Evangelism

The Sending Out Of The Seventy. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #86 (Luke 10:1-12)

/ Matt Vance / Leave a comment

We come along to the 10th chapter in the Gospel according to Luke for this study. It seemed to me that I was never going to get out of the 9th chapter because of so much content that needed to be looked at. In fact it took us 13 studies to get through that chapter. In the 9th chapter we have seen that Jesus made a shift in His ministry. He did not change how He was to minister, His goal was still to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal many throughout His journey, but He changed the area or region of His ministry. Luke 9:51 says Now it happened that when the days for Him to be taken up were soon to be fulfilled, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.

From that point Jesus began to make His way to Jerusalem which would eventually take Him to the cross. I want to point out that there is a good bit that has happened between Luke 9:62 and Luke 10:1. In fact the contents of all that happened is recorded in John 7:1 to John 10:21. Not much time has passed in these chapters but there has been many great times of teaching and healing. There were many conflicts from the Pharisees that looked to find a way to turn the people against Jesus. Once again it was not yet time for Jesus to die and many times Jesus slips away into the crowd.

During this time there is a lot of confusion concerning who Jesus is because the Pharisees were saying that Jesus was demon possessed and others were saying that He was a prophet. The time of Jesus going to the cross is around 6 months away as we begin to look at the 10th chapter. In this study we are going to see how Jesus uses 70 other disciples to go in the surrounding areas to minister in the same way that the 12 did. It would be in the power of God and for a specific purpose as Jesus plans.

In the Luke context Jesus had just finished with the section on what being a true disciple or follower was really about. There were probably many more that did not continue to travel with Jesus like the 3 that we looked at in the last 2 studies of chapter 9. With this long intro to help us bridge together what is going on let’s now look at our first point for this study.

1.The MISSION of evangelism.
Look with me at Luke 10:1-2 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

We notice again as we did when the 12 disciples were sent out, that what happens here is not some foundational act for all believers of all time. You can just take a tour through the book of Acts and see that not all believers had some special power to heal or to do ministry in this format. What we see here is for a specific purpose once again that the text makes very clear.

We notice at the beginning that the Lord appointed seventy others. They did not decide to do this on their own, they did not go in some power or authority of their own, they did not seek to do this and ask God to bless them in this act but Jesus clearly appoints these 70 and only these 70 at this time to go ahead of Him. Jesus appoints these 70 to go out on a mission.

Notice also that we do not know even one name from this group of seventy. We do not have them show up as the 70 later on or in the book of Acts, we have no information of who these seventy are so we will not spend time trying to speculate to who they are. Instead what I want us to see is the mission that this group had and really the motivation for why they are sent out.

We know they are going ahead of Jesus and then we see that *Luke 10:2 says And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.*

These words seem very similar to what He says in John 4:35-38 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 Even now he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

*This is the idea that evangelism is like a harvest where you sow and reap produce. The mentioning of this as He sends the seventy out must be understood as the primary focus of their sending out. There are many aspects of what they will be doing but the primary focus is to spread the message of the Kingdom of God that John the Baptist preached and that Jesus has continually preached.*

So Jesus sends the men out just like He did His 12 disciples and as we will see the instruction that He gives to them is similar to what He gave the twelve. He also warns them of the opposition that they will encounter along the way. This leads us to look at our next point.

2.The MISFORTUNES of evangelism. Look with me at Luke 10:3-7 Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.

The beginning of this statement could seem very unloving and uncaring. But again this idea is that you can not expect the pagan world to love the message that you have. We will look at the message in our next point but for now we see that Jesus tells them that I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

*This is the reality of evangelism. It will not always be easy, it will not always be times of great harvest. There will be opposition, there will be persecution and hatred toward us for what we are doing. In fact no other religion in the world is persecuted to the extent that Christians are and I believe firmly that it is because Satan hates the truth, the world hates the truth of their sinfulness and with that they lash out towards Christians.*

Jesus goes on to tell these seventy the same thing He told the 12 just months before, Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way. In other words trust God to take care of your needs while you are doing the work of ministry. I said this back in chapter 9 and I will say it again, this does not set a standard that we are to just be lazy and ask God to take care of us. This was an instruction for them to not take anything and trust that God will take care of their needs. Also they would have no time to worry with personal items instead they needed to be focused on the mission given to them by our Lord.

