What does Luke Chapter 8 mean?
Throughout his account of Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Luke 4:14—9:50), Luke has alternated stories which reveal Jesus’ character and expectations for His followers with calls for His hearers to follow Him. Luke 8 is no exception. Luke 7:1—8:3 describes Jesus’ blessings toward those faithful who fell outside Jewish bounds of respectability. Luke 8:4–18 describes some of the mechanics of the call to follow Him. Luke 8:19—9:17 gives stories about the faith people show after engaging with Him in different ways.
Luke 8:1–3 describes women who financially support Jesus and His disciples. This serves as a transition section between chapters 7 and 8. Like the other characters of chapter 7, the women are not part of typical ancient Jewish circles of influence or power. Like the centurion who built the synagogue (Luke 7:1–10) and the sinful woman who poured perfume on Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:36–38), they use their resources to glorify God.
Luke 8:4–15, the “parable of the sower,” provides a basic outline describing different reactions to the gospel message. Those who hear will respond depending on their receptivity and their attachment to the world. The parable of the sower is also found in Matthew 13:1–23 and Mark 4:1–20. Luke uses it in a different way. Where Matthew and Mark place it in a group of parables about God’s kingdom, Luke uses it more directly as a call to believe for salvation. Luke then records several miracles and interactions demonstrating different reactions to Jesus’ message: people as the different “soils” that receive the seed of the gospel confirmed by miracles.
In Luke 8:16–18, Jesus tells the “parable of the lamp under the jar.” Like a light on a stand is meant to be seen, so Jesus shares the gospel for people to hear and accept. Mark 4:21–25 also records the parable of the lamp. Matthew includes a similar parable exhorting Jesus-followers to spread the gospel, not merely to accept it (Matthew 5:14–16).
Luke 8:19–21 presents the first example of how people respond to the gospel. Jesus’ mother and brothers want to see Him. They stand “outside” as a metaphor for rejection of His gospel. Those who are “inside” hear His message and accept it. Jesus’ followers are His true family. Of course, according to the Bible, His mother and brothers eventually accept Him as their Savior. Jesus’ initial rejection by family is also recorded in Matthew 12:46–50 and Mark 3:31–35.
In Luke 8:22–25, the theme continues. The disciples have heard Jesus’ message; now they witness His power over the uncontrollable power and chaos of the stormy sea. The seed of worldly physical salvation falls on “soil” choked with the “thorns” of a sea that is trying to kill them. When Jesus calms the storm, the disciples must decide what it means and who Jesus is. Jesus’ power over the storm and the disciples’ confusion are also found in Matthew 8:18, 23–27 and Mark 4:35–41.
Luke 8:26–39 gives the well-known account of the man possessed by a legion of demons. By expelling the demons, Jesus provides worldly spiritual salvation. The fertile soil of the man accepts it gladly. The townspeople, choked by thorns, are too afraid. Matthew 8:28–34 and Mark 5:1–20 also record Jesus’ exorcism of Legion.
The chapter ends with the healing of Jairus’s daughter and the woman with an issue of blood (Luke 8:40–56), another nested story like that of the Pharisee and the sinful woman (Luke 7:36–50). In addition to providing a woman salvation from illness, Jesus also saves a girl from death. Jesus praises the woman with an issue of blood for her faith. The response to the girl’s resurrection is open-ended. How do the disciples, the townspeople, and the family react to the girl’s resurrection? Luke leaves the question for us to answer for ourselves. Jairus, his daughter, and the woman are also mentioned in Matthew 9:18–26 and Mark 5:21–43.
Luke 9:1–17 continues the stories of Jesus’ power with an added aside to mention Herod Antipas’ confusion as to whether Jesus is John the Baptist. In the last section of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, Jesus calls His disciples to greater faith (Luke 9:18–50). Then He moves on toward Jerusalem.
Chapter Context
This passage continues Luke’s pattern in the account of Jesus’ Galilean ministry: alternating calls to discipleship with stories that describe the discipleship He expects. In Luke 6:17, Jesus transitioned from calling and training the Twelve to a more general call; in Luke 7, Jesus interacted specifically with those with less privilege in society. Chapter 8 reveals how people react when Jesus reveals who He is, mostly through miracles. In Luke 9:18–50, Jesus returns to intense discipleship of the Twelve to give them courage and faith, preparing them for the journey to Jerusalem and what they will witness there.
Verse by Verse
Verse 1. Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,
Some scholars believe Jesus spent much of the previous chapter in a town called Nain in the south of the district of Galilee. If this is the case, He again picks up the itinerate lifestyle He promised the disciples (Luke 4:43) before making His way towards Jerusalem and the cross. As He travels, He continues to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is near, proving His words by healing and expelling demons.
The “kingdom of God,” also called the “kingdom of heaven,” is an important concept that can be hard to define because of its many facets. God’s kingdom includes any manifestation of His sovereignty, power, and authority over creation. When His kingdom is “near,” His authority is especially noticeable. In this context, that means that people listen to and accept what Jesus says about God, Himself, repentance, and the right way of living in light of God’s authority. Jesus also brings the kingdom when He rescues people from the fallenness of injury, illness, and demonic activity. With Jesus’ first coming, He inaugurated God’s kingdom on earth; when He comes again, He will complete God’s kingdom.
Jesus is not a conventional rabbi, and He attracts unconventional disciples. The Twelve include fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot, and a traitor (Luke 6:12–16). This is not a very distinguished list, but Jesus keeps them close as He trains them to extend His message of good news (Luke 9:1–6) and sacrifice for Him (Luke 9:23–27, 57–62), and to go on to build the church (Acts 1—2). Even more surprising, however, are the women who support Jesus’ ministry out of their own means (Luke 8:2–3).
Context Summary
Luke 8:1–3 completes the prior chapter’s stories about those lacking advantaged positions in society who have faith in Jesus and welcome His blessings. Women in the ancient world did not have the respect of their culture. Even so, several use their financial resources to fund Jesus’ ministry. They are like the sower who plants seeds in fertile ground and the lamp that shines from a stand (Luke 8:4–18). The synopsis of Jesus’ travels is also recorded in Matthew 9:35, but the introduction of Jesus’ supporters is unique to Luke.
Verse 2. and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
In the past couple chapters, Luke has mentioned the crowds that flock around Jesus (Luke 6:17; 7:11). Here, he focuses on a smaller group: the women who financially support Jesus’ ministry.
Josephus records the account of Herod the Great’s youngest brother’s wife along with other women who followed and financially supported anti-Herodian Pharisees. Luke, Mark, and Matthew mention Jesus criticizing the way Pharisees win financial support from women, saying they steal the homes of widows (Luke 20:47; Mark 12:40; Matthew 23:14). So, powerful and rich women supporting teachers is not a new phenomenon, but these appear to be the first to travel with their rabbi.
Although this is the first mention of these women, it is not the last. Mary Magdalene witnesses Jesus’ death on the cross (Matthew 27:55–56). She also saw Jesus’ dead body placed in the tomb (Matthew 27:57–61). Mary Magdalene and Joanna are among the small group that witnesses the empty tomb (Luke 24:1–10). And Mary is the first to see the risen Jesus and attest to His resurrection (John 20:11–18). In his confession of faith, Paul lists four key events: Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and appearance (1 Corinthians 15:3–5). Mary Magdalene is the only named person recorded to have witnessed all four.
Magdalene is believed to reference the town of Magdal Nunaja—”Fishtower”—or Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mark 16:9 also mentions Mary’s previous possession, but it’s important to note that nothing in Scripture ties Mary to the sinful woman of Luke 7:37–38 except proximity in the text.
Verse 3. and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod ‘s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
Luke finishes his transition with the naming of two other women who support Jesus’ ministry. He has mentioned that the women “had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities” (Luke 8:2), but aside from mentioning Mary Magdalene’s former demonization, he does not specify which women Jesus healed from which infirmities. While Luke names three women specifically, he also notes that there were “many others.”
Joanna is also mentioned with Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb and as one of several who told the Twelve that Jesus had risen (Luke 24:10). Her position in society is less clear.
Chuza’s role as “household manager” –”steward” in NASB—is unclear. The Greek root word is from “permission” or “commission.” So, Chuza had some authority over Herod Antipas’s court. Scholars posit he was the steward over Herod’s household.1
Chuza may have been Antipas’s steward, but Antipas ruled over two territories: Galilee and Perea, across the Jordan River from Judea. Did Joanna travel with Jesus without her husband? Did she use her husband’s money to support Jesus, or was she independently wealthy? Did Chuza know? Did Antipas know his steward’s wife was a follower of Jesus? The fact that Luke doesn’t include this information reveals that it is not important to the story.
Even less is known about Susanna, and she is not mentioned, at least by name, outside of this verse. She is not related to the apocryphal book Susanna, since that was written about a woman in the time of Daniel. That Joanna is identified by her husband, whereas Mary and Susanna are not, suggests the latter two are either unmarried or their husbands are not well known in the church.
Josephus’s writings reveal it is not unusual for rich and powerful women to financially support Jewish teachers.2 However, it is unusual for those women to come along with their itinerant teacher.3
The Gospels and Acts mention several faithful women. Luke has already noted Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–45), Mary (Luke 1:26–38), Anna (Luke 2:36–38), and the sinful woman (Luke 7:37–50).4 Soon, he will include the woman with an issue of blood (Luke 8:43–48), and, in Acts, many of these same women (Acts 1:14), Tabitha (Acts 9:36–42), Mark’s mother Mary (Acts 12:12), Lydia (Acts 16:11–15), Priscilla (Acts 18:24–26), and Philip’s daughters (Acts 21:8–9).
“Provided” uses the same Greek root as “serve [tables]” in Acts 6:2 when the early church chose the first deacons. That doesn’t mean the women are officially church deacons. Early manuscripts are divided as to whether the text says the women provide for Him or them. Matthew 27:55 and Mark 15:41 say the women minister to and follow Him. Whatever the language used, it appears Jesus and the disciples shared one money bag (John 12:6), so the funds went to all of them even if they were given in appreciation of just Jesus.
A centurion mentioned earlier respected the Jewish religion and culture and responded financially, building the people of Capernaum a synagogue (Luke 7:4–5). In a similar way, these women who received direct blessings from Jesus respond by supporting Him financially (Luke 8:1–3). The pericope after these women is the parable of the sower. Both the centurion and the women sow their money where it will produce the most fruit. In a world where we can purchase every luxury and convenience, that’s something for us to consider.
Verse 4. And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,
This famous parable is known by several names, including “the parable of the sower,” “the parable of the seeds,” and “the parable of the soils.” Matthew and Mark also record it. The premise is simple: a farmer spreads seeds that land on the hard path, rocky soil, soil covered in weeds, and good soil. The resulting crop depends on what kind of soil the seeds land on.
All three synoptic Gospel writers record the parable but in different contexts. Mark places the parable at the beginning of a series of others that illustrate how the kingdom of God will grow through God’s power (Mark 4:1–34). Matthew uses it to introduce parables that show while God’s kingdom grows (Matthew 13:31–33, 44–46) citizens and unbelievers will be intermixed (Matthew 13:18–30, 36–43, 47–50).
Luke takes a different approach. He uses the parable to introduce the responsibility of people to listen to the message: to be the good soil. We can’t just hear the gospel; we must respond to it by believing. After a metaphor about how light is meant to be seen and the message is meant to be heard (Luke 8:16–18), Luke presents several examples of faith and salvation in real world situations. Jesus provides salvation from worldly hardships for the purpose of revealing who He is (John 10:37–38). The people around Him must “hear” what His miracles are saying and have faith in Him.
