Luke 08

Introduction

Luke has been showing us that the Lord Jesus is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. And so, after the Lord’s baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended on him, he’s gone from place to place as God’s Conquering King to proclaim and to provide freedom for his people and to deliver them from their sin and misery. Here’s a man with an evil spirit. And the Lord rebuked the evil spirit and drove it out of the man. Here’s Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, who is suffering from a fever. And the Lord rebuked the fever and she became well. Here’s a man with leprosy. Was the Lord willing to heal him? ‘I am willing’ he said; and he made the man clean. Here’s a man who cannot walk. And what did the Lord do for him? Do you remember? The Lord healed him so that he was able to stand up and pick up his mat and walk home. But the Lord did something else, didn’t he? The Lord pronounced him forgiven. He said: ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ He’s God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King who frees his people from our sin and from our misery. He came to free from us our sins by giving up his life to pay for all that we have done wrong. So, he came to take the blame for us and to suffer the punishment we deserve, which is death. And he came to free us from our misery which we suffer as a result of our sin. So, when he was on the earth, he freed his people by healing them of their sicknesses and by casting out demons. And he continues to relieve our suffering every day by helping us in various ways and by restraining the power of Satan.

And what he has begun to do in our lives, he will bring to completion when he comes again in glory and with power to renew all things and to bring us into his presence in the new heavens and earth. When that happens, he will free us from the very presence of sin in our lives so that we will sin no more. And he will free us completely from our misery by renewing us completely in body and soul and by bringing us into the presence of God where we will see God in the face of Christ and where we will be happy forever.

Last week we studied the whole of chapter 7 and this evening I want us to study the whole of chapter 8. And what’s the whole chapter about? It’s about a lot of things, but I think the parable of the sower at the beginning of the chapter helps us to see what the rest of the chapter is about. And so, let’s begins with that parable which is found in verses 1 to 15.

Verses 1 to 15

In the first three verses we’re told that the Lord was travelling about from one town and village to another. So, he’s God’s Conquering King and he’s going from place to place to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news of the kingdom of God is the news that Christ the King has come and he’s setting his people free from their sin and misery. And Luke tells us that the twelve apostles were with him as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. And Luke names three of them: Mary Magdalene; Joanna; and Susanna. He names three of the women, but there were many others. And they used to support the Lord and his apostles out of their own means. So, some of them had the funds available to provide the Lord and his apostles with what they needed as they travelled from place to place.

And one day, when a large crowd gathered, the Lord told them this parable about the sower who went out to sow his seed. In those days, the farmer would carry his seed in his sack; and, as he walked across his field, he would stick his hand into the sack, grab a handful of seed, and scatter it over the ground. And the Lord tells us that some of the seed fell on the path, which criss-crossed the field. And some fell on rocky ground. And some fell among the thorns. And other seed fell on good soil.

What happened to the seed which was sown? The seed that fell on the path was trampled on. And then the birds came and ate it up. That’s no good. The seed that feel on the rocky ground grew a little. The Lord is probably referring to ground which had a thin layer of soil on top, but underneath there was hard bedrock. So, the seed grew a little, but because of the hard bedrock, it couldn’t put down roots and there wasn’t enough moisture for the plant to survive. And so, it soon withered. And that’s not good. And the seed that fell among the thorns didn’t do much better, because the thorns choked the plants. But the seed that fell on good soil came up and yielded a large and bountiful crop: a hundred times more than was sown.

That’s the parable. But what does it mean? The Lord explains it in verses 11 to 15. He tells us that the seed in the parable stands for the word of God. So, he’s talking about preaching. The Lord Jesus went about from place to place, preaching the word of God. And from his throne in heaven, he sends out his preachers into all the world to preach the word of God. Preaching God’s word is like sowing seed.

And the seed that fell on the path stands for those people who hear the word, but then the devil comes along and takes the word away from their hearts. The devil snatches the word away so that they may not believe and be saved. If they believed the word of God, they would have been saved from the punishment they deserve for their sins. They would have been saved from eternal punishment; and instead they would have received eternal life. But since they did not believe, they did not receive God’s salvation.

The seed that fell on the rocky ground stands for those who receive the word with joy. They hear it and they think that this is the best news ever! Perhaps they make a profession of faith and join a church. But like the plants that soon withered and died, so these people only believe for a while. Whatever faith they had withers whenever a time of testing comes. So, they do not last.

