Putting Up with People Like Us Luke 9:37-45 Rev. Alan Rogers INTRODUCTION: Do you ever play the little childhood game where you interlock your fingers, with the index fingers extended, and said, Here s the church, here s the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people? Churches are all about people. Of course, it was Frederick the Great who reportedly said, The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog. Dealing with people can be a frustrating, messy ordeal, even in church. How many of us know someone who has said they will never come back to church because of a conflict they had with people in the church? But church is also about one person in particular, and when the focus is on Him, where it belongs, He can bring order and clarity to the human situation. I. For the person following Jesus, the time inevitably comes when we have to come down from the mountain of celebration and enter the trenches of ministry (v. 37). A. All three of the Gospel writers who report on this event place it on the morning immediately following Jesus' experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. 1 B. Contrary to Peter's suggestion, Jesus could not remain on the mountain forever, but had to come down to fulfill his destiny. i. In the short term, Jesus was called (in the words of Luke 4) to preach the good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, offer sight to the blind, deliver the oppressed, and announce that the time had arrived for God to show His favor to repentant sinners. 2 ii. Ultimately, Jesus had a divine appointment in Jerusalem where he was to suffer, be rejected, be executed, and be resurrected in order 1 Luke 9:37-45; Matthew 17:41-21; Mark 9:14-29. 2 Luke 4:16-21. 1
to make God's offer of grace available. 3 iii. Jesus could do none of that while up on the mountain, but his time on the mountain communing with his Father prepared him to minister to the people in the valley. C. As soon as Jesus descended the mountain, he was surrounded by people and their problems ( a large crowd met him ). D. If we are to follow Jesus and fulfill his commands to love people and make disciples, we have to go to where the people are. i. Like Jesus, the time spent on the mountain can prepare us for ministry, but we have to come down from the mountain in order to do ministry. ii. In the words of William Barclay, We cannot live forever in the moment on the mountain but we cannot live at all without it. 4 II. Ministering to people is often messy business, requiring one to confront conflict, suffering and need (vv. 37-39). A. I have learned that whenever we have a particularly wonderful service on Sunday, when I come into the office on Monday I had better bring my fire extinguisher. i. Often our greatest crises come on the heels of our greatest victories. ii. [Illustration] The inevitability of Drama a) The BBC America runs an ad promoting its dramatic programming by saying, Take a class-ridden society with no ability to handle its emotions and let it simmer for a thousand years, and quite frankly you have the perfect recipe for drama. b) The truth is that the BBC does not have a thing on the local Baptist church! 3 Luke 9:22. 4 William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 149-151. 2
B. When Jesus came down from the mountain he immediately was confronted by human drama. i. Mark tells us that when Jesus came down from the mountain he found his disciples in a heated debated with the local religious leaders (Mark 9:14). ii. Jesus also encountered a father in desperate need because of his son s condition (v. 38). a) Luke makes a point to inform us that this was the father s only son. 5 b) In that culture, children were valued and appreciated. Children were valued spiritually: (Psalm 127:5) 3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Children were valued economically. If one were a farmer or a tradesman, children meant extra hands to help with the work. Adult children also provided a means of support for elderly parents. Children were valued socially. As is typically the case today, the family name is passed down through the sons. Since the child in question was an only son, if something happened to him his father s line would pass out of existence. iii. Jesus encountered a boy who was suffering from a terrible condition (vv. 39, 42) 5 Robert H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery, Vol. 24 (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 1992), 288. 3
