Luke Reading (#23)

Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 8:19-39

[8:19] Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. [20] And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” [21] But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
[22] One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, [23] and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. [24] And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. [25] He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
[26] Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. [27] When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. [28] When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” [29] For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) [30] Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. [31] And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. [32] Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. [33] Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
[34] When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. [35] Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [36] And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. [37] Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. [38] The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, [39] “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Observation

• What is the situation in v. 19-20? How does Jesus answer in v. 21?
• What is the setting and situation in v. 22-23?
  • How did the disciples respond (v. 24)?
  • What did Jesus do? What did he say (v. 25)?
  • How did the disciples feel? What did they say?
• What is the setting in v. 26?
  • What do we know about the man who met them (v. 27, 29)?
  • What did the demons say (v. 28)? Why (v. 29)?
  • What did Jesus do to the demons (30-33)?
  • How did the people respond (v. 34-37)?
  • What did the man want (v. 38)? What did Jesus tell him (v. 39)?

Interpretation

• What does Jesus mean when he says that those who hear and do God’s word are his “mother” and “brothers”? What is he saying about his relationship to those people?
• What does the calming of the storm reveal about Jesus? What is the answer to the question that the disciples ask in v. 25?
• Both the disciples (v. 25) and the people of the Gerasenes (v. 37) were afraid because of Jesus’ miracles. Why did they respond to Jesus’ help with fear?
• Why did Jesus negotiate with the demons? Was it cruel for him to send the demons into the pigs?
• Why do you think Jesus didn’t want the formerly possessed man to follow him?  

Application

• How is your “hearing” and “doing”? How can v. 21 help motivate you to obey God’s word?
• Are there situations in your life right now that require you to trust that God is in control? What would it look like for you to have more faith than the disciples in the storm?
• If you had to tell people “how much God has done for you” (v. 39), what would you say? Could you find someone to tell today?

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