to cast his net on the other side of the boat in John 21:6. But much of Jesus ministry was supported by others. Jesus was willing to receive support. Others were willing to give it.

A Large Crowd Was Gathering

Luke 8:4-8

The Mysteries of the Kingdom of God

Luke 8:9-10

The Seed is the Word of God

Luke 8:11-15

Nothing is Secret That Will Not Become Evident

Luke 8:16-18

Hear the Word of God and Do It

Luke 8:19-21 

Where is Your Faith

Luke 8:22-25
Jesus has been pressed by the crowds so much that in Luke 8:19 “his mother and brothers came to him, and they were not able to meet”. This was an intense time, so much that even the writer can only pinpoint that in Luke 8:22 “it happened that on one of the days both he and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” His disciples didn’t know it, but Jesus was headed to a demonic encounter that would alter the spiritual environment for the whole region. For his disciples, it was another day, but with some short respite from the crowds as they crossed the sea. That was until in Luke 8:23 “a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they were being swamped and were in danger”. In their fear, they woke Jesus and in Luke 8:24 “he got up and* rebuked the wind and the billowing waves of water and they ceased, and it became calm”.

Even though they had been walking with Jesus and he had been teaching them, they still had not understood. Jesus said in Luke 8:25 “Where is your faith” expecting that they should already know to speak to the storm. And the disciples said to each other in Luke 8:25 “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?” and how is it that they still don’t know? But they really won’t understand until after the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8.

He Commanded the Unclean Spirit to Come Out

Luke 8:26-31 

The Demons Entered Into the Pigs

Luke 8:32-39
Jesus had one intention in mind, these demons had to leave this man. It seems that the demons had a right to exist in that region because when they asked permission to enter the pigs in Luke 8:32 “he permitted them”. And, in response

Luke 8:33 “So the demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the lake and were drowned”.

It isn’t surprising that in Luke 8:34 “when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside.”

Two things happened here. First, the herd of pigs was drowned which destroyed the livelihood of these herdsmen in Luke 8:33. Second, in Luke 8:35 “they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting there clothed and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus”.

But remember that there was no peace for people in this region because these tormenting spirits that could not be restrained or contained ruled through this man in

Mark 5:4–5 “he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles had been shattered. And no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And during every night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was crying out and cutting himself with stones”.

After Jesus came and cast out the demons, there was peace and the man was in Mark 5:15 “clothed and in his right mind” and in Mark 5:20 “he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him”.

This mans transformation came at a financial cost to the herdsmen but it delivered a productive young man to the community, it reset the spiritual climate and brought peace to everyone in the region.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 8:1-39

References

  • 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 8:3). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Devotions

Such Great Faith

by  • 

This reading begins with one that doesn’t have any direct relationship with Jesus but sends for his help because he has no other hope. This centurion, a man of war, has come to understand the power of words spoken under authority. Jesus responds in Luke 7:9 “he marveled at him, and … said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!”. Then we find Jesus with a Pharisee, one who would describe himself as holy before God. Yet, as he sits with Jesus and guests for a meal in his home, he is judgmental, not only condemning a woman who comes to see Jesus, but condemning Jesus himself because Jesus did not rebuke her. Jesus, the good shepherd, the great teacher, presents an illustration and then lists the things this Pharisee has not done comparing him to what this “sinner” has done. She has not only demonstrated common courtesy but has demonstrated it with sincere love for Jesus. 

Such Great Faith

Luke 7:1-10
Jesus has just finished what is called “The Sermon on the Plain” in Luke 6:17-49 and in Luke 7:1 “he entered into Capernaum“ and in the city was in Luke 7:2 “a certain centurion’s slave, who was esteemed by him, was sick and was about to die“. This centurion clearly had a strong and good relationship with the Jewish leaders of the city because in Luke 7:3 “he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come and cure his slave“. These elders not only went to Jesus, in Luke 7:4-5 “they began imploring him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you grant this for him, 5 because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us.” In the world, this is the way people operate, you do something for me and I owe you. Their actions are based on the scale of equal favors. Many people come to God this way, but this is not how God’s economy works. God pours out goodness because that is who he is.

