Luke 8

CHAPTER 8THEME: Jesus gives parables; parable of the sower; parable of the lighted candle; personal relationships; stills the storm; Jesus casts out demons at Gadara; Jesus heals woman with issue of blood; restores to life daughter of Jairus

Luke 8:1

JESUS GIVES PARABLESAs our Lord continued His ministry, many people were turning to Him, and some of them were officials in high places.

Luke 8:4

PARABLE OF THE SOWERThe Sower is Jesus. The seed is His Word. The birds are a symbol of the Devil. The “rocky places” are those who receive the Word of God in the enthusiasm of the flesh. Trouble and persecution dampen the interest. For a time fleshly hearers of the Word manifest great interest and zeal, but a little trouble reveals their lack of true faith. Only some of the seeds falls on good ground and brings forth a full harvest. These are the hearers who are genuinely converted by the Word of God.

Luke 8:16

PARABLE OF THE LIGHTED CANDLEThe parable of the candle is one of action. Light creates responsibility. A man who receives the truth must act. We are held responsible to the degree that light has been given us. The point is that you and I were in darkness until the light of the gospel got through to us. Sometimes we are given the impression that man is a sinner because of his weakness or because of his ignorance. But Paul says very candidly (see Rom. 1) that men, when they knew God, glorified Him not as God. Man is a willful sinner. That is the kind of sinners all of us are, and the light that comes in will create a responsibility. We come into this world lost, and if we do not accept the Light, who is Christ, we remain lost. We are held responsible for the light we have received.

Luke 8:19

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPSChrist is declaring a new relationship in this passage. He was not denying His family relationship but was getting ready to declare one infinitely deeper, higher, and more permanent, transcending by far any blood relationship. This brings a believer mighty close to Him.

Luke 8:22

STILLS THE STORMJesus gave a command to cross the sea. An unordinary storm arose. The intensity of the storm suggests the savagery of Satan. The Lord went to sleep because He was wearyso weary that the violent storm did not disturb Him. The disciples became frightened and felt that everyone in the boat would perish. The storm did not disturb the Lord, but the attitude of His disciples did. He rebuked the wind and the sea as one would speak to dogs on a leash. Literally His command was, “Be muzzled.” The miracle lies in the fact that the wind ceased immediately, and the sea, which would have rolled for hours, instantly became as smooth as glass. How often He puts us in the storms of life in order that we might come closer to Him and learn what manner of Man He really is.

Luke 8:26

JESUS CASTS OUT DEMONS AT GADARANow our Lord arrives at Gadara where a maniac lived who was possessed by demons. Because of his profession Dr. Luke goes into this story more thoroughly than do the other writers. Apparently there were two demoniacs, and Luke selects only one for a definite purpose. Why? Luke is a doctor, and he is attempting to give an illustration. Concerning this matter of demons, there are those who think they belong to the category of ghosts, goblins, gnomes, sylvan satyrs, and stygian shades, fables and fairies. For many years the average Christian viewpoint on demons was that if they ever existed, they no longer exist today. However, I believe we are seeing a manifestation and resurgence of demon possession in our day. It is difficult to explain what is taking place in our contemporary society without believing in the existence of demons. Dr. Luke treats demonism with remarkable insight from a doctor’s viewpoint in a rather scientific way. Matthew’s account of this story is matter-of-fact. Mark’s account is more emotional and spectacular. Earlier in his Gospel Luke has dealt with demonism, making it clear that demonism, and diseases are different. Demon possession is just as real as cancer or leprosy. Demons disturb men physically, mentally, and spiritually. They can destroy the souls of men and be the eternal doom of men. Dr. Luke tells us in the next chapter that demons are synonymous with unclean spirits. The case of the demon-possessed man at Gadara is one of the worst on record. There are some facts that we need to consider in connection with this account. The tribe of Gad inhabited the country of Gadara. This tribe did not cross over the river Jordan with Joshua when Israel inhabited the land. This man who was demon-possessed wore no clothes. I think there is a relationship between nudity and demon possession. He did not dwell in a house like normal people, but he dwelt among the tombs and caves. The personality of this man was degraded, debased, and destroyed. He had no will of his own; he was in the possession of demons.