Jesus explains that the “sower” is Himself and the “seed” is His teachings about the kingdom of God (Luke 8:11). The soils show how people respond to His teaching. Although His teaching is about how to become saved, it’s important to understand that Jesus does not mean the parable as a technical treatise on the mechanics of salvation. We should not use the different soils to categorically define situations in which people are condemned.
There is no indication of when this parable was taught other than, presumably, before Jesus began His journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). It’s probably in Galilee, as both Matthew and Mark place it near the sea (Matthew 13:1; Mark 4:1), probably in Capernaum. Matthew mentions that Jesus “went out of the house” which could mean Andrew and Peter’s house (Matthew 13:1). Matthew also places this on the same day that Jesus’ mother and brothers come for Him (Matthew 12:46—13:1; Luke 8:19–21), and Mark says it is the same day Jesus calms the storm (Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25).
Context Summary
Luke 8:4–15 introduces the different ways in which people respond to the gospel. The sower—Jesus—spreads the “seed” of the gospel, and people accept or reject the message in varying degrees. Following are real-life examples of faith, particularly in conjunction with examples of miraculous salvation from the evils of the world. The parable of the sower is also found in Matthew 13:1–23 and Mark 4:1–20.
Verse 5. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Jesus begins His parable. A “sower” is a farmer who spreads seed on the ground. At harvest every year, farmers would hold back grain or seeds from their crops and use it for the next year’s crops. In Israel, people often lived in small towns surrounded by farmland. Families would have individual fields right next to other family fields.
The “path” may be trails that run between the fields. The ground would be quite hard from generations of sowers, harvesters, and travelers who want a shortcut around the fields. Birds aren’t specifically bad in Scripture, but they are often portrayed as scavengers who clear away things that are left out—particularly bodies (Deuteronomy 28:26; Revelation 19:17–21).
Neither Matthew nor Mark mention that the seed is trampled. It’s not clear why the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to include the detail, especially since it’s not repeated in Jesus’ explanation (Luke 8:9–15). Perhaps Theophilus faced opposition to his faith. Jesus does say that the birds represent Satan who comes upon people who have heard the word of God and “takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12).
Luke’s emphasis of Jesus’ parable is to listen well. First, the hardened path, trampled by passers-by, is like people who have allowed the world to harden their hearts so that God’s Word can’t even break the surface. Second, it is extremely difficult to listen to God’s Word well when we allow the enemy priority in our lives. Satan has been an expert at twisting and removing God’s Word from hearts since the garden of Eden. If we want to understand what God is saying to us, we need to listen to Him, through His Word and legitimate teachers. Angry atheists and social media skeptics more interested in clicks and ad revenue than broken hearts are the modern-day birds who swoop in with foolish misinterpretations of Scripture and snatch God’s Word away before it reaches our hearts. We all—believers and unbelievers—are responsible for what fills our minds. We all need to listen well.
Verse 6. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
This continues Jesus’ parable of the sower. In His first example, seeds fall on the hard path where people crush them with their feet and birds take them away. In this second example, the seeds land on rocky soil. Modern readers tend to picture this soil as good dirt with a lot of rocks sticking out of the surface. That’s not what is described, here. Jesus is implying a base of stone with a thin layer of dirt on top. Unless the dirt has been prepared in advance, the person casting seeds won’t realize it’s so shallow.
Both Matthew and Mark say the soil allows the seed to grow quickly. Yet the rock underneath causes shallow roots; when the sun gets hot, the plants wither and die (Matthew 13:5–6; Mark 4:5–6). Luke, perhaps because he is a doctor, gives the specific reason the plants die: they have no moisture. Because of the bedrock, the soil can’t hold the moisture the plants need. Jesus compares this soil to people who hear God’s word with a shallow kind of understanding and acceptance. They don’t allow the message to reach into their hearts, so when they are tested, they abandon what little understanding they have (Luke 8:13).
How does this apply to listening well? We can choose whether to be shallow people or not. We can choose to have a depth of character that can take in God’s Word, consider it, and act on it. We don’t have to happily take in the initial good news Jesus offers but refuse to follow up with discipleship and sanctification. Acknowledging only the parts of God’s Word that sound pleasant and easy will not lead to a firm faith that can withstand life’s inevitable trials.
Verse 7. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
Jesus’ third example of soil (Luke 8:4–6) is filled with thorns. The thorny weeds choke the crops by stealing away water and nutrients.
It’s interesting to remember the origin of thorns in the creation story. Thorns and weeds were punishment against Adam because he disobeyed God (Genesis 3:17–19). They are a constant reminder of sin: specifically, the sin of looking to something other than God for life. Jesus’ interpretation matches this. He compares the thorns to the “cares and riches and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14) that distract us from God’s true Word. In response, what little growth occurs is useless.
In the next chapter, Luke will give examples of the concerns potential Jesus-followers faced before committing to Him. People faced unstable living conditions, family obligations, and even sentimentality (Luke 9:57–62). Jesus tells His followers they would face much more (John 15:18–19; 16:33; Luke 9:23–27). Paul listed his own experiences: “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:24–27).
Scripture doesn’t invalidate our sufferings. Nor does it ignore the things that bring us joy. It does put such things in perspective. Nothing should keep us from following Jesus.
Verse 8. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This completes the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–7) by describing what we should all attain to become: good soil that readily takes the seed, nourishes it, and produces fruit. If our hearts are softened and ready for God’s Word, Christ’s truth will impact our entire lives, allowing us to display the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23). These behaviors and actions glorify God and show love to others.
Mark emphasizes the growth, saying the seeds “produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:8). Matthew is similar, although he reverses the numbers (Matthew 13:23). In the ancient world, a decent crop could produce thirty-five times more output. A one-hundred-times multiplication of seed isn’t physically impossible, but it would have been seen as a sign of God’s blessing.
For Luke, the point of the chapter is the last phrase: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The parable, itself, is about our responsibility to listen well (Luke 8:10, 15). Next is a parable which explains the purpose of Jesus’ teaching: so that people will hear it and grow in understanding (Luke 8:16–18). Following, Jesus reveals that His family is not His flesh-and-blood relatives, but “those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:21).
Finishing out the chapter are four stories where Jesus expresses God’s Word through miracles that people initiate or respond to with different levels of faith. Even when faced with powerful, supernatural acts, people can still shut their ears and refuse to hear God’s Word.
Verse 9. And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
Jesus has told the parable of the sower to a large crowd of people (Luke 8:4–8). Mark 4:10 explains that this conversation occurs a bit later, when the Twelve as well as a larger group of disciples are with Jesus, drawn away from the crowd. The disciples ask both what this parable is about as well as why Jesus uses parables at all (Matthew 13:10). Jesus starts by explaining why He uses parables before going into the interpretation (Luke 8:10).
In the parable, a sower—someone planting seeds—spreads seed on a plot of land. Some of the seed lands on the hard path where birds eat it. Some falls on a shallow layer of soil that covers bedrock. Some lands amongst a patch of thorn bushes. And some falls on good, deep soil that can nourish the plants and produce a healthy crop (Luke 8:4–8).
Jesus explains that the four types of soil represent different levels of listening. Those who don’t listen well may be shallow thinkers, harassed by demonic forces, or distracted by earthly hardships and pleasures. Good listeners are like rich earth: they take God’s Word and allow it to grow inside them until their lives reflect God’s love and values (Luke 8:10–15).
Until now, the disciples have been present but passive members of crowds who follow and listen to Jesus. At this point, they begin to have a more active role. Soon, they will go out to heal, spread God’s Word (Luke 9:1–6), and affirm Jesus’ identity (Luke 9:18–20), but Jesus will challenge them to much more (Luke 9:23–27). Here, they have a quiet moment with Jesus and begin to travel with Him privately (Luke 8:22–39).
Verse 10. he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Jesus has taught a large crowd the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–8). A smaller group of disciples has asked Him the meaning of the parable (Luke 8:9); Matthew records that they also ask Him why He uses parables (Matthew 13:10). This is Luke’s very truncated version of the answer to the latter question.
This verse has two different contexts. The original is God’s commission of Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah chapter 6. God told Isaiah to spread His word: warnings to Judah that if they didn’t turn from sin they would be sent into exile. Yet God cautioned that the people will refuse to listen. God knew the Israelites wouldn’t listen, but He sent Isaiah out, anyway. By doing so, God proved He made a good-faith effort to save the people and He proved that the Israelites deserved the judgment of exile.
The second context is within the parable. The people Jesus is referring to are represented by the first three soils (Luke 8:5–7). These are people who hear the gospel but do not make the effort to take it seriously and allow it to change their lives. By speaking in parables, Jesus is giving the people a test. If they choose to contemplate the parable and accept what it means, they pass the test and prove to be His disciples. If they’re distracted by the hardships and pleasures of the world, that’s their decision; they choose not to try to understand, and thus they will not.
“So that” means Isaiah’s prophecy is still being fulfilled—people are still rejecting God’s Word. During His ministry, Jesus’ family and the priests and Pharisees failed the test. But His family and many of the religious leaders later came to faith (Acts 1:14; 6:7). The condition of refusing Christ can be temporary.
This quote of Isaiah 6:9 reverses the lines. Mark also reverses the lines but includes the end of Isaiah 6:10: “lest they should turn and be forgiven” (Mark 4:12) which Luke later paraphrases (Luke 8:12). Matthew is more verbatim and includes Isaiah 6:10 (Matthew 13:14–15), as does Paul when the Jews in Jerusalem reject His teaching about Jesus (Acts 28:26–27).
The differences show that Matthew and Mark are oriented toward advanced themes: the kingdom of God and who can enter it. Luke is more basic. He focuses on the responsibility of people to listen when God’s Word is presented. Those who don’t follow Christ need to listen unto salvation; those who do, need to listen for sanctification. For us, it means we need to read the Bible and contemplate what it says. Psalm 119:27 is a great synopsis of this chapter: “Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.”
This is Luke’s point in the chapter. We are responsible for our own actions. When God reveals His truth, we are responsible to listen to it and accept it. The Israelites in Isaiah’s time had God’s truth in the Law but lived it half-heartedly. Following God half-heartedly is dangerous. It may look good on the outside, but it reveals a faith so anemic it cannot save (James 2:26). So, God took away what little understanding the Israelites had; as Jesus later says, “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:18).
Those who insist that God would never put such an obstacle between the truth and people—even rebellious people—forget that Jesus is the stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23). It is true that God is “patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). But He also told the disciples that if a town will not receive His good news, the disciples are to “shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them” (Luke 9:5).
When someone hardens their heart against God, He has the right to remove the obstacles to their efforts. Hardened hearts, not cruelty, are why Jesus speaks in parables. Those whose hearts are softened to Christ and His truth, like the questioning disciples, will seek out the meaning and produce fruit (Luke 8:8). Those with hardened hearts don’t let God’s Word go past their ears and instead allow the enemy to take it away (Luke 8:5).
The word “secret” refers to something private, or unrevealed, coming from the knowledge of God. Even if someone’s heart is soft toward God’s truth, that doesn’t mean that truth is easy to understand. The disciples ask for Jesus’ meaning, and He gives it (Luke 8:11–15). Today, we have the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10–16), but God has also given us each other. From the first day, the church relied on community and the teaching of leaders to reveal His truth (Acts 2:42).
Verse 11. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
This explanation follows the parable of the sower. In the parable, a farmer scatters seed that lands on a hardened path, bedrock covered by a thin layer of dirt, a patch filled with thorn bushes, and good, fertile soil. The type of soil determines the yield of the seed (Luke 8:4–8).
Now, Jesus untangles the parable’s metaphors to the disciples: the Twelve as well as the larger group (Luke 8:9; Mark 4:10). The key element is that the sower’s seed represents God’s Word.
