2021.11.13 Hopewell @Home ▫ Luke 9:37–45

Read Luke 9:37–45

Questions from the Scripture text: How long after the transfiguration is Luke 9:37? Where do they come? Who meets Jesus? Who cries out to Jesus in behalf of whom in Luke 9:38? What is happening to his son (Luke 9:39)? Whom has he asked for help (Luke 9:40)? With what result? In response, what does Jesus call whom (Luke 9:41)? What does He ask them as a group? What does He tell the man to do? What happened when Jesus approached the child (Luke 9:42)? What does Jesus do to the spirit? To the child? To the father? At what were all amazed in Luke 9:43? At what were they marveling? Who talked to whom? How does Jesus preface His statement to them (Luke 9:44)? What does He say is about to happen to Whom? How do the disciples receive His statement (Luke 9:45)? Why didn’t they ask Him to explain it? 

In a parallel passage, Jesus tells the disciples that the reason that they couldn’t cast the demon out was because of their unbelief (cf. Matthew 17:20). And Peter just yesterday had to be reminded from heaven who Jesus is and that he should therefore listen to Him (cf. Luke 9:35). So, it is not actually as surprising as we might originally think to hear Jesus’s outburst in Luke 9:41.

But He has more on His mind than the persisting unbelief of the eleven. One of them is about to betray Him into the hands of men (Luke 9:44). The hands of men who are fallen in Adam. The hands of men who are susceptible to harm and death and demons (as this child was, and his helpless father) because they are ultimately Hell-deserving. 

It's a real question with a glorious answer: “how long shall I be with you and bear with you?” The answer is: until He has atoned for their sin, earned their blessedness, and accomplished their redemption.

It is shameful that we are not more amazed at our Lord Jesus. Here, the people were amazed at the earthly relief given to one child (Luke 9:43a), but our Lord Himself turns and reminds His disciples that He has come for so much more (verse 43b). 

Christ has defeated sin and death and Satan himself! Oughtn’t we be amazed more? Oughtn’t we marvel more? The Lord grant that we could not rightly be called an “unbelieving and perverse generation.”

How does confidence in Jesus and amazement at Jesus show up in your worship? In your work?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for bearing with us and atoning for us. We believe; forgive us for our unbelief! And grant the ministry of Your Spirit to grow us in faith in You, which we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP72A “God, Give Your Judgments to the King” or TPH172 “Speak, O Lord”