The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear the word. And perhaps they too make a profession of faith. But they don’t grow in their faith, because their faith is choked by life’s worries and by riches and pleasures. Like the thorns which choke the plant, so the worries and pleasures of life choke whatever faith they possessed. And it’s interesting that a person’s faith can be choked by good things as well as by bad things. The worries and troubles of life can kill our faith as can riches and pleasures. When I was going through Mark’s gospel and came to this parable, I mentioned the time the Lord was speaking about the kingdom of God and a man interrupted him to ask him to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him. The Lord Jesus was speaking to him about eternal things, but all he was thinking about was his money problems. There’s a man who was distracted by life’s worries. On the other hand, Judas betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. He loved money more than the Saviour. Faith can be choked by worries and wealth.

But then the seed that fell on good seed stands for those who hear the word of God and who retain it. Unlike the seed on the path which is snatched away, these people keep hold of it. They keep it. And the seed of God’s word sinks down into their hearts and bears fruit in their lives. Unlike the seed on the rocky ground or among the thorns which does not last, these ones persevere. They endure. They believe the word and they keep believing it. And it bears fruit and makes a difference in their lives.

The Lord says about such people that they have a noble and good heart. But why do they have a noble and good heart? Who or what made them like this? Who or what enabled them to be different from the others? Why did some receive the word with faith while others did not believe?

This is where we need to turn to verse 10. Before the Lord explained the parable, he said to his disciples that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to them, but to others he speaks in parables so that though seeing, they may not see, and though hearing, they may not understand. The Lord was quoting from Isaiah 6 to make the point that some people see and hear, but they never truly see and understand. He’s thinking about many of the people who saw the things he did while he was on the earth and who heard the things he said, but they did not believe in him. They saw his mighty miracles. They saw him heal the sick and drive away demons and they saw him raise the dead. They saw him doing these things. But instead of believing in him and acknowledging that he is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, who has come into the world to save them, they rejected him. They saw, but they did not see. And they heard him. They heard him preach about the kingdom of God and they heard him proclaim freedom. They heard the word of God from him, but they did not believe. They heard, but they did not understand. They’re like the seed along the path or the seed on the rocky ground or the seed among the thorns.

On the other hand, the disciples are like the seed on the good soil. But they’re like the seed on the good soil not because they’re any better than the others, or wiser, or smarter, or more righteous, or more godly. They’re like the seed on the good soil because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to them. And when the Lord says ‘given’, he means ‘given by God’. God has given them the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God. In other words, God had given them the ability to receive this knowledge. He enabled them to know. He prepared their hearts and enabled them to receive this message and to believe it.

And everyone who believes should say the same thing. The reason any of us believes is because God has given us the knowledge of the secrets of his kingdom. God has enabled us to believe. He prepared our hearts. Our hearts are naturally hard, but he broke up our hard hearts and made them soft. And he enabled us to persevere so that our faith did not wither and die even when testing times came along; and our faith was not choked by worries and by wealth. God enabled the seed of his word to sink down deeply into our hearts and to bear fruit in our lives. Our ability to believe and to keep believing and to obey comes from him.

What is the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God? The word ‘secrets’ should really be translated ‘mysteries’. And a mystery in the Bible is not something that is hard to work out. A mystery in the Bible is something that we would never know and can never understand unless God reveals it to us. Think of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the enormous statue made up of different metals which was knocked down by a rock. What did it mean? It was a mystery which no-one knew until God revealed it to Daniel. And none of us would know or believe the mystery of God’s kingdom unless God revealed it to us. And the mystery of God’s kingdom is the fact that the Lord Jesus is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King who has come to save his people.

The miracles he performed and the things he taught made it clear that he’s God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. But many people at the time did not believe it, because they were expecting God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King to do what David had done. Just as David killed the Philistines, who were occupying the Promised Land, and set up his throne in Jerusalem, so they were expecting God’s King to kill the Romans, who were occupying the Promised Land at that time, and to set up his throne in Jerusalem. That’s what they were expecting. And therefore they did not believe in the Lord Jesus.

But God revealed to the disciples that the Lord Jesus is God’s King. And God also revealed to them later that God’s kingdom would come, not all at once, but it would come slowly over time. Yes, Christ the King will come again one day to destroy his enemies once and for all. But that day has not yet come and his kingdom will remain small and hidden until he comes again; and it will be despised and rejected; and his people will be persecuted. So, the mystery of the kingdom is that Christ the King has come. But his kingdom will remain small and hidden and it will grow slowly over time until he comes again at the end of the age. And so, many people, if not most people, will not notice it or enter it, but only those to whom the knowledge of the mystery has been given. We are all sinfully-inclined to repress the truth about God and to push it out of our thoughts until God comes into our lives by his Spirit and enables us to believe.