What are the words of God? Whatever Jesus has spoken (John 12:49; 14:10). That He is the promised Messiah (Luke 4:17–21). The good news that the kingdom of God has arrived (Luke 4:43). That sinners are welcome to repent and be reconciled with God (Luke 5:30–32). But Jesus also has difficult things to say, like His followers must love and pray for their enemies, hold lightly to things of this world when others threaten us, and be merciful to those who don’t deserve it—just like God the Father (Luke 6:27–36).
Luke draws the message out of the parable that everyone is responsible to listen to Jesus’ words, which we have in the Bible, and allow them to grow in our hearts. The more receptive we are to God’s Word, the more our faith will grow until our actions and words reflect God’s. There are multiple contexts to the meaning of God’s “Word” or His message, but the universal expectation is that we’ll accept them and act accordingly.
Jesus says, “Now the parable is this…” Does this mean every parable has only one meaning? Considering Luke interprets the parable in a different context than Matthew and Mark—as a call to listen rather than a confirmation of the kingdom of God—that doesn’t seem to be the case. While this is not a license to invent any interpretation, the Holy Spirit led the Gospel writers to find nuance in Jesus’ rich, multi-faceted teaching.
For instance, Luke omits Jesus’ critical comment that the disciples should understand parables by this point (Mark 4:13). One of Mark’s themes is that the disciples had a difficult time understanding who Jesus was. Luke is more concerned with encouraging Theophilus to listen carefully to Jesus’ words and be certain of what he hears (Luke 1:1–4).
Verse 12. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–8) to the Twelve and a larger group of disciples (Luke 8:9; Mark 4:10). The “seed” the farmer sows represents God’s Word—in this context, specifically the teachings of Jesus (Luke 8:11). The hard path that rejects the seed until birds take the seed away (Luke 8:5) represents people who hear God’s Word but their openness to Satan’s lies is already so strong the words don’t penetrate their hearts.
Luke’s larger point is that these people were predisposed to reject God’s Word. Jesus calls us to hear and understand (Luke 8:10), hear and believe (Luke 8:13), hear and mature in our faith (Luke 8:14), and hear and hold fast so we may bear fruit (Luke 8:15).
It’s important to properly understand the role of spiritual warfare in our lives. Satan is only one being who, as far as we know, can only be in one place at a time. Very few individuals can assume that Satan, himself, is attacking them. And even though individuals can be demonized, Satan and the demons do not primarily attack individuals directly. They can more efficiently attack humanity by influencing the cultures and power structures that people live under. flooding culture with temptations for lust or greed or pride is more efficient than tempting each of us individually. So, when Jesus says that “the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,” this taking away seems to be by filling the culture with distractions—sinful and not—so that our attentions are elsewhere and our hearts are already hardened toward God’s Word.
“So that they may not believe and be saved” seems to be a continuation of the Isaiah 6:9–10 quote that Luke cuts short in Luke 8:10. It is a paraphrase of “…and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:10).
That Satan takes the Word “from their hearts” does not mean these people are saved and lose their salvation. The Word has reached their innermost being, but the message has not implanted. Like the demons, they may have some understanding, but do not submit to and agree with the message (James 2:19).
It’s interesting to note that where Luke uses “the devil,” Mark uses “Satan” (Mark 4:15), and Matthew uses “the evil one” (Matthew 13:19). The difference is described using the phrases ipsissima verba and ipsissima vox. These are Latin terms that mean “the very words” and “the very voice.” We tend to assume that everything written in the Gospels occurred precisely as the writers present them. In truth, the writers rearrange the teachings and miracles into themes, condense some of the teachings, and—with the Holy Spirit’s leading—change words without changing meaning. We do not have Jesus’ exact words—especially because He likely spoke Aramaic and the texts were written in Greek. We do have His voice, that is, the precise meaning of what He wanted to communicate.
Verse 13. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
Jesus is explaining the meaning of the parable of the sower. Some of the seed spread lands on rocky ground—a thin layer of soil covering sold bedrock (Luke 8:6). The seed germinates quickly, but when the hot sun comes out, the plant doesn’t have deep enough roots to find sufficient water and the plant dies.
Jesus has explained that the “seed” is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). The thin layer of soil is like a shallow person. They like the good news that Jesus teaches, but they do not take the psalmist’s instruction and meditate on the meaning. They are not like a tree planted by streams of water that can withstand hardship. When the world tests their faith and their devotion to God, they become like chaff that dries up and blows away in the wind (Psalm 1:2–4).
The parable of the sower is often used to identify what it takes to be saved or what identifies someone who is saved. Does “fall away” mean these people were saved but lost their salvation? That interpretation contradicts Ephesians 1:13–14. Does it refer to apostates who fully understood the way to salvation and rejected it, and now cannot be saved? That’s an extreme view considering how many religious leaders rejected Jesus during His ministry but later joined the church (Acts 6:7).
It’s important to understand what the text does not say because laying out the mechanics of salvation is not the point. The point is that we are responsible for listening to Jesus’ words and acting on what we understand. If we do so, we will bear fruit (Luke 8:15).
Even so, Peter may be an example of this type of believer. He quickly claimed to have great faith in Jesus. Then he faced his first trial. Standing around the fire, surrounded by the guards and servants who had arrested Jesus, he found himself questioned by a relative of the man whose ear he had just sliced off (John 18:10, 26). The only way to distance himself from the act was to deny he knew Jesus at all (John 18:27). Peter’s faith did not stay weak, however. Before long, he praised God that he was worthy to be whipped for the sake of his Lord (Acts 5:41), and tradition states he was crucified upside-down for his faith.
Verse 14. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Jesus is currently explaining the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–8). This lesson reveals that the spiritual fruit we produce is directly related to how well we listen to God’s Word. Those who have already hardened their hearts because of Satan’s influence do not let God’s Word affect them at all (Luke 8:5, 12). Those with a shallow faith quickly shrink away from even the slightest challenge (Luke 8:6, 13). Now, Jesus talks about people who have the capacity to meditate on God’s Word but are distracted by both the hardships and the luxuries of life (Luke 8:7).
Dr. Joel Green notes that those concerned with the “cares and riches and pleasures of life” are seeking security in the world, without accepting God’s offer of provision or considering the needs of others. Dr. Darrell Bock points out that the distractions represent “excessive concern about one’s welfare, possessions, and comfort.” Both hardships and pleasures can keep us from fully devoting our lives to Jesus. The Gospels give examples of people who wanted to follow Jesus but were sidetracked by worries (Matthew 8:18–22) and riches (Matthew 19:16–22). Those stories end with ambiguity as to the person’s final decision, but there is hope. Initially, Jesus’ brothers not only refused to listen to His message, but also tried to force Him to stop teaching (Mark 3:20–21). At least two of them, James and Jude, later became leaders in the church.
As with the seeds that fell on the rock (Luke 8:13), this verse does not attempt to categorically describe how to confirm someone’s salvation. Are the people represented by these seeds in this soil saved? Perhaps, but maybe not. The point is that they did not “[hear] the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).
Verse 15. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Jesus finishes unpacking the meaning of the parable of the sower. A farmer spreads seed on his land; the seed is a metaphor for the Word of God. Some of it lands on the hard path where birds eat it: just as Satan’s influence can keep hard hearts from accepting God’s truth. Some of the seed lands on bedrock covered by a thin layer of soil and burns up in the hot sun: just as people with a shallow understanding of God’s Word will not be able to withstand persecution. Some of the seed lands on soil that also has thorn bushes and the young plants are choked out: just as we are easily distracted by both the hardships and pleasures of life instead of meditating on God’s Word (Luke 8:4–14).
The final soil is good, nutrient-rich dirt with plenty of access to water (Luke 8:8). Just as the farmer’s seed grows easily, providing a bumper crop, God’s Word penetrates honest hearts. Such people understand and follow Jesus’ teaching, loving God and others and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).
Matthew 13:23 and Mark 4:20 repeat that the fruit produced is thirty to one hundred times more than what was sown. Their presentations of the parable of the sower emphasize that God’s kingdom will grow despite whatever hardships His followers face. Luke’s message is simpler. How we listen to God’s Word will directly determine the fruit it bears in our lives and the impact we have for God’s kingdom. Hard hearts, spiritual warfare, persecution, and earthly concerns will pull us away from deepening our faith, growing more sanctified, and showing the world the love of Christ.
But Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” We get to choose how we hear God’s Word. We can choose to harden our hearts, submit ourselves to Satan’s lies, keep our faith shallow, and focus on the world more than God’s will for us. Conversely, we can choose to be the good soil that patiently meditates on God’s Word and allows the Holy Spirit to produce fruit through us.
Next, Jesus presents the parable of the lamp under a jar (Luke 8:16–18). He points out that He spreads God’s Word because He wants people to hear it. In response, we need to listen carefully. If we do, we will continue to grow. If we don’t, what little understanding we have will be taken away.
Verse 16. “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
This verse can be interpreted multiple ways.
It may be that the “light,” like the “seed” in the parable of the sower, represents the Word of God. Jesus doesn’t teach because He likes the sound of His own voice. He speaks because His audience needs His words, and they should take the responsibility to listen carefully and allow the words to influence their lives. We need to be careful how we hear so we grow in wisdom (Luke 8:18). In this interpretation, Luke 8:17 means that God’s truth will be revealed even to those foolish enough to ignore it during their lives on earth.
Some, however, believe “light” parallels the “fruit” of Luke 8:15: the natural results of hearing Jesus’ words and living them out, much like Matthew 5:14–16. If this is the case, Luke 8:17 means that our actions inevitably reveal our relationship with Christ. It implies that we act out of what we believe about Jesus.
The parable more closely resembles Mark’s extended version (Mark 4:21–25) and Matthew’s parable was given at a different time and place. So, the comparison to seed is more likely. There’s obvious truth in the idea that sincere believers ought to “let their light shine” (Matthew 5:16) based on their relationship with Christ. Yet the meaning of Luke’s verses seems to be that listeners are to be like the good soil, accept the seed, and produce fruit (Luke 8:8). In the same way, people are to “enter” and “see the light,” working hard to understand the truth and application of Jesus’ teaching (Luke 8:18). Jesus says something similar in Luke 11:33.
Context Summary
In Luke 8:16–18, Jesus tells the parable of the lamp under a jar. When someone lights a lamp, they do so in order that others see the light. When someone shares the gospel, it is so others will hear and accept it. People are responsible for how they hear. Luke 8:19–56 gives examples of how closely people hear Jesus’ message, beginning with Jesus’ family. Mark records the parable in the same context (Mark 4:21–25). Matthew seems to give a similar but different parable to exhort Jesus-followers to be the light and share the gospel, themselves (Matthew 5:14–16).
Verse 17. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
The meaning of this verse depends on which of two ways the previous verse should be interpreted.
Most likely, the “light” is Jesus’ words. He teaches so that people can understand and accept the truth of His message. He teaches in parables to test people: Will they contemplate what He says, accept it, and let it produce fruit in their lives? Or will the distractions of the world draw them away from real understanding?
For those who listen carefully to Jesus’ parables, the light of His words will be “made manifest,” meaning it will come to be known, or uncovered, or revealed. Those who don’t seek out Jesus’ meaning are like those who put the light under a jar or a bed. They will understand Jesus’ words at the final judgment.
The next verse supports this interpretation. Those who have some understanding of who Jesus is and what He says will likely continue to listen carefully and receive “more”—wisdom and blessings. Those who have truly little understanding are like the first three soils in the parable. Whatever understanding they had will be lost as they follow their distractions. It is these Jesus describes when He justifies His use of parables, that “seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand” (Luke 8:10).
