Luke 6:17-19 Healing on the Flat Land
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: July 17, 2018 Luke 6:17-19
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
(Revelation of God) I think it’s interesting that before Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, He healed. He met their physical needs to help them survive in this world before opening their minds to learning to live in the kingdom of heaven.
(Understanding the Text) These verses demonstrate why Jesus needed to choose His twelve special disciples at this time. The crowds had grown so big that Jesus needed some lieutenants to organize things and keep the crowd under control. The people were crowding around just trying to touch Jesus to be healed. Maybe part of why these particular disciples were chosen was because they were already doing these jobs. Judas Iscariot held the moneybag, so maybe he had been chosen for his accounting ability. Peter, James, and John were already working together to do Jesus’ will. Maybe, Matthew-Levi knew how to interact as a middleman between the Romans and Jews. Maybe Simon the Zealot was talented at interacting with the more revolutionary elements and could settle them down. In other words, I was looking at the disciples’ future jobs after Jesus’ resurrection in the choosing, but maybe a big part of the choosing was the job that they could do for Jesus right then.
This passage points out that there were not only a lot of people who had come to listen, but also that there was a great crowd of Jesus’ disciples. These verses are differentiating between people who were following Jesus in a dedicated way and people who had just come out for a few days to listen to the rabbi or to receive healing. In choosing the twelve, Jesus was telling the rest of the disciples that there was a hierarchy, a chain of command. In a way, the choosing of the twelve was for the benefit of the other disciples also. This way, they would get used to listening to the twelve as spokesmen for Jesus and working as a unit with the twelve to accomplish stuff.
Where was Jesus at this time? I think he was still in Galilee. Thus, Luke is making a point that Jesus had become so famous as a great teacher and possible Messiah that people were traveling from far away to hear what He had to say, or to bring their diseased family to Jesus to be healed. Way over in Tyre, some mother with a demon-possessed son or a brother with a blind sister or a lonely leper had heard that there was a healer who could cure any ill. They heard rumors of where Jesus could be found and packed up their travel gear and began walking toward Galilee. As they went, they would listen for other rumors and alter their travel slightly to get to Jesus. When they finally arrived, they knew that they were in the right place because of the massive crowd of other people seeking healing.
The pilgrims made their way closer to the front and saw some men who seemed to be organizing the process. They approached one of the men and told him of their request for healing, and he led them over to an area with others who needed healing. They waited in hope for a long time. They were so near to a solution. One of the organizers came and led them forward to a plainly dressed man with kind eyes. At first, a doubt might have entered their hearts. This man did not look like one of the great teachers with His plain clothes, dirty feet, and backcountry accent, but then they looked at His eyes again and knew that He was everything that they had heard. Looking upon Jesus and receiving His gaze in return, faith strengthened. Hearing Him ask what they wanted, their hearts filled with hope. Then, power flowed through them, changing them, making them feel strong and healthy and whole for the first time in so long, maybe the first time ever. Their hearts filled with joy and praise that their God had sent this Man to bring healing. Then, the same man who had led them to Jesus was urging them to step away so that someone else might receive the blessing.
There were some who were impatient or embarrassed by their diseases or feeling worried that they would be overlooked who refused to wait. They slipped in among the disciples and others surrounding Jesus and saw Him healing others. They thought of how powerful Jesus seemed and thought that if they could just touch Him, some of that power would come out and heal them. They quietly came up behind Jesus and reached out trembling hands to touch Him. They had been right! They felt their bodies become strong and healthy again. However, before they could slip back into the crowd, Jesus turned and gazed directly at them and said that their faith had healed them. Then, He turned back to the sick person in front of Him and reached out with His healing hands. One of the disciples led the person who had received healing by touching Jesus away.
The newly healed people reluctantly left Jesus’ immediate presence, but they did not go far. For a while they simply sat and basked in the newness of health. They discussed what had happened and what it felt like. They exchanged stories with others who had been healed. They began discussing if this Jesus was the Messiah and what it would mean to Israel. Maybe, they took out their food and ate as they talked. Then, the organizers came and told them that Jesus would be speaking soon, and slowly a hush spread over the crowd and they began to press forward to get a better view and hear more clearly.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that Jesus has power to heal me. I don’t need to physically see Him or touch Him or hear Him. I need to read of Him, think of Him, speak of Him, and speak to Him and listen for His voice. Contact with Jesus no matter how obtained heals me. Give me healing, please. I need it now more than ever.