Being Disciples; the Transfiguration of Jesus--Luke 9:22-36

Continuing the answer or response to Herod's question in Luke 9:9: "Who is this about whom I hear such things?", Luke emphasizes the nature of being a disciple and the account of the transfiguration, related in Luke 9:22-36. This falls naturally into two paragraphs.

I. The Nature of Being a Disciple. Luke 9:22-27.
a. First, Jesus sets the example that all must follow, which falls into FOUR events: 1. Undergo great suffering. 2. Be rejected by religious leaders. 3. Be killed. 4. Be raised on the third day. Just as John the Baptist persecuted and killed religious leaders (Luke 3:1-20; 9:7-9). All true disciples of Jesus must experience similar events. See 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. 9:22.
b. Then, Jesus outlines FIVE characteristics of loyalty to God through Jesus Christ.
1. Deny yourself, and take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. One who is self-centered cannot be a follower or disciple of God. Simon of Cyrene set the example of being ready to be martyred, suffer the opposition and hostility of ungodly people in every day life. See Luke 23:26. 9:23.
2. Lose your life if you wish to save it. Profit or gain of wealth, business success, fame, notoriety ALL are of no value in the eyes of God or for the nature and future of anyone's life. 9:24.
3. If anyone COULD gain THE WHOLE WORLD, this would be of no value at all. See Luke 12:16-21. 9:25.
4. Strong, persuasive, compelling people demand that we say and do things which are ungodly. When we yield to this kind of pressure, we are ashamed of God and his words. 9:26.
5. God's people see the kingdom of God before they taste death. The kingdom of God is God's rule in the lives of human beings. If our eyes are open, we can see and experience this reality. 9:17.

II. The Transfiguration of Jesus. Luke 9:28-36.
a. Compare this account with Mark 9:2-8. There is a special connection between Luke 9:28-36 about the transfiguration of Jesus and the account of the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3:19-20.
b. Approximately 8 days after Jesus' five sayings about discipleship [hence, approximately a week later], Jesus took Peter, James and John upon the mountain to pray. The Bible does not tell us which mountain this means. The important thing is that Jesus went upon this mountain TO PRAY. Every time Jesus does something significant, first he prays. 9:28.
c. While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly Jesus saw Moses God's great lawgiver and Elijah one of God's prophets, and the three of them were surrounded by glory and they talked about the impending departure of Jesus to go to Jerusalem to be arrested, persecuted, and crucified. 9:29-31.
d. This event occurred deep in the night, and Peter, James, and John became very sleep, but they managed to stay awake to see Jesus' glory. 9:32.
e. Just as Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus: It is good for us to be here. Then he proposed that they build three tents or booths for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, not knowing what Peter was saying. The background seems to be the Feast of Booths. 9:33.
f. While Peter was speaking, a cloud overshadowed all who were there; Peter, James, and John were terrified. Such a cloud was an instrument of God's presence and glory like the cloud hanging over the tabernacle in the wilderness--see Exodus
16:10; 19:9; 24:15-18; etc. 9:34.
g. Then a VOICE [that is, God] came from the cloud: "This is my Son, my Chosen; Listen to him!" See 2 Peter 1:16-18. God the Father commands all disciples of Jesus to LISTEN TO JESUS. Moses and Elijah were faithful messengers, but Jesus' message incorporates all their messages and more. 9:35.
h. Suddenly, Jesus was all alone. Moses and Elijah had left. Peter, James, and John kept silent and told no one any of the things they had seen. 9:36.

There are powerful, moving truths in these texts. Pay attention to them carefully, and follow Jesus.

Share YOUR questions and concerns and thoughts and experiences with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis
d.

I know the plans I have for you--5

God's VISION naturally grows out of his NATURE. God HIMSELF clearly describes his nature. This is very simple, and falls into two large categories. God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai when he gave Moses the Ten Commandments. This appears in Exodus 34:6-7:

"The Lord [Yahweh] passed before him [Moses], and proclaimed,
The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,

YET
by no means clearing the guilty,
but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children
and the children's children
to the third and the fourth generation."

Let us briefly consider each phases of Yahweh's nature.