Another interpretation is that the “light” represents the good “fruit” that results when we listen to Jesus (Galatians 5:22–23). When we hear or read His message, we need to be like the good soil—readily accept His truths, nurture them, and allow the Holy Spirit to produce good results in our lives. Those who do not listen to Jesus will have bad fruit (Galatians 5:17–21). Either way, the fruit will inevitably reveal whether they listened to Christ or not. This interpretation seems to lean too heavily on a similar but different parable Jesus gives in Matthew 5:14–16.
Verse 18. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
This is the theme of Luke 8:4–17, as well as the rest of the chapter. In the parable of the sower, seed falls on four different types of soils, but only one is receptive enough to produce a good crop. In the same way, Jesus’ message is free for everyone, but only some will accept it, contemplate it, ask what it means, and allow it to produce good fruit in their lives. We must all “take care then how [we] hear.”
The bulk of the verse has been interpreted in different ways. Some believe they can have, be given more of, or have taken away blessings from God for a fruitful life. Nothing in the larger passage, including the parable of the sower, mentions blessings or rewards for obedience.
The passage is about hearing and understanding (Luke 8:10). Whoever has the faith to accept the truth of Jesus’ message, meditate on the truth, and allow it to sink in and affect their lives, will gain even more understanding. Those who understand a little but have hardened hearts (Luke 8:5, 12), refuse to search out the meaning (Luke 8:6, 13), or are easily distracted by the pleasures and concerns of the world (Luke 8:7, 14) will lose what little understanding they have.
The word translated “listen,” in Greek, implies a continuous act of hearing. The verse agrees with Proverbs 1:2–7, especially verse 5: “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,” and verse 7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” It also ties in to the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11–27). God expects us to use what He gives us. Those who don’t are no better than enemies.
The next segment gives a personal application of Jesus’ exhortation. He is in a crowded house teaching while His mother and brothers, concerned for His health, are outside, trying to reach Him and bring Him home (Mark 3:20–21, 31–32). When someone notifies Jesus that His family would like to see Him, He replies, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:19–21). Jesus identifies with those who listen to His words and bear good fruit more than His own birth family.
Verse 19. Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
Matthew places this earlier, but on the same day, as the parable of the sower (Matthew 12:46—13:9). Mark seems to say Jesus is at home (Mark 3:20), which probably means Peter and Andrew’s house in Capernaum. Whichever home Jesus is in, it’s filled with people to the point that no one else can get in.
In fact, so many people have been trying to get to Jesus that He doesn’t even have time to eat (Mark 3:20). Jesus’ family is less concerned about His schedule and more about His mental state: “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21). It’s unclear who thinks Jesus is out of His mind, but Mary and Jesus’ brothers are concerned. Unwilling to pull the roof apart (Mark 2:1–12), they send a message.
Why are they concerned? The passage doesn’t say. As the firstborn male of the family, and Joseph presumably dead, Jesus was responsible for Mary’s care and the wellbeing of the family. It might be that the Nazarenes are holding Jesus’ family accountable for His behavior, perhaps even threatening them financially (Luke 4:16–30). Or, possibly, the religious leaders who have had unfavorable interactions with Jesus are telling His brothers to pull Him into line.
For Luke, however, the stress is not on the rejection of Jesus by His mother and brothers. He only mentions that the family came and could not get to Jesus, not that they were concerned. Luke is still talking about how important it is to listen to God’s Word, a message begun in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–8).
Context Summary
Luke 8:19–21 is a real-world example of the previous two lessons. The parable’s sower spread good seed, but the harvest depends on the receptivity of the soil. The good news is spread like a lamp on a stand, but people must hear the message and see the light to respond. In a similar way, Jesus’ mother and brothers do not listen (yet), so His followers become His new family. Jesus’ family’s concerns are also found in Matthew 12:46–50 and Mark 3:20–21, 31–35.
Verse 20. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
Jesus is at home, possibly in Peter and Andrew’s house in Capernaum. He has been teaching and ministering so much He hasn’t had time to eat. His mother and brothers have heard and have come to “seize” Him. Their intent is likely to take Him back to Nazareth (Mark 3:20–21). We’re not told why, but they may be getting pressure from neighbors or even religious leaders to get Him under control.
The house is filled with people. When Jesus teaches on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the crowds are so great He climbs into a boat just off the shore so He can teach (Mark 4:1–2). In one event, Jesus taught in a house so crammed with people that a paralytic’s friends had to rip apart the roof to get the man to Jesus for healing (Mark 2:1–12). Jesus’ mother and brothers are less zealous and simply send a message.
We know that Jesus loves and respects Mary. His address to her at the wedding at Cana is one of honor (John 2:4). As He is dying on the cross, one of His last acts is to make sure John cares for her (John 19:25–27). But He must do what His Father in heaven tells Him to do (John 5:36; 6:38; 12:49), even if that means making Mary wait.
This passage is problematic for Roman Catholics and others who insist Mary remained a virgin her whole life. They say that Jesus’ “brothers” are either sons of Joseph’s first wife or cousins. Absolutely nothing in the Bible suggests this; in fact, the Bible routinely refers to these persons clearly indicating they are Jesus’ siblings (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; John 2:12; Acts 1:14; Galatians 1:19). The idea that these “brothers” are spiritual friends or fellow Jews is also not supported by text or context. There is no reason to assume Mary did not have more children after Jesus, just as there is no theological justification to insist she remained a virgin.
This event is also challenging to those who assume Jesus’ mother, and other family, had advanced knowledge of His ministry since His birth. The truth is that Mary had to learn by experience and could not always anticipate Jesus’ next steps.
Verse 21. But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Unlike Mark, Luke doesn’t record any criticism of Jesus’ family, but that’s consistent as Mark regularly records Jesus’ frustration with His own disciples. Some suggest Luke’s soft tone is because the initial nativity section (Luke 1:39–45) established that Jesus’ family knows who He is.
Also likely, Luke is simply focused on his task. The theme of Luke 8:4–18 is how people are responsible to listen carefully to Jesus’ words, allow them to reach and train their hearts, and bring about good works. This small aside stresses how important that instruction is. Even Jesus’ mother is not exempt. If she and His brothers do not listen to and accept His words, they are not His family. The audience members who do listen and obey are His true family.
Fortunately, we know the biological family’s rejection is temporary. After Jesus ascends into heaven, Mary and Jesus’ brothers are in the upper room with the disciples and, apparently, present when the Holy Spirit falls on them at Pentecost (Acts 1:13–14; 2:1–3). Jesus’ brother Judas / Jude wrote the book of Jude, and His brother James authored the book in his name and seems to have been the pastor of the church in Jerusalem (Mark 6:3; Acts 15; Galatians 1:19: Jude 1:1).
The parable of the sower illustrates how, just as seed needs good soil to grow, God’s Word cannot produce good fruit in a hardened or distracted heart (Luke 8:4–8). The other Gospels present Jesus’ words as “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven…” (Matthew 12:50) or “…the will of God…” (Mark 3:35). To do God’s will, we must first hear it, and hearing is an important theme in Luke 8. It’s good to know God sows His Word many times for us (2 Peter 3:9).
Verse 22. One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,
Mark’s account suggests Jesus was teaching by the Sea of Galilee and got into a boat so the crowd could hear Him (Mark 4:1). After He taught the parable of the sower, He went to a more private place with the Twelve and other disciples where He shared several other parables (Mark 4:10). The evening of that day (Mark 4:35), Jesus decided to go across the lake. Matthew says that Jesus interacted with two potential disciples between the time He first gave orders to go to the other side and the opportunity He had to get into the boat (Matthew 8:18–23).
The term “disciples” is ambiguous. Luke sometimes uses the phrase to mean more followers than just the Twelve (Luke 8:9; Mark 4:10). It’s also unclear how big the boat is, although “sail” in verse 23 infers a sailing vessel instead of a boat that is rowed with oars. Other boats followed (Mark 4:36), but their fate in the storm is not mentioned.
The “lake” is Lake Gennesaret, also called the Sea of Galilee. It is fed by the Jordan River on the north near Bethsaida and drains out into the Jordan on the south to feed the Dead Sea. Gennesaret is also translated Kinnereth and means “harp” in Hebrew; the lake is somewhat shaped like a harp, about seven miles wide by nine miles long. The western Galilean shore has gentler hills, while the eastern shore is a steep bank—perfect for out-of-control pigs with self-destructive intents (Luke 8:33).
Context Summary
Luke 8:22–25 records people’s reaction to Jesus’ message. Here, people must decide who Jesus is in the face of miraculous salvation from earthly threats. When Jesus calms a storm over the Sea of Galilee, He rescues the disciples and shows His authority over both nature and chaos. They understandably must rethink who He is. Next Jesus saves people from demons, illness, and death. The story of Jesus taming the storm is also in Matthew 8:18, 23–27 and Mark 4:35–41.
Verse 23. and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.
Not long before this time, Mary and Jesus’ brothers had searched Jesus out, worried by what they’d heard (Mark 3:21). His ministry is so successful that the crowds often won’t even let Him eat (Mark 3:20). The relentless demands of the crowds, His desire to teach all who will listen, and the lack of rest and food would have made Jesus exhausted.
The Sea of Galilee is uniquely situated in a way that invites sudden and violent storms. It sits well below sea level and is surrounded by hills. These are especially steep to the east. The warm air above the lake can be quickly disturbed by colder air sweeping down from the hills, causing unpredictable storms. In the incident described here, waves are breaking over the sides of the boat, filling it with water. The professional fishermen are afraid the boat is going to fill with water and sink. It’s night, and if they capsize the survivors will quickly be separated in the tall waves and fierce winds.
Verse 24. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
Jesus and the disciples are in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. It’s night, and a violent storm has sprung up. The disciples are afraid of dying, but Jesus is asleep.
The repeat of “Master” indicates how anxious they are. This word, however, is different in each Gospel. Matthew uses a single “Lord,” and Mark uses one “Teacher.” This demonstrates the concept of ipsissima vox: that the words recorded are the “very voice” of the event, not necessarily a transcription of exact words. The effect is the same in that the disciples are going to Jesus as their authority figure to rescue them. Then again, it may be that in that moment Matthew used “Lord,” Peter—Mark’s source—used “Teacher,” and whoever told the story to Luke used “Master.” It’s reasonable to think not everyone in the boat used the same word when they cried out to Jesus. In any case, the three words refer to an authority, but even “Lord” does not mean they understood Jesus to be the Messiah and Son of God.
Greco-Roman mythology claimed certain rulers had power over the sea. However, in their view, that power was not expressed so casually as controlling the waters with just a brief spoken phrase. The sea is a symbol of chaos: from a human perspective, it is the ultimate in uncontrollable and unpredictable forces. That Jesus’ mere words calmed the storms would have been just as astounding to readers of this Gospel as it was to the disciples who witnessed it.
Scholars argue over whether Jesus confronts the storm as He does demons. “Rebuke” could be seen as a response to a natural evil like illness or as a response to a supernatural enemy. Either way, Jesus responds to the storm as an evil that is hindering His purposes of crossing the lake. But He also reveals Himself as the Creator who brought order to the waters (Genesis 1:1–10). “Rebuke” refers to strong disapproval, and can imply a more aggressive or strident tone. Jesus told the wind and waves, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). “Raging,” here, suggests the waves kept coming, one after another.
When Jesus speaks, the wind and waves cease and the water becomes flat and motionless. The waves that were coming in succession simply stop. As with many of Jesus’ miracles, “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37).
Verse 25. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
With a simple rebuke, Jesus stilled a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee. He now turns to the disciples who had reacted out of fear and asks them about their faith. Mark’s account has, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Matthew puts the question prior to Jesus rebuking the storm: “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).
