LITN IX, Verses 37 - 62

37. The next day, a crowd of needy people was waiting for them at the foot of the mountain.

38. As they approached the throng, a man from the crowd shouted out, “Lord, please have mercy on my only son!

39. He has a terrible condition...a harassing spirit that causes severe, epileptic-type seizures which manifest, frequently…and when they do, he foams at the mouth and convulses...and this thing won't leave him alone.

40. I brought him to Your disciples to see if they could help him, but they weren’t able to do a thing for him."

41. Frustrated, Jesus answered, “Oh, you unbelieving, clueless, and backward generation! How long am I supposed to demonstrate dominion before you? How many miracles is it going to take before you realize the power that you already have?! Bring him here to Me.”

42. But while he was coming, the spirit threw him down and convulsed him. So Jesus calmly told it to stop showing off, and then expelled it. He also healed the boy of any physical damage caused by the manifestations, and restored him to his father.

43. Everyone there was astounded at this amazing demonstration of God's obvious power. But while they were all marveling at everything Jesus was doing, He turned to His disciples, seemingly unaffected by the amazement of the crowd, and said,

44. "Listen, you must comprehend this...the Son of Man is about to be betrayed and turned over into the hands of carnal men."

45. But they weren't able to grasp it...it was as if it was kept hidden from them so that they couldn't understand...and on some level they were afraid to ask Him anything about the statement. It was as if He never even said it.

46. Not long after this, a controversy arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest and the most superior.

47. But Jesus, perceiving their selfish ambition and hidden agendas by the Spirit, took an unpretentious little child and put Him at His side.



















48. Then He said to them, "You should know that I am so identified with these little ones, I can tell you that whoever receives and loves and welcomes and celebrates one little child like this for My sake, and in My name, receives and loves and welcomes and celebrates Me. And whoever so receives Me so also receives Him Who sent Me, because, in this new Kingdom-reality, he who is perceived to be the least and lowliest among you all is the one who is truly great."

49. Changing the subject entirely, John spoke up and said, "Lord, we saw a man driving out rebel spirits in Your name, and we commanded him to stop it because he is not one of us...we didn't approve or sanction him, so we told him that he was completely out of order to do such things."

50. But Jesus said to him, "You really shouldn't have done that...you need to change your paradigm of people like him, and realize that whoever is not against you is for you!"

51. Now as the time approached for Jesus to leave the physical world and re-enter the heavenly realm, He made it His intention to make the journey to Jerusalem.

52. So He sent messengers before Him, and they entered a Samaritan village to make preparations for His visit.

53. But when the local people in Samaria learned that His ultimate destination was Jerusalem, they refused Him hospitality.

54. When His disciples, James and John, observed this, they were incensed and said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?"

55. But He instantly snapped at them, saying, "You don't even know of what sort of spirit you are;

56. You should know by now that the Son of Man did not come to destroy people's lives, but to save them!" And without any confrontation, they journeyed on to another village.

57. And it occurred that as they were going along the road, a man came up to Him and said, "Lord, I want to follow You wherever You go!"

58. And Jesus replied, "Oh? Do you really? Listen...foxes have holes in which to lurk, and the birds of the air have nests in which to roost...but the Son of Man lives the life of a vagabond...when He is in ministry mode, He has no physical place to lay His head."

59. Then He said to another, "I want you to become My disciple, and accompany Me!" But the man replied, "Lord, permit me first to go and await the death of my father so that I can give him a decent burial."

60. But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead...but as for you, in the meantime, go and publish abroad throughout the whole area the Kingdom of God."

61. Yet another approached Him and said, "I will follow You, Lord, and become Your disciple...become one of Your very own...but let me first say good-bye to those at my home."

62. Jesus said to him, "No you won't...no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back to the things behind is fit for the stewardship of the Kingdom of God."

