Luke 9:28

Luke 9:28 says, And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.  Jesus took three of His disciples,  Peter, John and James up a mountain to pray.  This was about eight days after Jesus had been teaching the people the parables.  We are not told what Jesus was doing during that time, but I believe that we can be certain that He wasn't just sitting and waiting.  People may not know what we are doing for God all the time, but we don't need to be just sitting and waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.  As Jesus prayed, His countenance, or appearanc, changed.   His clothes began to glow.  I don't believe we will ever be that much in touch with God, but we should be spiritually glowing when we pray, because when we sincerely pray, we are as close to God as we can get in this lifetime.  Verse thirty declares, And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:  While Jesus was praying, two men appeared with Him, Moses and Elijah.  I do not profess to know how this was possible, except that Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth.  I believe that from the way Jesus looked that He was more in the heavenly realm than that Moses and Elijah were in the earthly realm.  Verse thirty-one adds, Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.  Jesus was discussing with them His coming death and resurrection.  They were great prophets, but Jesus was so much more.  Jesus alone is the One Who is capable of bringing salvation.  Verse thirty-two adds, But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.  Peter, James and John had been very sleepy and fell asleep when Jesus took them with Him to pray.  We need to be careful that we are not spiritually asleep when we are called to do something for God, even the simplest of things like pray.  They woke up to a glorious sight, and so might we if we stay spiritually alert.  Verse thirty-three continues, And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.  As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter asked if it wouldn't be good for them to build three tabernacles for Jesus and them.  We are told that Peter did not know what he was asking.  We cannot nor should not want to have those who are in heaven to return and stay here on earth, nor could Jesus stay then.  Verse thirty-four states, While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.  While Jesus was speaking, the disciples and He were covered by a cloud.  The cloud had indicated God's presence and the three disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud.  As followers of Christ, we have no reason to be afraid of being in the presence of God.  Verse thirty-five adds, And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.  Once again, God declared Jesus be His beloved Son.  One day, when Christ returns God will pronounce all who believe in Jesus Christ to be His beloved children.  Verse thirty-six continues, And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.  When the cloud passed, Jesus was alone with the three disciples.  It was not yet time for Him to return to Heaven.  Peter, James and John told no one what had happened until after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.   We on the other hand, being on the other side of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection should tell everyone of any and all miraculous things we may see as followersofChrist. . 

Luke 9:18

Luke 9:18 says, And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?  When Jesus was alone with His disciples praying, He asked them Who did people say He was.  This is the question that every person ultimately needs to answer.  Verse nineteen adds, They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.  The disciples said that different people said different things.  Some said He was John the Baptist, some said Elijah, and others said one of the old prophets risen from the dead.  People may think that Jesus is just the same as some other long dead prophet, but until they see Him for Who He really is, the only begotten Son of God Who died to save mankind from the penalty of sin, it will do them no good to acknowledge that He existed in history.  Verse twenty states, He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.  Jesus then made it a personal question for the disciples, and at some point it will become a personal question that every individual will have to answer.  Peter answered and said that Jesus was the Christ of God, or the promised Messiah.  This is the only answer that will ever do us any good.  Verse twenty-one adds, And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;  At this time, Jesus told the disciples to not tell anyone this, but today we have His command to tell everyone.  Verse twenty-two  continues, Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.  Jesus then told them what He must suffer.  I am sure this is not what the disciples expected to hear.  They had left everything to follow Jesus, most likely expecting to reign with Him in power, and He was telling them that He was going to be persecuted, rejected by the religious leaders, be killed and raised the third day.  We cannot follow Jesus because we expect worldly riches and success, but as Christians must daily take up our cross and follow Him.  Verse twenty-three declares, And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  As just stated, if we are to follow Jesus, we must deny ourself and daily take up our cross, or die to ourself.  Verse twenty-four adds, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.  Jesus said that if we value our physical life more than our relationship with Him, we will ultimately lose our everlasting life with Him.  On the other hand, if we value our relationship with Jesus more then even our physical life, then we will save our everlasting life by our faith in Him.  Verse twenty-five asks, For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?  Jesus asked the disciples what they would gain if everything in the world in the world belonged to them, but they lost their relationship with God and were cast away.  We must individually answer this question today.  Verse twenty-six adds, For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.  Jesus said if we are ashamed of Him in this life that He will be ashamed of us when He returns in glory.  We need to live everyday for God's glory as followers of Christ and proclaim our faith to the world.   Verse twenty-seven continues, But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.  The disciple did not yet truly know Who Jesus was, but He said they would not face death until they did.  As long as we are alive, we have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and we must do so before we die.

