Jesus Continued to Heal and to Teach
Book of Luke Chapter 9 Verses 37-42, 57-62
There is a lot of great material between verse 22 and verse 37, but let's keep to our lesson plan.
Our lesson begins the next day after the Transfiguration of the Lord.
We could say that on the Day of Transfiguration, the glory of the Lord Jesus broke out in the presence of His disciples.
The transfiguration of the Lord Jesus is hard to describe accurately, so it is best to read the Scriptures in the Gospels.
What is recorded as a record was an absolute historical reality, and not a mere vision.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Peter never forgot this day: 2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
Many today worship the Devil, who is Satan, but I wonder if they realize how the devil treats all our children.
*****Luk 9:37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
Luk 9:38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
Luk 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
Luk 9:40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
This is an epileptic seizure.
This does not mean that everyone who has seizures are caused by the Satan but if they do not know the Lord Jesus they need to have faith in Him.
He is still the Healer!
On the mountain top, there was the glory of the Lord, showing God’s power, but in the valley, Satan was showing the people his power.
This is the difference between Heaven and Earth.
We can see a father who has seen his only son, who was tormented by an evil spirit.
He was begging the Lord Jesus to have pity on him.
We should ask ourselves why more parents do not see this today and beg for the help of our Savior for their own children.
We all should know that the Lord Jesus has great compassion for all people.
This man had lost all control over his son because he was a victim of Satan's power.
1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
This father had no choice but to stand by helplessly and watch the Devil destroy his son.
We can see this in our lost children today, and we need to go to the Lord Jesus for His help.
This man had already approached the nine disciples of Christ for their help, and they could not help him for some reason.
The Lord had given them the power over demons, and they had used it, but for some reason, their faith was not as it should have been.
We saw this in an earlier lesson, and we saw it again in this lesson.
The Lord Jesus later told them that they had not been praying and fasting as they should have.
The Lord Jesus gives us many gifts today, but if we will not fellowship with Him daily, that gift will have no power.
We must never forget who the Lord is! He is the Almighty God!
Many times, as Christians, we are a disappointment to the people around us who could use our help.
Only the Lord Jesus knows how many times we have been a disappointment to Him.
We may not have the powers of Jesus Christ, but we can be attentive and sympathetic to their needs.
We can certainly begin with prayer at that very moment if we have compassion on them.
Fortunately for us all, the Lord Jesus is always on time.
*****Luk 9:41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
After all the disciples of Christ had seen of the miracles of Jesus, we could ask ourselves how they could have a lack of faith?
We can also see that the Lord Jesus spoke to the whole generation of Jews and not just to His chosen disciples.
Where was this father's faith?
Where was the faith of all those who were present?
The chosen disciples of Christ did not have the power, even though the Lord Jesus had given them that power when He sent them out earlier as evangelists.
Notice all those present just stood around when the disciples of Christ tried to heal this son, having no concern for the life of this boy, when they too could have been praying.
What do we do when the Lord is not physically present as He is today?
Surely, we can all pray!
Surely, we can all show faith!
This father could have shown faith after all these were God's people. They could go to the priests. They could make sacrifices.
This child continued to suffer because no one had enough compassion to seek God for him.
Jesus said they all were faithless and perverse. Perverse here means morally corrupt.
The Holy Spirit says: Tit 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
When God's people act this way, there will be no power in the Church.
Guess what, we see very little power in the Church today!
It is not our duty to judge other places of worship; it is our job to make sure our own place of worship is following the Word of God by being obedient in our worship and in our lives.
*****Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
The Devil tried to show his power over the boy, but the Lord just spoke the word, and the Devil had to leave.
If the chosen disciples of Christ had been following Christ as closely as they should, they would have been able rid this boy of this demon.
Jesus broke the power of this demon the same way He broke Satan's power; He just spoke with the Sword of His Mouth.
Rev_2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev_19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev_19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The people who were observing what the Lord did were amazed at the mighty power of God!
Once more, all those who were observing could only think about the great power of God.
They marveled at the Majesty of God's Messiah, but we should also understand there is a cost for every disciple of Jesus Christ.
*****Luk 9:57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Luk 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
When someone tells the Lord Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go", it sounds good, but it has to be made very clear why anyone makes such a claim.
