Unedited Notes from Luke 8.. Wednesday evening Bible Study Meeting 3-31-21

ON THE ROAD (Luke 8:1-3)


8:1-3 After that, Jesus travelled through the country, town by town, and village by village, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, as were certain women, who had been cured from evil spirits and from illnesses. There was Mary, who is called Mary Magdalene, out of whom there went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who was Herod's agent, and Susanna and many others. It was their habit to minister to their needs out of their resources.

The time we saw coming had now come. Jesus was on the road. The synagogues were not now open to him, as once they had been. He had begun, as it were, in the church, where any man with a message from God might expect to find a responsive and receptive audience. Instead of a welcome he had found opposition; instead of eager listeners he had found the scribes and Pharisees bleakly waiting to catch him out; so now he took to the open road and the hillside and the lake shore.

Pause right there…..

Lord we are here tonight from many different places in different spiritual conditions and we pray tonight that your word will touch each one of us in a special way. We are thankful for this every evolving gathering to study and ponder your word and we ask for your blessings upon it and upon each one of us here tonight. We pray for our brothers and sisters who for one reason or another who could not share fellowship with us this evening that they’re needs be met also.

We ask for guidance even in our prayer as you know our hearts, and our minds. Helps us to express to you our gratitude, our thanks and our innermost need.

Bless this gathering of souls as we search for truth in the midst of a chaotic world..

We ask these things in Jesus’s name..

Amen

Once more we are confronted with a fact which we have already noted. This passage lists a little group of women who served him out of their resources. It was always considered to be a pious act to support a Rabbi, and the fact that the devoted followers of Jesus helped him in this way was in direct line with ordinary practice. But, as with the disciples, so with these women, we cannot fail to see how mixed a company they were. There was Mary Magdalene, that is Mary from the town of Magdala, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Clearly she had a past that was a dark and terrible thing. There was Joanna. She was the wife of Chuza, Herod's Steward. A king had many perquisites and much private property; his Steward was the official who looked after the king's financial interests. In the Roman Empire, even in provinces which were governed by proconsuls appointed by the senate, the Emperor still had his epitropos (Greek ) or steward to safeguard his interests. There could be no more trusted and important official. It is an amazing thing to find Mary Magdalene, with the dark past, and Joanna, the lady of the court, in the one company and in the company of men who were the rag tag theologians of the time….

It is one of the supreme achievements of Jesus that he could enable the most diverse people to live together without in the least losing their own personalities or qualities. Much has been written about the text which says that the lion will lie down with the lamb. "But remember that this text is too lightly interpreted. It is constantly assumed ... that when the lion lies down with the lamb the lion becomes lamb-like. But that is brutal forfeiture of the quality of being a Lion and annexation of this lionesk quality on the part of the lamb. That is simply the lamb absorbing the lion instead of the lion eating the lamb. The real problem is--Can the lion lie down with the lamb and still retain his royal ferocity? That is the problem the Churches attempted……

There is nothing which the church needs more than to learn how to yoke in common harness the diverse temperaments and qualities of different people. If we are failing it is our own fault, for, in Christ, it can be done--and has been done.

In the case of these women who, in scholarly circles of the scribes or the pious circles of the Pharisees, would not have been acknowledged. But Jesus knew their heart, their faith and allowed them to express their gratitude by supporting Jesus through his journey… I say allowed because Jesus did not need their support. This is a Lord of miracles on this earth.. this is the same prophet, man, God who fed great multitudes with a few fish and loaves of bread..this is the same Jesus who Satan said if you are the Christ, starving as you are, that turn this stone to bread, which he could have done but would not do… But Jesus was drawn to them by their faith and as he embraced them he also chose to include them in his epic journey ..



THE SOWER AND THE SEED (Luke 8:4-15)

8:4-15 When a great crowd had gathered, and when they came to him from every city, Jesus spoke to them by means of a parable. The sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed some seed fell by the wayside. It was trampled upon and the birds of the heaven devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it grew up and withered because there was no moisture. Other seed fell in the middle of thorns and the thorns grew up along with it and choked the life out of it. Other seed fell into good ground and it produced a crop a hundredfold. As he told the story he said, "He that has an ear to hear let him hear."

