Bible Study - 2/10/2008

Luke 4:40-41
Gospel Parallels: Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 1:32-34
Lectionary Location: Not in Revised Common Lectionary.
Biggest Issues: Why does Jesus not heal all who pray for healing today? Do demons exist?

^{Luke 4:40-41} While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. (NASB)

“While the sun was setting.”

Prime Time

• Have you ever had one of “those” days?”
  
• The sun setting continues the setting from the previous stories. Jesus is still in Capernaum on the Sabbath (4:31).
  
• It has been a long day for Jesus. He began by teaching in the synagogue and was interrupted by a demon whom he exorcized. Even eating did not provide a reprieve on this day as he healed Simon’s (Peter’s) mother-in-law of a high fever.
  
• Jesus’ long day does not seem to affect the way that he treats those in need.
  
• How does the way I treat others after a long day reflect upon Jesus?

A New Day

• When have you delayed gratification? Why did you?”
  
• The significance of the sunset for the locals was that it marked a new day. Jesus’ Jewish audience did not believe in healing on the Sabbath so sunset was the earliest they could be healed without compromising their Jewish custom or the healer, namely Jesus.
  
• Do you think Jesus have healed them on the Sabbath?
  
• In our age of instant gratification, it seems foolish to wait on healing. Looking back from a post-Christ world, the ancients seem legalistic to wait for help. Conversely, they took religious statutes seriously enough to delay much needed healing.
  
• They take God very seriously. Their sense of reverence outweighs their sense of urgency.
  
• How much does God factor into my decision making process?

“all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him.”

Helping Hands

• Who first brought you to meet Jesus?”
  
• Luke defines the nondescript “they” of Matthew (8:16) and Mark (1:32).
  
• The implication is that the ailing could not help themselves. How do you envision the ill being escorted?
  
• Luke makes it clear they bring the people, not the diseases to Jesus. This subtle nuance shows Jesus’ perspective on the situation. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Jesus was more concerned with the person than their ailment.
  
• Why do you think they bring their friends to Jesus? He has done something amazing earlier in the day. It is worth a risk. There may be some impurity in motives. Mark has many there. It is a spectacle (1:32). Capernaum will later be condemned for its unbelief. (Matthew 11:23) In any event, it appears that miracles do not always produce faith.
  
• The Graham Crusade’s Operation Andrew (www.operationandrew.org) is one organization that is seeking to do bring others to Jesus through individual believers.
  
• We would not fail to help someone with a physical illness, but we are more apt to delay a spiritual one. The need seems somehow less urgent. It is not.
  
• Who could I bring to meet Jesus that needs him?

“Any who were sick”

Favoritism

• How do I view the ill?”
  
• As a physician, Jesus is not a specialist but a general practitioner.
  
• Jesus is indiscriminate based upon the nature or severity of illness.
  
• Example: Though I have worked with AIDS patients in organizations in Atlanta and Knoxville, deep down I feel more sympathy for cancer patients. Though never deserved, AIDS is obtained through an act of will while cancer has seemingly no cause.
  
• Do I look at others as though God loves them as much as me?

“Laying His hands...”

Hands On

• Has a busy person ever gone out of her way to make you feel special?
  
• Luke is the only gospel in which the laying of hands is mentioned. In Matthew, Jesus’ healing is attributed to speaking. This is not contradictory, as Luke merely mentions the hands. The conjunction “and” separates the act from the healing itself.
  
• This represents Jesus’ bedside manner. Jesus adds a personal touch. His patients are not merely numbers. This is perhaps one of the best ways Jesus can show concern. Augustine (354-430) wrote, “God loves each os us as if there were only one of us.”
  
• Studies have shown the medical benefits of appropriate touching.
  
• Perhaps the touching and the speaking are indicative of the physical and spiritual dimensions of what is occurring.
  
• How do I try to make others feel significant?

“He was healing them.”

