Touching Powerfully

Luke 8:46 - But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”

Lots of people were touching Jesus that day, but only one was healed. The Gospels are clear that a large crowd was pressing in on him, but there was one woman who had a different kind of touch. She had suffered from a flow of blood for years. When she touched Jesus, he knew it. He stopped. He asked “Who touched me?” twice. There was something different about her touch that set it apart from all the others.

First, she had the right object. Doctor Luke ironically notes that she had spent all her money on doctors, but she got no help from them. (Luke 8:43) In spite of her efforts, only Jesus could help. Sometimes we reach out to those who cannot help us. Other times we reach out to those who will not help us. With Jesus, we have one who can and will help us in our time of need.

Second, she had the right kind of touch. When she finally got the courage to identify herself and tell Jesus her story, he said to her, “Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 8:48) Over and over in the gospels, faith is the key to answered prayers and miracles. The account of this story in the Gospel of Mark shows what that faith was. It says that the woman said to herself, “If I touch his garment, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:28) She visualized it before it happened, she was convinced it would happen, and she took action to make it happen. That is real faith.

Whatever you may be growing through in your life, please know Jesus both can and wants to help you. Reach out to touch him in faith.

When Jesus Says No

Luke 8:38-39 - The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

In this incredible story of the deliverance of a demonized man on the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, lots of people beg Jesus for things. Most of them get what they ask. The demon possessed man initially begged Jesus, “Do not torment me!” (vs 28). Jesus did not torment him. He freed him. Yet, the man was under the demons’ control at the time he made the request. The next two requests came from the demons: “Do not send us into the Abyss (vs 31). Send us into the pigs (vs 32).” Jesus gave the demons what they asked for.

The next request came from the people of the area who saw the now freed man. They begged Jesus to leave the region, and he did. Everyone got what they asked for, except the recently delivered man. He begged Jesus to take him with him in the boat to the other side, but Jesus refused. Why did Jesus give all his antagonists what they asked for and not give the only one in the story on his side what he wanted? Wasn’t his a noble and good request to go with the Master, spend time with him, learn from him, and experience his power firsthand on a daily basis?

Jesus denied him because he had a bigger purpose for his life. Jesus was not welcome in that region, but this man was. During his earthly ministry Jesus was limited to being at one place at a time, but those impacted by his power could spread it and his good news wherever they went. The delivered man multiplied the spreading of Jesus’ Good News. Sometimes Jesus says no to our requests because he wants to use us for something more than we can imagine. 

The Good News of Christmas

Luke 2:10-11 - And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Merry Christmas! In spite of all the cultural upheaval of the last several decades, Christmas is still the most celebrated holiday of the year in the Western World. There is a good reason for that. Like the angel said to the shepherds: this is “good news of great joy… for all the people.” It is just as true today as it was over 2,000 years ago at the first Christmas.

That good news is that a savior – the Savior – has come. You may feel like you do not need a savior. Your life is going fine. Your bills are paid. You are healthy. You have everything you need. You do not think you need to be “saved” by anyone else. Yet, imagine a bad car accident when you are pinned under crushed metal or a near drowning or a car breakdown on a lonely road. Suddenly you are helpless. Suddenly you need someone with skills, tools, and abilities you do not have. You need a savior.

Something that may be hard for us to grasp in our technologically advanced society is that we - each and all - still desperately need a Savior. Sin may not be a popular word, but its damaging effects are seen everywhere: violence, abuse, and even divorce, broken families, and estranged friendships. If you have ever been hurt by someone, you know the pain of sin. Just as others have failed and hurt you, though, you have hurt others. Each of us has failed to be relationally, ethically, and morally perfect. That does not only mean that we deal with the temporary pain of those actions attitudes. They ultimately cut us off from God – forever. The only way the consequences and the ultimate cause of sin could be completely cured was by the offering of a perfect sacrifice – one completely like us in his humanity, yet one completely unlike us in his divine perfection. So, we celebrate with good reason: the Incarnation of the Christ who became one of us and offered himself on our place on the cross so that “whoever believes in him may have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The greatest Christmas gift of all time is yours for the asking: believe and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today.