Jesus wants them to know that there will be those that may be in opposition but there will also be those that are accepting of them. Look with me at Luke 10:5-7 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.

To the one that is accepting to them they must bring about peace upon them but to the ones that are not accepting to them they are to move on. But Jesus does make a point to tell them not to keep on jumping from house to house. If they find those that are peaceful, giving and caring then they are to remain there during this brief time away from their homes.

This will lead us now to look at our last point about the message that they are to give while in these places and cities. Look with me at our last point for this study.

3.The MESSAGE in evangelism.
Look with me at Luke 10:8-12 And whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But in whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off against you; yet know this, that the kingdom of God is at hand.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

This section is not set as an example of how to do evangelism for all time but is the reality of what Jesus was trying to accomplish in this moment. I do believe there are principles that we can take from this section into evangelism for today. Clearly we see that if someone is open to receive the message that they were sending out then they were to heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 

This was not some healing ministry that served as the standard for us to go by when reaching people for the Kingdom of God. All of this has to placed in the context that these seventy were doing what they were doing as they prepared to way for Jesus to come through these places. This was common for Jesus to do in fact we can remember back at Jesus doing this as He is going into Samaria back in Luke 9:52-56. There we saw an example of people that did not accept Him there at that time. But here he makes it clear that if they accept them then heal the sick and let them know that the Kingdom of God has come near to them. Jesus sends these seventy to prepare the people for His coming and to show that He has the power to heal not just because He is there but also through others. This is a definite sign of the power of God and His Messiah.

But there would be those that did not want to have any part of this also. Jesus says to the seventy in Luke 10:10-12 But in whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off against you; yet know this, that the kingdom of God is at hand.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

Here’s where many people will try to turn away from this type of preaching. They do not want to hear of the God that will reject people for their disbelief, they do not want to hear of the God of wrath and anger. But the message is clear that yes, we are to preach the Good news of the Gospel but along with that we must make clear that if you do not come to accept the message of the Gospel then there will be wrath and damnation. Jesus tells them to go out in the streets to proclaim this message. This is not some private conversation between the rulers of the city and these disciples but this is a condemnation of the reality of their disbelief and their rejection of the message of the Kingdom of God and His Messiah.

This idea of rejection and condemnation will carry us into our next study but for now we must understand that these seventy were sent out to evangelize but the results were not dependent on their abilities but on God’s sovereignty. Have you turned from believing that you can get to Heaven on your own. I pray today that you can turn from yourself and turn to the Savior. Don’t be one of those that falls into the hand of the wrath of God.

The News Of Jesus Continues To Spread Throughout The Region. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #74 (Luke 9:7-11)

/ Matt Vance / Leave a comment

We come into this study just coming off of the sending out of the twelve disciples of our Lord. It is believed to be somewhere in this timeframe that Herod orders the beheading of John the Baptist. We will look at that briefly in our study seeing that our text speaks of Herod and his wonder at who it is that is going around preaching and healing. Of course this is the continual news of the fame of Jesus throughout this region of Galilee. As we will see in our text, there is still many people that have not seen who this miracle worker is or even who it is.

To guide us into our text I want to build the context and chronology for us to have in mind. We do not have an exact time of when John was beheaded but many believe that it was somewhere in the past month at least if not sooner. We know for sure that John was still alive back in Luke 7 which would have been around 4 to 6 months before our timing here in chapter 9. So somewhere in this 4 to 6 month period, John was beheaded. We find the story in both Matthew 14:1-12 and Mark 6:14-29. Here we find out that John was arrested because of his bold condemning of Herod’s marriage to his brothers wife. The deal was that Herod had stolen his brother’s wife, Herodias. This woman was not only his brother’s wife but also both of their niece. This was an act of complete defiance against God’s law and John stood up to Herod concerning this.