Luke 9:10

Luke 9:10 says, And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  The disciples, when the returned, told Jesus all that they had done.  Then, He took them and went alone to a desert place near the city of Bethsaida.  We need our time alone with God, where we can discuss with Him through prayer what He wants us to do and how successful we have been in doing what He has called us to do.  Verse eleven adds, And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.  Once again, the people came to Jesus when they knew where He was.  Jesus did not tell them He had other plans so away, but began to heal them and teach them.  As I have stated several times, it would be wonderful if people were so anxious to come to Jesus today, but if they do, would we change our plans to help tham?  Verse twelve states, And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.  As it began to get late in the day, the disciples came to Jesus and told Him to send the crowds away.  They were in the desert, and the disciples said Jesus needed to send them away so that they could find food and a place to spend the night.  They were more concerned about physical things than spiritual ones, and we may at times allow physical concerns to be more important than spiritual ones as well.  Verse thirteen adds, But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.  Jesus told the disciples to feed the people, which is His command to us to do spiritually, and sometimes physically, today as well.  The disciples said they only had five loaves of bread and two fish.  They were looking at what they had and not what Jesus could do, and we do not need to do that as followers of Christ today.  They also asked if Jesus expected them to go and buy food for all the people.  They were looking to their own ability and basically asking what would it cost them to feed the crowd. They needed to look to Jesus instead, and so must we.  Verse fourteen says, For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.  There were about five thousand men there, so the overall number was even greater.  Jesus told the disciples to have them sit down in groups of fifty.  The people had to obey the disciples who were acting under the authority of Jesus in order to be fed.  If we want to be spiritually fed today, we must listen to the Holy Spirit and also to those who are teaching and preaching under God's authority.  Verse fifteen adds, And they did so, and made them all sit down.  The disciples did as Jesus told them to do, but I believe that they may have still been been looking at the five loaves and two fish and wondering what the point was.  We need to focus on what God calls us to do instead of looking at the physical or material reasons why it cannot be done.  Verse sixteen declares, Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.  Jesus took the food, which had not changed in its amount, looked up to heaven and blseed it.  If we are in a seemingly impossible situation when doing what God has called us to do, we don't need to look at our limitations, but need to look up to God instead.  Verse seventeen adds, And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.  The crowd ate, and there were twelve baskets full of leftover food, one for each of the disciples.  No one received any more or any less because of who the disciple was who passed it out.  We are not going to be more spiritually fed or less spiritually fed because of who is preaching or teaching today.  Jesus is still the One Who feeds us spiritually as Christians. 

Luke 9:1

Luke 9:1 says, Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.  Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave the power and authority over all devils, not just a few or the small ones.  He gives us the same authority today under the power of the Holy Spirit.  He also gave them the power to cure diseases, but it doesn't say all diseases.  Through prayer with faith in God, we may have Him heal people who are suffering from diseases today, if it is His will that they be healed.  Just as the disciples were given the ability to do these things by the power and under God's guidance, so are we.  Verse two adds, And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.  Jesus sent the disciples to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  As followers of Christ today, we are to share the gospel and help those who are spiritually sick be healed if they accept the gospel.  Verse three states, And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.  Jesus told them not to take anything with them that they might need, but to go by faith.  Matthew Henry says that they were not to go too far away from Jesus when they went, and spiritually we are never to go too far from Jesus when we go to witness, and since rhe Holy Spirit lives within us, as long as we are obedient to Him, we will never be too far away.  Verse four adds, And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.  Jesus told them to stay in whatever house they were invited to stay in until the departed that area.  Jesus did not say find the best house and demand to be lodged there.  Sometimes today, when people say they are going to preach the gospel, they seem to believe that only the best will do for them, and want to ensure that they have it before they leave.  Verse five continues, And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.  Jesus said that if people wouldn't receive the disciples, they were not to attempt to force them to, but were to shake the dust off their feet when they left as a testimony against them. We cannot force people to listen to the gospel today, and that is not our responsibility.  We are simply to share the gospel.  Verse six concludes, And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.  The disciples left, doing what Jesus had told them to do.  As followers of Christ today, we must go where God sends us and do what He calls us to do.  Verse seven says, Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;  Herod was perplexed by what Jesus was doing, because some people said He was John the Baptist come back from the dead.  Since Herod had John the Baptist beheaded, it is easy to understand His being perplexed by this thought.  People today too often fail to believe Who Jesus really is.  Verse eight adds, And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.  Others claimed that Jesus was Elijah or one of the prophets who had risen again.  They were not accepting Jesus for Who He really is.  We must acknowledge Jesus by faith as the only begotten Son of God Who died for our sins in order for us to be saved.  Verse nine continues, And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.  Herod said that since he had John the Baptist beheaded, he wondered Who Jesus was and desired to meet Him.  This was more from curiosity than from believing in Jesus.  Some people today are curious enough to want to know a little bit more about Jesus, but they, like Herod,  never come to Him by faith accepting Him for Who He really is, and that will never bring them salvation. 