Afraid of Jesus?

Luke 8:35,37 -Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.

We do not know this man’s name, but we know some of his story. He probably had a normal childhood until demons entered him. We do not know why they came, but we know their effect. He was a public nuisance. He was apparently violent and probably hurt others and caused property damage. He was enough of a problem that the Gerasene people tried everything they could to keep him suppressed, but nothing could hold him back. He broke every chain placed on him. There seemed to be no hope for him or limiting the pain he caused his community until Jesus came, cast the demons out, and set him free.

The people he had formerly tormented came to see him. He had been transformed. What they people had not been able to do – even in a temporary, partial way – Jesus did completely and fully. The man’s life was restored to normal. He regained self-control. He was ready to reenter society and make a positive contribution.

If you were a Gerasene, wouldn't you have celebrated this man’s life change? If not for his sake, at least you would have been grateful to not have to deal with his moaning and violence, right? Yet, the people were afraid. They even asked Jesus to leave, which he did without question. It seems these people preferred to live with problems they were not able to solve on their own rather than invite Jesus to make miraculous life change, and Jesus does not force himself on anyone. I wonder how many of us today have that same heart. Are you afraid of inviting Jesus in? Are you afraid of the transformation he might bring?

Growing Faith

 Luke 8:24-25a - And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

In most essential skills of life and work, we learn best by first watching an expert and listening to his or her instructions. Next, we help the expert, ask questions and receive feedback. Step three involves us doing the task alone with the expert watching and providing some correction and encouragement. For most of us, step four is the scary one: we do it alone. I can be more confident if the expert is right next to me to get me out of the jam if I mess up, but we can never grow or achieve our full potential until we can do it alone so the expert is free to train another. Hopefully, we, too, will continue to grow in our skills so we can train others. This applies in learning to cook, to drive, job skills, leadership, and even spiritual growth. This is the key to multiplication in any endeavor.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is developing critical faith and leadership skills in a ragtag bunch of guys who will one day lay the ground work for the greatest organization in the history of the world: The Church. It has outlasted thousands of governmental regimes and spans the globe. Up to this point in the story, Jesus has done all of the teaching and miracles, yet he knows the day will come when he will physically leave planet earth and leave the ministry in the hands of his disciples. They will need to be ready to take over.

Today’s story is the beginning of the second step in the process. In the next two chapters of Luke we will see Jesus sending the disciples out on their own for short ministry trips with feedback sessions, but at this point he is with them, yet he is asleep when their first challenge comes: a storm on the lake that threatens to sink their ship. They wake Jesus, he calms the sea, and then he asks them this question: “Where is your faith?” It is like he is asking, “Is your faith in me doing the work for you? Is your faith in my faith? For you to accomplish what I am calling you to, you will need to have a faith of your own.”

This principle can be applied in so many ways. I encourage you to reflect on your own life. Is there a way in which you need to step out and no longer lean on another’s faith or action?

Special Privileges

Luke 8:20-21 - He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus was obviously busy. Crowds of people flocked to him demanding his time and personal attention. Some sought special privileges, including his mother and brothers. Somehow that does not surprise me. If my parents came to see me while I was busy with a large group, I would at least take time to greet them personally because of the special relationship we have. Throughout human history, cultures have placed familial relationships ahead of other relationships in priority, so Jesus’ words strike us as both rude and odd. Why would he not grant special visitation privileges to his parents?

Jesus makes a very strong point here, and it is not that we should not love our family members. Instead, Jesus is driving home that hearing and doing what God says is more important than anything. The privileges that come with a special relationship with Jesus are not limited to a select few who had the good fortune to be born into his family. You would have a tough time scheduling a visit with the U.S. President or even a CEO of a medium-sized company, but anyone can have special access rights with the greatest king in the universe. The question is: do you hear what he says and then live it?

What Do You Think You Have?

Luke 8:9-10 - Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.

