Luke 8: When You Feel Hopeless

We work through Luke 8 and watch Jesus thin the crowd while revealing what real listening and real faith look like. We connect parables, storms, healings, and deliverance around one simple invitation: lean in to Jesus with whatever shred of faith you have.
• Jesus as fully God and fully human, relatable without being dismissible
• Luke’s spotlight on the women who support Jesus’ ministry
• The parable of the sower as a test of how we receive the word of God
• The lamp image as a call to listen carefully and live in the light
• Redefining family as those who hear God’s word and do it
• The storm on the lake as a mirror for fear and faith
• The deliverance of the man called Legion and the mixed reactions it provokes
• Jairus and the bleeding woman as portraits of desperate, persistent faith
• The unifying thread of Luke 8: Jesus invites us to approach and trust him

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Transcript

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This is Mike with the Out Loud Bible Podcast. I'm enjoying going through the book of Luke here with you. Luke put together a really well-written story for us that highlights

Jesus Fully God And Fully Human

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Jesus and his humanness, helps us relate to the humanness of Jesus. There are some people who want to over-emphasize the godness of Jesus, and that ends up looking more like, well, he, you know, he's Jesus. Yeah, he's he's God. So, like, you know, the things he says, the things he does, like we can't possibly expect to to do that or or follow that or you know, relate to that because he's Jesus. He's got, you know, it it's a unique situation, and you know we can't possibly relate to that. And that could not be further from the truth because Jesus came so that we could relate to him, that he he became one of us, which is wild. So that we can relate to him and know who God is as a human and what we can do as humans to relate to God. Of course, then there's other people on the other side who want to over-emphasize the humanness of Jesus and say, well, you know, he's a human. So some of the stuff he says you gotta take with a grain of salt because he was feeling a little bit emotional there. He was he was kind of speaking out of anger here. Uh he was uh he didn't he didn't really mean that. He was a little off there because, you know, he he's he's human, so he he makes mistakes like we do. And that is a grave error on the other side, because we can't just dismiss him as a human and take it or leave it, you know, just like you would with any other teacher or person throughout history. No, what's true, as is often the case, is right in the middle of these two errors, where we find that Jesus is fully God. And with that comes Jesus's perfection, he did not sin, and a full connection with the Holy Spirit and God the Father, that we could strive for, but we can't fully attain the way Jesus did. But then we also have to accept and make room for the fact that he is human, but without the human nature, without the fallen, imperfect humanity that we know and we can't escape fully until we've been resurrected with him. But his humanness does cause him to be tired, it does cause him to feel pain, it does cause him to be subject to temptation, though he never succumbs to it. It allows him to be hurt physically and emotionally from people and friends. He can suffer, he can experience joy, he can feel happy, he can be misunderstood. All these things that we experience on a maybe even daily basis, Jesus has been through, and he fully understands what it's like, and he's here to show us how to be human, because he is human. Luke gives a lot of emphasis and little details along these lines throughout his writing. Today we're going to keep reading in Luke chapter 8. Jesus has been building a bit of a crowd as he's performing miracles. Last time we read, he even raised someone from the dead, and

Women Who Supported Jesus’ Ministry

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he's been teaching and saying some provocative things, and he's been uh performing miracles of healing along the way. For his followers, this must seem like a really good thing. We're building some momentum here. We've got a real movement going, we've got a kingdom that's coming together now. This is pretty awesome. And right when things get at the peak of popularity, Jesus does some intentional things to thin the crowd. It's not very intuitive, but Jesus has a plan. People just don't quite understand it yet. People don't quite understand him yet. Let's check it out here in Luke chapter 8, starting in verse 1, of course, in the New English Translation. Sometime afterward, he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities. Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Cusa, who was Herod's household manager, and Susanna and many others who provided for them out of their own resources. By the way, really great here on Luke's part to acknowledge some of the women involved in Jesus' ministry, often overlooked, especially in that culture. It's really unheard of to highlight women at all with writings in this time, not just biblically, but in general of this time, women were not acknowledged as having really any value or status. And so for not only Jesus to welcome these women as part of the ministry, but for Luke to highlight them here is really saying something about Jesus' view toward women and their value in the work of the kingdom of God. So great call out there. Let's keep going. While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one town after another, he spoke to them in a parable. A

Parable Of The Sower Explained

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sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it. Other seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered because it had no moisture. The other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with it, and choked it. But other seeds fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain. As he said this, he called out, The one who has ears to hear it better listen. And then his disciples asked him what this parable meant, and he said, You've been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others, they're in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear, they may not understand. Now the parable means this the seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who have heard, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root, and they believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away. But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. For nothing is hidden that

Light, Listening, And True Family

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will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light. So listen carefully, for whoever has will be given more. But whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. Now Jesus' mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd, so he was told, Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you. But he replied, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, Let's go across to the other side of the lake. So they set out, and as they sailed, he fell asleep.

