Luke 8

Jesus’ ministry included healing and teaching. There is much more that He did than we know, as certain summary verses in the gospels tell us. The first verse of this chapter reminds us that Jesus was going forth teaching and preaching in a whole variety of cities and villages. In everything that He did, a voice was given for the Kingdom of God. Some of His companions, particularly a number of women from Galilee, had the great benefit of being with Him through it all. Here again, there are some few that we know something about, like Mary Magdelene, but there were others that we know very little about. We can say that the person and work of Jesus Christ captivated these people, and because of this they gave of their substance and their time. They were given the great privilege of being eyewitnesses to some of the most significant events in the story of mankind.

The teaching ministry of Jesus was not just an afterthought. It appears to be His primary concern, and it is every bit as much a ministry of the Kingdom of God as His healing ministry. Even though His words were not even designed to be immediately understood by everyone, they were important words that were very appropriate to the task. The end of the nation of Israel as the covenant people of God was at hand. The beginning of the worldwide church as the new Israel was swiftly approaching. The speech of Jesus was judgment upon the first, and with His explanations to His disciples, life for the second.

The Kingdom of God would move forward through hearing the word. The word would soon be preached by those called and sent out for the task. The disciples would begin this ministry, but they would raise up others to take their place, multiplying the effect of their instruction far beyond what they could have accomplished on their own. Each man sows the seed of the outward Word that is proclaimed, but only Jesus can make that Word effectual in the hearts of those who would hear. When He does this, He is aiming for fruitfulness. He has a purpose that is constructive in the Kingdom of God. Not all will immediately reject the Word. Not all will be eventually put off by cares or persecution. Some will bear fruit, and that fruit will be Kingdom of God fruit. If we want what Jesus wants, then we will yield ourselves to the miracle gift of an honest and good heart that only He can plant within us, bearing fruit with patience. This is the way that the Kingdom of God will move forward until the day of final resurrection dawns.

This teaching ministry of Jesus Christ is not only primary to His purpose, but it also powerful in accomplishing that purpose. If He is planting light within our hearts through the Word preached, it is His purpose that this light will be seen in the lives that we live. If we want to keep on receiving from His storehouse of grace, we need to keep giving away the things that we have received. The kingdom that He is building is a family, and we have been brought into that kingdom by simply hearing the Word, and doing it.

An objection may rise within us that the things that we are being asked to do by God are too hard for us. We do well to admit the truth of this concern, but to add to that truth another, that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The One who calmed the wind and the waves, can give our restless hearts peace, so that we can serve our Lord with patience, diligence, and love. He makes the wind and the waves obey His Word. The motions of our souls and the follow-through in our lives are not beyond His power.

We should think of this Word as having miraculous power, but a power that works with and not against our resources of careful consideration and reasoning. We are permitted and even commanded to test all things according the Word. By this Word, when it is spiritually considered, the Kingdom is formed and grows within us. Just as surely as a legion of demons was removed from the desperate life of a young man wandering dangerously among the tombs, the teaching ministry of Jesus presented even today through the church has power to take every thought captive, to expose every false and misplaced doctrine, and to give us a solid mind trained up in the system of truth presented to us in the Scriptures. We cannot expect everyone who knows us to applaud our newfound spiritual stability. The countrymen of the tomb-wandering boy did not bow before Jesus when He rid that young man of demons. They asked Him to leave. Do not be surprised when everyone does not applaud your illumination as you acquire a more careful life of clear theological thinking. But have the presence of mind to know within yourself that God has done something very good for you, thank Him for His grace, and tell others of the hope that you have because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The power of the cross and the resurrection is the power of Jesus Christ, the same power that is expressed in His Word proclaimed today. It is power that can restore the dead to life, as a daughter is returned to her parents. It is power that can stop the flow of blood in a woman that has tried everything else for fourteen years. Try faith in Jesus Christ, and believe His Word proclaimed, and find the truth that makes sense in a world of spiritual nonsense.

The great acts of Jesus in healing and in delivering people from demons testified to a truth that He proclaimed, a truth about the Kingdom of God, a truth with His person and works at its very center. When you come to see the truth of the kingdom of God, something more important than your immediate physical healing is powerfully expressed in the life of your soul, something like spiritual sanity. This is the most desperate need of humanity, even within the church. We stand in great need of an appreciation for the power of the teaching ministry of our Lord through His apostles, and by the church throughout the ages. If you are looking for your most needed miracle, come and listen to the One who calls you to his family. Hear and do what He says by a power that is certainly beyond you, and give yourself to the wisdom and the fruitfulness of a life of cross and resurrection love.