The disciples asked him what the parable meant. He said, "It is given to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. To the others it is presented in parables, so that they may see, and yet not see, and so that they may hear and yet not understand." So Jesus used parables to reveal and to conceal . To reveal to the worthy among them but to conceal from those unworthy to hear his word.. for he knows the hearts of men… Jesus says “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast . ye your pearls before swine , lest they trample them. under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Matthew 7:6

But the messages in this parable are. The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside stand for those who have heard, and then the devil comes and takes the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground stand for those, who, whenever they hear the word, gladly receive it; but they have no root; they believe for a time; but when a time of trial comes they fall away. The seed that falls among thorns stands for those, who, when they have heard, go their way and are suffocated by the cares, the wealth and the pleasures of this life, and so never complete their crop. The seed that is in the good ground stands for those who have heard the word and keep hold of it in a heart that is fine and good, and bear fruit with fortitude.

The parable speaks of four kinds of ground.

First the common ground in Palestine, as history tells it, was split into long narrow strips; between the strips there were paths which were rights of way; when the seed fell on these paths, which were beaten as hard as the road, it had no chance of getting in.

There was the rocky ground. This does not mean ground that was full of stones but ground which was only a thin skin of earth over a shelf of limestone rock. In such ground there was no moisture or nourishment, and the growing plant was bound to wither and die. There was a barrier for the roots to seek nourishment and to grip the earth and hold its ground…

The ground which was full of thorns was ground which at the moment looked clean enough. It is possible to make any bit of ground look clean simply by turning it over. But the seeds of the weeds and the fibrous roots of the wild grasses had been left in it. The good seed and the weeds grew together, but the weeds grew more strongly; and so the life was choked out of the good seed.

However we, often times can choose our soil, can we not.. Or chose our environment. We are not plants blowing in the wind.. We can chose where we go and who we take fellowship with. We can chose our reading material and chose or friends and instructors… If we choose our environment in a thorny patch that will be an overwhelming place for us, spiritually, then Satan will be glad to accommodate us in that endeavour… He is always there prowling the earth like a lion looking for someone to devour…Our Godly fellowship , priorities, and values will be choked out over time because we will be one good seed growing among many thorns. Then the only thing that can save us from spiritual death is the mercy of God should he extend it to us… Beware that thorny ground for the thorns are invisible at the beginning.. But as it was in Sodom and Gomorra it will mean certain death, except for the grace and mercy of God….

People can become so dull and heavy and blunted in mind that when God's truth comes to them they cannot see it. They have become so mentally lazy, blinded by prejudice, unwilling to see anything they do not want to see, that they have become incapable of assimilating God's truth. These are the people that become the mockers and the Apostasy in the last days…. Even as their inception was a good seed they have become like thorns and are of darkness. We need to take personal responsibility for our daily choices….

The good ground was ground that was deep and clean and well-prepared.

Now if I can back up for a minute there are two interpretations of this parable both valid, both consistent and both helpful. It is not the first time that Jesus imparted messages for everyone at the same time… Actually we have learned that it is God’s way to do so…When we study God’s word this is evident as each oopen heart takes from it the thing which will help them most..

But…Just as the “seed” is God’s word the “ground” so is the heart of man…Consider then that the fate of the transformative word depends on the heart into which it is sown. Not the fate of God’s word because that is a truth that is the same yesterday today and forever..But the transformation that must take place in the heart is inhibited by the hard path which represents the shut mind, the mind which refuses to take it in.

The shallow ground represents those who accept the word but who never think it out and never realize its consequences and therefore collapses when the strain comes.Those who accept the word but do not live it.. To put it another way it is shallow because there is not the faith required for strength.. It is shallow because without prayer, fellowship and faith we cannot know the Scripture nor can we know the power of God…

The thorny ground are those whose lives are so busy that the things of God get crowded out. We must ever remember that the things which crowd out the highest need not are necessarily be bad. The worst enemy of the best is the second best. This lies in our daily choices…

The good ground stands for the open, honest heart. It is receptive . as such he waits , he prays and he accepts the direction from God. He learns in fellowship and gains strength from from other believers..He that have ears let him hear… And this man or woman hears, understands and believes.. This hearer has faith and his life reflects a Godly walk… this is the good ground….

