Luke 9:37-45 - Ordinary Men Chosen to do the Extraordinary

You can’t help but notice that when Jesus chose a group of disciples to change the world, He did not choose a bunch of “Super Heroes”. He chose a motley, common, ordinary, self-centered, and very human group of men to follow Him for three and a half years. He chose ordinary men to do the extraordinary!   In Luke 9, Jesus is in the last stage of His three and half years of earthly ministry, especially preparing His disciples for the time He will leave them after His death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus is sending the twelve on their own (vv. 1-11), He is feeding the multitude (vv. 12-17), He is teaching them about His person, His sacrifice, and His kingdom (vv. 18-36). Now in Luke 9:37-62, Jesus is going to give them some lessons on endurance and perseverance. What is it going to take to keep going as a disciple when the going gets tough!   In Luke 9:41, Jesus asked His disciples, "How long shall I stay with you and put up with you?" You might expect that lament to come from an overworked kindergarten teacher, or an impatient army drill instructor, but it was made by the sinless Son of God! We are prone to forget how long-suffering our Lord had to be while He was ministering on earth, especially with His own disciples.   When you analyze this section of Luke's Gospel, you can better understand why Jesus spoke those words: (1) He was grieved over the failures of His followers. He had given His Apostles authority over Satan, yet they were too weak to cast out a demon (Luke 9:37-45). (2) In feeding the 5,000, Jesus gave them an example of compassion, yet they persisted in manifesting selfishness and lack of love (Luke 9:46-56). (3) He taught clearly what it meant to follow Him, yet the volunteers turned out to be "me first" disciples (Luke 9:57-62). No wonder He was grieved!   Notice how on this occasion the nine disciples lacked the power to cast out a demon in a boy (vv. 37-45). We dare not stay on the glorious mountaintop when there are battles to fight in the valley below. Here was another "only child" needing the help of the Lord (Luke 7:12; 8:42), and even more so because Jesus’ own disciples had failed. Remember in verse 1 of this chapter they had been given power and authority over demons, but they did not have success. Why?   When you study all three reports of this event in the Gospels (Matthew 17; Mark 9, Luke 9), you discover what was lacking in their lives. First on the list was faith (Matthew 17:19-20); they were part of an unbelieving generation and had lost the confidence that they needed in order to use their power and authority. (Maybe these nine were upset because the Lord didn’t take them up the mountain with Him as He did with the three.) Secondly, prayer and fasting were also lacking (Mark 9:29), which indicates that the nine men had allowed their devotional disciplines to erode during their Lord's brief absence. No matter what spiritual gifts we may have, their exercise is never automatic.   The devil tried one last throw (a wrestling term in the Greek) over the man’s son, but Jesus rebuked the demon and cast him out. The Lord lovingly gave the boy back to his father (see Luke 7:15) and then took the Twelve aside for another lesson about the cross. After all, it was at the cross that Jesus would give Satan that final blow of defeat (John 12:31-32; Col. 2:15).   Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds us that if we are to be extraordinary world-changers that will have perseverance and endurance when we face the difficult situations, we must remember the sufferings of Jesus on the cross and keep our focus on Him and His victory!   “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,... looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”   God bless!