LITN IX, Verses 26 - 36

26. "Your actions will define your terms with Me because of the universal laws of sowing and reaping. So if anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of Him when He is revealed in the glory of His Kingdom, which is validated by the Father and the holy angels.

27. But here's the truth about that revelation...some of you who are standing here will not experience death before they see the Kingdom of God manifested."

28. About eight days after this, Jesus took Peter, John and James with Him, and went up onto a mountain to pray.

























29. And as He was praying, His appearance began to undergo a complete metamorphosis right before their very eyes, causing the appearance of His face to change, dramatically. Even His clothing began to morph into a surrounding aura that was as bright as a flash of lightning!

30. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, were standing there, conversing with Him!

31. They appeared in glorious and radiant splendor, similar to that of His appearance, and they spoke about His imminent departure from the physical realm, which He was about to bring to realization at Jerusalem.

32. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but while they were in between being fully awake and being in a dream-like state, they were able to see clearly into the realities of the spirit-world. Suddenly they saw His glory, as well as the two men standing with Him, and somehow, inexplicably, they just knew who the two men were! They had obviously never seen them before, since both men had lived on the earth centuries before this…and yet, as these two Prophets continued to commune with Jesus, the disciples not only recognized them, they were totally comfortable in their presence…not at all alarmed or surprised that they were seeing living people from another time and era right there on the mountain…in the now!

33. The whole thing was over in a flash, but as the men were de-materializing and leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, "Master, this is an amazing and unforgettable moment in time, and it is good for us to be here! If You approve, I’d like to put up three booths right here…to build three memorials…one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah!” Of course, this notion of memorializing the moment with mere mementos was nonsense.

34. But while he was speaking, a shining cloud, completely composed of transcendent light just emerged and sort of overshadowed all of them, and it terrified them.

35. Then, a deep, thunderous voice from within the cloud began to speak, saying, “This is My Son…My Beloved, with Whom I am and have always been delighted! Listen to Him!”

36. When the voice had spoken, they saw that Jesus was no longer in an altered state, and they realized that He wasn’t accompanied by the other two men any longer. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

LITN IX, Verses 1 - 25

1. When Jesus had called His official twelve disciples together, He gave them power and authority, personally, to drive out and expel all rebel spirits, and to cure diseases.

2. And He commissioned and authorized them to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and to validate the message by healing the sick.

3. Then He told them, "Basically, I want you to take nothing with you on your journey...no external equipment...you must learn to rely, solely, on the internal gifts which I have imparted to you.

4. Whatever house you enter, if it's friendly, stay there until you leave that town.

5. But if any house or community will not receive, embrace and welcome you...if they refuse to listen to you...then get out of there. And when you depart, make a grand and symbolic gesture of shaking off the dust from their streets that is on your feet, for a visible testimony against them."

6. So they all obediently set out on their Kingdom-adventure, going from village to village, proclaiming the Good News and healing people everywhere.

7. Now when Herod, the tetrarch, heard about all that was going on, he was very disturbed by it, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead.

8. Others believed that the reincarnation of Elijah had manifested, and still others were saying that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life in the present dimension.

9. But Herod said, "I personally saw to it that John was beheaded! So who, then, is this amazing person I keep hearing about?" And he made it his intention to see Him for himself.

10. When the disciples returned from their travels, they reported to Jesus everything they had done on their own. After hearing from them what had happened, He took them with Him in order to mentor them further, and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.

11. But, as usual, the crowds found out about it, and followed Him wherever He went. But, even though they interrupted His plans with His disciples, He didn't rebuke them. In fact, He welcomed them, and used the opportunity to unveil to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He also healed everyone who needed healing.

12. But late in the afternoon, the disciples came to Him and said, "You need to send this crowd away so that they can go to the surrounding villages and find food and lodging before sundown. We're in a very remote place here, and they need to go take care of themselves."

13. But Jesus said, "No...I don't want to send them away. Why don't you just give them something to eat?" They answered, "Well, that's impossible. We have only five loaves of bread and two fish among us. That's it, unless we go into town and buy food for all of them."

