L K 1-. Proclaiming.
L -1-3. Comparing.
K 4-18. Teaching.
L 19-21. Kindred.
27 A.D.
Luke 8)
and the twelve went together with Him,
2 And certain women (allusions to "women" in Matt. only on 27:55,56, and in Mark 15:40, but mentioned prominently in Luke), which had been healed from evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene (= tears of the tower), away from whom had gone out seven demons, (7 = spiritual completeness. She was completely cleansed. Dr. Luke separates diseases from spirits.)
3 And Joanna (= grace, gift of God) the wife of Chuza Herod's steward (= seer, prophet. He was a high official, his wife was a Christian. Mark 6:14-16. Luke 23:8), and Susanna, and many others (They took care of Christ. see Matt. 27:55), which ministered to Him from their property. (Marking a class)
K M e 4-8-. Parable. Sower. The Lord.
f -8. Call to hear. "
N g 9. Question. The Disciples.
h 10. Answer. "
M e 11-15. Parable. Interpretation. The Lord.
f 16-18. Caution to hearers. "
4 And when much people were gathered together, and kept coming to Him out of every city , He spoke by a parable: (anytime there is a large group of people and a deep truth comes along, it is always spoken in a parable by Christ. Why? Not everyone is suppose to see because they won't put out effort. In broadcasting you can't skip anything)
5 "The sower (the 1st utterance of the parable, which was repeated [and varied] and combined with 7 other parables, later on, after the arrival of His kindred. This [in Luke] was given before the arrival, and was consequent on a lengthened tour ending in Capernaum. The consequent here is the inquiry of the 12 ["What", Luke 8:9]; the consequent in Matt. and Mark [which are identical] is another inquiry ["Why", Matt. 13:10]. In the latter repetition, the interpretation after the inquiry [Matt. 13:18. Mark 4:10]; in Luke, it follows the parable immediately) went out to sow his seed (peculiar to this 1st giving of the parable): and in his sowing, some fell beside the way side (it was not sown on the way side); and it was trodden down, and the birds of the sky devoured it.
6 And other fell upon the rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, on account of its not having moisture.
7 And other fell in the midst of the thorns; and the thorns sprang up together (Gr. sumphuaō medical word, used of bones uniting and wounds closing), and stifled it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold."
And when He had said these things, He cried, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
These words were never used by mortal man. They were heard only from the lips of Him Who spoke with Divine Authority (Matt. 7:29); and on earth only on seven distinct occasions, in order to emphasize and call attention to the utterance He had just made.
This is an important example of the Figure Polyptoton, the repetition of the same verb in a different inflection, by which great emphasis is put upon the injunction here given. See Ap. 6, and notes on Gen. 2:17 and 26:28.
The seven occasions are thus marked out for our special attention, as being what was said to ears which God had opened.
1. The first is in Luke 8:8, at the close of the first giving of the Parable of the Sower, before the formal calling and mission of the Twelve Apostles, which took place and is recorded in ch 9:1-6. This parable was repeated on a later occasion, when it was needed to complete the setting of the eight parables which are grouped together in Matt. 13
In this case it refers to the sowing of the good seed of the Kingdom; i.e. its proclamation by Jehovah's servants, John the Baptist and the Lord (as further explained in the Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matt. 22:1-7).
2. The second occasion is recorded in Matt. 11:15, after the calling and mission of the Twelve, when we are bidden to give earnest heed to the important mission of John the Baptist, and to understand that had the people repented at his proclamation he would have been reckoned as Elijah the prophet (Mal. 4:5), in whose "spirit and power" he was to come. This was declared before his birth, in Luke 1:17.
When the Lord's disciples asked Him "Why then say the scribes that Elijah much first come?" Jesus answered and said unto them, "Elijah truly (Gr. men, i.e. on the one hand) shall first come, and restore all things. But (Gr. de, i.e. on the other hand) I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall the Son of man also suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the Baptist." (Matt. 17:10-13). To "understand" this, it required the opened ear. Hence (Matt. 11:14) the Lord's words, "If ye will receive (him), this is Elijah who was about to come."
