路加福音

Meditative Reflection
Miracles

“Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him.” (Lk. 8:25)

I think you have heard skeptics of the gospel say that if they saw God with their own eyes, they would believe in Him.

Of course, our natural and logical response is that if they can see God, they do not have to “believe” Him. Faith, by definition is to be “certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). Furthermore, because of our sins, as God puts it, “no one may see me and live” (Exod. 33:20).

That does not mean that God will not give us enough evidence for us to believe in Him. As Paul eloquently puts it, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:20)

But God has not stopped at this — at what we call general revelation. He, through His Son’s incarnation, has made Himself known to us. The Gospel of John is also called the Book of Signs in that through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John carefully crafts his gospel to tell of the signs (i.e. miracles) performed by Jesus. Its purpose is so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, (we) may have life in His name.” (Jn. 20:31)

You may wonder why, we in the intellectual world, no longer witness similar miracles as recorded in the Gospels. For one, I believe, we now have the many apostolic testimonies of the life and work of the Lord Jesus, and also the privilege of the written Word of God in languages that we can understand. If we do not believe in God’s comprehensive witness through His written word, even if see miracles every day, like the resurrection of the dead (Lk. 16:31), we will still reject God.

But on the other hand, we do see miracles everyday — the rising and setting of the sun, the birth of a baby, and most of all the regeneration of a sinner who repents to God. These all witness to us the eternal power and divine nature of our Creator God.

Meditative Reflection
Be an Instant Witness

“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” (Lk. 8:39)

I have used Evangelism Explosion (E.E.) to teach Christians not only in my home church, but those in other churches, equipping the lay people to be ready to share the gospel clearly, systematically and responsibly wherever they go. One of the emphases I like about E.E. is to urge those new converts to share their testimony immediately with someone they love. It not only serves to affirm their faith in Christ, but it is totally in tune with what Jesus told the newly converted, former demon-possessed man to do in Luke 8:39:

“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

Yes, this man would have little biblical knowledge, but such knowledge will come in time. But his conversion was not an accident. The extremely superstitious cities in the Decapolis desperately needed the gospel, and with his miraculous and undeniable healing, he instantly became a powerful testimony, drawing these people with a gentile background to Jesus.

As it happened, although the people of the town sadly urged Jesus to leave them, Jesus did not abandon them. As we read later in Mark 7:31, Jesus returned to the Decapolis and the people were far more ready to receive Him. I believe this was in part due to the testimony of this former demon-possessed man.

Indeed, we need to receive proper training in evangelism, but training cannot take the place of willingness and eagerness to share what the Lord has done for us irrespective of how well-versed we are in biblical knowledge.

Meditative Reflection
Don’t Bother

“Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” (Lk 8:49)

The raising of his daughter was obviously a very significant event in Jairus’ life:

- The sadness of losing a 12 year-old child is unthinkable to all parents and to have her raised from the dead had to be the greatest joy of Jairus, far more joyful than the day of her birth.

- His love for the daughter was also very obvious in that as a synagogue ruler, [likely the one in Capernaum in which the healing by Jesus of the man with shriveled right hand had enraged the Pharisees to the point that they “began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus” (6:11)], to come kneeling before Jesus for help was a very courageous act that only a desperate father would do under the circumstances.

- But the healing of the bleeding woman was a double-edged sword to him. Such a miraculous healing obviously gave him greater confidence that Jesus could heal his daughter, and yet the undue delay due to her hiding had caused the life of his daughter. It must have been a very trying time for Jairus as Jesus tarried and waited for the woman to confess.

- And alas, once this drama was over, it turned out his daughter indeed had died — the broken-heartedness, and the anger could be felt by all, and yet, instead of proceeding to raise the girl without a word, Jesus chose to tell him, “Don’t be afraid, just believe, and she will be healed”. Jesus did not want Jairus to fall into unnecessary despair and grief even for a moment, no matter how short it might be. This is always the heart of our Lord.

- Of course, He raised the daughter to life in front of Jairus, and we can safely assume that his faith in Jesus would never be the same. His courageous faith in Jesus and his love for his daughter had paid off.

However, I find the words of the messenger who brought the news of the girl’s death very sad. The messenger said, “Your daughter is dead…Don’t both the teacher anymore.”

Should we approach Jesus only with a request? Only for healing or for meeting our needs? Is Jesus only a healer?

It reminds me of Mary, who also wept and considered Jesus’ arrival too late, because her brother Lazarus had died too (Jn. 11:32). But she did not tell Jesus to go away. She believed in Jesus not for the sake of healing or meeting her needs. She believed Him and loved Him as her Savior, Lord and friend. And that is who Jesus desires to be to all of us, including Jairus and his friends. If there was a time they needed Jesus most, it would have been at the time of the girl's death, but not necessarily for the sake of raising her from death, but for comfort, for strength and most important of all, for their salvation.

Meditative Reflection
Jesus Saves!

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Lk. 8:48)

I have no idea why the NIV chooses to translate these parting words of Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace” (Lk. 8:48), to the woman who confessed her conditions and story to Jesus before the crowd.  The same exact Greek word is used in 7:50 of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus and there, the NIV translation is, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” (Italics, mine)

Allow me to simply share the insights of Lenski with you in this respect:

“Not one word of blame or reproach; only words of cheer and uplift. The very address, ‘daughter’ bespeaks, loving concern. When Jesus attributes the woman’s restoration to her faith, i.e., to her trust and confidence in Him, He does not make her faith the causa efficiens (the cause of the effect), for this was His own power and will, but only the causa instrumentalis (the instrument of cause) as the organon lhptikon -- the hand that receives the gifts. Jesus Himself had inspired that faith (Mk. 5:27). This faith wrought the woman’s restoration by moving her to touch Jesus. The idea that this faith rests only on the physical touch is unwarranted; it rested on the person touched. Luther has the correct view: She believes that divine, omnipotent power resides in Jesus; that He can answer the secret, unspoken trust of her heart; that all she needs is the Word and preaching by which He has made Himself known, and uses the touch only as in some way to come in contact with Him. Who has seen such wonderful people; this Jairus who trusts that the hand of Jesus touching his child can bring back her life, and this woman who trusts that her touch of His garment will bring her restoration? No wonder that Jesus rewarded such faith.

