Even though we didn't see anyone else post their responses to the last post's questions, I'm going to continue to add my answers. It's funny how so few responded to the post on Luke 8 while quite a few commented on my Facebook post on Ron Paul during last night's Republican Presidential Debate. See that comment feed here.
Read Luke 8:40 - 9:36 (find it here)
Jesus usually heals in of two ways, either by speaking his power or seemingly by transferring through touch. Reports of these healings spread like wildfire. One woman wondered, (paraphrasing) "What if I touched Jesus? Would I be healed?"
Jesus was being escorted to heal a local religious leader's daughter. In the hustle and bustle of the crowd, there was a woman who had been constantly bleeding for 12 YEARS! This had to be particularly tough. In that culture, women were deemed "unclean" (as in don't touch them, they are cursed) when they were on their period or after they had given birth. Read about it here.
She touched Jesus' robe (not his body) and her bleeding stopped! Jesus felt "the healing power go out" from him (verse 46). Jesus demanded to know who touched him. After fessing up, the woman explained her situation and her thought process. Jesus affirmed her and dismissed her in peace:)
In the meantime, Jairus' daughter had died. That didn't stop Jesus; he continued to the house and raised her from the dead! Jesus returned the daughter back to her parents and asked them to keep this story to themselves.
Since the disciples had seen and experienced so much with Jesus, it was now their turn to cast our demons and heal people. That was never the full purpose, though. It was only part of the ministry. The ministry centered around them telling "everyone about the Kingdom of God and healing the sick" (Luke 9:2) and that's what they did.
The disciples became the first missionaries. They slept wherever they were welcomed and were dependent on their hosts for everything (food, money and even clothes).
Remember how Jesus' feet weren't washed when he was invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee just two chapters ago? Jesus refers to that unwelcoming feeling when he says, "if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet." (verse 5) In other words, if they won't wash your feet, don't stay there.
Do you find it strange that Herod Antipas thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist resurrected, even though he personally had him beheaded? It shows how much Herod respected (or maybe even feared) John the Baptist.
Jesus and the disciples try to slip out of town. The crowds caught on quick, but Jesus welcomed them, taught them and healed their sick. Jesus doesn't let the ministry be limited to a set time. If they come to him, he never turns them away.
They must have been there a while. The disciples encouraged Jesus to send the people away because it was getting late and the people were getting hungry. Jesus said, "You feed them." (verse 13)
All they had was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. There were 5,000 men there. (Remember how women and children are second in importance to men?) The total number of people, counting women and children, probably numbered somewhere between 10 to 15 thousand! (to give some perspective, that would be everybody from Perquimans County or double the total number of students at ECSU, COA, Northeastern and P-Tank combined!) If they were sat in groups of 50, that would be approximately 2 to 3 hundred groups and would fill the Hampton Coliseum to capacity!!
Jesus blessed the food (perhaps this is a great inspiration to do the same thing) and he passed the fish and bread out to the people. There were 12 baskets full of LEFTOVERS!
Jesus leaves the crowd again to pray "alone" (with his disciples). He quizzes them. "Who do you say I am?" (verse 18) The disciples shared all the rumors that were flying around (John the Baptist, Elijah, an ancient prophet reincarnate, etc). Only Peter had the guts and certainty to say, "You are the Messiah!" (verse 20)
We'll definitely talk more about this story when its repeated, with way more details, in Matthew 16.
After hearing Peter's statement, Jesus tells about what will happen to him. What a perfect time to challenge the rest of the followers in saying, "if you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it but if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (verse 24) After talking about the thorny-type of people who only care about themselves just recently, this was the time to see if Jesus had thorny or good soil-types following him.
I'm sure that Jesus' crowd thinned out after that speech.
Eight days after, Jesus takes Peter, John and James on a mountain to pray (verse 28). Jesus' face began to change and his clothes sparkled white. Then Moses and Elijah (huge celebrity/prophet/leaders of Israel's past) appeared and talked with Jesus about how he would die and what his death would fulfill.
How could Peter, James and John have any doubt, right? Well...they were asleep when they were talking about this. (It wouldn't be the last time where they would fall asleep while praying, either.)
They woke up just in time to see Moses and Elijah leave. Peter's confession was echoed by the voice of God saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." (verse 35) Now should there be any doubt?
"Don't tell anyone," Jesus said (again). Interesting, eh?
Questions
1.) The woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, had unsuccessfully tried doctors and maybe even other faith healers. If you had a health issue that you would have to conceal in order to participate in society, what would you do to get healed? Don't you think that woman had done all those things? Why did she get a different outcome when she came to Jesus?
2.) Have you ever thought about how many people Jesus really fed in the feeding of the "5,000"? Do you think that everyone there knew what happened? How would you have reacted if you were one of the disciples? Is that reaction anywhere near close to how you feel when reading the story?
3.) Jesus continually tells people NOT to tell others who he is. Why do you think he does that? Does it help or hurt his cause?
Here's what I think:
ReplyDelete1.) I would have done pretty much anything, even going into debt if I had to. I couldn't imagine lying to, pretty much, every person I knew. That woman probably did just that. Jesus isn't a faith healer. He's different. He, unlike any other person, has control, even over diseases.
2.) Well, yes, since I designed the question. I doubt everyone knew what happened. Probably only the disciples and everyone sitting near to Jesus knew that day but I bet you that the word spread to everyone who was and WAS NOT there, too. It definitely is awe-inspiring to think that it would be the capacity of the Hampton Coliseum. That's a huge amount of people!
3.) Well, I still ask this question all the time. In seminary it was referred to as the "Messianic Secret." I believe that Jesus experienced true and more genuine acceptance if he wasn't hyped. If he was hyped, then his life and ministry would become a big fish tale (a lot of things would be exaggerated). When people were face-to-face with Jesus and experienced his presence, they were much more impacted than any other story or rumor. Does that make any sense?