Consider also that this parable is counsel against despair. To give this context Jesus has been banished from the synagogues. The scribes and the Pharisees and the religious leaders are up against him. Inevitably the disciples would be disheartened as they feel the powers of the day circling like vultures. We find the Pharisees waiting in the corn fields, at dinners, on the streets following Jesus even in the wilderness… Pressure becomes enormous as the followers of Jesus grows to great multitudes from every town and city …And Jesus will not stop.. He heals one after anoth, He dose not adhere to the old law, he offers salvation to Gentiles as well as Jews so hatred from the establishmentis fierce and just so against his followers…

So it is to them Jesus speaks also..to his disciples.. this parable and in it he is saying, "Every farmer knows that some of his seed will be lost; it cannot all grow. But that does not discourage him or make him stop sowing because he knows that in spite of adversities the harvest is sure. Jesus imparts this knowledge and assurance. That in spite of our setbacks and feelings of discouragements; In spite of enemies and our opponents we will reap the harvest, in the end the harvest is sure. Do not dispare.." Jesus has infinite wisdom recording only 2 things make Him marvel Faith and the lack of it.. Jesus seeks to impart hope to his disciple and teaches to seek the open heart or the fertile ground and to underline for the that not every seed will produce fruit ..Not every effort will prove fruitful…

This parable can be both a warning as to how we hear and receive the word of God and an encouragement to banish all despair as we go forth and minister in our lives that we may be assured in the certainty that not all the setbacks can defeat the ultimate harvest of God.

A wonderful message for us…

The Storm:

It was just such a sudden storm that struck the boat that day, and Jesus and his disciples were in peril of their lives. The disciples woke Jesus and with a word he calmed the storm.



AN ONLY CHILD IS HEALED (Luke 8:40-42; Luke 8:49-56)



8:40-42,49-56 When Jesus came back the crowd welcomed him for they were all waiting for him. A man called Jairus came to him. He was the president of the synagogue. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and asked him to come to his house, because he had an only daughter who was about twelve years of age and she was dying. As he went the crowd pressed round him ... While he was still speaking someone came from the president's house. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the Master any more." Jesus heard this. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Just have faith and she will be cured." When he had come to the house he allowed no one to come in with him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her. "Stop weeping," he said, "for she is not dead but sleeping." They laughed him down because they were sure she was dead. He took hold of her hand and said to her, "Child, rise!" Her breath came back to her and immediately she rose. He told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were out of themselves with amazement; but he enjoined them to tell no one what had happened.



NOT LOST IN THE CROWD (Luke 8:43-48)



8:43-48 There was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years. She had spent all her living on doctors and she could not be cured by any of them. She came up behind Jesus and she touched the tassel of his robe; and immediately her flow of blood was stayed. Jesus said, "Who touched me?" When they were all denying that they had done so, Peter and his companions said, "Master, the crowds are all round you and press in upon you." Jesus said, "Someone has touched me, for I know that power has gone out of me." The woman saw that she could not hide. She came all trembling; she threw herself at his feet; and in front of everyone she had told him why she had touched him, and that she had been cured there and then. "Daughter," he said to her, "your faith has cured you. Go in peace."

Luke the doctor is here in evidence again. Mark says of the woman that she had spent her all on the doctors and was no better but rather grew worse (Mark 5:26). Luke misses out the final phrase, because he did not like this gibe against the doctors!

The lovely thing about this story is that from the moment Jesus was face to face with the woman, there seemed to be nobody there but he and she. It happened in the middle of a crowd; but the crowd was forgotten and Jesus spoke to that woman as if she was the only person in the world. She was a poor, unimportant sufferer, with a trouble that made her unclean, and yet to that one unimportant person Jesus gave all of himself.

Lord we pray this evening that we take away your messages that you have clearly imparted to us.

We pray that we have always ears that hear, that we may embrace every aspect of your word. We are thankful tonight for this gathering so that we may share in the fellowship with you. We ask Lord for understanding and mercy for our short comings and help to guide us in the way of the right…

We pray that folks in our fellowship will find ways to share and have fellowship with each other. We ask that you quell the fears and impediments which prevent the bond of brotherhood /sisterhood among us…

We are grateful for those who have affirmed their walk with you this week and we pray that they go forth and be a light in this world of ours with a renewal of faith and spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour….

We ask that your healing hand be upon us who are in need and that we feel your presence in our lives always…

We ask these things in Jesus name..

Amen