Mark 6:19 says Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able.

Herod had some sort of respect for John even though he did not like his condemnation of his marriage. Even though he had respect for him he used his power to have John arrested simply because of his condemnation of his marriage. To be clear John was only operating from the standpoint of what the law of God said. In our story we find out that during Herod’s birthday dinner that Herodias’ daughter had danced for Herod, most likely in a provocative fashion. This pleased Herod so much that he told Herodias’ daughter in Mark 6:22b-23 “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”

With this she went to her mother for advice and her mother said plainly to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Because of the oaths he took Herod had this done even though this was not something that he wanted to do personally. So John dies, his disciples took his body and laid him in a tomb. So this gives to us the complete context in understanding what we will see in our text for this study.

I know that was a long introduction but it was needed to build the context of what was happening at this time. Let’s look now at our first point.

1.Jesus’ fame reaches to Herod.
Look with me at Luke 9:7-9 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. 9 And Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.

First let’s find out who this Herod the tetrarch is. He is one of the sons of Herod the Great who was the king at the time of the birth of Jesus. Herod the tetrarch is also known as Herod Antipas. He is the Herod we see throughout the ministry of Jesus. The only time Jesus and Herod crossed paths face to face is when Pilate sends Jesus to Herod right before His crucifixion. It was obvious though that Herod had heard of this Jesus or someone that was performing miracles.

Herod was one of the four tetrarch that split the kingdom once ruled by his father. Antipas was given the regions of Galilee and Perea in which we know Jesus spent nearly 20 months or so in this area ministering. In fact if you think back to earlier in Jesus’ Galilean ministry when He healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath that Mark 3:6 says And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel together with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

Here we see that Herod and his supporters were aware of Jesus back then. The Pharisee’s looked to come together with the Herodians to move Herod’s mind towards having Jesus arrested just like he did John.

Back in our text in Luke 9:7 we see that Herod is very concerned about who this is. In our text we see that Herod was greatly perplexed. The Greek word for perplexed is the word diaporeó (dee-ap-or-eh’-o) that refers to one who goes through the whole list of possible ways, and finds no way out. What Herod was hearing was very concerning because as we see in Luke 9:7b-8 that it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.

Of course this bothered him because he knew that he had no real justification for having John beheaded. Almost every person understands the sense of justice that needs to be exercised in matters like this. But we know he had John beheaded simply because of oaths that he made at a time when he probably should not have been making decisions. He clearly states his concern in Luke 9:9 that says And Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.

I think he wanted to make sure that this was not John. His conscience was not clear concerning how he had John beheaded but of course this does not prove any sense of remorse but only that he had a guilty conscience. It is no different than any of us that may have done something illegal or in secret, when we think we might get caught that intensifies the guilt even more.

Notice that the last part of that verse says And he kept trying to see Him. He never saw Jesus until the last day of Jesus’ life. There were times when there were messengers from Herod to Jesus but never did they cross paths until the end of Jesus’ ministry. Unlike John that spoke directly to Herod, Jesus did not speak to Herod, I think simply because of his rejection of the message of John in the first place. This brings us now to our next point.

2.The Apostles return from their mission.
Look with me at Luke 9:10 And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.

This point will be brief but this serves as a connection of how Jesus’ fame continues to grow. Not only was Jesus going from town to town but He had just sent out the twelve to do the same. We do not have a detailed list of all they did but we do know from Luke 9:6 that they went throughout the villages, proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere.

Mark 6:12-13 says And they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

This of course was for their internship in a sense but no doubt that many more people and man more areas were now being reached as Jesus begins His direction away from this area towards Jerusalem. I do want to make mention that we do not see this in the text in Luke but Matthew’s Gospel goes into a detail of how Jesus warned His disciples of the promise that they would be persecuted. I believe on this trip in Luke they saw success but Jesus was readying them with the idea that their journeys will not always end so well. Matthew 10:22-23 says And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 23 “But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

The promise of persecution was real and so was the fact that they would be those that would be the group to take the message of the Kingdom and the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. We are still fulfilling this promise today as distant disciples from that time. Are you sharing the Gospel? Will you continue to share the Gospel in spite of opposition? This will be what happens in many different forms of persecution until Jesus returns.