14. What makes the story even more interesting is that there were about five thousand men there, along with women and children! But, undaunted by the enormity of the situation, Jesus said to His disciples, "Just have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

15. Without question or argument, the disciples did as He said, and everyone sat down.

16. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up into the heavenlies, He gave thanks for what He had in His hands, and began to break off pieces of both the bread and the fish. As He broke off piece after piece, He gave them to the disciples to serve to the people.

17. And they all ate...every one of them...and were completely satisfied. When the miraculous meal was over, the twelve disciples went around and filled up twelve whole baskets of broken pieces that were left over!

18. Once when Jesus was off praying by Himself, He became aware that His disciples had moved close to where He was. So He stopped, and, before they could speak, He said to them, "Let Me ask you something...who do the crowds say I am?"

19. They replied, "Well, some say John, the Forerunner...others say Elijah in another form...still others presume that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."

20 "All right...fine...but what about you?" He replied. "Who do you say that I am?"
Without missing a beat, Peter answered, "Easy...You are God's Christ!"

21. Jesus then warned them to be careful with that information. They were to be discreet to the point of telling no one what Peter had said.

22. He explained this warning to them by saying, "You see, the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be repudiated and rejected on the part of the elders and priests and scribes. Eventually, He will even be put to death...but on the third day He will rise again."

23. And He went on to say, "So if any person wants to follow Me on this journey, he or she is going to have to give up his or her own personal agendas and selfish interests. You're actually going to have to fulfill your own destiny in taking up your own cross daily, so that you can follow Me as I take up Mine.

24. For whoever is obsessed with self-preservation at the expense of others will end up losing his or her life, anyway. But whoever releases his or her life for My sake...whoever embraces sacrifice and service for the greater good as I do...will ultimately preserve and save his/her life.

25. The bottom line is this...what does it profit a person, if he/she gains the whole world through self-exaltation, and ends up losing his/her very essence in the process?"

LITN VIII, Verses 40 - 56

40. When Jesus returned to the other side, a throng welcomed Him, because they were all expecting Him.

41. And from out of the crowd, a man named Jairus, a well-known synagogue leader, came and literally fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him to come to his house.

42. He made this request because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was sick and at the point of death. Jesus immediately agreed to accompany the man back to his house, but as He was on His way, the desperate and excited crowds almost crushed Him.

43. But there was a certain woman in the crowd who, despite the mass hysteria that often manifested when Jesus was in healing mode, had the intention of making personal, physical contact with Him. This particular woman had been subject to a serious hemorrhaging situation for twelve years, and no one in that whole time had been able to help her get any relief from it.

44. So, believing that this was her last chance at wholeness, she made her way through the sea of people, and came right up behind Him. When she got within arm's reach of Him she grabbed the edge of His cloak, and clutched it with all her might. Immediately her bleeding stopped.

45. "Who touched Me?" Jesus asked. Peter replied to Him, "What do You mean? People are crowding in and pressing against You...they're all touching You!"

46. But Jesus said, "No...no...this was different. Someone touched Me...I mean really touched Me...and something unusual just happened in that touch, because I could feel power and energy drain out of Me through the connection."

47. Then the woman, realizing that she could not remain anonymous, came trembling and fell at His feet. And in the presence of all the people, as a reverent hush fell on them, she told why she had touched Him, and how she had been instantly healed through it.

48. Then, smiling, He said to her, "My daughter, your own faith has healed you. Go in absolute peace."

49. But while Jesus was in mid-sentence, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and said to him "Sir, your daughter is dead...don't bother the Teacher anymore."

50. Upon hearing this, Jesus grabbed Jairus by the shoulders and said, "Look at Me...before you react to the news...before you say a word...before you respond with any emotion, whatsoever...just believe...don't say anything...don't feel anything...don't grieve...don't cry...don't be seized with alarm, or struck with fear. Do one thing, and one thing, only...only believe!" So Jairus did as he was told.