This question ties to the recently-recorded parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–8). What kind of faith do the disciples have? In this moment, it appears to be that of the soil with thorns. They believe until they are beset by the “cares…of life” (Luke 8:14). Jesus exhorts them to have the faith of the good soil that takes in what Jesus says and does and allows what they learn to change their hearts. Instead, they react in fear as if Jesus’ power is unknown to them.
Luke 8 gives a series of parables and practical examples of different types of faith under different circumstances. The disciples have seen Jesus heal sickness and injuries and expel demons, but control over the sea is on another level. The sea represents chaos and all that mankind cannot control. Only God can take formless water and bring it to order (Genesis 1:1–10). Such control over water has not been seen since the parting of the Red Sea or, to a lesser extent, the parting of the Jordan (Exodus 14; Joshua 3:14–17). Jesus didn’t even pray and ask for God’s power.
It’s reasonable for the disciples to respond to this level of power by rethinking who Jesus truly is. As their understanding of Jesus grows, their faith must, also. Although their fear shows a lack of faith, their question is encouraging. Like the fertile soil, they are contemplating and asking questions, not merely walking away. Before long, Peter will be able to name their Teacher: “The Christ of God” (Luke 9:20).
But naming Jesus as the Messiah only goes so far. Only God can control the sea with a mere word.
Verse 26. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
Jesus and the disciples have survived a violent storm at night on the Sea of Galilee. Now, they land on the eastern shore. It is unclear exactly where this is, a task made more difficult because manuscripts of the synoptic Gospels use three different terms to identify the locals.
“Gerasenes” are people who live in Gerasa, in modern-day Jerash, Jordan, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Most translations of Matthew and some of Mark and Luke use “Gadarenes,” referring to residents of Gadara, a Greek city much closer southeast from the southern tip of the Sea. Some translations of Matthew use “Gergesenes,” referring to Gergesa, a region in Decapolis, directly across the Sea of Galilee from the district of Galilee. Geographically, Gergesa makes the most sense, but the location was not considered until Origen thought it a good option in the early- to mid-third century. Gerasa is too far away, but it’s worth noting that “Gergesa” turns to “Gerasa” with a slight transcription error. In other words, the difference in the records is likely a simple spelling error by copyists. What’s not in doubt is that the boat landed on the other side of the Sea of Galilee in a Gentile region.
The broader location becomes more significant somewhat later. After Jesus releases the man from possession by a legion of demons, He tells the man to share what God has done for him throughout the region. He does so to great effect. After Jesus freed the man, the locals insist Jesus return to the boat and His side of the Sea. Sometime later, when Jesus returns to the area, He is so welcomed that four thousand people come to hear Him speak (Mark 7:31—8:10).
Context Summary
Luke 8:26–39 records a man’s rescue from a legion of demons. This comes just as Jesus has saved the disciples from chaos and nature. The rescued man believes, having seen the light and heard the message (Luke 8:15–18). The townspeople don’t listen and are filled with fear. When the once-chained man begs to stay with Jesus, Jesus instead commissions him to spread the good news he has heard and experienced, becoming the apostle to the entire district. Next, Jesus shows His power over sickness and death (Luke 8:40–56) before imbuing that power to His disciples (Luke 9:1–6). Mark also records Jesus’ power over Legion while Matthew notes there were two possessed men (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20).
Verse 27. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.
Jesus and His disciples have just crossed the Sea of Galilee, surviving a fierce storm to do so (Luke 8:22–25). Seas are symbols of chaos and represent humanity’s lack of control over the environment; the storm only serves to emphasize that belief. But Jesus calmed it with a single phrase, leading the disciples to question who He is. Now, they face a man who is possessed by a legion of demons. From a metaphor for evil to evil literally incarnate, Jesus’ immense power brings the disciples face-to-face with the mystery of Jesus’ identity.
Luke describes the man (Luke 8:28–29), then parallels that description after Jesus frees him (Luke 8:35–39). In the beginning, the man has many demons, is naked, and does not live in a house; after, the man is released and clothed (Luke 8:35), and Jesus will tell him to return home (Luke 8:39). Where the demons will force the man to fall before Jesus, shouting (Luke 8:28) and out of control (Luke 8:29), he will later sit quietly and in his right mind at Jesus’ feet (Luke 8:35).
This story is also in Matthew and Mark, although each account emphasizes different details. Luke mentions that the man is naked and possessed by multiple demons, but the singular pronoun “me” indicates the demons work in unity (Luke 8:28). Mark seems to suggest there is only one “unclean spirit” (Mark 5:2) but goes on to identify that spirit as “Legion,” indicating there are many (Mark 5:9). Matthew notes there are two men (Matthew 8:28); apparently, Mark and Luke focus on the one man who wants to follow Jesus (Mark 5:18–19; Luke 8:38–39). There is no reason to think this man is not a Gentile, but at the end he will beg to join Jesus’ disciples (Luke 8:38)
“Tombs” were caves carved into hillsides. Although the very poor sometimes made their homes in empty tombs, this man has a house (Luke 8:39); the demons have overridden the natural human distaste for rot and death.
Some see a parallel between the demoniac and the rebellious people described in Isaiah 65:1–5. In particular, these are people “who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat” (Isaiah 65:4). Isaiah refers to Israelites, however, while this man is a Gentile.
Verse 28. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, demons are drawn to Him and compelled to identify Him (Mark 1:23–24, 34; Luke 4:41). It’s unclear why. They recognize Jesus as God with absolute authority over them. We would think they would run from Jesus, but they don’t. In this case, they run toward Jesus (Mark 5:6) and fall at His feet in a sign of submission, then beg for mercy.
Luke records the demons saying, “do not torment me.” Luke goes on to say, “And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss” (Luke 8:31). Matthew records them saying, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). Scripture seems to indicate that some demons who committed particularly egregious sins are locked into the “abyss.” They will be released during the tribulation to torment the people (Revelation 9:1–3, 11; 11:7). These may be the same that Peter describes, saying, “…God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…” (2 Peter 2:4). Many think these are the demons who took human women and had children with them (Genesis 6:1–4). In the end times, all demons will be sent to the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). Whether they are talking about the abyss or the lake of fire, these demons do not want to be sent away any earlier than necessary.
Ironically, the demons call Jesus the “Son of the Most High God,” inadvertently answering the question the disciples asked after Jesus calmed the storm: “Who then is this?” (Luke 8:25). The Most High God is far above idols, false-gods, and demonic forces. Jesus is His Son, “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3).
Verse 29. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
Jesus is interacting with a demon possessed man. The demons have driven the man to fall at Jesus’ feet and beg for mercy (Luke 8:27–28).
In the New Testament, demon possession or generic references to “evil spirits” are given as the cause of physical ailments. Some of this man’s actions indicate a mental disorder: he avoids people, lives in the tombs, refuses clothing, and gashes himself with stones (Mark 5:5). Here, however, we see a symptom clearly beyond simple imbalance: mental illness doesn’t give its victims superhuman strength. We see this again in Ephesus when a lone demon-possessed man overcomes seven men, beats them, and strips away their clothing (Acts 19:11–16). Even so, it appears the man doesn’t always possess such strength, as the locals are occasionally able to bind him. Likely, the locals had used ropes to bind his feet and chains on his wrists.
The townspeople tried to help the man by keeping him and others safe, but they could not save him spiritually; they could not expel the demons. Even if the demons had left, they could have gathered even more and returned (Luke 11:24–26).
Conversely, not only can Jesus save the man, but He also makes great concessions to do so. He is in Gentile territory, near tombs, next to a massive herd of unclean animals, confronting possibly thousands of demons in the body of a naked, bruised, and battered man. The man’s physical state provides a clear picture of his spiritual turmoil. Perhaps no other description better illustrates the power of Jesus’ love; He not only came to this man, He died for him. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The term “shackles” refers to an ankle restraint. “Chains” is more generic but can be used for handcuffs. “Desert” doesn’t necessarily refer to a hot sandy place; in this case, it is the noun form of a word translated “deserted,” meaning an uninhabited or abandoned area. This is literally a “lonely place.”
The man is most destructive to himself when he is alone. The demons drive him away from other people who would restrain and guard him. There in the tombs, the demons make him live like a self-destructive animal. The enemy does this to us, as well. God made us for community, to build each other up (Hebrews 10:24–25) and protect each other (James 5:19–20). If the enemy can get us alone, we are at our most vulnerable.
Verse 30. Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.
Demons have possessed a man who is now speaking with Jesus. Jesus has commanded them to leave, and they’re afraid He’s going to imprison them in the abyss (Luke 8:26–29, 31). Now, Jesus asks for their name.
Mary Magdalene had been freed from seven demons (Luke 8:2). This man is beset by a legion. A “legion” was a Roman military unit of varied numbers. In some cases, it could include as many as six thousand troops. Mark notes the demons destroy a herd of about two thousand pigs (Mark 5:13). In modern English, the demons might have claimed a name like “Battalion,” or “Brigade.” The term is appropriate both for their number and for the war image: this is a battle for the man’s life.
Demons seem to have different amounts of power. Although the disciples expel other demons (Luke 10:17), they cannot free a young boy (Luke 9:40). The Sons of Sceva use the mantra “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims,” but a particularly powerful demon overpowers them, beats them, and rips off their clothes (Acts 19:13–16). We don’t know how powerful this man’s demons are individually, but as a group they feel emboldened to delay obeying Jesus’ order to release the man just long enough to negotiate an exit strategy.
It’s unclear why Jesus asks the demons their name. In some spiritual traditions, knowing another’s name grants power over them. Jesus might have been playing on that stereotype without necessarily agreeing with it. There’s no biblical foundation for the idea itself; Jesus exorcises the powerful demon who possesses the boy without mentioning its name (Luke 9:37–43). It may be that Jesus is revealing to His disciples that the man is possessed by a great number of demons.
Verse 31. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
Jesus is ordering a legion of demons—possibly thousands—to abandon the man they are tormenting (Luke 8:26–30). The demons know they must go, but they want to stay on earth, not be sent to “the abyss.” We’re not sure what “the abyss” refers to. Most literally, the word translated “abyss” refers an extremely deep hole, chasm, or pit, and is often mentioned in reference to death, evil spirits, and enemy powers.
Scripture seems to suggest that when Satan rebelled against God, one-third of the angels followed him (Revelation 12:3–4). Not all of those fallen angels are still on earth. Peter rather vaguely refers to demons who sinned so badly God “cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4). These may be the same terrors who will be released during the tribulation (Revelation 9:1–3, 11; 11:7). Some say these are the angels who mated with human women to create the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1–4).
The Bible doesn’t give the details, but the Legion of demons fear some version of judgment. Matthew quotes the demons as asking, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). In the end, all demons will be sent to the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). These demons don’t want to go yet.
Verse 32. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
Jesus has ordered a legion of demons out of a much-abused man. The demons are negotiating their exit. They think Jesus is going to confine them to a deep spiritual pit, perhaps the prison of other demons whose sin condemned them to an early judgment (Luke 8:26–31; 2 Peter 2:4). Instead, the demons offer to transition to a herd of pigs. This was a group of about two thousand, according to Mark (Mark 5:13).
Many Bible-readers are confused at the thought of so many pigs being raised so close to Jews who see the animals as unclean. It’s important to remember that this event takes place on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Although Jews live here, it is primarily Gentile territory. Gentiles are not restricted from raising pigs.
Other readers are distressed at what happens to the pigs. After Jesus allows the demons to take over the pigs, the pigs run to the water and drown. The alternative may have been to let the demons go free and harass the people in the nearby cities. We don’t know why Jesus doesn’t send them to the abyss. We know He gives the demons permission, but doesn’t explicitly order or condone the pigs’ drowning deaths.
