Luke 8
This is a chapter filled with so many stories that deserve each their own devotional to it. Honestly, it’s intimidating to try to tackle this in 500 words, but as I was reading and think this through I found a throughline through each of these stories - Jesus is there in his power, always. It makes me think of when he commissions the disciples in Matthew 28 and says, “Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). We know that now, but each of these stories are different yet Jesus is there calmly and humbly displaying his power drawing the masses to him because he loves them. Let me show you through just three of the stories we see in this chapter.
Jesus calms the storm - Jesus fully human and fully God, with just one word he calms the storm. He is powerful over all the natural world. We see it here how he calms the storm and we can trust that God not only created the world, but is sovereign over all creation.
Jesus heal a man with demons - this man had a history of exposure, a life ruled by literal demons and was outcasted by his own society. Yet, Jesus was not disgusted, ashamed or afraid of this man. Jesus did not avoid him, or offer the man with catchy cliches to help him get his life together. Jesus came to him, cast out the demons and brought this man healing and freedom. He is powerful over the spiritual world. We try so hard to hide our past, our scars, our demons. We mask our shame with fake confidence of “our own truth” all the while clothing ourselves in insecurity. Jesus sees us, wholly and completely, and is never ashamed of us. Our demons do not frighten him, nor are there too many for him to heal. He loves to free his people, but why are we so afraid to walk into the light where his freedom awaits us?
Last but not least, Jesus heals the a woman and Jairus’s daughter - I love this story. Jesus heals a woman who would have been claimed impure because of her disease and has been cast out by her society. I love it because it shows how much he loves us even when the only faith we have to give is enough just to grab his cloak. Not only that, but he saves a little girl who has fallen ill and everyone around her has already claimed her dead. How glorious is Jesus that he came to give us what we needed and what he asks is for us to have faith. That there is nothing in us too sick, to impure, to dead for him to bring healing, restoration and life in us.
All these stories are display, after display, after display of Jesus’ power and his willingness to get right up close to us to show us that his power is covered in his love for us lost people. For those of us stuck in a storm, or chained by our demons or even dead in our trespasses. Jesus can always save because he is might and powerful to do so.