Luke 8:49

Luke 8:49 says, While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.  While Jesus was speaking to the woman, someone came from the leader of the synagogue’s house that Jesus was on His way to so that He could heal the man's daughter and told the synagogue leader that his daughter was dead.  It would have seemed that Jesus was too late.  Sometimes, when we are asking God for something, it may seem that He is too late to help us, but we must remember that as followers of Christ everlasting victory is already ours.  Verse fifty adds, But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.  Jesus told the synagogue leader to not be afraid, but to only believe in Him, and his daughter would be made whole.  Basically, the man could choose to believe what the messenger said was the facts based on physical evidence, or he could believe Jesus by faith.   We today can either believe whet material facts seem to prove, or we can put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and be made spiritually whole.  Verse fifty-one states, And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.  When Jesus got to the house, Peter, James, John, and the girl's parents got to go in with Him.  As followers of Christ, we are not all called into the same situation.  The other disciples might have wondered why they were excluded, but if they were truly following Christ, they should not have.  Verse fifty-two adds, And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.  Everyone was weeping and wailing, because they believed the girl to be dead.  We may look and a situation today and weep and wail because we are looking at what we see to be the facts and not to God by faith.  Jesus told them not to weep, because the girl was only asleep.  As yet, there was no proof of this fact.  We have to put our faith in God no matter what the physical evidence may seem to say is the truth.  Verse fifty-three says, And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.  This crowd either overheard Jesus and laughed at Him with scorn because they thought they knew more than He did, or He spoke out to them from the house.  The other possibility is that the three disciples and the parents were acting this way, and the next verse seems to bear this out.  We may be close to Jesus and at times still allow what we see to be the facts keep us from putting our faith in Him.  Verse fifty-four adds, And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.  Jesus put the ones He had called in to the house with Him outside once more, then He took the girl by the hand and told her to arise.  We may miss out on seeing a miracle if we fail to follow Jesus by faith no matter what the situation may seem to tell us iscthe truth.  Verse fifty-five states, And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.  The girls spirit returned to her, because when she died it departed, and she arose.  We may not witness a physical resurrection of any from the dead, but when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, an even greater resurrection occurs, and that is a special resurrection whereby we are made well with God.  We need to arise when this happens and start feasting on His word.  Verse fifty-six adds, And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.  The parents of the girl were astonished, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone.  We today should be astonished when we are resurrected spiritually, but unlike the girl's parents then, we are told to tell everyone when we accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  A physical healing here, even a restoration to this physical life, is always temporary, but salvation lasts forever. 

Luke 8:40

Luke 8:40 says, And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.  When Jesus returned Galilee, the people were waiting for Him and gladly received Him.  Today we need to gladly receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but too many people still drive Him away.  Verse forty-one adds,  And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:   One man in particular, Jarius, a leader of the synagogue, came and fell at the feet of Jesus.  He may have been a powerful religious leader, but he was willing to humble himself before Jesus.  No matter how powerful we may be in the world, or even in the church, we must always humble ourselves before Christ.  Verse forty-two continues, For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.  Jarius's only daughter who was about twelve years old was dying, and he could not save her, but believed that Jesus could.  Though they may be okay physically, until our children accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they are dying spiritually, and we cannot save them.  That is why it is so important that we come to Jesus in prayer and ask that He be able to reach them with His spiritual healing power, or salvation.  The key is, that like Jarius then, we cannot save them ourself, but must put them in the hands of Jesus.  Verse forty-three states, And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,  The people had crowded around Jesus as Jarius was there seeking His help, and in the crowd was a woman with an issue of blood that the physicians had been unable heal, even though she spent all her money on them.  Some physical problems today cannot be healed by doctors, no matter how much money we spend on them.  Jesus can always heal us physically, though He doesn't always choose to do so, but He can always heal us spiritually if we allow Him to, and that is what really matters.  Verse forty-four adds, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.  The women came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His garment, and was immediately healed.  It was not the physical act of the woman touching the garment, but her faith in Jesus's ability that made her whole.  We cannot touch Jesus physically today, and even if it could be proven beyond a doubt that a garment belonged to Jesus, it would have no healing power.  We can be saved, spiritually healed, by faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Verse forty-five declares, And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?  Jesus asked who touched Him, and Peter asked how would He know when their was such a crowd around Him.  Even in the largest crowd, Jesus knows when any individual comes to Him for salvation.  Verse forty-six adds, And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.  Jesus always knows when we reach out to Him spiritually, and when we reach out to Him spiritually His healing power will always flow out to us.  Verse forty-seven says, And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.  The woman, when she knew that she couldn't hide from Jesus, told the crowd that she was the one who had touched Him, and why.  We should never attempt to hide our relationship with Jesus, but should always be willing to tell the world what He has done for us.  Verse forty-eight adds, And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.  Jesus told the woman to go in peace, because her faith had healed her.  When we come to Jesus by faith, we can go in peace because we have been spiritually healed.  