No one can follow the Lord who has not been called!
A self-commitment is nothing like a Jesus Christ-centered commitment.
If there is a real calling of "Grace," then that person must let go of all things that might hinder their walk with Christ.
Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, "separated" unto the gospel of God,
Rom 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, "called to be saints": Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called "according to his purpose".
It is only the call of God that enables us to believe.
God's purposes in Himself sum up all things in Jesus Christ!
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure "which he hath purposed in himself":
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times "he might gather together in one all things in Christ", both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
The Lord Jesus Christ must become our Lord of life!
The Lord Jesus Christ gave up all of Heaven and all of Himself to meet the needs of this dying world we live in.
A profession of faith is not enough.
Saying, "I am willing to follow" is not enough.Mrk_14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
We must deny ourselves completely!
We must accept the Lord Jesus as the Servant of mankind and become such a servant ourselves.
There is nothing in our old life that will help us achieve the call of Christ!
The Lord Jesus led a perfect life, and it must be our goal to do the same, even if we cannot be perfect while we remain in these sinful bodies of flesh.
We must accept the pattern of life that the Lord Jesus had as our own.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
The Lord Jesus Christ had no home on this earth because His home is in Heaven. As His disciples, we must share His homelessness in this world because our home is now in Heaven, and we have no attachment to this world to bind us.
Jesus Christ is the perfect picture of what God wants to see in each of us.
*****Luk 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
In many cases, it is the son who will take care of his father in their old age.
The Lord Jesus had invited this man to become one of His disciples, to even become a preacher to preach the Kingdom of God.
When we decide to follow the Lord Jesus, it means we have decided that this is the most important decision we will ever make, and nothing on this earth is more important.
We must give up everything in this world for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
It was not a bad thing for this man to bury his father, but the message of salvation is far more important.
This father died lost, rejecting the Lord Jesus as the Messiah.
Those who are spiritually dead because they have rejected the Lord Jesus are not as important as those who have never had that opportunity, at least to our Savior.
This is the truth of being loyal to Jesus Christ.
We must consider that when the Jews rejected the Lord Jesus, it was more important for the Apostle Paul to go to the Gentiles.
Even those who have rejected the Lord one time are not as important as those who have never heard of the Kingdom of God.
God has already decided to meet the needs of these in the work of the Sower when one plants, another waters, and another reaps the harvest of the soul for Christ to save.
Every person is of extreme value to the Lord, and we should know that the Holy Spirit was working hard to bring this man to conviction.
Those whom God has called to preach need to respond as quickly as possible.
Mat_9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Mat_9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
The Lord Jesus knew that this man was hesitating to answer Him, and he just used the burying of his father as an excuse.
What was the message of Christ? Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
It is a hard message, but it is a necessary truth to serve the Lord.
We cannot allow Satan's children to drag us down, even if they are family members.
The word hate means "to love less". We must love the Lord with all our heart, all our body, and all our soul!
*****Luk 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Following the Lord Jesus Christ is a lifelong commitment!
Here is a man who offered "on his own" to become a follower of Jesus Christ. He was not called.
Looking ahead to the Rapture of the Church is the most important event that we are looking forward to.
To the Jew, the return of Jesus Christ is the most important event they have to look forward to.
These are two separate events!
If we look at those two words "but and first", we see that this man saw something more important that he should do before committing to the Lord, which he said he had already made such a commitment.
Maybe he needed the advice of his family before he made a final commitment.
Maybe he needed someone else's approval before a full commitment to the Lord.
As we saw in the Book of Luke, Chapter fourteen, maybe he was putting his love for his family ahead of his love for Jesus Christ.
Either way, the Lord Jesus knew what was going on in this man's life; he was unwilling to cut the ties of this life and give all of himself to the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the "first" and the "last," and He must be everything to us!
Looking back can be fatal.
Just ask Lot's wife.
Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
The word commitment fits in right here.
It is true that in order to plough a straight furrow, the farmer must concentrate on a certain point in front of him.
He must keep his eyes fixed upon the goal.
As we serve the Lord, we must know that our work is not done until the Rapture of the Church on a day of the Lord's choosing.
It may be close, but it is not here yet!
It is not the time to quit on God!
We are just too close to going home.
Amen