I. Yahweh is merciful.
a. Mercy and grace are synonyms. They convey the idea that we deserve severe punishment because of our sins, but Yahweh is gracious and merciful and overlooks our sins. Psalms 130:3-4 beautifully communicates Yahweh's nature here:
"If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be feared [revered]."
b. Yahweh is slow to anger. When we persist in sin, naturally Yahweh becomes angry because we rebel against him, we oppose our creator. But Yahweh does not retaliate immediately. Rather, he tries many other ways to bring us to repentance. ONLY when we persist in sin, Yahweh then unleashes his anger and punishes us. A great text to emphasize this concept is Amos 4:6-13. FIVE times, Yahweh declares he tried drought, plague, pestilence, etc., "yet you did not return unto me, says the Lord." ONLY then, Yahweh declared: "Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do to this to you, prepare to meet your God [for punishment], O Israel!"
c. Yahweh is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, which are synonyms. Yahweh is very consistent. His love and faithfulness are tenacious. See Psalms
89:1-4; 117:1-2.
d. Yahweh forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. By nature, Yahweh has always forgiven human beings of their sins. He is a forgiving God. He set the example that we also should forgive others who sin against us. Jesus taught us to think and pray in the moving prayer for all disciples of God through Jesus Christ. Matthew 6:12.

II. Yahweh is a God who disciplines and punishes.
a. When we persist in sin, Yahweh eventually punishes us and refines us and disciplines us. Romans 2:1-11 clearly makes the distinction between those to faithfully attempt to repent and serve God and those who establish hardened hearts to continually rebel against and oppose God.
b. When we sin, God punishes us as sinners, but also our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sin is an epidemic, and affects people beyond the actual sinners. This is a reality of life. See Ezekiel 18.

God's VISION is clear, simple, and eternal. Let us daily pay attention to his nature.

Share YOUR ideas and anxieties and concerns and future with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

Jesus Feeds the 5000; Peter's Confession--Luke 9:10-21

After the account of Jesus' mission of the Twelve and Herod Antipas' perplexity related in Luke 9:1-9, Luke now turns to record Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand and Peter's Confession, related in Luke 9:10-21. This section naturally falls into two sections.

I. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand. Luke 9:10-17.
a. When "the Twelve" (Luke 9:1), the apostles (Luke 9:10), returned from their mission, they told Jesus all they had done. Jesus then withdrew privately to get away from the crowds (see Luke 10:23; Acts 23:19) to a city called Bethsaida [this Aramaic term means "house of hunting"], locate north of Lake Gennesaret and East of the Jordan River not far from where it empties into Lake Gennesaret. The tetrarch Herod Philip raised it from a village and renamed it Julias, in honor of the daughter of Augustus, from which the apostles Philip, Peter, and Andrew came. When the crowds found out where Jesus was, they followed him, and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed the sick. 9:10-11.
b. "The twelve" came to Jesus late in the day when people usually eat their evening meal to tell Jesus to send the crowd away so they could go into the surrounding villages and countryside to spend the night and get provisions, becaause now they are here in a deserted or uninhabited place. 9:12.
c. Jesus responded: Give the crowd something to eat, indirectly challenging the twelve to perform the miracle of providing food for the large crowd. The twelve replied that they have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Should they go into the surrounding villages to buy food for all these people? This account is strikingly similar to 2 Kings 4:42-44 when Elisha told a man of Baal-shalishah to feed 100 men. Luke tells his hearers that there were about 5000 men, and Jesus told the twelve to make them sit down in groups of about 50. They did this. 9:13-15.
d. Then Jesus took the 5 loaves and 2 fish, looked up to his heavenly Father in heaven [a common expression, see Genesis 15:5; Deuteronomy 4:19; Job 22:26) and blessed and broke the loaves and fish. Obviously, Jesus turned to his heavenly Father to perform this miracle to glorify Yahweh, the one true and living God. Jesus gave these to the twelve to set this food before the crowd. 9:16.
e. All the people in the crowd ate and were filled. The twelve gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces to demonstrate Yahweh's powerful gift of food, which is always overabundant. This account appears in all four Gospels: Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15. This miracle is symbolic which fulfills promises about God feeding his people (Isaiah 25:6; 65:13-14; Psalms 78:19; 81:16), and prefigures the institution of the Eucharist, Lord's Supper, Luke 22:19. 9:17.