Jesus does respond, he does go with them in Luke 7:6. When the centurion heard he was coming, he sent to Jesus saying in Luke 7:6-7 “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come … say the word and my slave must be healed“. Jesus reacted to these words, but he didn’t respond to “I am not worthy”. What Jesus responded to was “say the word and my slave must be healed”. In fact, in Luke 7:9 “he marveled at him”. Jesus had been teaching in the Synagogues and the people had been pressing to have Jesus touch them so they could be healed in

Luke 6:19 “And the whole crowd was seeking to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all“.

This centurion didn’t need Jesus to come and intervene and touch his servant. This centurion understood that Jesus had the authority to heal and that authority was based on the decree, the word spoken by him, the Lord. These things that Jesus demonstrated were not only for the people in his presence, but his authority is for all time and this same healing power is available to us today.

Acts 10:38 “Jesus of Nazareth—how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him“.

Young man, I say to you, get up!

Luke 7:11-17

The Blind Receive Sight, The Lame Walk, The Deaf Hear; Dead are Raised

Luke 7:18-26

The Son of Man Has Come

Luke 7:27-35 

Anointing With Perfumed Oil

Luke 7:36-40

Anointing With Perfumed Oil

Two people encounter Jesus as he is invited to eat. The first, in Luke 7:36 “one of the Pharisees” and this was the one that had “asked him to eat with him” and “The Pharisee’s invitation to dine in Luke 11:37 is likely the midday meal. Greek literature outside the NT uses the verb for either the noon meal or breakfast”.1

The second was in Luke 7:37 “a woman in the town who was a sinner”. This woman wasn’t invited, but “when she learned that he (Jesus) was dining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed oil”. While “Uninvited guests at a banquet in the Palestinian world were not an unusual feature, although the presence of a sinner (v. 39; she was probably a prostitute) may have sparked some surprise”.2

Luke’s account doesn’t indicate that this woman had any previous encounter with Jesus, but she was intent on seeing him, and came prepared with a gift. We can’t know exactly how this happened, but it seems that as she came into the room and came near Jesus she began to weep and “began to wash, &c.—to “water with a shower.” (as) The tears, which were quite involuntary, poured down in a flood upon His naked feet, as she bent down to kiss them; and deeming them rather fouled than washed by this, she hastened to wipe them off with the only towel she had, the long tresses of her own hair, “with which slaves were wont to wash their masters’ feet” [STIER]”.3 This would have been a very natural response when one comes into the presence of holiness and recognizes the pain of sin in their life.

The Pharisee though, can only see this woman, in Luke 7:38 “she is a sinner”. And that was true, but he goes one more step and judges Jesus “to himself saying, If this man were a prophet …”. How often do people judge and condemn and discard those that don’t meet their standards. And this man a Pharisee who would judge himself among God’s set apart and most holy. 

Your Sins are Forgiven

Luke 7:41-50
Jesus does not confront Simon directly as many of us might when someone is wrong in their assessment. Simon’s thinking was wrong, but no one reacts well to being told they are wrong. Jesus instead demonstrates for us the role of the god shepherd, the teacher who brings Simon close to himself and presents an example that Simon will easily understand and agree with. Jesus says in Luke 7:41 “There were two debtors …”. Simon answers and Jesus responds in Luke 7:43 “You have judged correctly”. Jesus has created a right understanding, a right standard for Simon to use and now turns to the events that have just transpired.

Still speaking directly to Simon, Jesus says in Luke 7:44 “Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’” Simons focus had been on her so Jesus secures Simons full attention by pointing to her but then says “I entered your (Simon’s) house. You (Simon) did not give me … but she …”. Jesus comtinues in Luke 7:45 “You did not … but from the time I entered, she has not stopped …” and in Luke 7:46 “You did not … but she …”. Jesus has used evidence, as in a legal argument, to present the actions of both of them and then closes by saying in Luke 7:47 “For this reason I tell you” and note that Jesus is still talking directly to Simon, “her sins—which were many—have been forgiven”.

