God’s story in god’s people

Let’s start with a self-assessment. On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate your spiritual maturity? How is your walk with Jesus? I’m not asking about your Bible knowledge. Some of the most Bible-intelligent people I know have had affairs and split churches. I’m asking about your overall spiritual health. Give yourself an honest score.

The disciples were riding a wave of momentum. Crowds came in droves to see Jesus, and the twelve were right there with him. Peter even confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. But then he showed that he still did not understand what that meant.

What is your view of Jesus? That question never gets old, and the answers are many: Was he a great teacher, a moral leader, a revolutionary, a legend? Some might honestly say, I’m not really sure who Jesus is.

Last time we considered the apostles' first ministry outing on their own. Jesus gave them authority and power to do miracles and proclaim God’s message. They “went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6). What an experience that must have been! Luke says that upon their return “the apostles told [Jesus] all that they had done” (Luke 9:10).

In Luke’s orderly account of Jesus' life in his Gospel, he emphasizes Christ’s teaching and power in Galilee, the journey south to Jerusalem, and Jesus’ final mission—the cross. These three sections reflect the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which can be categorized as a year of popularity, a year of opposition, and a year of rejection.

At last, the day arrived. The baby was born—a little girl, the only daughter of her elated parents. During the next twelve years, the family celebrated her first words, first steps, and countless other joyful moments.

In our passage today, Luke says that Jesus and the disciples “sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.” Jesus deliberately planned this trip. He had already shown the disciples his power over nature when he calmed a violent storm, and now he would reveal his power over the forces of Satan.

A friend of mine recently remarked, “These stories in Luke are amazing, but it’s easy to get lost from one story to the next. How do we put the events into the bigger context of the book?” That’s a great question. To help us, let me show how Luke’s orderly account is divided into three sections.

The parable of the sower emphasized that true believers bear spiritual fruit. When God is at work in our lives, there will be evidence of it. Our good works, produced by God's grace, should point others to the greatness of the God we serve. Jesus followed the parable with an illustration about light.