Luke 8, Mark 4
Luke 8
Luke 8:1-3
Luke adds a very important reference here to the women who were
following Jesus. He even elevates them
to a place of importance. They, as well
as many others, were supporting Jesus and the disciples with their own personal
resources. Like the woman we had just
met in Luke 7:36-50, these women had been significantly impacted by Jesus, and
they knew in their hearts that He was the real deal. I like the way this reference falls in the
Harmony of the Gospels. They place this
section soon after Jesus says that His yoke is light and easy to bear (Matthew
11:28-30). Those who had their load
lifted by Jesus were now helping bear His earthly load. They were supporting the ministry. Somehow I think there is a lesson to be
learned here. It seems that those whose
unbearable weight has been lifted should turn and lighten the load of others,
or at least make sure that the ministry of Jesus can continue. It is not for our own benefit that we support
the work of the church. We support the
church so that those who are still burdened might find them lifted as well.
Luke 8:4-15 I
can’t help but think that Jesus is doing more than simply telling some clever
story here. At first glance it would
seem the desired impact would be for the hearer to search his heart and
determine what sort of soil is there.
But, as Jesus has challenged, those with ear to hear (those who can
perceive spiritual truths) should listen and understand. The problem with this is that only those who are
sensitive to spiritual things will consider the condition of their heart;
whether they are truly receptive to the Word of God. It just seems to me that this was probably
more a teaching lesson for those who will soon be traveling out and sharing the
Good news on their own. And it would not
be just the twelve Apostles. Very soon
Jesus will be sending out 70 people (Luke 10:1), and He expected them to speak
the Good news of salvation to all. Yes,
the 12 apostles were not the only people telling others about Christ. You can be sure that everyone who had been
impacted by the ministry of Jesus was telling others about Jesus. From the Woman at the well in John 4 to the 70
disciples, people were telling others about Jesus. I think this is an important lesson for the
church today. Somehow we’ve left the
responsibility to those trained and educated.
But we’ve all been called and we all are expected to tell. So this parable becomes a lesson for every
Christian. Some whom we tell will simply
not believe. Some will turn aside. Some will never mature. But some will grow and flourish. We are not to withhold the telling because we
feel the soil isn’t prepared. Our
responsibility is to spread the word.
Luke 8:16-18 Continuing
on the parable of the Sower, here Jesus says that the person who listens and
learns about the secrets of God’s Kingdom should not continue to keep them
secret. If the Good News has taken root
in your heart, tell someone about what you have learned. Use that wisdom and knowledge for the benefit
of others. Don’t hide it. Don’t keep it secret and keep it safe. And Jesus says that those who do tell others
will learn even more. I’ll amen that
statement. You have no idea how much
benefit I get out of this study; how much is has deepened my faith.
Luke 8:19-21
These brothers of Jesus were born to Mary and Joseph after Jesus was
born. They would be half-brothers. Now although the crowd was quite large, we
are left to wonder why His family was looking for a way to get close to
Jesus. In this account, it doesn’t seem
like there was animosity or concern.
They didn’t seem to think He was one fry short of a happy meal. And Jesus did not speak poorly about His
family either. I know these verses are
often read with a harsh tone, but that’s not what is communicated here. He simply took the example of family
relationships and compared that to those who hear the Word of God and put it
into practice. We enter the family
business, so to speak, when we respond to the teachings of Jesus and tell
others about God’s Good News.
Luke 8:22-25
Sudden storms like this happen occasionally on the Sea of Galilee. Wind whips the water into large waves. We don’t know how many disciples were in the
boat. It was probably more than the
twelve apostles. But I am sure all of
them had been listening to Jesus teach and had seen His many miracles. Perhaps some were even the recipients of a miracle. So, after hearing and witnessing Jesus work
among them, this little scare would have been an excellent opportunity to
exercise their faith. Unfortunately they
don’t. They go to Jesus and point out
how big the storm is. And it’s important that we learn more than the little
phrase “Tell the storm how big your God is”.
That sounds reassuring and gives us some strength to face what we are
dealing with. But even then we are
looking to have the storm calmed; to awaken our Savior who will deliver us FROM
what we are facing. I’ll admit that
Jesus can do that. He has done that. But the faith I think He is looking for is the
kind that rests in the promises of Jesus; that holds fast to His promises IN
the storm. “We’re going to the other
side” Jesus said. End of
discussion. And no amount of wind or
waves would keep that from happening.
The disciples should have drawn strength from how peaceful Jesus was;
peaceful enough to sleep. A person of
faith would have drawn assurance from that peace. Jesus wasn’t concerned, so why were they?