Had the nation repented, the real Elijah would indeed have come and effected " the restoration of all things, which God had spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets from of old" (Acts 3:21). The nation did not repent; therefore Mal. 4:5 still awaits its literal fulfillment, and they "who have ears to hear" will understand.
3. The third occasion of the utterance of this solemn exhortation was when the Lord, after the Mission of the Twelve, repeated the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:9), which He had spoken by itself before the Mission of the Twelve (Luke 8:8) but which He then united with seven others, to make one complete whole, revealing the coming change of dispensation. In this setting the Lord twice declared "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" : once at the end of the Parable of the Sower;
4. And again (the fourth occasion) in v. 43, at the end of the interpretation of the Parable of the Tares. Both these parables required and still require the opened ear in order to understand their dispensational teaching.
5. The fifth occasion is recorded in Mark 4:32, after the application of the illustration of the Lamp put under a measure, when the utterance is repeated to emphasize the fact that the Lord was revealing things which had been hitherto hidden, concerning the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven.
6. The sixth occasion is in Mark also (7:16), and here it is used in another connection, but with the same solemn emphasis, in order to call attention to the important truth, prefaced by the words preceding it, "Hearken unto Me everyone of you, and understand : There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him : but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 7:14-16).
7. The seventh occasion is recorded in Luke 14:35, and is connected with true discipleship, and counting its cost. Great multitudes were following Him (v. 25), and publicans and sinners were drawing near to hear Him. But not all received what they heard. These the Lord likened unto salt which had lost its savour, which was neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 14:34, 35).
This was the last occasion on earth. For the eight occasions after His ascension, see Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:9.
10 And He said, "To you it has been given to get to know the secrets of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables (cp. Act 5:13. Rom. 11:7. Eph. 2:3. 1 Thess. 4:13. Rev. 20:5); in order that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. (Quoted from Isa. 6:9,10)
11 Now the parable means this (i.e. represents): The seed is the word of God. (See Ezek. 31:18-22)
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and snatches away the word out of their hearts (= mind. false teachers come along and take away the truth), in order that they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word in association with joy; and these have no root, which for a season believe, and in time of trial fall away. (Taught only salvation and baptism, no meat of the Word)
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, as they go on their way, and are stifled by cares and riches and pleasures of the life that is lived, and bring no fruit to perfection. (They are just too busy)
15 But that in the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word (They don't run to get their ears tickled), hold it fast (Endurance. See 2 Thess. 2:6, for much more is done than this), and bring forth fruit in patient endurance.
16 No man, when he has lighted a lamp, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a couch; but sets it upon a lamp-stand, that they which enter in may see the light. (If God gives you a truth don't hide it, but don't become a religious fanatic either, share it. It would be like someone painting a light-bulb in their house black. Enjoy paying the light bill, but never get any light from it. If you receive from God's word and never use, never let anyone see that light, you won't receive anymore.)
17 For not anything is hidden (not even the secret of the kingdom), that shall not become manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not become known and come to light. (Manifestation. Can He use you? God has certain people He uses for this.)
18 Take heed therefore (listen carefully) how (contrast "what" on the 2nd occasion [Mark 4:24]) you hear: for whosoever has, to him shall be given (if God shares with you a truth and you hear it well, there's more coming if you listen. I you think you've got it, God's not going to give you anything. You've got to have it. It is the Word of God. see vv.10-16); and whosoever has not, away from him shall be taken even that which he thinks to have. (They don't have it.)
19 Then came to Him His mother and His brethren (for the motive, see Mark 3:21 with 31-35. Cp. Matt. 12:47), and were not able to come fall in with Him on account of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by certain which said, "Your mother and Your brethren are standing without, wishing to see You." (Cp. Mark 3:21)
21 And He answered and said to them, "My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and doing it." (Does not good to just hear it if you don't do it. Plant seeds.)
K4 O 22-39. 2 Miracles.