Calming The Storm And Testing Faith

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Now a violent windstorm came down on the lake, and the boat started filling up with water, and they were in danger, and they came and woke him saying, Master, master, we're about to die. So he got up, rebuked the wind and the raging waves, they died down, and it was calm. Then he said to them, Where's your faith? But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, Who then is this? He commands even the water and the winds, and they obey him. So they sailed over to the region of the Garasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man from the town met him who was possessed by demons.

Legion Freed And A Town Afraid

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For a long time this man had worn no clothes, and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs. And when he saw Jesus he cried out, fell down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, Leave me alone, Jesus, son of the most high God, I beg you do not torment me. For Jesus had started commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man, for it had seized him many times so that he would be bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, but he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Jesus then asked him, What is your name? He said Legion, because many demons had entered him, and they began to beg him not to order them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and the demonic spirits begged Jesus to let them go into them. And he gave them permission. So the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside. So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon possessed had been healed, and then all the people of the Garrasines and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and left. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you. So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him. Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him because they were all waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, who was a leader of the synagogue, came up. Falling at Jesus'

Jairus And The Bleeding Woman

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feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds pressed around him, and now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, but could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and at once the bleeding stopped. And then Jesus asked, Who was it who touched me? When they all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you. But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I know that power has gone out from me. When the woman saw that she could not escape notice, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed, and then he said to her daughter, Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. While he was still speaking, someone from the synagogue leader's house came and said, Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble the teacher any longer. But when Jesus heard this, he told him, Don't be afraid, just believe, and she'll be healed. Now when he came to the house, Jesus didn't let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. Now they were all wailing and mourning for her, but he said, Stop your weeping. She's not dead, but asleep. And they began making fun of him because they knew that she was dead, but Jesus gently took her by the hand and said, Child, get up. Her spirit returned, and she got up immediately, and then she told them to give her something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Oh man, what a full chapter. Aren't you glad we only tackle one chapter today? There is so much here. It seems like forever ago, but we started

The Thread That Ties Luke 8

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talking about, yes, the woman who supported Jesus and his ministry, and then he told a parable of the soils and the seeds. If I were to propose an idea that I think ties these stories in Luke chapter 8 together, it would be this. Lean in. Jesus told parables to actually try to alienate people who were not willing to lean in and try to get to know him and his teachings better. If people were just there to get some benefit from his miracles, then these confusing teachings were not going to keep them around. And he wanted people who were willing to lean in and do what he says and follow him. In fact, that's what he said about his mother and his brothers. It's like, you know, my true family are those people who hear my instructions and do what I say. That's my real family. When you're on a boat with Jesus in a storm, and the storm hits and it looks like you're going to die because the storm is just too much and you can't, in your own strength, do anything about it. Are your eyes fixed on the storm and trying to bail yourself out of whatever trouble you're in? Or are you willing to lean in and bring your problems to Jesus? His disciples didn't even ask him to do anything. I think they were too afraid for that. They just said, hey, we're gonna die. And then Jesus got up and did what only he can do, but it was only after they leaned into him. What about the man who is possessed by a legion of demons? Now this is often cited as a case of someone completely possessed by demons, had no faculties of his own. However, he approached Jesus on the shore. He came to Jesus. Now we can tell that the demons were afraid of Jesus, afraid that he was going to punish them prematurely. So why would they approach Jesus? Except for the man, somewhere deep down inside, knew that if he could go to that Jesus, go to that light, which Jesus had already said that a light is meant to be on display for all to see, he shows up as a light on the shore of this dark pagan land, and this man goes to him with any any fiber of faculty that he has about him. He goes and approaches Jesus. And that shred of faith brought him true lasting freedom. Then when Jesus is on the shore back on friendly territory, we see a series of interruptions. I actually explore this more in depth in my book Thrown Off Script. That book is available on our website, outloudbible.com, and in thrown off script, you can learn more about how to take these interruptions that Jesus sees in life and we inevitably see in our own life and turn them into opportunities to be more like Jesus. That's there for you. But in the case of Gyrus and this woman who was bleeding, they both recognize that they just had to lean in and approach Jesus when they were feeling like there was nothing else that they could possibly do. In all these cases, when you lean into Jesus, even with just a shred of faith, you find that he leans in and takes a step of action for you. No matter what you've been going through, if you've been dealing with a sickness, uh an illness, a condition like this bleeding woman for twelve years or more, whether you feel like you're gyrus and time is running out and you don't know how much time is left for you or for someone you love, whether you may feel like the demon-possessed man where you just have the smallest shred of hope that anything could possibly improve your situation, but you're willing to take a step and approach Jesus with it, as unqualified and as beaten down as you feel, or you may feel like you're about to drown in the storms of life. Jesus is there. He is the common thread in all these stories, and all it takes is just enough faith to lean in and recognize that Jesus is the solution. What is he gonna do? How is he gonna do it? We're gonna leave that up to him. But are you willing to take what little strength, what little faith, what little hope you have, and use it to lean in to the one that you believe can do something about it? And that's the Thinking Out Loud thought for the day. Thanks for joining me here. This was Luke chapter 8. I think it's a great chapter to go back and read again sometime today, soak in some of these stories and see what Jesus is speaking to you through them. And we'll see you next time as we continue reading the book of Luke here on the Out Loud Bible Podcast.