Luke 8:28

The demon recognized Jesus. James tells us, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (Jas_2:19). Demons are the enemies of God, and they are going to be judged. What is the origin of demons? We cannot be dogmatic. The physical world has something in it that cannot be seenit is the atom. They exist and have made an impact on our day and generation. Likewise in the spiritual world there are certain things we cannot see. Angels are real, but we cannot see them. There are two classes of angels: those that are with God and serve Him and those that fell with Satan at the beginning. Homer speaks of daimon and Theos as being synonymous. Hesiod, a Greek philosopher, says that all demons are good, while another Greek philosopher, Empedocles, declares that demons are both bad and good. Behind all idolatry and ancient religions was demonism. Demons control a man so that he cannot do what he wants to do. Demons cause people to do frightful and terrifying acts. They cause people to perform soul-destroying acts. They cause mothers to kill their children, husbands to kill their wives, and children to kill their parents. People commit senseless acts, and they do not know why they do such terrible things. These things are happening in our day, and mankind is blaming everything but demons as the cause.

Luke 8:30

This man was not possessed by one demon but by a legion of demons. There are three thousand to six thousand men in a Roman legion of soldiers. The word legion was used like the word mob. There was a mob of demons in this man, and they did not want to go “out into the deep.” That “deep” is the bottomless pit, or the abyss, where the other fallen angels are incarcerated. Jude tells us about it in Jud_1:6: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Demons want to inhabit the body of a person. When a demon is cast out of a person, he will wander around and come back to try to enter that person again; or, if he cannot gain entrance, he will go to another person.

He does not want to be without a body. When the Lord cast the demons out of this man, they were willing to go into the bodies of the swine rather than go into the abyss. Notice that the pigs would rather be dead than have the demons indwell them!

Luke 8:34

A marvelous transformation had taken place in this man. Only Christ can deliver from the power of Satan. We are seeing a resurgence of demonism in our day. It is a frightful, ugly thing, and we need to call upon God for help.

Luke 8:37

It is startling to read that the people of Gadara came and asked the Lord Jesus to leave their coasts. The reason was that they would rather have the swine than have Him. That’s a rather heart-searching question for the present day because there are a lot of people who would rather have other thingswhich are just as bad as pigsthan to have Christ!

Luke 8:41

JESUS HEALS WOMAN WITH ISSUE OF BLOOD; RESTORES TO LIFE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUSWhen Jesus returned to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, crowds gathered around Him. There were two desperate people in the crowd. Jairus came to get Jesus to heal his daughter, not to raise her from the dead. His faith was small, but his situation was desperate. He believed that Jesus would have to touch her. As Jesus began to deal with Jairus, He was interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood. The woman had been suffering with the affliction for twelve years. The daughter of Jairus was twelve years old. Twelve years of darkness were ending and twelve years of light were fading.

Luke 8:45

Jesus did not touch the woman; she touched Him and was healed instantly. Remember that a crowd was all about Jesus. The disciples, seeing the crowd pressing in on Him, knew that He was being touched by scores of people; yet only the woman was healed.

Luke 8:49

When they reached the home of Jairus, the paid mourners had already gone to work. They stopped weeping long enough to laugh at Jesus in their disbelief.

Luke 8:52

The Lord took Peter, James, John, and the father and mother of the girl inside with Him to where the little girl lay. Dr. Luke tells us that He spoke to the little girl in this lovely fashion, “Maid, arise.” It could be translated, “Little lamb, wake up.” The child arose. He brought her back to a world of suffering for the sake of her parents, not for her sake.

Luke 8:54

My friend, notice again that the method Jesus uses in raising the dead is always the same. He calls them and they hear His voice! Once again our Lord demonstrated that He is indeed God.