Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 8 : 4-18 "THE TEACHING MINISTRY OF JESUS"
Day 93 – Luke 8
Text: Luke 8 : 4-18
THE TEACHING MINISTRY OF JESUS
There are at least four different ways in which the Lord Jesus Christ taught. Let’s take a careful look at these four ways, mentioned in Luke thus far.
1. There was direct proclamation. Jesus proclaimed “the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:19). Part of His overall teaching ministry included the “preaching (“proclamation”) of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43-44).
2. There was the special teaching of His Disciples. He expounded the Scriptures to His Disciples. A very clear example of this exposition of Scriptures may be found in (Luke 6:20-38).
3. The Lord Jesus also used His sign-miracles to good effect. He used His miracles as a teaching tool as well. On one occasion, He specially healed people and then told the Disciples of John to relate to their master what they had heard and seen (Luke 7:21-22).
4. The Lord Jesus also employed a special teaching device which may be called, “parabolic teaching” (Luke 6:36-39). Two groups of people were taught by parables:-
a) The Pharisees and the Scribes
b) The Multitudes
REASONS FOR USING PARABLES Luke 8:4-15
As the multitudes gathered around Jesus, and they did not always throng Him for the best of reasons, He wanted very much to expound great truths from God’s Word! However, He knew that many came only to be healed of their ailments. This was not in itself a wrong thing, but it was at best a short-lived blessing. One may be healed of a disease, but what was there to prevent another crippling disease from afflicting the body? Healing of one ailment does not mean that the body is now protected from other afflictions.
The wiser path to take would be to be genuinely interested in the Word of God that Jesus taught so wonderfully. There were opportunities to become Disciples of the Lord Jesus, but that would mean having to make some personal sacrifices! Not many were willing to go that far. They were happy enough to receive physical blessings, but to give up much in order to follow the Lord Jesus seemed too much to some.
The multitude may not have been as obdurate as the Pharisees and the Scribes, but they were just as unenlightened! If only they could have a spark of light that could ignite a deep interest in fathoming things spiritual and eternal.
Thus Jesus designed parables. On the one hand, it was designed to hide truth. On the other hand, it was also meant to teach deep truth! The listener must indicate interest on his part.
If he is at all drawn to inquire further as to the meaning of the parable, then that teaching device has fulfilled its purpose. If on the other hand, the listener is not interested, then that truth contained within the parable would be lost to him. However, that noble truth taught would not have been spoken in vain. Jesus would not have cast pearls before swine, nor given that which is holy to the dogs (Matthew 7:6)
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
The Disciples were there to hear their Master teach the Parable of the Sower. Luke did not indicate that the multitudes made any move towards seeking to understand the Parable of the Sower. However, he noted that the Disciples asked their Teacher what that parable meant (Luke 8:9).
This was what Luke was trying to get across all this while! This is what separates the multitudes from the Disciples. The former was just not interested in what the Lord Jesus taught. They were only interested when it concerned their physical well-being!
The Disciples on the other hand proved that Jesus was right in choosing them to be with Him. They were intrigued by what Jesus taught. Obviously, Jesus was not giving an agricultural lesson to the multitudes. But they did not want to misunderstand, nor assume that they understood exactly what Jesus meant. They did what they had always been doing. They learned (the root word behind “disciple” is “to learn”) by asking Jesus to explain to them the meaning of the Parable of the Sower.
“TO YOU IT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO KNOW THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD�” Luke 8:10
If you had a choice between an obvious physical blessing from God, and a spiritual one, which would you choose? Suppose both blessings are good and valid, which would you choose?
If you were given the privilege to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, would you be interested at all? If you had a chance to understand the deep things of God, would your heart leap for joy?
The Disciples had inquired. They had gone that extra mile. They had shown genuine interest in what Jesus taught. They were not just glad that they were called Disciples, they proved that they were truly Disciples when they asked the Lord Jesus to expound to them what He taught to the multitudes by way of parables.
“HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR” Luke 8:8
It was the good fortune of the multitudes to hear the Lord Jesus teach! What gracious words they must have heard. The Lord Jesus always chose the very best of words to teach the multitudes, and His Disciples.
It is one thing to teach, and it is quite another to hear. The responsibility to hear well lies with the listener. “He who has ears�” is a statement that lays the responsibility of hearing and understanding on the listener!
After the Teacher has done His part in teaching His lesson, the learning process has just begun. The listener must now exercise personal responsibility. He must mull over what he has heard. If there are problems in understanding, he must do his utmost to clear his doubts.
This principle still holds true today. The reader, or the listener, is held responsible to search for understanding and meaning of Scriptural truths taught! Let us be deeply challenged to become like the Disciples of Jesus. Let us humbly ask,
“What doe this parable mean?” Luke 8:9