최중현 교수(롬한인장로교회) 영어설교- The Value of the Soul (Luke 8:26-56)

The Value of the Soul

(Luke 8:26-56)

1. In today’s text, there are three major incidents.

(1) Let’s start with the contents. First, if you look at verses 26-39, you will see that Jesus restored the demon-possessed man in the Gerasenes region. And next, in verses 40-56, the woman with the issue of bleeding and the daughter of Jairus come out.

(2) However, looking at these two events, Luke and the other Gospels expressed them slightly differently. Compared to Matthew 8:28, there are two people possessed by demons, but the text emphasizes one person. Also, looking at the timeline, the other gospels clearly introduced the Sermon on the Mount as an event that occurred immediately after the completion of the sermon on the Mount, but one author introduced the ministry of the text as an intermediate event of the Lord. Then why did Luke emphasize the events of the text so differently from other Gospels?

It certainly won’t be a mistranslation. So today, with Luke’s emphasis, let’s think together under the title of [The value of the soul].

(3) First, let’s look at the repeated words he emphasizes as the focus of the author Luke.

*First, in verse 28, the word that a demon-possessed person fell face down came out. *And if you look at verse 41, it comes out that the ruler of the synagogue also fell at his feet.

* Also, in verse 47, it is said that the woman suffering from bleeding also fell face down. That’s right. Luke emphasized those who prostrated themselves before the Lord. But that prostration is faith. So the second, Lord’s emphasis is that it was faith. And third, numbers are often emphasized. 

2. Then what does Luke want to explain in today’s text?

(1) First, let’s think about the areas where the incident took place.

1) First, where was the area of the demon-possessed man at the time?

In verse 26 of the main text, the [Gerasenes] region appears. At the time of Jesus, there were 16 marinas around Galilee. Among them, the easternmost marina is [Gerasenes], which is about 10 minutes from the Galilee starting point, and is located in the Gerasenes (Kursi in Hebrew) region of Galilee, called “Gadara” or “Gerasenes”  in terms of administrative district of the province. However, non-Jewish Gentiles lived in this area, and they were suitable for breeding pigs, which Jews hate due to their local characteristics. However, the place of today’s incident was Gerasenes.

2) Then, why did the Lord go all the way to the Gentile land of Gerasenes?

If you look at verse 27, it is because there was a man who was possessed by an army of demon right there. That’s right. As can be seen from the term “legion”, this man’s situation was that he was possessed by an army of demon who had no choice but to live in chains while living among tombs without wearing clothes. So, who will care for him?

However, in order to save him, the Lord went to Gerasenes, a foreign land. That’s right. This is what the Lord’s love for us is like. So today’s text is for us to see the Lord’s heart about love for our souls.

3) So Luke emphasized the text like this in other Gospels.

First, another gospel, Matthew 8, emphasizes the number of demon that possessed man, and Mark 5:13 emphasizes the loss of 2000 pigs in the process of restoring. But look at today’s text. Luke’s focus is on the demon-possessed man. So what difference do you see? From the point of view of the strangers reading the main text, if the loss of 2000 pigs was recorded, whoever saw it would have been more surprised by the loss of 2000 pigs. Then, in those days, who would have shown interest in one demon-possessed beggar? Do you understand? If you don’t feel the word, let’s calculate it with money. Everyone, if you lose 2000 pigs, even if the price of one pig is about 200 dollars at the time, it will be about 400 million. Is 400 million precious? Or is a sick beggar precious? So, when Luke recorded this incident, he did not mention the number of 2,000 pigs, but emphasized one person possessed by an army of demon. That’s what Luke was all about. That’s right. Where can a person’s soul be worth so much more? This is the heart of the Lord.

(2) Then, as they returned to the mainland, it led to the incident of the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and the woman with an issue of bleeding. Now let’s look at verse 40. That’s right. At that time, the position of synagogue leader was that of a government official, as seen in Mark 5:22.

As such, the synagogue leader maintained the synagogue as a central figure in Jewish society. So, the head of the synagogue was in a position to not only manage the synagogue, but also to supervise the law and social order by being proficient in the law. But how embarrassed must they have been when the only daughter of the head of the synagogue died? So [Matthew and Mark] emphasized that Jairus’ daughter was dying. However, in such an urgent situation, a woman suffering from bleeding blocked the Lord’s way. So he finally arrives after the delay, he finds that Jairus’ daughter is dead. But here, what is the difference between the situation before death and the situation after death? That’s the difference between possibilities. However, if you look at the Gospel of Matthew besides the main text, there is a word from Jairus at this time. That is, he turned to the Lord and asked his dead daughter to be revived. How can you bring the dead back to life? But Jairus was convinced that she would live if the Lord laid his hand on her. So, in verse 50, the Lord emphasized [faith]. That’s right. The love of the Lord, that regards one soul as more precious than the whole world, but we can see that this love is ultimately faith. So, seeing such faith, the Lord spared Jairus’ daughter.

(3) So let’s see the woman who suffered from an issue of bleeding. Let’s look at verse 43. At the time, she was a woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years, which means that her condition worsened that much and no one could heal her. But when she touched the edge of the Lord’s cloak, a miracle happened. Then, what ability did the Lord’s cloak have? That is what the word of the Lord meant. If you look at [Numbers 15:38], [Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.’] That’s right. At that time, Jewish men’s clothing was a sack-type garment woven from a whole. But at the end of the cloak, they always had to put tassels on it. Because it was the Word. So, the concept of the Jews at the time was that the tassel of cloak was the word, so it can be seen that what she touched was the word. That’s right. The faith of the woman who had an issue of bleeding was the faith of hearing and believing in the word of the Lord. That is why the Lord emphasized her faith in verse 48. 

3. Then what is the conclusion of today’s message?

(1) This can be seen by looking at the numbers Luke emphasizes.

First, in the number of demon that possessed a man in the Gerasenes region, Luke emphasized the number 1 and the army. Then he emphasized the number 12 to Jairus’ daughter and to the woman who was bleeding. So, what does Luke want to convey to his readers? That is, in the meaning of the number 1, the number of demon, and the number 12, emphasizes [choice] as a person who has faith. That’s right. Luke wanted to say that the salvation that God gives is love for God’s chosen people.

(2) So today, Luke emphasized that salvation comes from faith. However, he wanted to emphasize that this very faith is not physical healing and resuscitation, but salvation of the soul. Therefore, the focus is not on the stopping of the flow of blood, the restoration of the demon-possessed person, or the revival of Jairus’ daughter, but because the salvation of their souls is more precious. The Lord emphasized that the great work of God is salvation.

(3) That is why we must meet such a Lord today.

Read verse 27 together. That’s right. Luke today has a word emphasized in the main text. That’s what meeting is all about. We met many things while living on this land. But aren’t we living without meeting the Lord we should truly meet? So today, just as the daughter of Jairus, the woman with bleeding, and the demon-possessed man met the Lord, believe that all problems will be solved when you meet the Lord, and believe that all our problems will be solved when we come to the Lord, no matter what situations or circumstances are. Please be patient.

Let’s pray together.

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