Luke 9:37-62

Luke 9:37-62 (New Living Translation)

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd called out to him, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child. 39 An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It batters him and hardly ever leaves him alone. 40 I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn‘t do it."
41 Jesus said, "You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?" Then he said to the man, "Bring your son here."
42 As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father. 43 Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God‘s power.

Jesus Again Predicts His Death
While everyone was marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 "Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies." 45 But they didn‘t know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they couldn‘t understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom
46 Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. 48 Then he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest."

Using the Name of Jesus
49 John said to Jesus, "Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn‘t in our group."
50 But Jesus said, "Don‘t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you."

Opposition from Samaritans
51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, "Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?" 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head."
59 He said to another person, "Come, follow me."
The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father."
60 But Jesus told him, "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God."
61 Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family."
62 But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God."

Devotion
Looking at Jesus’ actions in this passage we can see Jesus’ reaction to those who do not welcome Him, or at least see His reaction to James and John when they ask if they can call a curse down on the city to burn them up.  We‘ll even see later how Jesus prays that God would forgive those who are crucifying Him.  Now that‘s compassion, mercy, and forgiveness right there.  Though one might think, reading on, that the compassion of Jesus ends when He is talking to a few people who want to follow Him, and the words He says seem to be pretty harsh.  I think Jesus’ point here is to say that following Him is not to be taken lightly.  Jesus isn‘t calling us to put one foot in His kingdom and keep the other in our past.  Following Jesus is a full-time, all-the-time commitment.  This passage convicts me sometimes in the ways that I can say "Hold on a second Jesus, I‘ll keep following you tomorrow, I just want to stop right now and go back to doing my own thing for a while."  Jesus is honest here on what it takes to follow Him, and believe me, if anyone knows the cost, its Him.

Prayer
Lord, please help me to look on people with compassion, even if they aren‘t welcoming or friendly towards me.  God, I know that You don‘t want just part of my life, but You want the whole thing.  Show me ways in which I can give You all of me, point out the areas in my life that I‘m still holding onto.  Amen.