Luke 6:17-19
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
As you read Luke 6:17-19 bear in mind that news of Jesus’ power to heal and restore has spread widely without the aid of mass communication.
Within this massive gathering Luke identifies groups of people based on their level of engagement with Jesus. There are the disciples – those who have apprenticed themselves to Jesus and are actively seeking to become like him. Then there are the followers, or we might say “fans” – the ones who are so enamored by Jesus that they move around with him to be near him, to hear him, and to watch what he does. And then there are the crowds – the curious onlookers who perhaps came to the foot of the mountain on this day because they hoped to see or experience something out of the ordinary. And though Luke doesn’t mention them, we can also assume that there are a few religious skeptics scattered around who are there out of suspicion or envy hoping to catch Jesus doing something “wrong.”
Stop to think about these various groups of people, and then think about your own relationship with Jesus. If you were being completely honest with yourself, would you say you are a disciple of Jesus? A follower of Jesus? A member of the crowd? A skeptic? Speak openly with Jesus about this.
Read Luke 6:17-19 again imagining that you are there among all the groups of people at the foot of the mountain on this day.
Considering that healing isn’t always immediately apparent to the naked eye, there had to be something that stirred the hearts of the people that day. Perhaps some of them were close enough to observe a raving person suddenly become calm and sane, or maybe some witnessed an obvious physical change in a person healed by Jesus. But Luke indicates that there was something emanating from Jesus that day that everyone could feel regardless of what they could see.
Luke writes that “Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him…” And on this day, Jesus healed everyone.
For the last few minutes of this time of meditation, consider asking the Holy Spirit to reveal where you need healing. It might be spiritual, physical, emotional or psychological, or you may need healing in multiple areas.
Now picture Jesus standing on the level ground at the foot of the mountain with healing power emanating from him. Go to him and touch him. Then be silent and listen.
What do you sense Jesus saying to you today?
What will you do about that?
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