Now, Jesus turns to the woman in Luke 7:48, 49 “And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven … Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Note: These actions Jesus described were common courtesy. Rinsing the dust off the feet of a guest, greeting with a kiss, and “The custom of anointing guests with oil is an ancient one among nations of the East. Olive oil alone was often used, but sometimes it was mixed with spices. Simon the Pharisee was accused of lack of hospitality because he failed to anoint JESUS (Luke 7:46). This would indicate the custom was quite common in the days of the Gospel accounts. David immortalized the custom when he wrote his shepherd psalm and exclaimed: “Thou anointest my head with oil” (Psalm 23:5) Travelers in the Orient in recent times have discovered that this practice of anointing still exists in some quarters”.4

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 7:1-50

References

  • 1. Long, P. J. (2014). Eating and Drinking. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
  • 2. Schreiner, T. R. (1995). Luke. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, pp. 815–816). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
  • 3. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 105). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 4. Manners And Customs of Bible Lands. https://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=39&sub=407&cat_name=Manners+&subcat_name=Hospitality
Devotions

To Be Healed of Their Diseases

by  • 

Jesus has declared himself by reading from Isaiah 61:1–2 “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and liberation to those who are bound, 2 to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor” and people press because as he goes, power flows out of him to heal. But there is more than healing that he wants people to know, he teaches them in Luke 6:27 “Love your enemies”. He says Luke 6:35 “your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked”. He calls us to emulate our Father in Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!”

Stretch Out Your Hand and His Hand Was Restored

Luke 6:6-11

He Went Away to the Mountain to Pray

Luke 6:12-16 

To Be Healed of Their Diseases

Luke 6:17-23
Jesus had declared himself in Luke 4:17-19 by quoting Isaiah 61:1-2. Though he was rejected in Nazareth, he moved on carrying the message and teaching in the Synagogues. As he went, people were healed and Jesus was pressed by crowds in

Luke 4:40–41 “all who had those who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and placing his hands on every one of them, he healed them. 41 And demons also were coming out of many”

He had come to heal, but he also came to teach them in

Luke 5:1 “while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God”

And wherever he went, in

Luke 5:15 “large crowds were gathering to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses”

And after praying in the mountains, in Luke 6:17 “he came down to them” and again, there was “a great multitude” in Luke 6:18 “who came to hear him and to be healed” and in Luke 6:19 “power was going out from him and healing them all”.

We know his first message was from Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed”. Clearly people were healed and set free from demonic oppression. But now he says to the crowd in Luke 6:20 “Blessed are the poor, because yours is the kingdom of God”. But this isn’t a message of freedom now, it is a message of suffering now, with future reward. He says in Luke 6:21 “Blessed are those who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied”. He says in Luke 6:23 “your reward is great in heaven”.

There is an authority that Jesus brought into the earth, forgiveness of sin, the anointing of the Holy Ghost to live the righteous life, and freedom from disease in

1 Peter 2:24 “who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we may die to sins and live to righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed.”

and he left us knowing there is a reward ahead, yet we are here now in this present world where they will in

Luke 6:22 “exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man”.

 

Woe To You Who Are Rich

Luke 6:24-26
There are in Luke 6:24-26 four “Woes” but this English word “Woe does not convey the exact force of Jesus’ ouai. It is more like ‘Alas’ (NEB) or ‘How terrible’ (GNB). It is an expression of regret and compassion, not a threat”.1

The first in Luke 6:24 “to you who are rich because you have received your comfort”. There isn’t anything more coming for them. This natural earthly “Wealth predisposes people to think they have need of nothing. They then rely on riches, not on God … To the rich Jesus says, you have received your consolation. His verb is one often used in receipts with a meaning like ‘Paid in full’”.1

Next is those, in Luke 6:25 “who are satisfied now, because you will be hungry”. They have the life they want and if there is anything they don’t have, they can get it. These are “People who live thinking that what they have is all-sufficient, who allow material possessions to be all-in-all and who think they have no need of God”.1

Next, and also in Luke 6:25 “you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep”. These are people that are superficial, “the carefree expression of contentment with the success of the present”.1

Then last in Luke 6:26 “whenever all people speak well of you” because as it says in John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.” 