Verse 33. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
A horde of demons (Luke 8:27–32) has agreed to Jesus’ demands to leave their victim. Yet they have negotiated a transition into a herd of about two thousand pigs (Mark 5:13). This passage leaves many unanswered questions: Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the pigs? Why did the pigs—who are good swimmers—drown, at all? Did they choose to go into the water to try to shake off the demons or did the demons drive them? What happened to the demons after the pigs drowned? We aren’t told.
Another common question is why Jesus thought the pigs deserved this kind of death. There’s no reason to think He did, or that there was malice in His choice. Scholars have many speculations as to why Jesus allows the pigs to be possessed and destroyed. Some brush them off as unclean animals, whose lives don’t matter. Others see a public announcement that the man has been healed. Others note that people are more important than animals. The truth is, we don’t know the exact reasoning involved.
While not an explicit reason, some perspective is gained by looking at how God created Adam and Eve. He commissioned them to “have dominion over…every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). When God created us in His image and left us on earth, it was as His representatives: to rule in His place. When we sin, that which we have authority over suffers (Genesis 3:17–19). Romans 8:19–22 says “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” It’s unclear if this man became possessed because of his own sin or the sin of his culture that enticed demons to act. But because of sin, this man was possessed and during his rescue, animals were harmed.
Another thought is that although they are in the wilderness, a city is not far away. It would be better to lose a herd of pigs than allow thousands of demons to enter the city and attack the people.
It is interesting to note that not long before, Jesus had calmed the chaos of a fierce storm in the Sea of Galilee with a single statement. With the demons, violence returns to the Sea.
Verse 34. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
The pig herders have a problem. They watched helplessly as thousands of their animals (Mark 5:13) suddenly ran down the steep hill and into the Sea of Galilee where they all drowned (Luke 8:33). The men don’t own the pigs; they’re just tending them. They need to spread the word, not only because it’s an incredible story, but because they need corroboration that they’re not responsible for the loss of the herd. Matthew says that the herdsmen told the people in the city “everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men” (Matthew 8:33).
Again, Westerners who like detail are flummoxed by the lack of information on their exact location. Those details are irrelevant to Luke’s purposes. All we can say is they are close to the east coast of the Sea of Galilee and near to a city; the herders can run there and witnesses can run back in a fairly short amount of time (Matthew 8:33–34).
When the people arrive, they don’t mention the pigs. They’re much more interested in the fact that the man who had been possessed by a legion of demons is “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:35). Jesus seems to be using the pigs so that everyone in the district can see that this man has been rescued. When He returns to Galilee, He will ask who had touched His robe to publicly praise a woman’s faith and declare to the crowd that she is clean (Luke 8:45–48).
Verse 35. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
Pig herders have just watched about two thousand pigs (Mark 5:13) spontaneously charge down a hill and rush into the Sea of Galilee where they drown (Luke 8:33). Astonished—and probably afraid that they will have to pay for the pigs—the herders spread the word in the nearby city and the surrounding countryside (Luke 8:34). According to Matthew, the herdsmen “told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men” (Matthew 8:33). The entire city as well as the district come out to see the spectacle (Matthew 8:34; Luke 8:37). When they arrive, they find that the local madman is completely restored.
The people know this man very well. They had repeatedly bound his hands and feet and kept him under guard, possibly in the city (Luke 8:29). They’ve also seen him break the ropes fastened to his feet, as well as the handcuffs on his wrists, and flee to the tombs (Luke 8:27). There, he tends to strip off his clothing, cry out, and gash his flesh with stones (Mark 5:5). The sudden transformation terrifies them.
The disciples don’t necessarily know the man’s history, but they have seen additional changes. When they arrived, the man had charged Jesus, crying out, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” (Luke 8:28; cf. Mark 5:6–7). Now, the man calmly sits at Jesus’ feet, so at peace that he begs Jesus to take him along (Luke 8:38).
The Gospels describe several people as sitting at Jesus’ feet—the position of a student before his rabbi—including a sinful woman (Luke 7:38), a woman who chooses to learn rather than engage in the customs of hospitality (Luke 10:39), and a Samaritan (Luke 17:16). In that era, this was an unthinkably unusual group for a Jewish rabbi.
Verse 36. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
Pig herders have called people from miles around to see how about two thousand pigs spontaneously ran into the Sea of Galilee and drowned. Matthew says the herdsmen “told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men” (Matthew 8:33). When the people arrive on the scene, they’re astonished that the man who wandered the local graveyard, moaning and cutting his own flesh (Mark 5:5), is sitting “clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:35). Pigs are one thing; power over a violent demonic force is quite another. The people want to know more, so the herders explain what they saw (Luke 8:27–35).
We aren’t told what, exactly, the pig-herders are saying, but the effect is interesting. The people don’t thank Jesus, worship Him, or ask to follow Him. They respond in “great fear” (Luke 8:37). The demons had made the man so powerful, “no one had the strength to subdue him” (Mark 5:4). Except Jesus. That makes Jesus very, very dangerous. So much so that the people beg Him to leave (Mark 5:17).
Contrast the witness of the pig herders to the newly rescued man. He begs Jesus to take him along. Instead, Jesus gives him a commission: “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:38–39). The man does so. And the next time Jesus comes to the area, He’s first met with a group who brings a deaf man for healing (Mark 7:31–37) and then by over four thousand people who come to hear Him teach (Mark 8:1–10). The man who understood the saving power of Jesus was able to turn an entire district from fear to faith.
Verse 37. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
Jesus and the disciples are somewhere on the east coast of the Sea of Galilee. When they arrived, a man had rushed toward Jesus from the tombs, naked and screaming. The man was possessed by a legion of demons—perhaps thousands—that begged Jesus to allow them to enter a herd of pigs instead of sending them to “the abyss.” Jesus agreed to their request, but when the demons took over the pigs, the pigs ran into the Sea of Galilee where they drowned (Luke 8:26–33).
The pig herders scattered, telling everyone they could find what had happened. Their listeners followed them back to the tombs where the formerly possessed man now sits “at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:34–36). In fear, the locals ask Jesus to leave. It’s not clear if the people are afraid because of Jesus’ power over the demons or if they’re concerned for their remaining livestock.
Their fear causes them to push Jesus away, not repent and accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. But Jesus is not finished with the region. When the rescued man begs to accompany Jesus, Jesus tells him, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” The man does, focusing on Jesus as God’s instrument of power (Luke 8:38–39).
Later, Jesus will return to the region and the people’s hearts will be softened. Over four thousand will come to Him to be healed and listen to Him teach. In compassion, Jesus will feed them (Matthew 15:29–39). It’s interesting that Luke does not include this later visit in his Gospel. His audience, Theophilus, is thought to be a Gentile. It would make sense to describe Jesus’ later acceptance in this Gentile region. Perhaps Luke wants Theophilus to see an example of a lone Gentile accepting Christ despite the rejection of the greater community. Later, Luke will record groups of Gentiles accepting Jesus in his second book, known to us as Acts or The Acts of the apostles.
Again, Luke identifies their location as the “surrounding country of the Gerasenes.” Matthew calls it “the country of the Gadarenes” (Matthew 8:28) and some versions use “Gergesenes.” Gerasa and Gadara were cities; Gergesa was a region in Decapolis. It’s consistent with the Gospel writers for Matthew to use “Gadarenes” and Luke to follow Mark’s use of “Gerasenes.” “Gergesa” was probably suggested by Origen because it makes the most sense geographically. The words are just as similar in Greek as they are in English, and they describe locations in the same general region. All we know for certain is that they are on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, very close to the water.
Verse 38. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
Jesus has rescued a man from possession by a legion of demons. Luke’s wording is poignant; at the beginning of the story, he was “a man from the city who had demons” (Luke 8:27). Now he is “the man from whom the demons had gone.” That very transition has frightened the people of the surrounding countryside and city, and they ask Jesus to leave (Luke 8:36–37). The man who was rescued wishes to stay with Jesus and follow Him as a disciple.
Luke has finished the story of Jesus and the people of the region: they asked Him to leave, and He did. Now, Luke backtracks to describe how Jesus and the man He rescued part ways as Jesus enters the boat (Mark 5:18).
For some time, the man has been either tied up and under guard or living in the tombs, raging, and cutting his flesh with stones (Luke 8:27, 29; Mark 5:3–5). He had been imprisoned in the presence of demons; now, he wishes nothing more than to stay with the man who saved him. Yet Jesus has other plans for him. The man may not know all the theological implications of who Jesus is, but he knows what Jesus did for him. He’s in a perfect position to tell his story to these terrified people and prepare them for Jesus’ eventual return (Matthew 15:29–39; Mark 7:31—8:10).
Context Summary
Luke 8:26–39 records a man’s rescue from a legion of demons. This comes just as Jesus has saved the disciples from chaos and nature. The rescued man believes, having seen the light and heard the message (Luke 8:15–18). The townspeople don’t listen and are filled with fear. When the once-chained man begs to stay with Jesus, Jesus instead commissions him to spread the good news he has heard and experienced, becoming the apostle to the entire district. Next, Jesus shows His power over sickness and death (Luke 8:40–56) before imbuing that power to His disciples (Luke 9:1–6). Mark also records Jesus’ power over Legion while Matthew notes there were two possessed men (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20).
Verse 39. “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
It seems Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee to get away from a crowd that wouldn’t leave (Mark 3:20–21; 4:35–26). Now, He’s re-crossing the lake because a crowd wants Him to leave (Luke 8:37). He has healed a local man who was possessed by a great number of demons. By the time the locals came to find out what was going on, the man was calm and in his right mind, but a herd of about two thousand pigs had been drowned (Mark 5:13; Luke 8:26–36).
Whether because of Jesus’ amazing authority over demons or because of His apparent disregard for unclean stock animals, the people want Jesus to leave. As Jesus enters the boat, the rescued man begs Him to take him along (Luke 8:37–38).
We would think Jesus would be happy to include another disciple in His group. Here is a man who isn’t bothered by the fact Jesus can’t promise him a bed or allow him to fulfill extended obligations to his family (Luke 9:57–62). He hasn’t lived with his family for some time.
But Jesus has another task for him: tell everyone in the region about God. Within moments of becoming a disciple, the man is an evangelist, a prototype of the spread of the gospel among Gentiles in Luke’s second letter, the book of Acts. The man’s work pays off. The next time Jesus comes, the crowd of over four thousand doesn’t try to get Him to leave. Rather, they stay with Him for three days, receiving healing and listening to Him teach (Matthew 15:29–39).
This concludes the first of three personal deliverance stories found in this segment of Luke’s gospel. Each presents Jesus rescuing people in different ways, with different responses.
When Jesus frees a possessed man in Gentile territory who has a home in the city, He tells the man to spread news of his deliverance to the entire region.
When Jesus heals a Jewish woman from a physical condition that makes her unable to associate with others or worship God, Jesus declares to a large crowd that she is clean and healed (Luke 8:43–48).
When Jesus brings a dead girl back to life, He minimizes the seriousness of her condition and orders the witnesses to not tell anyone (Luke 8:54–56).
The man is told to evangelize in his community. The woman who has lost her status is restored to her community. The girl is protected from those who would make her a spectacle.
Verse 40. Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
Jesus’ goal for His ministry in Galilee is to preach (Mark 1:38). He performs miracles of healing and provision to validate that His words come from God and because He has compassion for abandoned and abused people. Miracles are not His primary ministry, but they are what He is known for.
In Galilee, especially on the shores of the sea, people often swarm Jesus. The crowds are so much that to teach, He must get into a boat and float away from the crowd (Mark 4:1). After one such exhausting time of teaching, He told the disciples to set sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He got a nap in a violent storm, which He calmed, on the way and then healed a demon-possessed man on shore before yet another crowd arrived—this time to ask Him to leave (Luke 8:22–39). Jesus got back in the boat to return to Galilee. This verse (Luke 8:40) describes His arrival there.
