The three synoptic gospels follow up closely Jesus’ kingdom parables by pairing two significant signs, or miraculous events together, the calming of a storm and the casting out of demons. Luke will include a further significant sign, the raising of Jairus’ daughter.
13.1 Read Luke 8:22-25
One day, Jesus and his disciples cross Galilee by boat. Jesus settles down in the boat and falls asleep. As he falls asleep, a fierce wind comes down upon them. Notice the paired images, Jesus going down in the boat to sleep, the storm coming down on the boat. The storm threatens to swamp and sink the boat (v23-23). The disciples wake Jesus. Notice too, how the story echoes that of Jonah, also wakened from sleep in a storm threatened boat (v24). This difference of course is that the sailors were in greater danger with Jonah on the boat, the disciples with Jesus off the boat. Jesus stands up and speaks to the storm, rebuking it. There is calm. He then rebukes the disciples too for their lack of belief (v25).
13.2 Read Luke 8:26-39
They get off the boat on the opposite shore to Capernaum in the Gerasene or Gadarene region (v26).[1] They meet a man who is demonised. He is naked and living among the tombs instead of in the city. This is the affect the demons have had on him (v27). Matthew informs us that there was a second demon-possessed man there.[2]
Jesus commands the demons to leave and the man screams, falls down and begins shouting at Jesus, begging him to leave him alone and not torture him. It is in fact, the demons who are speaking. At this stage we are only made aware of one of them. We are also told that the demon gives him destructive strength and attempts to restrain him have all failed (v28-29).
It transpires that there the man is possessed by multiple demons. He responds to Jesus’ queries by giving his name as “Legion” (v31). They plead not to be sent to their final fate and instead possess a herd of pigs driving them to their destruction in the sea (v32-33). Why does Jesus agree to their request? This is not something that happens with other demons? I suspect that his intention is to both forcibly demonstrate the destructive influence of demons and to push the people of the town to choose between him and the evil one.
When the people of the city find the man in his right mind but also hear about the pigs, they beg Jesus and his disciples to leave. They are too afraid of Jesus (v34-37). The man wants to go with Jesus. In fact, he begs to stay with Jesus, just as through him, the demons had begged Jesus to go. However, Jesus insists that he remains there in the town as a witness (v39).
13.3 Read Luke 8:40-56
Jesus returns from casting out the demons and is met by a crowd, expecting him. One of the synagogue elders’ daughter is very sick (v40-43a). Jesus goes with him to heal her but en-route they are interrupted. A woman who has been suffering some form of blood haemorrhage for many years, which would have left her ceremonially unclean reaches out to touch his cloak and is healed. Jesus knows that he has been touched and has healed someone. He stops to find out who. His disciples are incredulous. It would be impossible to single out someone when the crowd were pressing in so close. However, Jesus insists. The woman steps forward and Jesus commends her. She has been healed through her faith (v43b-48).
The time lost is critical. Messengers come. The girl is already dead. It’s too late and pointless bothering Jesus. However, Jesus continues with Jairus. He encourages him to continue having faith (v49-50). Jesus arrives at the house. His insistence that the girl is only sleeping is mocked but he goes in to the room with just a small group of his disciples, instructing those mourning to stop with their wailing (v51-53). Jesus then takes the girl by the hand and commands her to get up. She does. Her family are astonished (v54-56).
13.4 Authority
By bringing these three signs together, Luke demonstrates that Jesus has authority over the things that matter in life. He has authority over the physical creation, over the spiritual world, including evil forces and over life and death itself (including sickness). At one level, we might see these miracles as pointing to Christ’s divinity and this is the route which many sermons, especially apologetic or evangelistic ones go.
However, Tom Wright, correctly observes that Jesus’ ability to work signs and wonders was not unique but follows the pattern of Moses, Elijah and Elisha.[3] We might also note that in chapter 9, Luke will tell us that Jesus gives the 12 similar authority. Remember that in Luke chapter 3, we saw that Jesus as Adam’s descendant is “Son of God.” Luke was concerned as much as anything to present Jesus’ humanity, that he is the second, the true and better Adam. So, we may observe that these miracles point us to Jesus as king, as Adam and David’s heir, so that it is as the true and better humanity that he exercises authority over creation. In Christ, we are raised up to that intended, exalted position in creation “a little lower than God”.
This is not to deny Jesus’ divinity. I think that Wright overstates the case against this.[4] Whilst it is true that the other men mentioned were able to do signs and wonders, things step up a gear, at least in intensity if not spectacularity. Whilst Jesus does not need or rely on miracles to prove his divinity, he simply claims it and uses it, so that he is able to pass on that authority to others and so that his authority goes further as he uses it to determine what is done when and specifically to forgive sin. It is this combination of ability to heal with ability to forgive and the way that he carries his authority as unquestionably and permanently his that point to his divinity. Or more properly we might say that we are not meant to prove his divine nature in isolation, he is fully God and fully man.
[1] There are textual challenges here with Matthew and Luke opting for different place names. It is possible that the text was corrupted in copying for one or the other, although exactly how is unclear. Bock suggests that one Gospel opts for a place name known locally whereas the other opts for the larger, better known name in the region. He compares it to choosing to refer to a small place such as Denton in Texas or the better known Dallas-Fort Worth. I may similarly recall how older people from Black Country towns such as Smethwick, Bearwood, Blackheath etc would dogmatically refer to their local town name whereas younger people would happily describe themselves as from the better known Birmingham. See Block, Luke 1- 9:50, 782-3.
[2] Matthew 8:28-34.
[3] Wright, How God became King, 56.
[4] Wright, How God became King, 53-57.
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