At the end of verse 10 we see that Jesus takes His disciples and goes to Bethsaida. This is the area where Jesus would have first met Philip and Nathaneal. This is believed to be their birth city along with Andrew and Peter as well. This city is located on the Northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and was another fishing city in that region. Jesus was trying to get away with His disciples to this place but as we will see that did not happen.

Let’s look now at our last point for this study.

3.Jesus’ fame continues to grow.
Look with me at Luke 9:11 that says But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Jesus and His disciples slip away to Bethsaida but not for long. The crowds found out that they had left and went after them. Jesus as always is open to the crowds being there. He was never like us that may find ourselves frustrated if people begin to follow when we are trying to get away for a while. Just imagine if you planned a trip for you and your spouse just to find out when you get to your destination that they brought everyone from your workplace along with the work for you to do while you are there. It would not be very welcoming. Here though our text says and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Jesus did not get frustrated but only did as He always did and that was preached and healed. It is amazing to me to see that we often look for opportunities to get away even from ministry. I think it is good at times to get away but while you are away you should still be doing ministry through the reading of the Word of God or witnessing.

Never do we find in Scripture that we are to take breaks from what God has called us to do. Now please do not think that it is sinful to go on a vacation because I like them too but what I am saying is that we should always be ready and willing to do what our Lord does here. This will be even more evident as we move along in our next section of Scripture where we will see the amazing feeding of the 5000. What we see here and what we will see in our next Scripture is what we have seen often about Jesus, that is His compassion for people. This is the example that we must strive to live by everyday.

The Twelve Apostles Are Sent Out Without Jesus. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #73 (Luke 9:1-6)

/ Matt Vance / Leave a comment

We come now to the 9th chapter here in our study of Luke. The context of what takes place here is in a sense true to the chronology even though Luke does leave out something that Mark includes. Between the miracle of Jairus’ daughter being brought back from the dead and our text for this study, Jesus goes back to His birth town of Nazareth. There He had been rejected and nearly killed because of the message that He preached earlier in His ministry. They thought they had arrived, they felt that they were the chosen people because they had this great prophet of God right in their own town. Jesus at that time preached a message that showed that they too would be rejected because of their lack of faith, disobedience and ritualistic worship. They were depending on their heritage and Jesus destroys that thought with the message He preached on how God rejected unfaithful Israel in Elijah and Elisha’s time. You can read the 2 Bible studies I wrote on this section in Luke 4:16-30 linked here in this study.(Jesus Teaches In His Hometown Of Nazareth. and The People In Nazareth Respond To Jesus’ Teaching.)

It is after this that we pick up the chronology of Jesus sending out the twelve Apostles. We must keep in mind that this event is somewhere in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. Somewhere between 18 to 24 months into the ministry of Jesus we see Him send out these twelve for the first time. There is only about a year and a half left in Jesus’ life before He goes to the cross so this is a preparation for what is to come. These 12 men, minus Judas plus Matthias, will be the group to carry on the ministry of spreading the Gospel and it is here that we will see them go out with the power that God gives them for their eventual commission after the ascension of Jesus. Let’s look at our first point as we open up the 9th chapter.

1.Jesus empowers the twelve for the work of the ministry.
Look with me at Luke 9:1 And calling the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

Every person that ever preaches, teaches, ministers, mentors or is used in any area of Christian ministry must always remember that they are not to go in their own power. It is not in our own personal abilities that we go to share the Gospel and it is never in our own ability that we involve ourselves in ministry. Notice here that Jesus calls the twelve Apostles to Him and then gives them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases.

I think we must never take this portion of Scripture as the normative for every believer. To many people throughout history and in our time have made claims to having this power and authority. They have made the claim but have never been able to show this to be true. What was done here was for a specific reason and a specific time. This was done to these twelve men only and was not to be the norm for every believer.