P i 40-. The Lord. Returned.
k -40. Effect. Waiting.
O 41-55. 2 Miracles.
P k 56-. Effect. Astonishment.
i -56. The Lord. Charge.
O Q¹ 22-26. The Tempest stilled. Q² 27-39. The Demoniac healed.
Q¹ R l Departure.
m -22-. Words of the Lord.
n -22. Effect. Obedience.
S o 23-. The Lord asleep.
p -23-. Storm. Dangerous.
q -23. Disciples. Jeopardy.
S o 24. The Lord awakened.
p -24. Storm rebuked.
q 25-. Disciples. Rebuked.
R n -25-. Effect. Wonder.
m -25. Words of the Disciples.
l 26. Arrival.
22 Now (this is not the same storm as in Matt. 5:24, but the same as in Mark 4:37. Matthew's was before the calling of the 12; this occurred after that event. The antecedents and consequent differ in both cases) it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples:
and He said to them, "Let us go over unto the other side of the lake."
And they put to sea.
23 But as they sailed He fell off into asleep: (Type of that He is going to be Crucified, buried and the Resurrect. How Does His Disciples act and react when He's dead from the Cross even though He rose)
and there came down (not rose up, as on the former occasion [Matt. 8:24]. Symbolizes the coming end of the millennium) a squall (on the former occ. an earthquake) on to the lake; and they were being swamped with water, (hence it was an open boat; in Matt. a decked boat)
and were beginning to be in danger.
24 And they came to Him, and roused Him, saying, "Master, master, we are perishing." (i.e. drowning) Then He was aroused, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:
and they ceased, and there became a calm.
25 And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" (How is your faith? If you were about to get in a boat and Christ said "We are going to go over", you better believe you are going over. A type for you also. When He gives you a promise, claim it. Don't ever go anywhere without Christ in your boat [life]. That is His gift to you. That way you don't have to worry.)
And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, (They had a little scare out of it.)
"Who then is this [Man]! for He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him." (You can always count on Him, and to doubt is to show lack of faith. He doesn't like that.)
26 And they sailed down to the country of the Gadarenes (see Matt. 8:28. The people were Gadarenes, but the city was not Gadara), which is opposite (lower) Galilee.
Q¹ T V 27-32-. Demons. Petition.
W -32,33. Answer. Consent.
U X 34-37-. People. Petition.
Y -37. Answer. Consent.
T V 38-. Demoniac. Petition.
W -38,39. Answer. Refusal.
V A r 27. Demons. Description.
s 28. Their petition.
B 29-. Reason. The Lord's command.
B -29. Reason. The Man's condition.
A r 30. Demons. Name.
s 31,32-. Their petition.
27 And when He went forth on to land, there met Him out of the city (connect with the "man", not with "met") a certain man, which had demons and for a long time was not putting on any mantle, cloak or outer garment neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. (He was a wild man, a demonic possessed [evil spirits] person)
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You (see 2 Sam. 16:10), Jesus (demons irreverently use this sacred name, as is done by so many today: but His own disciples called Him "Master" and "Lord". See John 13:13), You Son of God most high? I beseech You, torment me not." (Do you think this was the man speaking? If you do you are mistaken. It was the demons speaking. The lad would not have known Him. The demons certainly did. Many times when a person is practicing the art of reincarnation, they will also speak in a different voice about something that happened, say like 400 years ago. Do you think for one moment that that's the person speaking? You're wrong if you do. There's no such thing as reincarnation. But there is certainly a thing as possession. And you can bet that a demonic spirit was in that exact place 400 years ago and can tell you exactly what that person's life was and what they did and to convince some person that is easily deceived that they were living in that body. Not so! Demons are trouble, you can never have happiness around them. Demons couldn't even control pigs. Its a shame that they can control people.)
29 (For He was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man.
For oftentimes it had seized him: and he was bound with chains and in fetters (see Mark 5:4); and braking the bands, he was driven of the demon into the wilderness. (When adrenalin is flowing strength is 4-fold.))