Luke 8:26-33
Matthew reports that there were two men (see Matthew 8:28-34), while
Luke only mentions one. There probably
were two, but perhaps Luke merely wanted to single out this one. This is a strong example of Jesus’ argument
against the Pharisees who claimed He was working with the Devil (see Mark
3:27). Even the demons knew that Jesus
was the stronger man and that He had the authority to bind them or imprison
them. In Matthew’s account the demons
mention Jesus tormenting them before God’s appointed time (Matthew 8:29). So there was a definite recognition of Jesus’
authority and of His coming judgment against these demons. And they were alarmed that this time of
judgment had come already. This event is
also an excellent example of what Demon possession really looks like. Time and space does not permit me to talk
about this at length, but let me simply say that sometimes the church is too
quick to demonize someone. Too quickly
we identify someone as demon possessed when instead we should merely be pointing
to their sinful human nature. It’s quite
obvious this man was being controlled against his will. Let’s not attribute to Satan what we should
be confessing as sin.
Luke 8:32-33
There are three different names mentioned concerning this story:
Gerasenes (Mentioned here), Gadarenes (Mentioned in Matthew), and Gergasenes
(mentioned by historian Origen).
Reliable sources use the name Gerasenes, which refers to the Gentile
town of Gersa, located on the eastern shore of the sea. Today the town is called Khersa. This is important because of the pigs. If this was a Jewish settlement, we would
wonder why there was a herd of pigs. If
it was not, then we wouldn’t question why.
Regardless, I think it’s funny that the Demons didn’t want to be cast
into the abyss (a watery grave), but the pigs end up in the water anyway.
Luke 8:34-37 I’m
not sure the people were upset about the pigs or were worried about what Jesus
might cast out of them. But what stands
out here is that people turned Jesus away out of fear: something we still see
people doing today.
Luke 8:38-39
Isn’t it sad that this man wasn’t permitted to travel with Jesus? He asked a simple thing, really. He asked to go along with the group. But Jesus said no. Jesus said, “I have another plan for
you”. I wonder how this man felt. I wonder if he felt Jesus was rejecting
him. Did he feel crushed and
abandoned? Was he angry that Peter and
James and John got to travel around with Jesus while he was left to preach to a
small crowd in a small town; to a group of people who sent Jesus away? I think Christians (and churches) need to
realize that God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. He has a plan and a goal in mind, and uses
the right people in the right place at the right time to accomplish that
goal. Each Christian is gifted and called
to serve the Kingdom in their own unique way.
The Apostles were called to be leaders (one day). This man was called to be a witness; speaking
to others about what Jesus had done in his life. Both are important. Both advance the Kingdom. Likewise, I believe a church needs to keep
this in mind as well. God has a goal in
mind, and a church would be wise to listen to what God is calling that church
to do and who He needs that church to be in its own community. For example, this man would be able to give a
better testimony than the apostles because people from town knew him before
Christ healed him. And the change would
be noticeable. My point is that when
Jesus says no to our request He is not saying no to our usefulness. He is simply pointing out that we can serve
the Kingdom best in some other place or in some other way.
Luke 8:40-48
The woman in this story was bleeding for as long as Jairus’ daughter had
been alive. He was an important official
in town; responsible for the care and upkeep of the local synagogue. He would have been an upstanding individual
in the community. In contrast, this
woman would have been an outcast because of her constant hemorrhaging; she
would have been ceremonially unclean.
But Jesus draws no distinction.
Both demonstrate faith in Jesus.
Both knew He could help them.
Jairus asks in faith. The woman
reaches out in faith. Actually, this
woman took a big step of faith just by being out in the crowd. Anyone who touched her would become
unclean. So she took a significant risk
in walking among the crowd. Jesus,
knowing who touched Him, asked the woman to reveal herself to the crowd;
another significant step of faith. But
here’s something else that just occurred to me.
Peter points out that the whole crowd was pressing close, so this woman
would have been inadvertently touching a lot of other people that day. It had to have happened! So there were probably a lot of other people
who have become ritually unclean that day, maybe even Jairus. On any other day this woman would have been
shunned and cast aside. She had cooties,
so to speak, and everyone would have avoider her. Now, maybe I’m reading a bit much into the
story, but I see an incredible example of the double standard by which people
lived. It seems that the community was
quick to identify the sins in others, but hesitant to admit there was sin in
themselves. They were quick with
judgment and slow with grace. Not too
much has changed, wouldn’t you agree?
How often have we heard someone cry that people need to be held
accountable for their sin while they cry for God to show grace for theirs.
