You Can Read the Bible Bible Only Podcast

Chapter 11 opens with “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place…” It marks the ninth time Luke has noted Jesus praying.  He often does this alone, withdrawn from the crowds.  But at times He takes others, like Peter, James, and John, where on a mountain they heard the voice of God.  Sometimes Luke presents it as a simple observation, and others it seems like Jesus’ prayer was a launch point for an event, such as the calling of His disciples.  Today, Jesus’ praying influences the disciples to ask Him to teach them how to pray, “as John taught his disciples.” 

Jesus does so, and instructs them even more deeply about the character of God.  This conversation is a backdrop, as is typical in this gospel, for the events that come next.  For the rest of the reading, opponents from among the Pharisees and lawyers sought Jesus out, to press Him, Luke says, and to provoke Him…lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say. Jesus, meanwhile, begins speaking critically and publicly against their teaching and hypocrisy, about their public shows of faithfulness but rejection of justice and love of God.

Chapter 12 is devoted to teaching about worrying about the proper things.  “Do not be anxious about this life,” Jesus tells His disciples, “for all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.”  Rather, “Seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”  Furthermore, He connects Himself to this kingdom, warning: “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”  And as if anticipating their incredulity, He drives further: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.” 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 27:1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Luke chapters 11 and 12.  Now let’s read it!

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.  And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…      Luke 6:12-13

Back in chapter 6 we noted that this change in title from “disciples” to “apostles” signified not just status but mission: these are the first twelve who would be sent out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.  Before doing so, Luke tells us that Jesus …gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases… but again, Luke doesn’t tell us what he means by this.  Put yourself in that space, with those apostles, hearing that the same power they had seen at work in Jesus would now flow through them. 

This conferring of authority is significant background for the rest of the chapter.  When the crowds are hungry, the disciples want Jesus to send them away.  When confronting with a demon-possessed boy, they are unable to drive the demon out, a result, according to Jesus, of their faithlessness.  Later, they bicker over which of them is the greatest, and even try to stop one who is not of the twelve from casting out demons in Jesus’ name.

In chapter 10 the commission is expanded to include seventy-two others who are sent ahead of Him, two-by-two, into every town and place where He himself was about to go…  and they returned, marveling to Jesus (and perhaps to the twelve) that “even the demons are subject to us in your name!"   

Through Jesus’ response: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…” Luke again highlights the power of God in Jesus’ eyes, hands, and words.  Luke recounts – almost as though it happened yesterday – how Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit that the Father has “…hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children, that no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” 

Keep this context in mind for the encounter immediately after it.   Putting Jesus to the test, a lawyer asks, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus responds with a simple story, one that a child could understand, about a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan….

Our verse for this week is Psalm 27:1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Luke chapters 9 and 10.  Now let’s read it!

At the beginning of today’s reading Jesus heads to Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee, where He is confronted by a group of elders of the Jews.  These elders have been sent by a Roman centurion, who hopes that Jesus will heal his servant.  Their request is interesting on at least two fronts: first, that they deem the centurion “…worthy to have you do this for him for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue…” and second that they – elders of the Jews – recognized that the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. 

This similarly occurs at the end of today’s reading, when Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue – begs Jesus to heal his daughter.  Weren’t the Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus?  Well, some were.  Others weren’t.  Luke doesn’t draw clear lines on this, but instead recounts events and conversations as they happened. 

Pay attention to the variety of responses to Jesus.  Just today, synagogue rulers ask Jesus for help and the people of Nain report, “A great prophet has arisen among us!”  Pharisees and lawyers oppose Jesus and the crowd’s assessment of Him, but one of them invites Jesus to dinner – only to judge Him for allowing a “sinner” to get too close.  A group of women follows and even supports Jesus, while the Gerasenes, after witnessing that Jesus had driven demons out of a man, were seized with great fear.  And finally, after raising Jairus’ (the synagogue ruler’s) daughter back to life, her parents were amazed.   

And I want to highlight one more detail that is just as curious as people’s reactions.  When the demon-possessed man wants to follow Jesus, Jesus permits him to “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”  However, just one scene later, when Jesus raises Jairus’s daughter, “He charged [her parents] to tell no one what had happened.”  So what gives?  Why would Jesus tell one healed person to “Tell anyone you want,” and tell another healed person, “Don’t tell a soul”? 

This contradiction is never ironed out.  Does it matter that the demon-possessed man was in the region of the country of the Gerasenes – a foreign land – while Jairus’ daughter was in Galilee?  Does it matter that Jairus was a synagogue official, while the demon-possessed man was an ordinary citizen?   It’s hard to believe that Luke would not have noticed this.  It’s even harder to believe that Jesus would be haphazard with His words.  There is something more going on here, and it likely tells us something about Jesus, His purposes, and His mission. 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 27:1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Luke chapters 7 and 8.  Now let’s read it!