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion:" because many demons were entered into him. (He's doing this for your benefit, He knew. They had seen Him before. If you've seen the Son, you've seen the Father. They knew they had no power against him. See Mark 5:9)
31 And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep. (Abyss)
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into these. (They are not particular what they run into)
And He gave them leave. (He let them do it. Cp. Mark 5:13. Acts 21:39,40; 37:
33 Then went the demons out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed violently down the precipice into the lake, and were choked. (Even pigs didn't want any part of them. Are pigs smarten than men?)
X C t 34-. The Swineherds.
u -34. Their report.
D 35. The Citizens. Fear.
C t 36-. The Swineherds.
u -36. Their report.
D 37-. The Citizens. Request.
34 When they that fed them saw what had happened, they fled, (They sold out)
and went and told it into the city and into the country. (Part of Syria. Christ already thinking of the Gentiles. See 11:14-26)
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the demons were departed, sitting beside the feet of Jesus, clothed, and of sound mind (Christ spoke and they were gone): and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it
told them by what means the demonized [man] was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about was asking Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: (A medical word. Sometimes unbelievers want no part of it)
and He went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the demons were departed besought Him that he might be with Him:
but Jesus sent him away, saying, (Note the answer to the 3 prayers in this chapter)
39 "Return to your own house, and tell (tell the whole story) how whatsoever God has done to you." And he went his way, and proclaiming throughout the whole city whatsoever Jesus had done for him. (He was mature. God uses whomsoever He wishes)
40 And it came to pass, that, in Jesus returning,
the people gladly received Him: for they were all looking for Him.
O F v 41. Ruler of Synagogue. Appeal.
w 42-. Daughter dying.
G¹ x¹ -42. The Throng. The Woman.
y¹ 43,44-. The Woman. Action. "
z¹ -44. Healing effected. "
G² x² 45,46. The Throng. "
y² 47. The Woman. Confession. "
z² 48. Healing confirmed. "
F v 49-. Ruler of Synagogue. Messenger.
w -49. Daughter dead.
G³ x³ 50. Belief. The Maid.
y³ 51. Admission. "
z³ 52. Miracle assured. "
G4 x4 53. Unbelief. "
y4 54. Exclusion. "
z4 55. Miracle effected. "
41 And, behold (these 2 miracles are not the same recorded in Matt. 9:18-26, but the same as in Mark 5:22,&c.), there came a man named Jairus (= whom God enlightens, an Israelite name, Jair [Num. 32:41. Josh 13:30. Judg. 10:3]), and he held the office ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age (12 = Governmental completion, God's government, Kingdom. 12 finishes the heavens in the Zodiac. Also means Israel. Israel was dying, dying for truth.), and she lay a dying.
But in His going the people was stifling Him. (They were interfering.)
43 And a woman having an issue of blood from twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, could not be healed of any,
44 Came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment: (Num. 15:38,39. Deut. 22:12.)
and immediately her issue of blood stopped. (A medical term)
45 And Jesus said, "Who [is it] that was touched Me?" When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, "Master, the multitude throng You and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' "
46 And Jesus said, "Somebody did touch Me: for I came to know that power (inherent. Gr. dunamis, were our "dynamite" comes from) is gone out of Me."
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and having fallen down (in terror) before Him, she declared to Him before all the people for what cause she touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good comfort: your faith has saved you; go in peace."
49 While He yet spoke, there comes one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him,
"Your daughter is dead; trouble not the Teacher."
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Fear not: believe only, and she shall be saved."
51 And when He came into the house, He suffered not any one to go in, except Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
52 And all were weeping, and wailing for her: but He said, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleeps."
53 And they were deriding Him, knowing that she was dead.
54 And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, "Child, arise."
55 And her spirit came again (a Hebraism. Cp. 1 Sam. 30:12), and she arose immediately: and He directed to give her [something] to eat.
56 And her parents were astonished:
but He charged them that they should tell no one what had happened.