February 19, 2014: Luke Chapter 8

The Gospel According to Luke Chapter 8

Originally posted Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Luke Chapter 8:1-3 The Women Followers (unique to Luke)

This passage is of interest because of the mention of women followers of Jesus. We should be surprised by this based on the usual understanding of the place of women in a first century Jewish setting and even today within ultra-orthodox Judaism. In Jesus' time and among Palestinian Jews, it would not be appropriate for a woman, particularly a married woman, to be out in public without her husband or another male relative. It would be very scandalous for any unrelated woman, married or not, to be traveling with a group of men. 

There are relatively few women mentioned as having leadership roles in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we have good evidence of women in leadership roles (including one or more Apostles) among the churches founded by Paul and also the church in Rome. The Gospels provide well-attested evidence that Jesus easily interacted with women, Jew and Gentile, and there seems to have been a core group of women who were followers. Luke does not call them disciples, but their acts of providing for Jesus and the disciples (we should assume this refers to the twelve) is consistent with the usual meaning of the word. There is an interesting mix among these women, particularly Mary Magdalene - formerly possessed by seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, one of Herod's stewards (a type of manager of estates or other business affairs). These women will appear again towards the end of Luke. Mary Magdalene was from Magdala on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee, several miles north or Tiberias. In the Talmud it is called the "City of Color." It was an area for cultivating the indigo plant and one of the wards of the city was called the "Tower of Dyers."

Luke Chapter 8:4-8 The Parable of the Sower  [see MT 13:1-9;   MK 4:1-9]

Luke is not materially different from Matthew and Mark. He has removed text he considers extraneous to the parable theme such as location. Luke skips the thirty and sixty fold yields and states the exaggerated one hundred fold yield as an expression of the miraculous abundance to be realized in God's Kingdom.

Luke Chapter 8:9-10 The Purpose of the Parables  [see MT 13:10-17; MK 4:10-12]

Luke's version omits the last section of Mark's passage of judgment on Israel as "outsiders" who cannot enter the Kingdom.  He presents a much less judgmental tone. It is not the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that have been given to the disciples, but to "know" what the mysteries are. Luke contrasts the disciples with others, not outsiders. The "others" are the crowds Jesus is teaching with parables. The disciples know the mysteries and do not require parables to understand them.

Luke Chapter 8:11-15 The Parable Explained  [see MT 13:18-23; MK 4:13-20]

Jesus' interpretation of the parable is self-evident if we keep in mind that the key to receiving the Word and bearing fruit is receptivity. How receptive or open are we to that Word? And once heard how will the hearing be converted to the doing? We sit in our Sunday classes and pews and listen intently, perhaps. What are we listening for? What do we expect to receive? For some it is information; for others, inspiration. For others still, challenge. How do we appropriate the Word and allow it to interact with our world view, our self view. Have we ever been so challenged that we actually changed the way we live and think? Perhaps the best we can hope for is that one of those seeds strewn out across the room might land on us and later, burrow into our psyche and lay there until, in the soft glow of dawning light we might begin to "see" and "hear" with the eyes and ears of awakening faith. When Jesus spoke in parables to the "others" lives were changed. Conventional wisdom was shattered. Dreams of possibility were born and the inner world of each one who heard, understood and "...held it fast in an honest and good heart" was changed.

Luke Chapter 8:16-18 A Lamp Under a Jar  [see MT 5:14-16; MK 4:21-26]

As an extension of the previous parable explanation Luke reminds us in this passage that we should pay attention to "how" we listen. He reminds us that truly hearing the Word is within our control, even when the word is not obvious. In a good parable the word is seldom obvious. We have to think with our ears and mind in the same circuit. As we light a lamp in order to see, a seed is planted in order to bear fruit. The light is what we shine on that planted seed - the Word we hear, and is planted within us. It is the light of our attention, our choice to listen well, which will bring about the desired fruit. Think about it!