I know there would be many arguments against this so I want to address a couple of those here. Many people would say well what about the 70 that Jesus sends out just 1 chapter over? In Luke 10:8-9 Jesus instructs the 70 that whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Jesus sends these 70 out for a specific reason and a specific purpose. Most people including these 70 focus to much on the miraculous manifestations but that was not the point. In Luke 10:1 it says that He sent these 70 to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

This was never the normative action for all believers of all time. These examples of the 12 and the 70 were done for specific reasons. Yet they would have the power to heal and authority over demons but they were also to preach. Remember this has been a major theme throughout Jesus’ ministry that we have seen over and over again. This will be very apparent as we conclude this study.

The other area I want to point out that will become and argument against this is at the end of Mark’s Gospel. Mark 16:9-20 has been debated often because in the oldest manuscripts of this book these verses are not there. This has concluded to many that these verses were added by a scribe that would have including this to add context to what happened. If you stop at verse 8 of that chapter, Jesus had risen, the grave was empty so there is no diminishing of the Gospel message. These verses being excluded is not even a new argument even though the earliest manuscripts were discovered after the translation of the KJV. I encourage you to do a study of this on your own but I do hold to what the oldest manuscripts show us which excludes these verses. I say all of this because this is an area that is brought up often from what Mark 16:17-18 says. It says And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 and they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Nowhere do we find in Scripture that every believer has these signs to validate their status as a believer. What we do have is the fruit of the Spirit, gifts that are from the Spirit and the power to fulfill the Great Commission.

I say all of this to show that what we see in the sending out of the twelve Apostles is for that time and for a specific reason that we will see as we move through this text. This moves us now to our next point.

2.Jesus sends the twelve out to spread the Gospel.
Look with me at Luke 9:2-5 And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two tunics apiece. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Here we clearly see that they were not to just have some healing services but they were to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Jesus set the example as He went throughout the many cities and villages. He went to preach and teach the people and while He was there, He would heal the sick. This validated His claim as the Son of God and now the disciples would do the same to validate their association with Jesus.

I always like taking us back to Jesus’ words in Luke 4:43 where He says “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

The plan of God would lead Jesus to the cross to be the propitiation for us but while on Earth Jesus was to be preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. This too was the disciples focus and also should be ours.

Jesus gave the disciples some instructions as they went out in Luke 9:3-5. He says first in verse 3 “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two tunics apiece.

This seems to be very odd to us. It would seems to us that we need to be prepared with as much as we can take. Jesus here seems to be teaching them a lesson that they obviously still needed as well as we do often too. It was a lesson of trusting Jesus no matter the circumstances. This could take us back to what Jesus say in Matthew 6:31-33 that says Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Again this is not the norm but was only a lesson to trust in what Jesus commands them to do. Later Jesus says this in Luke 22:35-36 “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Not a thing.” 36 And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword should sell his garment and buy one.

The lesson is to trust in Jesus because they all would eventual face severe persecution and death for spreading the Gospel. If they could trust Jesus in this, they would know that they would be empowered to face even more difficult times.

Jesus continues in His instruction in Luke 9:4-5 by saying And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 

This account in Matthew says in Matthew 10:11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave.

They were to find a place to stay of someone that was welcoming and willing to receive them not those that were looking for some type of gain. In Matthew’s account Jesus continues by saying in verses 12-15 Now as you enter the house, give it your greeting. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

The idea is to not allow people to abuse your message or your compassion. People in that time and ours will take advantage of nice people. They think that they can push those people to do what they want for a price. Jesus here warns them and tells them to leave and show them a sign of rejection from God by shaking the dust off of your feet as a testimony against them.

So we have the empowerment and the instructions which leads us to the event of the twelve actually going out without Jesus. Let’s look at our last point and verse for this study.

3.The Twelve depart in the power of the Lord Jesus.
Look with me at Luke 9:6 And departing, they were going throughout the villages, proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere.

