I had a revelation last night. Easter ends Lent. Yeah, I know it caught me by surprise, too (that’s sarcasm.) My point is I’ve been writing on my reading through Luke from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. That ministry, like lent, ends at the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. My revelation is that I should figure out where in Luke specifically I want to end this commentary during Lent and back into that. That means I will likely skip some sections of Luke to make that happen.
I looked it up, and that’s Luke 23:26-49 or somewhere around there. I am not going to be able to comment on every passage from where we are now to there in the days of Lent that remain. I’m not sure how I’ll do this yet, but we’ll see. I will likely break down the chapters between six and twenty-three and give each one a number of days to highlight the sections the Spirit indicates. That’s probably around two days per chapter doing simple math, maybe some less and some a little more. We’ll see.
12It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:12 (NASB95)
“…and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” The whole night. I’m lucky if I can keep my wandering mind on the topic about which I am praying during the prayer, let alone pray the whole night. I am not a prayer warrior, as they call them, but Jesus certainly was. He not only tells us prayer is important, but he also demonstrates it to us throughout scripture.
13And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
14Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;
15and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;
16Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Luke 6:13–16 (NASB95)
No sleep, and Jesus goes right to work.
apostle
uh-pos-uhl
noun
any of the early followers of Jesus who carried the Christian message into the world.
(sometimes initial capital letter) any of the original 12 disciples called by Jesus to preach the gospel: Simon Peter, the brothers James and John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas Iscariot.
the first or the best-known Christian missionary in any region or country.
Eastern Church.
one of the 70 disciples of Jesus.
the title of the highest ecclesiastical official in certain Protestant sects.
(among the Jews of the Christian epoch) a title borne by persons sent on foreign missions.
one of the 12 administrative officials of the Mormon Church.
a pioneer of any new system or cause, especially an early leader in a reform movement: He has emerged as an apostle of a new era of peace and national unity.
a loyal supporter or follower: Our company’s apostles are motivated by the service they can render for the good of the organization.
Nautical.
a knighthead, especially one having its top projecting and used as a bitt or bollard.
disciple
dih-sahy-puhl
noun
a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower:
a disciple of Freud.
Religion.
one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.
one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.
any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.
any follower of Christ.
Disciple, a member of the Disciples of Christ.
verb (used with object), dis·ci·pled, dis·ci·pling.
Archaic. to convert into a disciple.
Obsolete. to teach; train.
We are disciples of Christ. From out of that group of disciples, the people following Him everywhere, Jesus drew the twelve. They weren’t perfect. They weren’t wealthy. They weren’t fitness gurus. They were normal, average, everyday people in whom Jesus saw value. That’s one of the questions on the list when I see Him; why did You pick these twelve? Some we can guess, but others are more obscure.
17Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
18who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
Luke 6:17–18 (NASB95)
Jesus appeared to the public with these selected apostles. Neither they nor the public knew they would be who they would become over time. We today know the whole story about Peter, but they didn’t. Those who came came came to “hear Him and be healed…” of diseases and “unclean spirits.” When was the last time you even heard someone acknowledge “unclean spirits” are a thing outside of my writing?
As an aside, it frustrates me to no end; people who have problems they cannot figure out and ask you what you think but then tell you your solution won’t work. They haven’t tried it, don’t think it has merit, and are out of ideas themselves, but your idea won’t work. When you’ve tried everything you can think of, and someone offers you a solution they claim worked for them, perhaps you should try it rather than dismissing it out of hand. Maybe that’s just me.
Rant over. Let’s look at how these people were healed.
19And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.
Luke 6:19 (NASB95)
The King James says it differently. Let’s look at that. Then, let’s look at the Greek to see if we can gather more information.
19And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Luke 6:19 (KJV 1900)
The KJV says “virtue.” I wonder why?
Greek Strong’s Number: 1411
Greek Word: δύναμις
Transliteration: dynamis
Phonetic Pronunciation: doo’-nam-is
Root: from <G1410>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 2:284,186
Part of Speech: n f
Vine’s Words: Ability, Able, Meaning, Might (Noun), Mighty, Mightily, Mightier, Miracle, Power, Strength, Strengthen
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
power 77
mighty work 11
strength 7
miracle 7
might 4
virtue 3
mighty 2
miscellaneous translations 9
[Total Count: 120]
from <G1410> (dunamai); force (literal or figurative); specially miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself):- ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, might (wonderful) work.
James Strong, “Δύναμις,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
Virtue is only used three times in scripture for this word but “power” is the most common. What kind of power? Miraculous power is the kind of power we see and cannot explain. And how did Jesus do this? The people simply touched Him. In the King James Version, it suggests Jesus’ goodness left Him, and His righteousness is what is healing people. The righteousness of Christ is the kind we can get only through following God’s Ways rather than the World’s ways. It is this example we are to follow. Let us then listen to Him and pray that His virtue flows from Him and touches us. Perhaps in this way, we can become more like Him if not heal some aspect of our lives that needs His presence.