Verses 16 to 21

In verse 16 the Lord says that no one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light. So, if you ever saw a lamp under a jar or bed, you’d take it out, wouldn’t you? It belongs out in the open. And God’s kingdom is like that lamp. For now, it’s hidden. Not many people see it or know about it or believe in it. But the day will come when God will bring it out into the open and it will become obvious to all that Jesus Christ is God’s King.

The Lord goes on to say in verse 17 that there is nothing hidden which will not be disclosed. And there is nothing that is concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. The day will come when the truth about Christ and his kingdom will be brought out into the open and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.

But that day has not come yet. For now, the kingdom is hidden from view and God only reveals it to some and not to all. Nevertheless whoever has received the knowledge of the mystery now will receive even more when Christ comes again. When Christ comes again they will receive everlasting life and joy and happiness in the presence of their King. But whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. Those who have not received the knowledge of the mystery and who never believed in Christ will be stripped of all that they have and they will be sent away to be punished forever for their sins when Christ the King comes again.

And Luke then tells us in verse 19 that the Lord’s mother and brothers had come to see him. And when someone told the Lord that they were there, he announced to the people around him that his mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice. In other words, he has two families. There’s his biological family: his mother who bore him and his half-brothers and half-sisters who came from Mary and Joseph. They are joined together by biological or natural ties. But then there’s this other family which has been created by the Holy Spirit, who has united men and women and boys and girls to the Saviour though faith. They are the ones who have not only heard God’s word, but they have put it into practice. In other words, like the seed that fell on good soil, they have heard the word and they have retained it; and it has borne fruit in their lives. The knowledge of the mysteries of God’s kingdom has been given to them. And since it has been given to them, then they will live with him forever and forever in God’s everlasting kingdom when Christ the King comes again.

And so, the first half of today’s passage — verses 1 to 21 — is really about faith. God gives his people the faith to believe in Christ. He gives them the knowledge of the mysteries of God’s kingdom and enables them to believe it. He prepares their hearts to receive the good news about Christ and to believe in him. For now, the kingdom of God is hidden from those who do not believe. They do not see it or understand it. They don’t understand why we gather on Sundays in this place. They don’t understand why we want to worship God. The kingdom is hidden from them, because God has not given them the faith to believe.

One day God’s hidden kingdom will be revealed and it will be made known to all. But, for the time being, God only reveals it to some. And he reveals it to them by enabling them to believe in his Son. And so, thanks be to God for his kindness to us, because if it were not for his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, we would never believe; and we’d be lost forever.

Verses 22 to 56

That’s the first part of today’s passage. The second part — verses 22 to 56 — is also about faith: it’s about those who see and believe; and it’s about those who see, but who do not believe.

In verse 22 we have the story of the calming of the storm. One day the Lord and his disciples got into a boat to sail to the other side of the lake. This is the Sea of Galilee and when cold air from the surrounding mountains meets warm air from the surface of the water, the result is often a violent storm. However, all was well when they set off and the Lord even settled down for a snooze. Though he is the Eternal Son of God, he came to earth as one of us. And like one of us, he became tired and needed to rest.

While he was sleeping, a storm began to blow. It was so severe, the boat started to fill with water and the disciples were afraid because they were in great danger. They woke the Lord in their panic, because it seemed to them that they were sure to drown. And the Lord stood up, rebuked the wind and the waves and the storm subsided. All was calm. And in this way, he made clear that he is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, because he was able to conquer the wind and the waves and to save his people from drowning. His disciples were in danger and he preserved their lives.

But then afterwards he said to his disciples:

Where is your faith?

Notice that he did not say: ‘Why didn’t you trust in me?’ He didn’t say: ‘Why don’t you believe?’ He said: ‘Where is your faith?’ Sometimes when Yvonne and I are watching TV, she’ll ask me a question: perhaps about what we’re watching or about something else entirely. And if I don’t know the answer, I might say to her: ‘Where’s your phone?’ And you know why I ask her that, don’t you? I’m saying: ‘Where’s your phone. Get it out and use it. Google the answer. Or look up Wikipedia.’ Or imagine it’s raining heavily and you see your neighbour standing outside her house. You ask her what she’s doing and she tells you that the door is locked and that’s why she’s standing outside in the rain. And so, you say: ‘Where’s your key? Get it out and use it!’ And so, the Lord is saying to his disciples: ‘You have faith. But where is it? You need to get it out and use it. When you’re afraid, get out your faith in me as God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King and use it. Then you won’t be afraid.’