When the American settlers and adventurers moved west, their biggest barrier besides the huge mountains and vast spaces was the large Native American population. The Anglo Americans wanted property and all it could bring: minerals, farming, power, etc. As we know from history, many battles were fought for the land, but the Anglos also used a different approach that was completely mysterious to the Natives: the treaty. Many chiefs had no idea what they were doing as they signed over property rights to land on which their ancestors had traveled, hunted, and lived for centuries. This treaty process was so mysterious to them because they had no understanding of the European concept of property rights. In the Native American perspective, land was not something that could be owned. How then could it be sold or transferred?

We now function in a world that does acknowledge ownership rights for real estate, vehicles, corporate shares, and everything else imaginable. We see the haves and the have nots. It becomes very easy to measure each other by those possessions. Before long, our possessions can become our identity. Yet, do we really consist of what we possess? In a real sense, the Native Americans may have had a better understanding than we do.

There is nothing we own that cannot be taken away from us, but who we are stays with us forever. The old cliché is so true: We cannot take it with us. In spite of the Pharaoh’s best efforts, what they thought they owned and buried in their tombs with them did not accompany them in the afterlife. Jesus warns us that how we hear will determine what we really have. Our faith, our character, and how we live will determine what we do take with us beyond the grave far more than what we own. Make eternal investments.

When You Do Not See Fruit

Luke 8:9-10 - And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God…”

Jesus was known for using stories to teach important truths. We know these stories as parables, and the Parable of the Soils takes center stage in three of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  It opens a series of parables and contains more of an explanation from Jesus than all of the others. This is obviously an important parable, but I think we have missed its point too often.

You may be familiar with the story. A sower (planter) drops seed (representing spreading the word) on four types of soil: road, rocky, thorny, and good. Only the good soil bears fruit.

Most sermons and teaching on this parable have been directed to the listeners as different types of the soils. The message is usually, “Work hard to become good soil!” Yet, when has a soil ever changed itself?

Note Jesus' words above. Only the disciples get the real meaning of the parable. Who was the parable for - the people as soils or the disciples as those who sow the seed? Rather than attempting to motivate soils to change, I believe Jesus’ objective is to let his seed-sowing disciples know what to expect as they share the good news. He wanted them to understand why not all of their efforts would bear fruit.

We should not be surprised when some people reject our message or others receive it gladly for a time then fall away. It should not shock us when some who start on the journey of faith get distracted by cares and concerns. There have been times I have wanted to quit because of a lack of response by some or even many, yet Jesus tells us there is good soil. It will yield a harvest a hundred times what we put in. Maybe only one in four bears good fruit, but at a hundred-fold yield, that is a 2,500% return on investment. Any wise investor will take that any day of the year. So, do not get discouraged when not everyone responds. Keep spreading that seed.

Provide

Luke 8:1-3 He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities… who provided for them out of their means.

Have you taken a trip lately? If so, you know it costs to travel: gas, lodging, food, tolls, unexpected repairs. It is no wonder “staycations” – where people stay at home and visit local sites during extended times off work – are getting more and more popular. Sometimes, though, we need to travel. Sometimes the mission requires it. How many business deals would fall through without face to face negotiations? Could multinational companies exists without business travel?

Although they did not have to worry about gasoline, Jesus and his disciples had expenses as they fulfilled his mission of taking the good news of the kingdom of God through all of Galilee and Judea. Thirteen mouths to feed daily can be quite costly. However, their expenses were covered for them by people who received the benefit of their ministry. Mary, Joanna, Susanna, and the “many others” who were healed and delivered by the power of Jesus responded by providing for Jesus’ ministry team “out of their own means.” They were helped, so they helped, and their help enabled others to be helped. That is how the kingdom of God has expanded practically for centuries: Those who have been helped by the good news help provide so others can be helped. The kingdom multiplies. The mission is accomplished. Let us do our part of providing from our own means so that the mission can continue.