To You Who Are Listening

Luke 6:27-36
Jesus began in Luke 6:20 “he lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said” … Now, in Luke 6:27 there is a slight transition “But to you who are listening” which offers these words to all that will hear them. Here he says “Love your enemies” but this is not our natural reaction. We want to get back at those that hurt us. He says in Luke 6:29 “do not withhold” but our natural reaction is to withdraw and set up walls of protection for ourselves. And then he explains that if we will do these things, in Luke 6:35 “you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Jesus is teaching us to be Like our Father is and he says in Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!” The Lord will reward us. There is a reward in heaven, where our future is. And, the Lord wants everyone who will, to join us. This is a central message from Jesus and he also said it this way in

John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another—just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.”

A Disciple Will Be Like His Teacher

Luke 6:37-42

The Good Person Out of The Good Treasury of His Heart Brings Forth Good

Luke 6:43-46

Everyone Who Comes To Me and Listens To My Words and Does Them

Luke 6:47-49

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 6:6-49

References

  • 1. Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 148). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Devotions

The Power of the Lord
Was There to Heal

by  • 

God’s will is laid bare for all to see as in Luke 5:13 “extending his (Jesus) hand he (Jesus) touched him (the untouchable leprous man), saying, “I am willing; be clean”. Into this world that knew what it meant to be “cursed by God”, comes a man. But there was something different about him. They would not have understood the virgin birth, and that wasn’t what Jesus led with in response. Jesus led with compassion, with authority, with forgiveness. Yet, none of them understood the birth of “the son of man” in 1 Corinthians 2:8 “none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”. By him, light entered, the spirit of life entered and in 1 Corinthians 15:54 “Death is swallowed up in victory” so that we can in Hebrews 10:22 “approach with a true heart” our conscience clean to live for him.

The Crowd Was Pressing Around Him

Luke 5:1-11 

I Am Willing; Be Clean

Luke 5:12-16
People had been coming to Jesus from all around (see Luke 4:40-41) seeking to be healed and set free, but this man had leprosy. There was no cure for leprosy. It was contagious so lepers were ostracized from the community which is why the man said in Luke 5:12 “make me clean”.

To understand this, we must understand that true “leprosy sentenced sufferers to a living death. It cut them off from civilization and made them live alone. ‘He remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.’2 The disease gradually spread and sensation ceased; more and more parts of the anatomy became disfigured or fell off. The outcome was death.”1

Leprosy was not just an illness, because “The removal of other maladies is spoken of in NT as healing, but the removal of leprosy is called cleansing (Mt 8:3; 10:8; 11:5; Mk 1:42; Lk 4:27; 7:22; 17:17).”2

And to fully understand, in the culture, “the leper was regarded as the victim, in a peculiar degree, of a stroke of God, like the man hanged on a tree, ‘accursed of God,’”.3

So, when “Christ touched a man with leprosy, thereby demonstrating his power to overcome uncleanness as represented by leprosy (Mt 8:3; Mk 1:41, 42; Lk 5:12, 13)”.4

Jesus was not only giving physical healing, but reconciliation to God, and restoration of right relationships in every area of this mans life. And now that in Luke 5:13 “the leprosy went away from him”, he could go, as Jesus commanded in Luke 5:14 And he ordered him, “Tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and bring the offering for your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them”. This offering was in thanks to the Lord for restoring his life and it was also the public act of testimony so everyone would know the goodness of the Lord.

The Power of the Lord Was There to Heal

Luke 5:17-26

Follow Me!