It seems that some in the crowd He’d previously left in Galilee had tried to follow (Mark 4:36). They might have turned back in the storm. Now, when Jesus lands back in Galilee, He’s quickly enveloped by a crowd that had been awaiting His arrival. They are quite eager, even aggressive. “Pressed around” in Luke 8:42 is Greek for “choked,” vaguely echoing the thorns that choked the seeds in an earlier parable (Luke 8:14).
Context Summary
Luke 8:40–56 records the third and fourth examples of Jesus providing salvation from worldly hardships—this time, illness, shame, and death. Jairus begs Jesus to come heal his daughter. Along the way, a chronically ill woman touches Jesus’ robe. Jesus stops, blesses her faith, and calls her “daughter.” He then raises the young girl from the dead. Jairus and the woman both show their faith through their diligence and boldness to procure Jesus’ healing power. Next, Jesus will imbue His disciples with His power to continue His work. These stories are also found in Matthew 9:18–26 and Mark 5:21–43.
Verse 41. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus ‘ feet, he implored him to come to his house,
Jesus has returned to Galilee after a quick trip to the other side of the sea (Luke 8:22–39). Once again (Luke 8:19), a crowd mobs Him, one so great they are “pressed around him” (Luke 8:42), most likely trying to touch Him so they can be healed (Luke 6:19). Jairus may be a respected leader of the local synagogue, but he is no less desperate. His young daughter is dying.
Synagogues were gathering places where Jews read Scriptures—the Old Testament—and discussed the text. They did not have a sole religious leader, like a typical modern church, but they did have an administrator. The ruler—or rulers (Mark 5:22)—was responsible for maintaining the facilities; ensuring the scrolls were in order; choosing who would read, pray, and teach; and making sure the teaching was not heretical.
As a synagogue leader, Jairus occupies a high social position. He must also know the issues other synagogue members have had with Jesus (Luke 6:6–11). When his child falls deathly ill, however, none of the controversy matters. Jairus isn’t unique. People today may reject God for any number of reasons including pride or rejection of His authority. Sometimes it takes a situation we can’t control to finally submit to the one who can.
Verse 42. for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.
Jesus has returned to Galilee where big crowds are often a problem (Luke 8:19; Mark 4:1). He has come to teach (Mark 1:38) but the people want healing. One of these desperate people is a synagogue leader whose daughter is dying.
Modern readers are used to clear, precise, linear timelines. In Matthew, the ruler says, “My daughter has just died” (Matthew 9:18), and in Mark, “My little daughter is at the point of death” (Mark 5:23). While Mark matches Luke well enough, Matthew’s account is an example of how Matthew condenses stories, this time combining the two calls for Jesus to come heal Jairus’s daughter. More significantly, Luke omits Jairus’s declaration of faith. Matthew and Mark follow Jairus’s explanation of his daughter’s circumstance with “but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live” (Matthew 9:18; cf. Mark 5:23).
The Gospel writers told many of the same stories, but to different audiences and with different purposes. Luke endeavored to write an “orderly account” of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 1:3). He doesn’t order the stories chronologically but by subject and with a specific intent; Luke’s goal is to show Jesus’ attention toward outcasts like Gentiles, women, children, and sinners. By including additional details from the story, Luke stresses Jesus’ compassion for children—in this case, Jairus’s daughter. Matthew, in keeping with revealing Jesus as the Messiah of the Jews, shows how a Jewish leader has great faith in Him.
“Pressed” as used here has a different meaning than “pressing” in Luke 8:45. It has a sense of “choke” or “suffocate,” like the thorns in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:14).
Verse 43. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
Jesus is in Galilee, in the middle of a mob. A leader of the synagogue has won His attention on behalf of his dying daughter (Luke 8:40–42), but he is far from the only person in need.
None of the Gospel writers identify the unnamed woman’s condition. Scholars speculate it was a type of uterine bleeding. In the Mosaic law, such bleeding makes a woman unclean during the time she is bleeding and for a week after. In fact, anyone she touches would be made unclean. They would merely need to wash before evening, but she is barred from worshiping or sacrificing at the temple (Leviticus 15:25–30).
She knows she needs to touch Jesus to be healed (Mark 5:28), but if she does so, she will make Him ceremonially unclean. She doesn’t know that He’s God, the Son of God, and the Jewish Messiah. She does know He’s a respected teacher, healer, and prophet. She doesn’t want Him to know she’s about to touch Him and make Him unclean, but she’s desperate.
Much as with junk medicine of the modern world, many treatments from “healers” of that era were little more than useless spells. That she has spent twelve years unable to properly engage in life and worship makes her willing to try anything. Unfortunately, not only has she lost all her money to false healers, she “suffered much” from their treatments and even grew worse (Mark 5:26).
Verse 44. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
A crowd is pressing in on Jesus (Luke 8:42). Somehow, a woman with chronic bleeding manages to make her way to Him and touch His cloak.
Mark has more to say about the woman. This is not a spontaneous decision. She had heard about Jesus and believes that if she touches Jesus’ garments, she will be healed (Mark 5:27–28). She does so quietly, however. Her medical condition makes her and anything she touches ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25–30). That includes the throng around her and the unsuspecting religious leader she is about to touch. Even so, none of the Gospel writers condemn her decision, perhaps because Jesus is so quick to praise her faith (Luke 8:48).
Because of the woman’s great faith, she is immediately healed. Mark elaborates, “and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease” (Mark 5:29). For twelve years, she has been a social outcast. Besides the incredible inconvenience of uncontrollable bleeding, she likely experienced anemia and pain. No more would she wonder if she had somehow sinned to deserve this condition or seek out useless “healers” to take what little money she could scrounge (Luke 8:43; Mark 5:26). She is free. Now the only thing left to do is leave quietly so that no one suspects.
But Jesus doesn’t let her go so easily. He finds her out, and she confesses what she has done before the whole crowd. She must be terrified that He will be angry or that the crowd will condemn her for making the holy man unclean. Instead, Jesus uses the opportunity to make sure all the people know she is healed and clean and no longer a social pariah (Luke 8:45–47).
Literally, “fringe” just means the hem of Jesus’ garment, but it may refer to one of the tassels that Jewish men wore on their cloaks to remind them of the Mosaic law (Numbers 15:38–41).
Verse 45. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”
Luke does not give an exact explanation for why Jesus asks this question. As God, Jesus maintained the full nature of His deity, including omniscience. God does ask questions He knows the answer to, often to draw someone to engage with Him or examine the situation or their own hearts (Genesis 3:9, 11; Job 1:7; Exodus 4:2). However, Jesus also limited His divine attributes to live a fully human life. Philippians 2:7 says Jesus “emptied himself.” It’s unclear if this refers to His social authority as God and Creator or if it means He laid aside some of His characteristics to better experience human life. The latter is possible, as Luke indicates in Jesus’ childhood: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Jesus explains He knows someone touched Him, saying, “for I perceive that power has gone out from me” (Luke 8:46). He certainly did not have less power than before—”gone out” here is in the sense of a conduit, not an emptying. But scholars disagree as to the implications of this statement. Was it His innate power as God? Was it the Holy Spirit’s power? The answers depend on the meaning of Philippians 2:7, which is not perfectly clear.
The situation involves many people swarming around Jesus to touch Him and gain a blessing. The Greek terms here imply that Jesus is physically confined, as modern English might describe as “the crush” of a crowd. The crowd is reaching out to touch Jesus, bumping into Him, even being thrown against Him. But only one person received the benefit of His healing power.
Verse 46. But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”
Amid an aggressive mob, pushing against and reaching toward Him, Jesus feels a particular touch that draws power from Him. He asks who it is who touched Him. Peter sees the crowd and wonders how Jesus could hope to find the culprit (Luke 8:40–45).
Theologians also wonder why Jesus asked, but for a different reason. Jesus is God. As such, He has all the characteristics of God, like omnipotence and omniscience. Theologians debate as to whether He actively used these characteristics while He was on earth in a physical body. Many say yes—God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and so the character of Jesus’ deity did not change. Jesus’ question (Luke 8:45) would be consistent with God’s habit of asking questions to invite people into conversation, not to gain information (Genesis 3:9; Job 1:7; Exodus 4:2).
Scripture seems to indicate another possibility. When Jesus was a child, He “increased in wisdom and in stature” (Luke 2:52). Hebrews says Jesus “learned obedience” (Hebrews 5:8). When Jesus became incarnate, He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). That could imply Jesus deliberately limiting His use of certain divine powers to live a fully human life. Does Jesus know who touched Him? We don’t know.
Scholars also debate as to what it means that power went out of—in this case, meaning flowed through, not drained from—Jesus. Is this the power He has by virtue of being God? Does the Holy Spirit empower Him (Mark 3:22–30; Luke 4:14)? Again, we don’t know as it’s not the point of the verse.
The purpose is to draw attention to the woman. She is trying to hide, knowing that by touching a religious leader while in a ceremonially unclean state, she has broken a serious taboo (Leviticus 15:25–30). Jesus is more concerned with her. By calling her out, He can publicly praise her faith and announce to everyone that she is now healed—she is no longer unclean—and she is able to join society again (Luke 8:48).
Verse 47. And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.
A woman who has been bleeding for twelve years has touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak and immediately felt herself healed. She had snuck up on Jesus in the middle of a crowd, trying to not draw attention to herself. But He felt the healing power leave Him (Luke 8:43–46).
None of the Gospels identify what kind of bleeding the woman has suffered from, but it’s most likely uterine or vaginal. As such, she is ritually unclean and so is anything she touches (Leviticus 15:25–30). Most Bible scholars say that because Jesus is holy, He cannot be made unclean, even if He touches a leper (Luke 5:12–13). They say whatever He touches becomes holy, like the altar of the tabernacle: “…Whatever touches the altar shall become holy” (Exodus 29:37).
But it’s important to remember that “clean” doesn’t mean “holy.” Ceremonial uncleanness and sin are not the same. Many of the “clean” states depicted in the law of Moses refer to something “normal.” Many of the “unclean” states refer to things that are reminders of the reality of death in the world, and thus would be inappropriate to have within the tabernacle or temple. Among other things, the tabernacle, and later the temple, served as a depiction of an Edenic state and a pointing forward to the new creation. God’s presence symbolically dwelled there. Thus, aside from the sacrificial system where animal death pointed forward to Jesus and symbolically atoned for human sin so they could be in God’s presence, the experience of human death and its effects should not be there. When humans dwell with God, there will be no death, neither will its related effects be present.
For example, it’s not “normal” for someone to have a skin disease like leprosy or a discharge. Menstruation or discharge of semen point to life and death and were handled in specific ways, as was giving birth. When Jesus was born, that process made Mary unclean. It’s not “normal”—for any one person—to die, so when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus, they became unclean (John 19:38–42).
We don’t know if Jesus became unclean when the woman touched Him, but it would not have been a sin if He had. Still, the stigma of being unclean and forcing uncleanness on a religious leader is so great that the woman is terrified that her presumption has been discovered.
The woman had been trying to hide. When she is found out, she trembles in fear. Jesus could have let her go without a word. Yet bringing her to the attention of the crowd turns out to be a blessing. First, now the crowd knows that she is healed and clean. There is no reason to stigmatize her or believe God is punishing her. Second, Jesus can publicly praise her faith (Luke 8:48) and show that He is willing to heal society’s cast-offs. Third, like the demoniac (Luke 8:39), she has the privilege of sharing what Jesus has done for her.