Accepted

Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Perhaps you know the pain of rejection. I remember the disappointment of hearing “No” from more than one girl I asked out as a teen, but I do not pretend to know deep rejection.

I find it easy to identify with the struggles of most of the people we find in the New Testament. Whether it is James and John’s competitiveness, Peter’s foot-in-mouth syndrome, or Mary Magdalene’s grief at Jesus’ tomb so deep she did not recognize him, culture and human nature has not changed all that much in 2,000 years.

However, in Luke 7:36-50, we meet a woman whose struggles are hard to comprehend in 21st Century America. She was known by everyone in a very religious small town to be a “sinner” at a time when one’s religious standing was her full identity. We do not know what drove her to that life or what it fully entailed. We do know what others thought of her. The Pharisee Simon was appalled she had come into his house (vs 39).  In a culture driven by honor and shame, she must have been ostracized with a deep pain beyond anything I have ever experienced. Her life had been torn from her. She was no doubt racked with real guilt over her sin, and she probably saw no real way out except for the grace of Jesus. In one last effort that would have maximized her shame, she took the bold move of entering Simon’s house uninvited and falling at the feet of Jesus. Instead of encountering rejection one more time, she found acceptance. She heard these priceless words, “Your faith has saved you.”

If you have ever been rejected by another person, know that Jesus welcomes you. The saving this woman experienced – forgiveness from her sins, eternal life, hope, acceptance, love from the God who created her and the only one who can love her perfectly – is available to you, as well. Come to him.

Always a Critic?

Luke 7:33-34 - “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

We can always find faults in others. Every one of us is an imperfect person. Many of us are allowing God to shape us, grow us, and improve us, but that is a lifelong process. Along the way, each of us will manifest our faults at times. We can be real targets for others’ criticism.

Sometimes flaws need to be pointed out by others if we are ever to correct them. Some criticism is necessary to keep families, organizations, and churches healthy. When others criticize us, we need to carefully evaluate the merits of the criticism and change what validly needs to be changed.

Yet, far too often the critic’s motive is to not to improve the one they critique. If I find fault in another, it can give me a feeling of superiority. It is this kind of self-righteousness Jesus attacks in Luke 7:31-35. The cultural and religious leaders of Jesus’ world criticized John the Baptist for his asceticism and Jesus for his indulgence. The implication is that no one would have been good enough. The Pharisees’ position depended on them being better than others, so they criticized everyone who was not like them. My guess is they criticized one another just as harshly. The day they stopped criticizing was the day they were no longer “preeminent” – at least in their own minds.

I am sure you know the pain of the self-promoting critics’ unwarranted attacks. You may still be dealing with the effects of a parent, teacher, coach, or other influential person who was never willing to give you full approval. Today, though, let us each evaluate our own hearts, words, and actions. Why do we criticize? Do we want to help others or just ourselves feel superior?

Even Great People Doubt Sometimes

Luke 7:20 - And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ”

Have you ever struggled in your faith? Perhaps you made a strong start as a Christian but some disappointment or unanswered prayer along the way led you to question Jesus’ reality and power. Maybe you have been recently considering trusting in Christ but a question or two still holds you back. If so, you are not alone.

Luke 7:18-28 shows John the Baptist, whom Jesus calls here the “greatest born among women,” uncertain about Jesus. John was Jesus’ first endorser (see Luke 3). He put his whole life on the line to be the Forerunner, whose role was to prepare people for the coming of the Christ (Luke 7:27). Yet, after being thrown into prison and facing a death sentence, he naturally wonders, “Did I get it right? Is this Jesus really THE one?”

It is so tempting to measure God’s reality by our circumstances. We want God to fit our expectations. When things do not go our way, we begin to question him.

Yet, notice that Jesus does not rebuke John for his doubt. He sends John’s disciples back with both an encouragement (“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.”- Luke 7:22) and a warning (“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” – Luke 7:23).

Doubts do not disqualify us, but we must not remain in them. John did the right thing with his doubts. He took them to Jesus. He got the evidence and the reminder that he had been right all along. Take any doubts you have to Jesus today.