II. Peter's Confession. Luke 9:18-21.
a. Luke tells his hearers that on one unknown occasion, Jesus was praying alone with only his "disciples" near him. That Jesus was praying emphasizes that he will declare to his disciples who he is. 9:18a-b.
b. Then Jesus asked his disciples, Who do the crowds say I am? Jesus' disciples gave three answers from the crowds: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the ancient prophets who has arisen. Apparently, the crowds assumed that Jesus was a prophet. 9:18b-19.
c. Jesus then turned to his disciples, saying, Who do YOU say that I am? Peter responded: "The Messiah of God." Peter was undoubtedly thinking of Jesus as the expected anointed individual sent by God in the Davidic dynasty as the new political leader of God's people. 9:20.
d. Jesus STERNLY ordered and commanded the Twelve not to tell anyone because of the political implications of the term "Messiah." 9:21.

Both of these stories in Luke are a response to Herod Antipas' perplexity in Luke
9:9. The similar accounts in Matthew, Mark, and John report in different contexts to communicate different truths.

Share YOUR anticipations, anxieties, fears, hopes, and problems with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

I Know the Plans I have for YOU--4

God's eternal vision is that HE LEAD all people through life to serve him. The Bible uses three important verbs to emphasize Yahweh's LEADERSHIP. A key passages which emphasize this truth is Deuteronomy 8:2-3:
"Remember the long way that the Lord your God has LED you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to HUMBLE you, TESTING you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He HUMBLED you by letting you hunger, then by FEEDING you with manna, with which neither your nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

1. God LEADS.
a. God role or function consistently is to LEAD all human beings through life. This theme is frequent and constant throughout scripture. God led his people out of Egypt--Psalm 78:49-52; through the wilderness for forty years--Deuteronomy 8:2, 15; Amos 2:10; Jeremiah 2:6; Psalm 136:16; and into the promised land of Canaan--Psalm 78:54-55.
b. Jesus emphasized through his ministry that he LED his disciples, and their role was that of being DISCIPLES, LEARNERS, FOLLOWERS, not LEADERS. Any time they asserted their LEADERSHIP, Jesus quickly and pointedly rebuked them to make them his SERVANTS, not LEADERS. Important texts on this point are Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 14:7-14.

2. God HUMBLES or TESTS.
a. The relationship between God and human beings is a lifelong journey, not a one time experience.
b. God repeatedly TESTS, REFINES, TRIES the true mettle of the hearts and lives of every person. This is VERY PAINFUL, but VERY IMPORTANT and NECESSARY. God humbled or tested the Israelites in the wilderness "to know what is in your heart."
c. Hebrews 12:4-11 is a great text to emphasize this truth.
"In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children--
'My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
or lose heart when you are punished by him;
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
and chastises every child whom he accepts.'
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and now his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order tyhat we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

III. God FEEDS.
a. God FED the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years by manna. In Egypt, the Israelites ate BREAD, that is, the food God provided in the land of Egypt. But in the wilderness, that BREAD or FOOD was not available, so God MIRACULOUSLY gave the Israelites MANNA. The word "manna" means "What is it?" because no human being knew or knows what this material was or is. (Exodus 16:15).
b. After spending forty years in the wilderness, God brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan, and the manna ceased. NOW, God sustained his people by "the produce of the land," as Joshua 5:12 clearly states.
c. We human beings assume that FOOD is the result of NATURAL LAW, which God established after he created the universe. The Enlightenment has taught this to us over a long period of time. But this is NOT TRUE BIBLICALLY OR IN DAILY LIFE. Jesus' prayer is: "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD"--Matthew 6:11. Every time we have a meal, we always THANK GOD that HE has given is this food. Is this a mockery? Or is it a reality?
d. Lamentations 3:38 says:
"Is it not from the MOUTH of the Most High
that good and bad come?"
Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 do not mean that "one does not live by bread alone but by every WORD [God's message] that come from the MOUTH of God," but "one does not live by BREAD alone but by every THING that comes from the MOUTH of God," referring to any kind of food. The Hebrew and Greek words involving in this text can mean "word" or "thing," and in these contexts, "thing" is the correct translation and meaning.
e. According to the Bible, the gift of food is a divine miracle. God supplies our food every day. He does this repeatedly, and it is very tempting to assume this is a "natural law." Not according to the word of God. See Psalm 104:14; Amos 4:7-8; Matthew 5:45.
A PLEA: PLEASE rethink and restudy all these and related biblical teachings.

Share YOUR insights and complaints and differences and intuitions and feelings and thoughts with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

Jesus Commissions the Twelve and Herod is Perplexed--Luke 9:1-9

After performing several different miracles, Jesus calls the Twelve and send them on his mission. Herod learned of this and wishes to see Jesus. The paragraph in Luke 9:1-9 naturally falls into two parts. This is dependent on Mark 6:6b-16.

