DOWN TO EARTH WITH A BUMP
Opening Prayer
Gracious Jesus let me see others through your eyes—eyes filled with love and compassion.
Read LUKE 9:37-50
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Do you ever get days when everything you do seems to be wrong? Ask God to help you if today is one of those days.After the mountaintop transfiguration, everything seems to come back down to earth with a bump. We read of a child released from a demon (v 42), a prediction of Jesus’ suffering (v 44), a child used as an object lesson (vs 46-48), and a brief report from a disciple (v 49). But in each of these stories the disciples are not doing very well.
The man with a demon-possessed child complains because the disciples could not drive out the demon. Then Jesus predicts his suffering again, but the disciples do not understand what he means, and are afraid to ask. Next, we see the disciples arguing about who would be the greatest. Jesus points to their arrogant attitudes with the example of a little child. Finally, John reports that they had tried to stop someone from doing ministry because he was not one of the twelve. Jesus corrects him.
Jesus is God’s Messiah, but that does not mean his followers always get everything right. Because we are so slow to learn and live in such a broken world, Jesus needed to come in the first place!
Apply
Thank Jesus for understanding when you fall short, just like his original disciples did. We may be slow to learn and experts in messing things up. But Jesus is God’s Messiah, and that makes all the difference!
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, forgive my arrogant tendencies; help me to serve you with humility, always seeing others as better than myself.
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