51. When they arrived at the house of Jairus, Jesus refused to let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John and James, and the girl's father and mother.

52. Meanwhile, all the people there were wailing and mourning for her. Jesus instantly put a stop to all the drama and said, "Stop wailing! This girl is not dead...she's only sleeping!"

53. The mourners and wailers in the room switched, almost automatically, from crying to laughing...laughing at Him, that is...jeering at Him, and sarcastically telling Him that He was out of touch with reality.

54. But, unfazed by their negative reaction to His creative words, He gripped her firmly by the hand and said, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"

55. And at these simple words, her spirit returned, and she jumped right up and started walking around! Then Jesus said to her parents, "She's alive! Give her something to eat!"

56. They were totally astonished, but He instructed them not to tell anyone what had happened.

LITN VIII, Verses 16 - 39

16. Obviously, no one lights a lamp and then covers it up with a vessel, or crams it under a bed to obscure its radiance. On the contrary, a lamp is made to be lit and then fixed somewhere up high on a lamp stand, so that it may burn brightly to illuminate everyone who enters the house.

17. When the light is embraced, there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed...nothing concealed that will not be revealed.

18. So consider carefully how you listen...how you hear. See, it's not just what you hear that affects you, it's how you hear it. Your perception determines what you attract to yourself...in this way, those who have will be given more. By the same token, the way you hear can also repel certain things, and move them away from you, so that those who do not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them."

19. One day Jesus' mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were not able to get near Him because He was surrounded by a big crowd.

20. So someone came to Him and said, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to have a word with You."

21. Jesus replied to the man, "You know what? My real mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." And nothing more was said about it.

22. Another day He said to His disciples, "Hey, let's go over to the other side of the lake." So, without question, they all piled into a boat and launched out.

23. As they sailed, Jesus dozed off, and while He slept, a squall abruptly converged on the lake. In practically no time, the boat was being flooded, and they were in great danger of sinking.

24. The frightened disciples went and woke Him up out of His peaceful, undisturbed sleep, saying, "Master! Master! Don't You know that we're about to drown?" Without saying a word, Jesus calmly opened His eyes, sat up and rubbed them for a moment, and then stood up and told the wind to settle down. Immediately, the storm subsided, and the water became like glass.

25. Then He turned around and asked them, "Where in the world is your faith?...and went back to His nap. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He even tells the winds and the water what to do, and they obey him!"

26. After this they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.

27. And as soon as He stepped out of the boat, a madman under the influence of a rebel spirit came right up to him from out of the cemetery. This man actually lived naked, outside among the tombs.

28. But when he saw Jesus from a distance, the spirit controlling him recognized Him, as the spirits always did, and, crying out with a loud voice, the spirit spoke through the man. It said, "What business do You have here with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High? Why has the Son of God come here? I beg you not to torment me!"

























29. For Jesus had commanded the rebel spirit to release the man, because many times it had harassed him. And though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains, and had been driven by the dark spirit into solitary places.

30. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And the spirit responded simultaneously in the singular and in the plural, because in the spirit realm they are most always the same. And, mixing his pronouns he said, "'My' name is Legion, for 'we' are many in this man's life!"

31. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them back into the unseen realm.

32. Now an enormous herd of hogs was grazing there on the hillside while this exchange was happening. So "Legion" begged Him, saying, "Please, Sir, grant us permission to go to the hogs, that we may go into them!" So He did give them the permission, being fully aware that they could do nothing without it.

33. And the spirits left the man, and took control of the hogs. And the entire herd immediately rushed headlong down the steep slope into the lake, and were drowned in the water.

34. When those who were tending the hogs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this bizarre event in the town and all over the countryside,

35. and the people went out to see for themselves what had happened. And they came to Jesus and looked with amazement at the man who had been previously controlled by the spirits, just sitting there, clothed, calm, and completely lucid...the very same man who had been controlled by the Legion of spirits called demons...and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear.