I. Jesus Commissions the Twelve. Luke 9:1-6.
a. After Jesus performed several miracles in the presence of the twelve to witness what Jesus had done, Jesus commissioned them to do four specific things: (1) receive power and authority from God through Jesus over all demons [see Luke 4:14,
32, 36; 5:17, 24; 6:19; 8:46]. (2) cure diseases; (3) proclaim the kingdom of God [see Luke 4:43]; and (4) heal sick people. Luke had already given the names of the twelve in Luke 6:13-16. 9:1-2.
b. Then Jesus specifically commanded the twelve to trust completely in Yahweh, not in their own possessions. Thus, they must not to take anything as they traveled: (1) no staff; (2) no bag; (3) no bread; (4) no money [normally, people use Greek coins called Tyrian silver shekels or tetradrachms and half-shekels used in Palestine; (5) no extra tunic. 9:3.
c. When the twelve arrive in each town are village, they must do two things: (1) stay in the house where people receive you for hospitality and protection and stability; (2) shake the dust off your feet at any time in which people reject you, symbolizing severing all association from such people [see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:50], as a testimony or proof against them. 9:4-5.
d. Luke sums up by stating that the twelve departed from where they had been with Jesus and went through the villages in Galilee, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere. 9:6.

II. Herod is perplexed by Jesus' authority and success. Luke 9:7-9.
a. Herod Antipas, the ruler or tetrarch of Galilee, somehow HEARD [probably from the common people over whom he ruled or from certain people in Herod's court] all Jesus had done to preach and cure people. Herod was perplexed because some people had said John the Baptist had been raised from the dead or Elijah appeared or one ofo the ancient prophets had arisen. 9:7-8. [See further Luke 1:17].
b. Herod Antipas says he had beheaded John the Baptist, but someone else had done great things whom Herod had never met. Herod wants to meet this new person.
9:9.

As Jesus extends his ministry through the twelve, others question and wish to stop Jesus. The story will continue.

Share your observations and anticipations and questions and thoughts with others. Let me hear from you.

John Willis

I Know the Plans I Have for YOU--3

God gives all of us a VISION for life in every generation. Every generation struggles with finding or determining or creating a vision. God's VISION is already very clear and powerful. In this third blog on God's VISION, it is VERY IMPORTANT to realize and accept that God is the GREAT DELIVERER. God delivers us individually and collectively from all types of human threats and problems, including enemies, losses, failures, fears, anxieties, and the list goes on and on.

The Bible repeatedly uses several important positive terms and ideas about God's deliverance. Here are some of them.

1. God FREED or BROUGHT OUT his people from Egyptian slavery. Exodus 6:6. This was a literal freedom, but also a spiritual freedom. The great transition was from Pharaoh king of Egypt to Yahweh the king of the universe. Leviticus 25:42-43 underlines this truth:
"They are my [Yahweh's] servants, whom I BROUGHT OUT of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You shall not rule over them with HARSHNESS, but shall fear your God."
Pharaoh was a harsh master. Yahweh is a loving, merciful master. Yahweh can and will liberate or free or bring out everyone to come to him alone.

2. God DELIVERED his people from slavery. Exodus 6:6. God's people were in bondage, but God delivered them from being slaves.

3. God REDEEMED his people with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. Exodus 6:6. The term "redeem" means to "purchase" or "buy" a person or an object. Jesus Christ paid a PRICE so we might be redeemed. 1 Corinthians 6:20.

4. God SAVED his people from the bondage in Egypt. Exodus 14:30. The term "save" might refer to forgiveness from sins, but it might also means deliverance from any type of problem.

5. God BROUGHT IN his people into the promised land after delivering them from Egypt. Psalm 78:54 says:
"He [Yahweh} BROUGHT them TO his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won."


The only hope we have for the future is God's deliverance. Let us turn to God in trust and prayer. HE ALONE can give us the VISION which is sustaining and certain.

Share YOUR insights and dreams and hopes. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

Jesus Restores and Heals Two Women--Luke 8:40-56

After relating the account of Jesus miraculously healing the Gerasene demoniac in Luke 8:26-39, Luke now relates two additional miraculous works of Jesus: healing a woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years, and raising from the dead the twelve year old daughter of Jairus. This appears in Luke 8:40-56, and naturally falls into two paragraphs.