Luke Chapter 8:19-21 The True Kindred of Jesus  [see MT 12:46-50;  MK 3:31-34]

In Mark this passage comes directly after Jesus has been accused of casting out demons with the assistance of the Devil and his family is on the way to restrain (take charge of) him. Luke omits the family's intent and places the saying in an entirely different setting, amid the series on parables. Whereas Mark places the family on the outside, among the unbelievers, Luke uses their presence as a teaching opportunity. He does not reject or judge his family, but he does define what true family means to him. The true family is one which faithfully follows him as disciples, who have paid attention to how they listened and have heard the Word in the light of their attention. Jesus' message of the Kingdom takes hold in his family. They see it ahead and dawning. They know what to do while they are waiting: The good works of mercy, compassion and justice. This is family.

Luke Chapter 8:22-25 Jesus Calms the Storm  [see MT 8:23-27; MK 4:35-41]

The basic outline of the passage is the same as Mark. As Luke often does, he softens the disciples' reaction. Mark has the disciples waking Jesus and frantically asking Jesus if he even cares that they are perishing. Jesus' response is softer in Luke and does not demean them as those with little faith. We are aware of the value of this passage in Matthew and Mark as a response to political persecution and internecine debate with the Synagogue leadership. For both, the storm-tossed boat was a symbol of the threatened Church. If we accept the writing of Luke in the period of 85 to 95 CE  and for a predominately Gentile community, there would be a strong possibility that this community would find some hope in this passage. It would have been a time of turmoil in the midst of Roman persecution under the Emperor Domitian. His reign was from 81 to 96 CE. Toward the end of his reign he oversaw the persecution of Christians and Jews. There is a consensus among scholars that the book of Revelation was written in response to this persecution. Although the persecution was not wide spread it apparently affected the western part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where major Christian centers such as Ephesus were located. It is more than likely this story would have had a special meaning for Luke's Gentile Christian community.

Luke Chapter 8:26-39 The Gerasene Demoniac  [see MT 8:28-34; MK 5:1-20]

Luke is essentially identical with Mark, with one particularly interesting exception. In vs. 31, after the demons have been cast out of the man (their collective name was Legion) they beg Jesus not to send them back into the "abyss." This is an interesting word. In Old Testament (and later Judaism) the Abyss was the abode of primordial chaos which existed before Creation and was associated with untamed evil. In 2 Pet. 2-4 it is identified as "Tartarus," the lightless abyss below Hades into which the fallen angels were cast. In ancient mythology this was a place of punishment for the wicked, a concept incorporated into the early concepts of Hell.

The irony of this passage is that although the demons are granted their wish to be placed in the herd of swine, the swine run into the sea and drown, thus returning the demons to the very place they were afraid to go, the Abyss, symbolized by the chaos of the sea. It seems even the demons don't want to go to Hell! (see Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:4; Rev. 9:1-2, 11)

Luke Chapter 8:40-56 Jarius' Daughter and a Woman's Faith  [see MT 9:18-26; MK 5:21-43]

There are few differences between Luke and Mark that change the overall meaning of the passage. In the part relating to the woman with a hemorrhage who had suffered for twelve years, there is no clue to her thoughts which in Mark let us know that she has come to Jesus believing he can heal her if she were to just touch his robe, an example of extraordinary faith. In Luke there is resolution of that difference at the end when Jesus tells her (I want to believe, with a smile) to go in peace, her faith has healed her. Luke also adds the dimension of gracious thankfulness as the woman comes forward and tells the gathered crowd what Jesus has done for her to return her to a life that had been lost to her for twelve years.

There is that audacity of faith that allows people to face even the gravest of human struggles, a faith that strengthens, even against the greatest odds. It is a bravery of sorts we would all welcome when our time comes to meet that which is beyond our control. It is raw faith, and we have all seen it at work. When those times come, it will be comforting to hear, "Go in peace, your faith has made you whole."

In the story of Jarius' daughter, Luke does not use the Aramaic "Talitha cum" as he raises the young girl. These words would have had no meaning to a Gentile audience. But they would certainly have understood the idea of having one's life touched by Jesus and being liberated, raised, from a life poorly spent and given the opportunity to turn toward another horizon.