Luke 5:27-32 

They Will Fast in Those Days

Luke 5:33-39
Jesus response to the questions about fasting seem odd to us because we are long past this moment of incarnation. Jesus is God, taking on flesh, coming to us, not just to bring healing to a few sick folk, but to secure the salvation of mankind. I’m not sure his parable of old wine and new wine conveys the impact of his appearing, but what words could?

Everyone who had lived until this moment lived under the curse of sin and death. They could only seek atonement for the sin already committed. This was the old wine, the perpetual sacrifice seeking to reconcile to God after having sinned. But now comes the new wine, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world, who releases the Holy Spirit and begins the transformation from our new birth to a life being transformed into the image of Christ.

John begins his gospel with

John 1:4–5 “In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Then Luke says Jesus was the light of the world in

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

And as the Church matures after His resurrection the message is clear that He was the light in

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” is the one who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Ephesians 5:8–10 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is well-pleasing to the Lord.”

The truth of this message from Jesus is not that in Luke 5:33 “The old is just fine!”. He says this because they have never known what it means to drink the new wine, to be free from sin, to be able to “approach … our hearts sprinkled clean” that we might live freely the life God intended because we no longer know the darkness of sin in

Hebrews 9:14–15 “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And because of this, he is the mediator of a new covenant”.

Hebrews 10:21–22 “and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 6:1-5
Man, separated from God, knowing only the penalty of sin, can only come to the religious enforcement of right and wrong. But love has entered. The penalty of sin is about to be paid, and Jesus puts together two phrases that they just can’t comprehend in Luke 6:5 “The son of man” “is” “the Lord of the Sabbath”. By this, “Jesus is making a claim, and the claim is He has authority over this Sabbath, which raises this question: Who has authority over a day which God established by His activity, and who has authority over a day which God has put in the Ten Commandments? Who has authority over a day that God has sanctified in His law given to His people? Who has that kind of authority? … Only the Lord God has authority over the Sabbath”.5 And he is standing in front of them in human form, “the son of man”.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 5:1-39
  • Luke 6:1-5

References

  • 1. Green, M. (2001). The message of Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (p. 114). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 2. Macalister, A. (1911–1912). LEPROSY. In J. Hastings, J. A. Selbie, A. B. Davidson, S. R. Driver, & H. B. Swete (Eds.), A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology (Vol. 3, p. 95). New York; Edinburgh: Charles Scribner’s Sons; T. & T. Clark.
  • 3. Peake, A. S. (1911–1912). UNCLEAN, UNCLEANNESS. In J. Hastings, J. A. Selbie, A. B. Davidson, S. R. Driver, & H. B. Swete (Eds.), A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology (Vol. 4, p. 831). New York; Edinburgh: Charles Scribner’s Sons; T. & T. Clark.
  • 4. Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Leprosy, Leper. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1325). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
  • 5. Bock, D. L. (2014). NT211 Introducing the Gospels and Acts: Their Background, Nature, and Purpose. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Devotions

The Holy One of God

by  • 

Luke introduces the genealogy of Jesus because the messiah was to come from the lineage of David and the savior of the world had to come from the lineage of Adam. Jesus is fully man, but by virgin birth, in Luke 1:35 “holy, the Son of God”. Jesus went to his home town and was rejected. Then teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, he was recognized by a demon in Luke 4:34 “Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”” The people began to hear and came for healing and pressed him with their needs. Jesus pulled away in Luke 4:43 “But he said to them, ‘It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.’” There are times when need presses on us but we must choose purpose. 