Essentially the twelve apostles go out to do the work that Jesus had been doing. They depart in the power given to them. They go with nothing of their own, depending solely on God’s providence. They have seen God work through God incarnate and now they will go out in this same power. This is a preview to what they will be doing as the Church age begins. I know the question always comes up as to whether Judas had this same empowerment since he was a betrayer and the ultimate hypocrite?

I definitely do not think we have enough evidence to say that he did or didn’t. Some may argue that he couldn’t have done miracles because he was an unbeliever and others may say that God can and will use whoever He desires to perform miracles. I do know that Luke 9:1, Matthew 10:1 and Mark 6:7 specifically says that Jesus gave this authority and power to the twelve. Along with what we see here in verse 6, it seems to me that he was given this power and authority even if he never used it. I do not think we can be clear and this is really just a trivial question that I think we must not give much attention towards.

The point is that Jesus is now empowering others as He will to all believers give power to be witness as Jesus says in Acts 1:8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”

We will look at how the spreading of the news of Jesus reaches Herod and also we will look at the results of the work of the twelve when they return from their mission to evangelize in our next study.

From Demon Possession To Proclaiming Jesus. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #70 (Luke 8:34-39)

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In our last study we looked at this man that was possessed by the Legion of demons and how Jesus cast the demons away. In this study we will look at the people from the city and their reaction to what happened. Then we will look at the man’s reaction to what just happened to him. Coming off of such a display of power and authority this should bring a great reaction from the people of this city but as we will see that is contrary to what happens here.

Remember that Matthew’s account of this story has two demon possessed men being healed and I said last study that I do believe that two men were healed. I also believe that only one man was saved in a salvific way and that is the reason why Mark and Luke only includes the one man. They deal with the reaction of the people of the city along with the one man’s reaction where Matthew only deals with the reaction from the people of the city. I think this will be clear as we go into this text. Let’s look at our first point for this study.

1.The reaction from the people from the city.
Look with me at Luke 8:34-37 And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. 35 And the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been saved. 37 And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear. And He got into a boat and returned.

We must keep in mind that these two demon possessed men ruled the area with their constant torment and dangerous actions. Matthew records in Matthew 8:28b that these two men were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.

Mark says in Mark 5:3b-4 no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

Then we see in Luke 8:29 that the demon had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles, being kept under guard. And yet breaking his bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desolate regions.

So keeping this in mind shows us that if these two men were somehow miraculously healed then you would think there would be much joy but that is not the case as we will see. At the time of all of this happening, the original language says “idontes de hoi boskontes to gegonos” which translates Having seen then those feeding [them] that having taken place. What we see in our text is that most translators say something like And when the herdsmen saw what had happened.

The fact is that the herdsmen who would have been tending to these pigs had a front row seat to what just happened. They saw the pigs take a dive into the lake but they also observed the two men free from this demon possession. Matthew 8:33 says Now the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.

Again our focus is only on the one man because it is this one man that was healed and saved, the other was just healed from the demon possession. What these people find when they get to this location is astonishing. Luke 8:35 says And the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

What they find is that this man who once was terrorizing the people and this entire region was now sitting, clothed and in right mind. The original language indicates to us that this man’s mind went from one of rage, out of control action to one that is now temperate and in control. This is amazing but notice that these people were not joyful but were afraid.

This is the Greek word ephobēthēsan which is rooted in the word phobeó (fob-eh’-o) that we have looked at several times in our study of Luke. This is a fear of knowing to be inadequate. This is a recognition from these people that they knew they were in the presence of God or some higher deity than themselves. I do not think they confessed Jesus as the Son of God but rather rejected Him because of their own fear. They feared the demon possessed men but now they had very great fear of the One that had just delivered these men.

I believe by the time they got to where Jesus was that the other man had took off and was nowhere to be found. But they saw this one man sitting and in control. They did not thank Jesus but rather allowed their fear to push Jesus away. Now as we move along in our text what we see in Luke 8:36 is that the herdsmen who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been saved.