36. Those who saw it firsthand told the people how the insane man...the man who seemed to be controlled by the spirits...had been completely restored to mental health and wellness.

37. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because the whole thing was just too much for them...they were overcome with fear because of it. So He got into the boat and left.

38. The man who had been liberated kept begging Him that he might go with Him and be with Him...now worshipping Him on his own accord, and not under the influence of any other entity. But Jesus went away, saying,

39. "No, friend...you'll be more effective if you go home to your own family and friends, and tell them all that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you. They need to see for themselves what has happened to you!" And the man departed and immediately began to publicly proclaim all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

LITN VIII, Verses 1 - 15

1. After this experience at the Pharisee's house, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, proclaiming a singular message...the good news of the Kingdom of God. As He focused entirely on doing this, the Twelve were with Him, as usual;

2. but there was also another group of disciples who accompanied Him...a large female following...women who had been released from the influence of rebel spirits, and cured of diseases through Him. This group consisted of Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven rebel spirits had been expelled;

3. Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household, Susanna, and many others who are not named here. These women ministered to Jesus, and helped to support His ministry, financially, out of their own means.

4. One day, while a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He began to teach, using this illustration:












5. "A certain farmer went out to sow his seed, and as he was scattering it, some of it fell along the path. Whatever seed was not trampled under foot there was quickly eaten up by the birds.

6. Some of the other seed fell on rock, or gravelly ground, and when it came up, the vegetation quickly withered because it had no available moisture to sustain it.

7. Other seed that he scattered fell among thorns, which grew up right along with it, and choked the life out of the plants.

8. And still other seed fell on good soil that was conducive to growth. It came up as it should, and produced a beautiful, healthy crop...a hundred times, in fact, more than was sown." After He had said this, He added, "Whoever has a perceptive and discerning ear to hear, let him or her really hear this with comprehension."

9. His disciples weren't sure that they met that criteria, so they came to Him, privately, and asked Him to interpret His illustration.

10. So He said to them "Look...you've been given insight into the mysteries of God's Kingdom...a revelation of its inner workings, and an understanding of its day-to-day operation. You know more about it than you think you know. But those who can't see it yet, intrigued as they may be by My story-telling, only hear My stories as entertainment...that's all they are to them at this point...stories...'illustrations without introspection'...'metaphors without meaning'.

11. But I'll spell it out for you...the seed is the word of God.

12. Those along the path are the ones who hear, but the Adversary (or any adversarial individual or circumstance) comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and get results from it.

13. Those who are on the rock, or gravelly ground, are the ones who very happily receive the Word when they first hear it, but they have no root-connection to it...no real root in themselves, or sense of covenant relationship to the Word...and so they endure for a little while, but when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately become resentful and basically fall apart.

14. Then the seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear with comprehension...even with revelation...but as they go on their way, the daily cares and anxieties of the world wear them out, and they easily get distracted by the illusions of the age...looking for pleasure and false glamour elsewhere...being deceived by the empty promises of riches. Without even noticing it, the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and strangle the Word, so that they never really mature, fully.

15. But the seed on good soil stands for those who hear the Word and openly receive it, accepting the personal responsibility for their own soil-maintenance. They welcome it and have a mature relationship to it, and so they bear fruit and produce a bumper crop in their lives!"

HAPPY YOM KIPPUR!

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, begins at sundown tonight (Sunday, September 27) and ends at nightfall tomorrow (Monday, September 28)...some of my regular readers may not be keeping up with the Luke In The Now postings (I understand that many of you are waiting for the actual book to come out), but on this day when forgiveness is so embraced and celebrated, I encourage you to read what I wrote and posted last night about the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her hair...very appropriate for today...please make your comments about Yom Kippur/atonement/forgiveness/grace of God there...SHALOM!