Luke 8:49-56
I wonder how irritated Jairus had become because of the delay this woman
had caused. I’m not sure if he was
irritated, but I know I would have been, and I would have been constantly
looking at my watch, grumbling that I got to Jesus first. See, I expect Jesus to keep a timetable. I expect Him to care for people on a
first-come, first-served basis. Unfortunately
that is a sign of my selfishness and a sign that I lack faith. Also in this story we see the first sign of
an inner group of leaders being formed.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John into the room. The rest of the disciples he leaves
outside. In this entire chapter we see
all things come under Jesus’ authority.
He has authority over the wind and the waves. He has authority over the forces of
darkness. He even has authority over the
Law. Consider that He healed an unclean
woman and touched a dead person. By
Jewish standards He would have been unclean and would have had to cut Himself
off from the rest of the people for seven days (compare Numbers 19:11-16). But the text doesn’t indicate that this was
even an issue.
Mark 4
Mark 4:1-20
Mark, along with Matthew, points out that this parable was told while
Jesus was on a boat. Luke simply begins
with the Parable (Luke 8:4-10). In
addition to what I shared earlier in today’s reading, I’d like to talk about
the “Harvest” in this story. We know the
seed is the word of God. The Sower is
anyone who tells people about Jesus. And
we know about the 4 different types of soil.
But what exactly is the Crop? And
what is the significance of the “Fruit” producing 30, 60, or 100 times more
than what had been sown? First of all,
we need to keep in mind that a Parable is not an Allegory; a story where
everything in it represents something else.
A Parable is a short story
designed to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. So we should not get hung up on the numbers,
and perhaps not even try to figure out what the “fruit” is. The religious lesson here is that bearing
fruit is showing signs that the Word of God has taken root in our heart; that
the message of Jesus has changed us. If
a person has been reborn by hearing the message of Jesus, their life will truly
show it. They will become more loving,
filled with joy, at peace with others, patient when wronged, kind to those who
don’t deserve it, will work for that which is good, will be faithful in what
they say or promise, gentle with the feelings of others, and demonstrate
self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23).
Mark 4:11-12
I wanted to specifically talk about these two verses because at first
glance they can seem a bit troubling. Jesus
quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, comparing the people of Israel in His day with the
people of Israel in Isaiah’s day. In
both instances everyone was given an opportunity to hear and be saved. And just like in Isaiah’s time the people had
hard-hearts and closed minds. Like
Isaiah, Jesus said, “This is what keeps them from understanding. They simply are not teachable. If they were, then they would turn from their
wickedness and be saved”. Take notice
what happens here. The disciples asked
for an explanation. But few of the
religious leaders even took the time to talk with Jesus. What Nicodemus did was unusual (see John
3:4).
Mark 4:21-25
Both paragraphs need to be read in order to fully understand what Jesus
is saying. Like a lamp, those who
respond to the message (the seed which bears fruit), will be seen by all. The change will become evident, BUT, like a
lamp, it does need fuel to keep on burning.
That’s why it’s important for Christians to continue in prayer and
study. It is the Christian who stays
faithful in these things that continues to grow. As Christians it is important for us to
realize that the race does not end at our baptism; that’s the starting line! “The more we hear the Word of God, the better
we are able to share it with others. But
the moment we think that we know it all, what we think we know will be taken
from us. We must take heed what we hear (Mark 4:24) as well as take
heed how we hear (Luke 8:18). Our
spiritual hearing determines how much we have to give to others”. [1]
Mark 4:26-29
Keep in mind that Jesus is preparing His disciples to go out and preach
the Good News. First He told them that
not every person will respond to the Gospel Message. Here He reminds them that they are
responsible only for the planting of that seed.
God will cause the growth. Growth
will take a certain amount of time. And
God is the one who will reap the harvest.
In a later parable He will talk about the Master who reaps where he did
not sow (Matthew 25:24).
Mark 4:30-32
Continuing in His training, Jesus reminds the disciples that what may
seem small at first will grow quite large.
The work that you and I do in the Lord’s name may seem simple and
insignificant. But we need to remember
that the small seed we plant in others may one day change their entire
life. No deed done in the name of Jesus
is too small or too insignificant. We
are called not to judge the size of the deed or the simplicity of the message
we shared. We are called to be faithful,
and let God do the mysterious work within that person’s heart. However, knowing this truth is not the same
as living this truth. I still struggle
with doubts that a simple word here or a kind gesture there in the name of the
Lord was sufficient.
Mark 4:35-41
This story repeats what is told in Luke 8:22-25 
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