Healing Touch

• How have I experienced the healing touch of Jesus?
  
• The Greek verb for heal, therapeuo is the word from which we get “therapy.”
  
• Why does Jesus not heal all today? Does Jesus still heal?
  
• Jesus responds to what is in the best interest of the kingdom of God. It was always in the best interest for those in contact with the physical Jesus to be healed. Today, the kingdom of God may be benefitted as much by a valiant death as a miraculous healing.
  
• The absence of healing does not indicate the absence of faith!

Demons

• Exorcism has been in the news this week, as a woman died in the process of an exorcism in Odessa, TX last week.
  
• Do I believe in the existence of demons? Why?
  
• In Luke the demons are secondary to the illnesses as they appear later in the text. They also appear to be working in conjunction with illnesses as opposed to representing a separate entity.
  
• Many modern interpreters have suggested New Testament references demons (daimonion) correlate to modern mental illnesses.
  
• This interpretation would explain why the demonic is uncommon today and mental illness was uncommon in antiquity.
  
• Why is there a reluctance to acknowledge the demonic?
  
• Demons were only widely acknowledged in a relatively small window in history. They are not featured in the Old Testament.
  
• Many do not acknowledge demons and those who do are often reluctant to admit it. The scientific age, where Occam’s Razor rules, has mental illness as the far easier explanation.
  
• The gospel writers differentiate between illnesses and demons.
  
• The seeming abundance of Jesus in first century Palestine is logical if a demon’s natural enemy is the Christ. They would gravitate towards him to eliminate him.
  
• The mental illness assertion draws suspicion on Jesus’ mentality.
  
• What are the similarities/differences between demons and illnesses? A demon is personified and hence personal. An illness is impersonal. The devil could use either.
  
• If one acknowledges the existence of the demonic, one must decide how must of an influence demons have.
  
• In my opinion, demonic language applies to today.
  
• What can we learn of demons from this text?
  
• They are against God.
  
• Demons are parasites who cannot survive without a host. The movie Fallen, a 1998 Denzel Washington film, depicts the parasitic nature of demons.
  
• Demons affect both the physical and spiritual.
  
• Demons inhabit. They do not possess.
  
• Demons know who God is, perhaps better than believers, yet do not acknowledge him as Lord.
  
• They recognize Jesus’ authority.
  
• Their testimony is unwanted by Jesus.
  
• A demon’s influence is limited to time and space. God’s blessing is not.

“coming out of many, shouting”

Good Riddance

• When have I had difficulty ridding myself of something that was not good for me?
  
• There is “shouting” (kraugazo) involved in the exorcism. This separation, like separation from modern parasites, seems to have involved some pain.
  
• Presumably, the demon uses the voice of the host.
  
• Jesus casts out the demons, but does not terminate them.
  
• Why do you think Jesus does not kill the demon?

“You are the Son of God!”

Profession of Faith

• When did I publicly profess Christ for the first time?
  
• The first profession of faith in Capernaum comes from demons.
  
• The demons do not disparage Jesus, but rather endorse him. Assuming they are his adversary, why is this their strategy?
  
• They attempt to discredit Jesus using their own bad reputation.
  
• The Son of God is equated with Christ in verse 41. These two appellations were not synonymous at the time.

“Rebuking them, rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak because they knew Him to be the Christ.”

Getting the Last Word

• When have I been told to shut up!?
  
• Jesus gets the last word in this confrontation, essentially instructing the demons to “Shut up!”
  
• This is the third time Jesus rebukes (epitimao) something in Capernaum. This is how he handles the demon in the synagogue (4:35), Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever (4:39), and now the contingency of demons he casts out (4:41).The word is used more in Luke (12) than any other gospel.
  
• Jesus did not silence them due to the untruths, but rather truths.
  
• Jesus wishes his followers to come to this decision on their own.
  
• They evidently acknowledge his authority and consent to silence.
  
• How is Jesus’ authority demonstrated in my life?