Ironically, in Jesus’ next miracle, He requests the details be kept quiet. He will raise a young girl, about twelve years old, from the dead, but tells her parents to keep it quiet (Luke 8:49–56). He understands that young girls do not need to be the center of scrutiny for a whole region.
Verse 48. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
On His way to heal the daughter of a synagogue leader, Jesus is distracted by His own “daughter.” She was ill and unclean. She touched the hem of His cloak in secret, potentially making Him unclean. He forced a confession from her in a crowd so tight it’s described using terms appropriate for squeezing out the insides of a grape. She has publicly, although reluctantly, admitted she was unclean and, as far as she knows, made Him so as well (Luke 8:43–47).
By drawing attention to the woman, Jesus blesses her in several different ways. He makes sure the entire region knows she is clean; they can freely associate with her. He lets her know that her faith is the reason she is healed; she is not as helpless as she may have thought. Even more, her peace with God is restored.
This is the only time in Scripture where Jesus calls a woman His daughter. The word connotes a familiarity she could never imagine. The title means she was right to touch Him; she was right to think He was responsible for caring for her. Even more, He is happy to do so.
Verse 49. While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler ‘s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.”
Luke 8:19–56 presents several different reactions to Jesus. Some, likely including His mother and brothers, think He’s “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21; Luke 8:19–21). When He calms a storm with a quick rebuke, His disciples become afraid (Luke 8:22–25). In the same way, when people discover He has rescued a man who was possessed by a legion of demons, they are so frightened they beg Jesus to leave. Meanwhile, the man is so grateful he begs to accompany Jesus (Luke 8:37–38). The woman with a discharge of blood approaches Jesus with faith in His power to heal her but fear about what He would think of her for doing so (Luke 8:43–48).
Jairus had faith that Jesus could heal his sick daughter (Mark 5:22–23) and his faith stays strong when she dies (Matthew 9:18). Even though Jairus is desperate and anxious, he keeps his faith that Jesus has the power and the desire to raise his daughter.
The timing of Jairus’s request (Luke 8:41–42), the arrival of the messenger from the house, and Matthew’s account which says Jairus asked Jesus after his daughter has died is quite confusing. Matthew condenses the interaction, combining two interactions into one description. He wrote to Jews to prove Jesus is the Jewish Messiah; by condensing the story, he shows a Jewish religious leader’s faith in Jesus. Luke’s extended story keeps the focus on the girl as his theme is Jesus’ compassion for outcasts like Gentiles, women, children, and sinners. It’s quite possible that Jairus first talks to Jesus when his daughter is near death, the messenger comes and tells Jairus his daughter has died, Jesus builds his faith (Luke 8:50), and Jairus repeats his request (Matthew 9:18). Any other differences are merely literary choices.
Verse 50. But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
Jairus found Jesus shortly after He returned from crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jairus’s daughter desperately needs Jesus’ healing. But on the way to his house, the synagogue leader finds himself watching Jesus interact with a woman who has touched Jesus’ cloak and received healing. Jesus tells the woman, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (Luke 8:41–48).
While Jesus is speaking, a messenger from Jairus’s house arrives to tell him his daughter has dead; there’s no more reason to trouble Jesus for healing (Luke 8:49). Jesus responds with a companion comment to that which He gave the woman: have faith. Jairus has seen Jesus willingly heal a woman with a serious medical issue; Jesus has the power and desire to raise a dead girl. Some time later, Jesus will speak to another father whose son desperately needs rescue. Again, Jesus tells the father to have faith. The father responds, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23–24).
In their book In Search of a Confident Faith, J. P. Moreland and Klaus Issler divide “faith” into three parts: knowledge, assent, and commitment. The woman with an issue of blood knew Jesus had the power to heal, accepted that understanding, and committed herself to take the steps to receive healing. The father of the possessed boy had strong commitment, but struggled with knowledge and assent. Jairus seems to waver in his commitment although he has shown strong knowledge and assent.
God is gracious with us. He knows we are weak humans and cannot have full and complete faith all the time. The strength of our faith may waver, but Jesus’ faithfulness never will.
Verse 51. And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
Jairus has begged Jesus to come to his home and heal his sick daughter. In the time it takes them to reach the house, the girl has died, but Jesus tells Jairus to have faith (Luke 8:41–42, 49–50). Jesus leaves the crowd behind, including most of the disciples. He only takes His three closest friends and the girl’s parents. As they approach the girl, they pass professional mourners who cry and wail. Their “mourning” is fake, however; as soon as Jesus rebukes them, they mock Him (Luke 8:52–53).
The small audience is very intentional. Peter, James, and John can act as witnesses to Jesus’ actions for the disciples. But Jesus does not want the girl to become a spectacle. He doesn’t even want others to know she has died; He gives the professional mourners a euphemism, saying the girl is merely sleeping. Unlike the man Jesus rescued from thousands of demons (Luke 8:39) and the woman He healed from chronic bleeding (Luke 8:47), He wants this miracle to stay quiet.
Verse 52. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
A synagogue leader has asked Jesus to come and raise to life his only daughter (Luke 8:40–42, 49–51). As Jesus, Peter, James, and John enter the home, they are met with mourners, wailing and weeping and playing flutes (Matthew 9:23; Mark 5:38). These are not loving family members, distraught because a child has died. They are professional mourners hired to create an appropriate ambiance of sorrow. This was a common practice in that era, much as modern families might hire a funeral home to display the body at a wake.
Jesus deflects. “Sleeping” is a euphemism for death (1 Thessalonians 5:10). Jews believed that the spirit of a person hovered over the body for a few days and could return. Jesus frames the situation to indicate things are not as terrible as they’re making it out to be.
Horribly, the mourners laugh at him because they know the girl is dead (Luke 8:53). Jesus told the girl’s father to have faith, and he believes as much as he can (Luke 8:50; Matthew 9:18). The mourners, however, show their true colors. They respect neither Jesus nor the dead. It’s just a job. Since Jesus intends to raise the girl from the dead they’re no longer needed, so He dismisses them (Mark 5:40).
This passage may give us pause to consider our own reactions to death. Our entertainment is filled with violence to the point we can become bored of it. In some cases, death is even presented as humorous. The Bible says otherwise. God did not create humans to experience death. When Jesus returns, He will defeat every enemy that rises against Him, and “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). Those who deal with death every day know it is an enemy. It is nothing to be mocked.
Verse 53. And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
Peter, John, and James have followed Jesus as He accompanies a synagogue leader whose daughter has died. As they enter his house, people are “weeping and mourning for her” (Luke 8:49–52). They aren’t friends and family come to comfort the girl’s parents. They’re hired mourners who have come to make a spectacle of death (Matthew 9:23; Mark 5:38).
Jesus intends to heal the girl, but quietly. He has already left the mob (Luke 8:40) and most of the disciples outside. Now He needs to get rid of the racket. He uses a common euphemism (1 Thessalonians 5:10) and tells the mourners, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping” (Luke 8:52). If the mourners had cared about the girl and her family, they would have either rejoiced in hope or berated Jesus for lying and being uncaring. Instead, they scornfully laugh. The girl’s father is doing everything he can to keep faith that Jesus can raise the dead (Luke 8:50; Matthew 9:18). These people are not helping.
This is a common experience in life, especially for those of faith. The faith journey is difficult, and it’s made more so when those who should support and encourage us choose to mock us instead. Several times, the New Testament tells us to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:23–25). It’s worth considering how we spend time and resources, and if those things are actually tearing us down.
Jesus kicks the mourners out (Mark 5:40). This is just a job for them, and their services are no longer required. Then He enters the room where the girl has been laid.
Verse 54. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
A synagogue leader has asked Jesus to raise his dead daughter, and Jesus willingly complies. For the third time—perhaps that day—He is exposed to someone who is ritually unclean. First it was the man beset by thousands of demons who roamed the graveyard naked and covered in sores from the stones he drew across his flesh (Luke 8:27–38). Then it was the woman with chronic bleeding who had the audacity to touch Jesus in search of healing (Leviticus 15:25–30; Luke 8:43–44). Now, it’s a dead body (Numbers 19:11).
Such an act proves Jesus’ compassion in addition to His power. He has no need for touch when healing (Luke 7:7–8), but He heals out of compassion (Matthew 14:14). Unlike the professional “mourners” who quickly switch from wailing to mocking (Luke 8:52–53), this girl and her family are not a job to Him.
Mark, here, quotes Jesus’ Aramaic words directly: “Talitha cumi” (Mark 5:41). Scholars think Mark tried to prove Jesus doesn’t use magical spells: He’s no traveling showman or magician. He simply speaks what He wants to see happen, as He did with the storm (Luke 8:24; Mark 4:39). Luke is writing to a Greek audience that probably doesn’t know Aramaic or wonder if Jesus is a magician, so he feels free to use an interpretation.
Verse 55. And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.
A leader of the local synagogue sees his faith justified. He had “implored” Jesus to come to his home and heal his dying daughter. By the time they arrived, his girl was dead, but Jesus told him to have faith. When they reach the girl, Jesus takes her hand and simply says, “Child, arise” (Luke 8:41–42, 49, 54). Amazingly, she does.
Luke gives three indications that the girl has come back to life: her spirit returns to her body, she sits up, and she eats. Elsewhere, Luke associates the loss of the spirit with death (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). When Jesus resurrected the only son of a widow in Nain, his restoration was marked by him sitting up and speaking (Luke 7:11–15). When Jesus rises from the dead, He also proves He is real by eating (Luke 24:41–43).
This is the third story in a row on healing. The first was the man rescued from possession by a legion of demons (Luke 8:26–39). The second was a woman with an issue of blood (Luke 8:43–48). In the first two, Jesus made the healings public, letting the locals know these people could rejoin society. In this case, He tells everyone involved to keep it quiet. Most likely, He feels a grown man and a grown woman can handle the notoriety of their rescue and lead others to praise God in the process. A young girl, however, doesn’t need to be made a spectacle. The “mourners” who switched so quickly from wailing to mocking (Luke 8:52–53) show not everyone has her best interests at heart.
Verse 56. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Jairus has tried to keep faith that Jesus can heal his daughter even though she is dead (Matthew 9:18). When he sees it actually happen, however, he and his wife are amazed. He had just walked through a crowd of professional mourners, loudly lamenting her loss. Now, there’s no need: his child is alive!
In the previous two healing miracles, Jesus rescued a man from a legion of demons and healed a woman who had suffered with chronic bleeding for twelve years. He told the man to “declare how much God has done for you” to the whole region on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:39). He refused to allow the woman to sneak away, instead drawing attention to her wholeness in front of a great crowd (Luke 8:47–48). Now, despite those mourners, He tells the girl’s parents and His disciples to keep the event quiet.
Jesus tells demons to be silent so that people will not hear evil spirits validating His identity (Mark 3:11–12). Sometimes He tells witnesses to a healing miracle to be quiet (Mark 1:44–45). It is true that His reputation as a healer complicates travel (Luke 8:42b) and teaching His disciples (Mark 6:30–34). But another reason here is that Jesus has just raised a girl, about twelve years old, from the dead. No twelve-year-old girl needs to be the center of the great hullabaloo that would inevitably follow if her situation were made known. Sadly, Jesus’ words are not heeded, “and the report of this went through all that district” (Matthew 9:26).
Having shown His power in different ways, Jesus next imbues that power to His disciples, sending them to heal and preach throughout the villages (Luke 9:1–6). After Jesus feeds the five thousand (Luke 9:10–17), Luke records a series of difficult Messianic messages in preparation for the great transition of Luke’s Gospel when Jesus sets “his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Jesus has shown the disciples His power. Soon, He will show them He needs to lay down that power to save them.
End of Chapter 8.
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