 

Luke 8;26

Luke 8:26 says, And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.  When Jesus and the disciples got to the land of the Gadarenes, they got off the boat and were met by a demon possessed man.  The man had been demon possessed a long time, was naked, and lived in the tombs.  There are people in the world today who are almost as bad, even if sometimes their demon is drugs.  Verse twenty-eight continues, When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.  Even in his demon possessed state, the man, recognized Who Jesus was, the Son of God, though it was probably the demon himself who recognized Jesus, and asked what Jesus had to do with Him.  When we recognize Who Jesus is today, we may question what He would have to do with a sinner such as we are.  The man asked Jesus not to torment him, and as sinners who come to Jesus, we may feel that He deserve His torment, but if we truly come by faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, we know He is only here to forgive us and restore us to spiritual wholeness.  Verse twenty-nine states, (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)  This tells us that Jesus had commanded the demon, which had controlled the man many years and made the man uncontrollable by anyone else, to come out of the man.  We may not be as bad as the man, but until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are following the devil.  Verse thirty adds, And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.  Jesus asked the demon his name, and he said Legion, because many devils were in the man.  Some people today have many demons they fight against, or sometimes just give in to, but Jesus is able to cast them all out if we only allow Him to by accepting Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-one continues, And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.  These devils knew Jesus was more powerful than they were and begged Him not to throw them into the deep.  All they had the power to do then is all they have the power to do today when confronting Jesus, and that is to beg.  Verse thirty-two says, And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.  The demons saw a herd of many swine nearby and asked Jesus to allow them to enter the swine.  Though Jesus could easily destroy all the demons, until He returns in the final judgment, they will still be allowed to exist, which is why we must continually put our faith in Him.  Jesus allowed them to do as they requested.  Verse thirty-three adds, Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.  The demons left the man, went into the swine, who ran violently down the steep place, and drowned in the sea.  The demons escape from death was short lived, and no matter how long they may be allowed to roam free in the world, all demons will one day face everlasting punishment.  Verse thirty-four states, When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.  Those in charge of the swine fled into the city and the country and told what had happened.  It doesn't say whether their emphasis was on the healing power of Jesus and the restoration of the man to wholeness or on the destruction of the swine.  Some people today who see a miraculous work of Jesus saving someone from their sins are only going to focus on what it may cost them materially.  Verse thirty-five continues, Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.  The people came to see what was happening  and found the man who had been uncontrollable clothed and sitting at Jesus's feet.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we should be found at His feet spiritually, learning daily from Him.  Those who had witnessed what had happened told those who came to see what had happened.  The people who cam were afraid, but we don't need to be afraid when we come to Jesus.  Verse thirty-six says, They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.  The witnesses also told the others the method by which the man was healed.   We need to tell others that we come into contact with the way that we were healed as followers of Christ, and that is by putting our faith in Jesus alone.  Verse thirty-seven adds, Then the whole multitude of the cousntry of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.  Instead of accepting Jesus by faith, they asked Him to leave out of fear, and He got into the ship and left.  We should never let our fear of what it may cost us to keep us from inviting Jesus into our heart as our Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-eight continues, Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,  The man who had the devils cast out wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him away.  This does not mean that Jesus rejected the man, but that the man had another purpose.  We today must seek God's purpose for us as Christians and realize that it may not always be what we may think it would be.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.  Just as Jesus sent this man to his own house to tell the people there what great things Jesus had done for him, so should we begin where we are to tell people the great things that Jesus has done for us when we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  The man did as Jesus asked, and so must we as Christians today.