Luke 9:37-43
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.
Read Luke 9:37-43 noticing the perspectives of both the disciples and the father of the boy.
A day before these events occur, Jesus and three of his disciples have just come down the mountain upon which God has revealed Jesus’ identity through a display of glory. The spectacular mountaintop experience is still fresh on their minds when the desperate father of a boy held captive by demonic forces falls at Jesus’ feet. It is a blatant reminder that although the Kingdom has broken into the world through Jesus, the evil unleashed by human rebellion is still very much present in a myriad of destructive ways.
The examples of demonic oppression in the Gospels might seem archaic to western, Enlightenment-influenced thinkers, but these stories remind us that there is a realm in which evil forces intentionally wreak havoc on God’s image bearers. This realm stands in stark contrast to God’s Kingdom realm where shalom reigns and everything is the way God intended it to be.
Take a moment to contemplate Jesus’ words from John’s Gospel regarding the intent of God and the intent of evil:
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give [people] a rich and satisfying life.” – John 10:10
Stay with this for a while and see if Jesus has something to say to you through it.
Read Luke 9:37-43 again focusing on Jesus’ comment and question.
Jesus does not specify to whom he is addressing these words, but based on Mark’s account of this same incident, and because of Jesus’ compassion toward those who come to him for healing, we can conclude that he is calling out his disciples’ lack of faith. It is, after all, the twelve disciples who were recently sent out with Jesus’ authority to heal and cast out demons, and nine of them were present when the father first arrived with his tortured son.
It does lead us to wonder whether these nine assumed that the power Jesus gave them earlier was theirs to keep. If so, they are now keenly aware of the truth. They simply can’t rely on past experiences no matter how successful they were. They need a constant faith borne of the realization that apart from Jesus they are helpless to do anything of Kingdom value.
Recall Jesus’ question to his disciples regarding his identity:
“Who do you say that I am?”
Then consider this question: In light of Jesus’ identity, who are you?
Talk with Jesus about this and then get quiet and listen to him.
What is Jesus saying to you today?
What will you do about that?
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