They recounted everything that happened. They made sure to tell of how this man was saved or healed. This is not an indication of the salvific nature of what just happened but only indicates to us that this man along with the other man had been delivered from what controlled them before. The salvific nature of what happened is noticed in the man’s reaction that we will look at in our next point but before we look at him let’s look at our final verse for this point. Luke 8:37 says And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear. And He got into a boat and returned.

The news of what happened to this man reached beyond the people of the city pretty fast. These people were not thankful but only allowed their fear to now control them. I know that we may think that this seems a little harsh because we too may have a sense of fear if something like this happened to someone we know. I would say that if you were to ever be in the presence of God, I would expect nothing but fear. The fear that we as Christians would have would be a reverent fear that would draw us closer to Him and not push Him away. Here their reaction shows their rejection and with that Jesus gets into the boat and leaves.

Before He leaves we will see the reaction from the man that was once demon possessed and the request he makes as Jesus begins to set His steps towards leaving this area. Let’s look now at our next point.

2.The reaction of the once demon possessed man.
Look with me at Luke 8:38-39 But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him. But He sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Clearly the people of the city and surrounding region have not accepted Jesus, welcomed Jesus, thanked Jesus for healing these two men but they have asked Jesus to leave. Let’s be clear here that they are not asking Jesus a question about when He will leave but this really shows that they were begging Him to leave their region. The Greek word for asked back in verse 37 is erótaó (er-o-tah’-o) which means to ask or to question from a preferred position. So this asking is not that they were wondering if He was going to leave but asked Him if He would leave immediately. They rejected Jesus even though He removed these two demon possessed men as threats to their land and city.

They may have rejected Jesus but there is one here that wants to follow Jesus. There were two men restored but only one wants to follow. The other man is not even mentioned in either Luke or Mark. This indicates to me that the other man may have ran off in embarrassment from his nakedness or just simply because he is like a lot of us that had no real appreciation for what just happened to him. This is something that will happen often throughout Jesus’ ministry. He heals people, delivers people from demon possession and they walk away from Jesus. They may be thankful to some extent for the healing but they reject Him as Messiah and Lord.

I want to direct our thoughts towards Luke 17 where we see this happen in similar fashion. Luke 17:11-19 says And it happened that while He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing through Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him. 13 And they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was there no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

Notice that last statement that says that your faith has saved you. None of the other former lepers came back to thank Jesus or to glorify God. They were happy to follow the law that said to show yourself to a priest but they were not redeemed, they were not converted. This Samaritan was converted and saved in a salvific way as he displays the heart change that moved him to worship God for what had just happened.

I relate this story to what we see back in Luke 8 because this one man does not leave. He does not return back to his old life even before he was demon possessed but rather looks to follow Jesus immediately. Luke 8:38-39 records this as we see: But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him. But He sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

I love how Mark 5:19 says it, it says And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

I love the fact that Jesus mentions how he needs to proclaim what God had done to him simply because God had mercy on Him. This man was not seeking for God, this man was demon possessed with power to break chains, rule whatever area he was in and was in his mind his own god. But by the mercy of God this man was delivered from demon possession and was given eternal life.

How do we know he received eternal life? Because Luke 8:39b says So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Also Mark 5:20 And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.

We do not have a record of how his efforts went. We do not have a record of this man in history and the work he did other than what we have right here. We know that even if no one ever received what Jesus did, even if not a single person got saved or started following Jesus that this man was obedient to the call to preach and proclaim the good news of salvation. This man was a Gentile with no former connection to the Jewish customs or the idea of a Messiah and yet God saved this man. The story of the leper showed us a Samaritan that the Jews despised and here a Gentile that they would look at as those damned for eternity. Here Jesus is clearly expanding the Gospel beyond any cultural boundaries. This man was saved and in that we glorify God for this man and our own salvation.

Bible Passage For The Day 9-30-2023

/ Matt Vance / Leave a comment

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Bible Passage For The Day 9-29-2023

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1 Peter 3:13-16

And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their fear, and do not be troubled, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear, 16 having a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.