The Son of Adam, The Son of God

Luke 3:23-38
This is the genealogy of Jesus and the reading of genealogies is daunting even for the most dedicated. And, in fact, there are some differing opinions about the details between this account and Matthew 1:1-17. So we will summarize here with a few commentary notes that show Jesus is fully man, born flesh and blood as we all are and born of God without the seed of sin from Adam, holy. As the angel said to Mary in

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the one to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

  • “Some commentators suggest that Matthew gives the royal line of descent from David, while Luke names the priestly descent, for Jesus is King and Priest.”1
  • “On comparing the two genealogies, it will be found that Matthew, writing more immediately for Jews, deemed it enough to show that the Saviour was sprung from Abraham and David; whereas Luke, writing more immediately for Gentiles, traces the descent back to Adam, the parent stock of the whole human family, thus showing Him to be the promised “Seed of the woman.””2
  • “It (Luke) stresses the real humanity of Jesus. It stresses the fact that he was truly one of us. He was no phantom or demigod. To save humanity he became in the most real sense a human.”3
  • “to Luke, he (Jesus) was the possession of all peoples, because his line is traced back not to the founder of the Jewish nation but to the founder of the human race. Luke removes the national and racial boundaries even from the ancestry of Jesus.”3
  • “(Luke) is speaking of a virgin birth, and we have no information as to how a genealogy would be reckoned when there was no human father. The case is unique.”4

For a full treatment see “The Atonement” and search sinless: https://books.logos.com/books/1738

Being Tempted by the Devil

Luke 4:1-13

He Began To Teach

Luke 4:14-15

The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me

Luke 4:16-21

Truly I Say to You

Luke 4:22-30 

The Holy One of God!

Luke 4:31-37
Jesus had just been in his home town and they had rejected him. Now, he is in Capernaum in Luke 4:31 “teaching them on the Sabbath”. In Luke 4:32 “they were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority”. This wasn’t the norm because “When the Rabbis taught they supported every statement with quotations. They always said, ‘There is a saying that …’ ‘Rabbi so and so said that …’ They always appealed to authority. When the prophets spoke, they said, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ Theirs was a delegated authority. When Jesus spoke, he said, ‘I say to you.’ He needed no authorities to buttress him; his was not a delegated authority; he was authority incarnate”.5

But though the people in the synagogue were “astounded”, they didn’t recognize him as the son of God. Instead, in

Luke 4:33-34 “a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! Leave us alone,l Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

How is it that this demon recognized Jesus for who he was? This isn’t the only place where demons recognized him, see “what. Luke 4:41; Luke 8:28. Matthew 8:29. Mark 1:24, 34; 5:7. James 2:19”.6

Here is a truth of the kingdom of God, we are naturally spiritually blind, separated from God. But there is a spirit realm where God resides with his heavenly creatures (Revelation 5:11). We are also told in

Ephesians 6:12 “our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

These spiritual forces do have a place in the spirit realm so could immediately see and understand the authority of Jesus Christ who simply said in Luke 4:35 “Be silent and come out of him!”. There is an authority we have as the sons and daughters of God because in

Colossians 2:15 “When he had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a display of them in public, triumphing over them by it.”

 

The Crowds Were Seeking Him

Luke 4:38-44
This may have started like any other Sabbath with a visiting Rabbi (teacher) who after the synagogue in Luke 4:38 “he went to Simon’s house” where they would share a meal together. But this wasn’t any other Sabbath, Jesus had cast out a demon at the synagogue and now, “Simon’s mother-in-law was inflicted with high fever”. They didn’t have anti-biotics or medical treatments like we have today but in Luke 4:39 “he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she got up and began to serve them”. This was unheard of, she was healed and the people all around heard and in

Luke 4:40–41 Now as the sun was setting, all who had those who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and placing his hands on every one of them, he healed them. 41 And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Son of God!” And he rebuked them and did not permit them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

The crowds pressed in Luke 4:42 “And the crowds were seeking him”. But Jesus broke away from the pressing need because he had a different purpose in

Luke 4:43 “But he said to them, ‘It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.’”

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 3:23-38
  • Luke 4:1-44

References

  • 1. Just, A. A. (Ed.). (2005). Luke (p. 69). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 102). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 3. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 50). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
  • 4. Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 119). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 5. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 61). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
  • 6. Blayney, B., Scott, T., & Torrey, R. A. with Canne, J., Browne. (n.d.). The Treasury of Scripture knowledge (Vol. 2, p. 43). London: Samuel Bagster and Sons.