I. Jesus heals the woman with hemorrhages. Luke 8:40-48.
a. These two stories are dependent on Mark 5:21-43. Matthew 9:18-26 also is dependent on Mark 5:21-43.
b. Jesus had made his way by boat back to the west short of Lake Gennaserat, from which he set out. The crowd mentioned in Luke 8:4, 19 meets Jesus as he returned because they were waiting for him. 8:40.
c. A man named Jairus, a Jew somewhere in Galilee, a leader of the synagogue, met Jesus, fell at Jesus' feet, and begged him to go to his house, because his only daughter, approximately twelve years of age, was dying. People assumed in the ancient Near East that a woman at age twelve was near marriageable age. 8:41-42.
d. As Jesus went with Jairus, the crowd pressed in on Jesus. A woman suffering with hemorrhages for twelve years encountered Jesus. She had spent all her money on physicians to heal her, but no one could heal her. This woman came behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his clothes, and IMMEDIATELY her hemorrhage stopped. This was a daring move for this woman, because Leviticus 15:25-31 declares that such a woman is "unclean," which would contaminate everyone she touches. Nevertheless, this woman was so desperate and in such great need that she took the risk to come through the crowd and touch Jesus. 8:43-44.
e. Jesus immediately asked, "Who touched me?" Peter told him that many people were around him pressing in, so many peopled touched Jesus. But Jesus told Jesus that someone had touched him deliberately because "POWER HAD GONE OUT" from Jesus. 8:45-46.
f. The woman suffering from hemorrhages realized she could hide herself from Jesus. She came to Jesus trembling. She fell before Jesus, and told all the people around why she touched Jesus and Jesus healed her. Whenever Jesus does something for anyone, that person should naturally immediately tell everyone around what Jesus has done for that person. Jesus reacted: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace." 8:47-48.

II. Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead. Luke 8:49-56.
a. While Jesus was still speaking to the woman suffering from hemorrhages whom he had healed, someone came from the house of Jairus to tell Jesus that Jairus' daughter had died, so it would be futile for Jesus to move on to his house. It is significant that this person from Jairus' house called Jesus "teacher," indicating that Jesus often taught his messages to various audiences in Galilee. See Luke 7:40. 8:49.
b. Jesus responded to the person who came from Jairus' house: "DO NOT FEAR; ONLY BELIEVE," and Jairus' daughter will be saved, i. e., delivered, from death.See Luke 1:13. Jesus proceed to go to the house of Jairus, and when he arrived, he would let no one go in but Peter, James, John, and the father and mother of their daughter. This is the very first time that the Gospel of Luke specifically named Peter, James, and John to witness Jesus' power to raise someone from the dead. 8:50-51.
c. Inside the house of Jairus, mourners were there weeping and wailing for Jairus' daughter. It was very common for people to assign mourners in times of death. See Genesis 23:2; 50:1-3; Numbers 20:292 Samuel 3:32-34; 15:30; Jeremiah
22:10; Ezekiel 8:14; Lamentations 1:2. Jesus told the people there not to weep, because Jairus' daughter was not dead but sleeping. Jesus does not mean that Jairus' daughter was only apparently dead, but her death, like sleep, is limited in time. A person's death is not permanent, but transitional. Hence, death is like sleep. 8:52.
d. The people around who heard what Jesus said LAUGHED AT Jesus. They knew that Jairus' daughter was dead. What they did now know that Jesus has the power to raise anyone from the dead. 8:53.
e. Jesus then took Jairus' daughter by the hand, a well-established gesture about Yahweh taking hold of Israel's right hand--Isaiah 41:13; 42:6. Then Jesus said to the daughter of Jairus, "Get up," as if she were waking from ordinary sleep. Jesus' command is fully sufficient to resuscitate the dead. 8:54.
f. The "spirit" or breath of Jairus' daughter returned as a sign of the new life bestowed. The picture here is very similar to the account in 1 Kings 17:21-22 in the story of the raising up of the son of the widow of Zarephath. Jairus' daughter immediately got up, and Jesus told the people around to give her something to eat. 8:55.
g. Jairus and his wife were astounded by what Jesus had done miraculously. Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened. It is not clear why Jesus gave this command. It is possible that Jesus wants to withhold this until he is arrested and crucified. 8:56.

These are two marvelous accounts. God through Jesus Christ manifests great power. If we can only believe in God and his mighty power, God can do anything at any time in human history.

Share YOUR insights and fears and anxieties and proclamations to others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis
g.
d.