October 18 A READ LUKE 7–9
Activities of the Son of Man
OVERVIEW
Today’s reading may leave you just a little breathless. In the space of these three chapters Jesus travels from the region of Galilee to the surrounding provinces east of the Sea of Galilee, north to Caesarea Philippi, and finally south through Samaria. As he travels, the demands on him increase. He is busily engaged in healing the sick, raising the dead, teaching through parables, calming storms, and casting out demons. But Jesus knows his days on earth will be short. So he chooses twelve men—disciples—to whom he delegates his power and authority to minister. This is no halfhearted call to discipleship, for the terms of commitment are drastic indeed (9:23-26, 57-62).
MY DAILY WALK
What would be different about your life if you were a “drastic disciple” of Jesus Christ?
The lessons for disciples and tests of discipleship that are contained in chapter 9 do not make for easy reading. They are painfully pointed, calling for commitment in matters of allegiance, lifestyle, and goals. Christ made the terms of discipleship unmistakably clear. Read the following verses prayerfully, asking yourself, How do I need to change if my Christian life is to reflect this kind of commitment?
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (9:23).
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person” (9:26).
“Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (9:62).
GOD DESERVES THE SAME PLACE IN YOUR HEART THAT HE HOLDS IN THE UNIVERSE.
INSIGHT
“Listen to Him” | Luke 9:35
Long before Jesus, Moses had foretold that a prophet like himself would come to God’s people. “You must listen to him,” Moses told the Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:15). The voice of God did more than simply advise Peter, James, and John that it was important to listen to Jesus (Luke 9:35). It also confirmed that Jesus was the prophet of whom Moses spoke.
The Faith of a Roman Officer
1When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer* was sick and near death. 3When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. 4So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5“for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”
6So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 8I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” 10And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
Jesus and John the Baptist
18The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,* or should we keep looking for someone else?”
20John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”
21At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. 22Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.*’”
24After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 25Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. 26Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 27John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’*
28I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”
29When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right,* for they had been baptized by John. 30But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.
31“To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them? 32They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,
‘We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t weep.’
33For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 34The Son of Man,* on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ 35But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.*”
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.* 37When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
40Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver* to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”