And, of course, they’re amazed at what he can do, because he was able — by the power of the Holy Spirit — to command the winds and waves to obey him.

Verses 26 to 39

Next we have the story of the healing of the demon-possessed man. By now we’re almost used to this kind of story, because this isn’t the first time we’ve read about the Lord healing someone who was demon-possessed. This one is unique perhaps, because when the Lord asked the man his name, he replied that his name is Legion because he was possessed by many demons: an army of demons. And yet that army of demons could not stand up to God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. In fact, they were terrified of him and they begged the Lord not to send them away into the Abyss, which is the place of punishment. And so, the Lord sent them instead into this herd of pigs which ran down a steep bank and into the lake, where they were drowned.

What happens next is significant, because those who were tending the pigs ran off and told the people in the nearby town what had happened. They came out to see for themselves; and they saw the once-possessed man, now sitting peacefully and in his right mind. And those who had seen what the Lord did told them about it. But instead of believing in Christ as God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, they asked him to leave. In the words of Isaiah, though seeing, they did not see; though hearing, they did not understand. They saw, but did not see truly. They heard, but they did not believe. The seed was scattered in their direction, but it did not sink down into their hearts and take root in their lives. Instead of believing, they sent him away.

Verses 40 to 56

By contrast, we have the story of the haemorrhaging woman who came up behind the Lord when he was surrounded by a crowd and she touched him and was immediately healed. And the Lord was aware that power had gone out of him to heal. So, he looked around to find the person who touched him. And the woman came forward and told him why she wanted to touch him and how she had been healed. And he responded to her by saying: ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you.’ God had given her the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. God had revealed to her that the Lord Jesus is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. God had prepared her heart so that the word of God about Jesus Christ could sink down into her heart and take root in her life. And, of course, since she believed God’s word, then the Lord could address her as ‘Daughter’, because she was a member of his faith-based family.

And then there was Jairus, whose daughter was dying. He wanted the Lord to come to his house to heal her. On the way, the news came that the girl had already died. There’s no need to bother the Lord any longer, they said. It’s too late. Hearing this, the Lord said to Jairus: ‘Don’t be afraid. Just believe and she will be healed.’ And sure enough, the Lord went to the house and he brought his dead daughter back to life.

Conclusion

The first part of today’s passage was about how the kingdom is, for now, hidden from view, but God gives his people the knowledge of the mysteries of his kingdom. In other words, he enables them to believe in Christ the King. And in the second part of today’s passage, there were the people who saw that the Lord healed the demon-possessed man, but they did not believe in him. The knowledge of the kingdom had not been given to them. But then there were others who did believe: there were the disciples and the haemorrhaging woman and Jairus. And they believed because God enabled them to believe.

But let’s remember what the Lord said to his disciples. He said: ‘Where is your faith?’ Martin Lloyd-Jones, the famous Welsh preacher who died in 1981, preached on this passage and he made the point that we often assume our faith is automatic. Think of a thermometer. When the heat rises, the reading on the thermometer rises automatically. And when it becomes cooler, the reading on the thermometer drops automatically. It just happens. And we think that our faith will just rise whenever we face some crisis. When some problem arises in our life, we think our faith will automatically kick into action and help us to cope with it. But no. It doesn’t happen automatically. Faith is something we have to do. We have to take it out and we have to use it. We have to apply it to whatever situation we’re facing.

Here’s a storm. What do I need to do? I need to remember and believe that the Lord Jesus is God’s Conquering King; and he’s promised never to leave me, but to be with me always by his Spirit; and he’s able to conquer the wind and the waves and keep me safe; and he’s not only able to do it, but he’s willing to do it. How do I know that he’s willing to help me? Because didn’t he love me and give up his life for me? And since he did that for me, then there’s nothing he won’t do for me now. And knowing all that means that there’s no need to be afraid.

Think of Jairus. He clearly believed in the Lord Jesus, because didn’t he come and ask the Lord to go to his house and heal his daughter who was dying? But when a new crisis faced him — the news that his daughter had died — he needed to take out his faith once again and use it. He needed to remember and believe that the Lord Jesus is able to conquer death. And since the Lord Jesus is able to conquer death, there’s no need to be afraid.

Has God given you the knowledge of the mysteries of his kingdom? In other words, has he given you faith to believe in Christ? Well, you need to remember that your faith doesn’t operate automatically. You need to take it out and use it. When troubles come, when a crisis happens, when you’re perplexed and troubled, take it out and use it. And then you’ll not be afraid of anything, because you’ll know that Christ your King is with you to help you.