Reflective Bible Study

Part of me wonders why Jesus performed certain miracles. In several places, we read that Jesus healed people based on the level of faith present, and there are some places that indicate that the lack of faith actually stopped Jesus from healing. But not everywhere that Jesus worked had faith. It may surprise you, but the event this passage covers is one such event – there is no mention of faith before or after the young man’s resurrection here in the gospel of Luke.

If no faith was present, why would Jesus step outside of the norm to resurrect this only child?

There are two clues in this passage that tell us why Jesus may have done this.

The first is that Jesus felt sorry for her. This was the only son of this mother. No father is mentioned, so it is possible that the mother was a widow. The only family she had may have been this son who had just died, and Jesus knows that her boy was very special to her. This may be one reason why Jesus resurrected this young man.

The other reason is found in the crowd’s reaction following the miracle. We read that “the people were all filled with wonder and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’” (v. 16)

The crowd gave praise and glory to God. While Jesus was the instigator of this miracle, those present knew that only God’s power could have done what had just happened, and this leads them to give God the praise. In other places, Jesus appears to avoid performing miracles because He knows that those wanting the miracle simply want to put more focus and emphasis onto Him and His ability. Jesus avoided scenarios like this.

In this event, we read that the praise went to the only valid place for it to go: the praise went to God and God alone. For this reason, Jesus resurrects this young man, and in this miracle that Luke includes, we see how God both loves those who are hurting, and He reaches down to help in practical ways.

While not everyone who has died will be resurrected before Jesus returns, those who have fallen asleep with their hope, faith, and trust in Jesus are promised a future resurrection and a new “eternal life” with God in heaven. Jesus’ resurrection that day proves that this is possible, and it is one reason we can trust Him with our future life in heaven.

In the details surrounding Jesus’ first disciples coming to follow Him, we see an interesting question, and a fascinating answer. Jesus happens to walk by where John the Baptist is preaching, and John directs the people’s attention to Jesus. This prompts two of John’s followers to leave him and instead follow Jesus.

In a slightly humorous fashion, Jesus happens to see to people following Him when up to that point, He was use to traveling alone, and He turns to them an asks, “What do you want?” (v. 38)

We could understand this as a question saying “Why are you following Me? Or “What do you need?”.

Perhaps they had their answer ready, or perhaps Jesus’ abrupt statement caught them off guard, but they respond in typical Jewish fashion with another question instead of an answer. Instead of saying that John pointed them to Him, these disciples answer Jesus’ question by asking, “Rabbi, where do you live?”

In this question, these disciples pay respect to Jesus by using the term “rabbi” which means “teacher”, and it also implies their desire to follow and learn from Him.

In Jesus’ question, the disciples counter-question, and Jesus’ “Come and see” response, we have the beginning conversation of what would ultimately become the movement known as Christianity. In this event, we see that the first stages for anyone wanting to follow Jesus are simply choosing to follow Him and be open to learning what He wants to teach. The choice to follow is ours.

Every so often, something included or implied within a passage in the Bible appears odd to me. There is one place like this passage, and it isn’t directly stated, but it is implied. With all the popularity Jesus had, He was able to sneak into Jerusalem, and also into the temple – when everyone was looking for Him.

Jesus was probably the most famous person in the whole region at that time, and He is able to sneak around in one of the most crowded places in the region (Jerusalem during a festival) along with His group of disciples.

How was this possible?

Did the Holy Spirit hide them from people’s eyes or recognition? Maybe, but there is nothing in the Bible text that implies this.

What most likely happened is that once people began to think Jesus wouldn’t show up, they stopped looking. When they stopped looking, they missed seeing Jesus as He entered Jerusalem and made His way to the temple.

This brings up an important and significant point: Often Jesus shows up in unexpected ways and/or at unexpected times. Always be on the lookout for Him so you don’t miss seeing Him.

Too often, when we stop looking for something/someone, we end up missing out on what we were hoping to experience. Not only was this true for those in Jerusalem, it is true for us today.

Don’t give up looking for Jesus. Always keep your eyes open, and you may be surprised where He shows up in your life.

When looking at the call of the closest disciples, I really appreciate Luke for sharing more about what actually happened. Luke was a researcher and interviewer, and he might have even been writing to someone who maybe was a little skeptical.

If we look at how Matthew and Mark include this event, we might get the impression that the four fishermen disciples were a little flakey. In both gospels, we simply see Jesus giving an invitation, and the men dropping everything to follow a random person they had never previously met. (This event is referenced in Mark 1:16-20 & Matthew 4:18-22.)

But Luke gives us the rest of the story, and he shares the amazing miracle that prompts these four disciples to give up their life of fishing for fish in exchange for a new type of fishing, “Fishing for people.” (v. 10b)

Luke tells us that only after the miracle do we read Jesus giving His invitation. The response: “When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.” (v. 11)

Fishing was the family business. James and John were following in their father’s footsteps, and Matthew tells us their dad was present. If we only read Matthew’s gospel, we get the impression that James and John abandon their father in favor of following Jesus. But when we put Luke’s version of this event alongside their response, their dad probably encouraged them to leave with Jesus. Their dad may have even said something like, “Learn everything you can from Jesus, because He may be the greatest Fishermen alive!”

Jesus gave these early disciples a reason to leave everything and follow Him. In a similar way, Jesus is willing to give us a reason to follow Him as well. This reason does not remove our free will, and this reason may require effort and/or testing on our part, but if we are willing to try life Jesus’ way, He will give us a reason to follow Him.

Jesus is not looking for blind followers. He wants people who follow because they have faith in Him. The people who dedicate their lives to Jesus have found many reasons to follow, and for those who are still making their decision, Jesus is more than willing to give reasons to follow Him.