a) The symptoms Luke and the other gospel writers describe sound very much like the condition of epilepsy. 6 b) Outward physical adversity sometimes masks a deeper spiritual affliction (vv. 38-39, 42). In those days, epilepsy was a very frightening and mysterious condition to many, with no discernable outward cause. Some associated epilepsy with the power of the moon (the Greek word used here literally means moonstruck ). 7 For others, it often was associated with evil spirits. In previous accounts in his gospel, Luke, who was a physician, had carefully drawn a distinction between disease and demonic activity. 8 Here Luke seems to indicate that a demonic spirit was somehow linked to the boy s condition. The gospel writers are clear in affirming the existence of malevolent spiritual entities who express their hatred for God by attacking those He loves, namely human beings. Not all disease is demonic, but demons sometimes use disease-like symptoms in inflict pain and suffering on their victims. Contrary to what many in our occult-obsessed culture believe, demons are not fun or cool. Rather, Satan and his minions are thieves who come to kill, steal and destroy. (John10:10) c) Luke describes a young man in a very serious, debilitating, and 6 Leon Morris, Luke, The Tyndale New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988),190; Stein, 288; Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Moises Silva (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 881. 7 Bock, 881. 8 Luke 4:38-44, 9:1. 4
potentially life-threatening situation, in desperate need of deliverance. III. In trying to treat the afflicted boy, the disciples forgot an important principle: we can't; Jesus can (v. 40). A. What is ironic about this account is that just a few paragraphs earlier Luke had described how Jesus had sent the apostles out with the power to heal and dismiss demons (Luke 9:1-10). B. Yet, in this instance the disciples were unable to remove the demonic presence from the boy. C. Could it be that part of the problem was that the disciples were putting too much faith in their own abilities and not enough in Jesus? i. In Mark and Matthew s versions of the story, Jesus tells the disciples that this kind of situation can only be handled through prayer and fasting. ii. Both prayer and fasting are avenues through which we express our total dependence on God. iii. This conclusion about the disciples inability is amplified by the next words Luke records coming from the lips of Jesus: You unbelieving and perverted generation! D. The root of the disciple's spiritual impotence was unbelief and unfaithfulness (v. 41). i. Note that these words are applied to the crowd in general, but the disciples in particular. 9 ii. Unbelief refers to a lack of trust in God. iii. Perverted refers to a failure to submit to God s authority. a) Jesus drew this language from Deuteronomy 32:5, where the people of Israel were indicted for their tendency to stray from their covenant obligations towards God. 9 Bock, 883; Stein, 289. 5
b) Throughout the Psalms and Proverbs, those who have abandoned God s truth and rejected God s direction are often described as perverted, crooked, or bent. c) When people reject God s authority and direction in favor of their own opinions and abilities, the results often are disorder, disunity and a lack of spiritual power. IV. Ministering through people is often an exercise in frustration: how often have we caused Jesus to wonder why he puts up with us? (v. 41) V. Against this backdrop of unbelief and perversity, Jesus goes to work. A. Jesus' healing of the boy demonstrated that the important thing is not the amount of faith you have but who your faith is in (v. 42). B. Jesus' authority over the demon and the disease demonstrated once again his divine identity (vv. 42-43). C. The miracles of Jesus supported his real mission by identifying the one who would be delivered into the hands of men so that you and I could be delivered from the bonds of sin (vv. 43-44). VI. Unbelief and unfaithfulness can blind us to God's truth even when it is standing right in front of us (v.45). VII. Don't allow a lack of understanding to prevent you from seeking the answers that only Jesus can provide (v. 45). CONCLUSION: How many spiritual defeats will we suffer before we learn to trust Jesus and obey Him? How long will we refuse to accept the answers He offers because to do so would require us to humble ourselves and give up control? Will we persist in pursuing our own agendas and inflating our own identities, or will we submit to the authority and power of Jesus? 6
SOURCES Barclay, William. The Gospel of Luke. The New Daily Study Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. Bock, Darrell L. Luke 1:1-9:50. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Moises Silva. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994. Butler, Trent C. Luke. The Holman New Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders, Vol. 3. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000. Larson, Bruce. Luke. The Communicator's Commentary, ed. Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Vol. 3. Waco: Word Books, 1983. Liefeld, Walter L. Luke. In The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol, 8, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 796-1059. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. Morris, Leon. Luke. The Tyndale New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids:William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988. Stein, Robert H. Luke. The New American Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery, Vol. 24. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 1992. Tolbert, Malcolm. Luke In The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 9, Luke-John, 1-188. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970. Unless otherwise noted, all scriptural citations are from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org. 7