"In the perfect tense, seswke (σέσωκέν, has saved) reaches back to the instant in which Jesus restored her and includes her continued restoration. Jesus wants the woman to realize the value of her faith and trust in Him. Compare 7:50 where the same words are applied to the soul condition of another woman and see there also the exposition of the word with which Jesus dismissed the restored woman.”
(Lenski, Luke, 488)

Meditative Reflection
A Faith Ministry

“Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic…” (Luke 9:3)

Most Christian para-church ministries will describe themselves as ministries of faith, meaning that they believe that their ministries are in response to the call of God and as such they are committed to depend on God for their financial resources. Such an understanding is absolutely biblical — biblical in terms of both the teachings and examples taught in the Scripture.

But a more detailed look at the teachings and examples from the Scripture in this respect will point us even more directly and firstly to the ministers themselves. Abraham obeyed the call of God to uproot his family and he embarked on a journey marked by faith (Gen. 12). Elijah obeyed the call of God to flee to Kerith and he lived by faith (1 Ki. 17). And, Jesus called His disciples and they obeyed and lived by faith (Lk. 9:3).

However, modern-day theology in the West downplays the essence of faith in being a minister of the gospel in the guise of financial prudence. I am not advocating that the church should not look after their pastors responsibly, or that the pastor can ruthlessly and irresponsibly plunge the church into a financial crisis in the guise of faith. But the fact remains, if a ministry is of God, He will hold Himself responsible, and if a minister is called by God, one of the tests of his or her calling is whether God will provide for their financial needs. God does not change and neither will His Word.

This is why when a student intern who had a clear sense of calling into full-time ministry chose to live on student-loans when he quit his job and entered into seminary, I strongly advised him against it. If God called him into full-time ministry, He would provide all that he needs (though not all that he wants). If he could not trust God to provide for his needs while he was still single, how could he trust God to provide when he has a family? How could he teach the people to trust in God when he pastors a church?

I know that by ourselves we may not have faith — enough to embark on a journey like Abraham or Elijah, but I do trust that if God is the one who calls, He will also grant us faith — enough to finish the mission He entrusts to us.

Meditative Reflection
Food that Endures to Eternal Life

“You give them something to eat.” (Lk. 9:13)

I have had the privilege of working with some young pastors who have a burden to reach out to the marginalized of society. I still remember the time I went out with a young pastor after midnight to “skid road” to pass out hot chocolate and food to the street people and we ended up praying with a prostitute on the roadside together. While I admire the heart of the young pastor, I also detected a sense of anger in him towards others in the church who do not share the same burden as his. His is not an isolated example.

While I rejoice to see many Evangelical Christians who have a heart to care about the physical and the emotional needs of the marginalized, I often detect both a holier-than-thou attitude and also a sense of resentment towards others who do not share their passion.

When Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you” (Jn. 12:8 ), of course, He does not mean we should not care about them, but rather, He is being practical in telling us that we cannot totally solve the problem of poverty this side of heaven. If we do not realize this, we will end up frustrated and angry, because sooner or later, we will realize that it remains an never ending problem (in spite of the recent prophecy by Bill Gates that given time, there will not be a poor nation in the world). No, it does not mean that we should therefore stop feeding the poor; it is just that we know we are simply doing our part in caring about the poor as an extension of the hands and feet of the Lord. However, it is more important to realize that in the end it is their salvation that is our ultimate mission.

That is the reason why, as the crowd sought to crown Jesus as king after the meal, He withdrew to the mountain and later on rebuked them for following Him for the wrong reason — that of “having their fill”, and He pointed out to them that ultimately, they should seek for “food that endures to eternal life.” (Jn. 6:15, 26-27)

Meditative Reflection
The Way of the Cross

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him….” (Lk. 9:26)

In the name of missions, there is a growing debate about whether we should require converts to Christianity to renounce their original religions, like Islam and Hinduism.

The debate is obviously prompted by the consequences of immediate persecution and likely death  that these new converts face in their countries.

This, of course, is not a new debate. Christians in the first few centuries were facing immense persecution at the hands of the Roman government. Many historians put the number of martyrs often in the hundreds of thousands during some of the most severe periods of persecution. We also know that there were those Christians who would bow at the statue of the emperor in order to have their lives spared. Many church fathers refused to admit them back into the church based on the above words spoken by the Lord.

I have to admit that I have never experienced persecution, let alone the kind faced by Christians in Islamic countries, or in India or Pakistan. However, these words of Jesus were spoken exactly with these situations in mind.

In the Gospel of Mark, it was because Peter feared persecution, and loathed especially the likely death of Jesus that he “rebuked” Jesus. (Mk. 8:32)

If the way of the cross could be avoided, why would Jesus turn and rebuke Peter, even as “Satan”? (Mk. 8:33)

And if following Christ would not invite persecution, even death, why would Jesus forewarn that “For whoever wants to save his life, will lose it…” (Lk. 9:24)?

The call to “deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” applies to “anyone”, meaning everyone (Lk. 9:23). I am afraid there is no exception!