Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 8 : 41-56 "SUCCESSFULLY FULFILLING PROPHECIES"
Day 102 – Luke 8
Text: Luke 8 : 41-56
SUCCESSFULLY FULFILLING PROPHECIES
The Old Testament had prophesied that God would one day send His Anointed One (“Messiah”) to redeem Israel. How would the nation be able to identify the Messiah?
Isaiah was one of a number of prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah. The nation of Israel need not be afraid that they would make a mistake in the identification of their Messiah. He would be well characterized.
1. He could be identified by His character. Isaiah 42:1-4
2. He could also be further identified by the work that He would do. Isaiah 35; 5-6; 61:1-3
All groups concerned could have ascertained the identity of The Messiah very easily! The multitudes, the Scribes and the Pharisees, and yes, would-be Disciples, and specially selected Disciples could become very sure of the identity of Jesus if they bothered to check the Scriptures carefully.
A GREAT TRAINING PROGRAMME
We have already noted that the ministry of the Lord Jesus was led by the Spirit of God. We must not read the Gospel accounts and think that Jesus did His ministry haphazardly.
On the one hand, He had to fulfil all that the Scriptures had prophesied concerning His life and ministry. On the other hand, He had to train His Disciples as much as they were able to take the rigorous training programme.
These were some of the things the Lord Jesus had in mind as He sought to train His Disciples.
1. They had to be very sure that their doubts concerning Jesus were cleared. Even the great John the Baptizer had doubts that plagued him. Many struggle with doubts. Without a doubt, the Disciples must have had doubts in their hearts. The Disciples, of all people, must possess a faith that has risen above all doubts!
2. They had to be rid of paralyzing fears. Fear is a terrible enemy. If fears are not overcome, then their future ministries would be affected adversely.
3. They had to know the Scriptures well, and so they had to have time on their own with the Lord Jesus, when He could expound God’s Word to them privately.
4. They also had to put into practice what they had learned. Jesus did not want them just to have “head knowledge”. He wanted them to be able to know the Scriptures so well that the word of God became a part of their life, as it was the case in His life.
5. In order to do the above, the Lord Jesus had to allow His Disciples to experience a wide variety of varying situations and circumstances! They had to learn how to apply their new-found faith and knowledge of the Scriptures into those situations. They had to be tested and proven. Where there were mistakes, they must make them now. The Lord Jesus would correct the problems as they surfaced. He would always love them enough to correct them as gently and firmly as the circumstances warranted!
A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCES
The life and ministry of the Lord Jesus afforded a wide variety of experiences that could prove beneficial to the Disciples:-
1. They were exposed to deep and profound teaching of the Scriptures.
2. They saw first hand what it means to be swamped by a multitude of people.
3. They saw the devastating and distressing power of demons on human lives.
4. They saw the hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees.
5. They were touched by the way Jesus would deal with so many different sets of situations, and yet always remained cool and calm.
6. They must have been deeply challenged by the prayer life of the Lord Jesus too. They could not help but be challenged by how early their Master would get up in the morning, and how each night, He would enter into prayer before retiring.
7. Each experience must have been both humbling and enriching at the same time! Humbling because they knew that they were not ready for full ministry yet. They did not have the depth of knowledge, the power, nor the stamina and strength to cope with all the demands of a full ministry. They still needed to be taught further. They must also have been deeply enriched, because through every experience they encountered, they were learning deep and valuable lessons that were changing their very lives, day by day!
YET ANOTHER CRISIS
The Disciples had never experienced so many critical moments in their lives before they met Jesus. A “crisis” for the fishermen turned disciples would be that they failed to catch any fish for that day.
However, when Jesus entered into their lives, they saw crisis after crisis. Many of them were cliff-hangers. The Gentile centurion’s servant was critically ill, and could die if he did not receive proper treatment. The widow of the city of Nain would have been very hard hit, if Jesus had not resurrected her young son!
The new crisis involved the life of the daughter of Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue (Luke 8:41). He had only one child, a daughter. She was only twelve years old, and was dying. He came to Jesus, begging Him to come to his house to heal the daughter.
The Disciples may have noted the difference between this approach and that of the centurion, who felt that he was not worthy to receive their Master into his home. However, he believed that Jesus did not need to go his home at all. The Lord Jesus need only say the word, and his servant would be healed. This man showed amazing faith indeed.
This ruler of the synagogue would probably be a member of the Pharisees. However, he was different from Simon, who on one occasion had invited Jesus to come to his house for a meal (Luke 7:36-50).
Lesson after lesson was taught. Crisis after crisis had to be faced. The best way to learn was “to see Jesus” and note how He responded to each and every crisis. To watch Him at work was a life-changing experience in itself. Are we still “seeing Jesus”?