TruthTexts Luke Study: Chapter 8

TruthTexts.com Luke Study – Chapter 8

Written and Posted by Timothy Smith

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More Actions that Apply to Any Chapter:

• Choose a verse, phrase, or section from today’s study that spoke to you, and explain what it means, as if you were talking to a friend.

• Now think of any other verses in any other part of the Bible that reinforce what you learned (or teach a similar lesson). You could use an online Bible and do a word or topic search, if your Bible does not have study notes.

• Now apply what you’ve learned today to your own life. What will you do (start doing, keep doing, stop doing, or change) from reading and thinking about our study today?

• Pray, in your own words, asking God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to help you remember what you’ve learned, and ask for the power to live more like Jesus.

Luke Chapter Eight:

Jesus Is Lord of All – But Not Everyone “Gets It”

Thinking About Chapter Eight:

As we read chapter 8, notice again how Jesus treats women, and how Luke records that. Notice how Jesus deals with his family and with nature, and pay attention to three remarkable miracles of healing and deliverance, each different from each other. As a “deep dive,” think about Jesus’ reasons for telling parables, which seem surprising if we have a surface view of his nature. And two of Jesus’ best known illustrations, the sower and the soils, and the lamp under a bushel.

Luke 8:1-3: The Women Disciples?

Verses 1-3 explain that a group of women accompanied Jesus and the disciples, and helped financially and in other practical ways to make ministry on the road easier.   

• In I Cor. 12:28, the “gift of helps” means to relieve, participate in, and support. Would you consider the women listed here to be disciples? Are you surprised by any of the women in the list? (Besides Mary Magdalene)

The Parable of the Sower and its Meaning (Luke 8:4-8 and 11-15)

When Jesus tells the parable of the sower, he was speaking to a crowd with farming background. In our time, my software doesn’t even know the word! Jesus tells the story, and then a little later he explains it.

• Think of people you know who have heard the Gospel but are not walking with Jesus. What kind of soil do they seem to be? Can God still get through to them?

• Which kind of unproductive soil represents your greatest personal challenge? Mine is the thorny ground. (Read MK. 4: 13-20)

A “Deep Dive” into the purpose of parables (Luke 8:9-10)

When his disciples ask him, Jesus explains why he uses parables. See Mt. 13: 10-17 for a deeper explanation.  

• Look at the explanation and the quote from Isaiah. How does this reveal God’s heart? What details about this are troubling to you?

Jesus is the Light. What can the Light do? (Luke 8:16-18)

We easily understand how light works, but Jesus is speaking here of his truth, penetrating human hearts.

• Why does Jesus say what is recorded in vs. 17-18? (This is one of the “hard sayings” of Jesus.) What is Jesus’ warning to us?

Luke 8:19-21: Jesus and His Family

One day Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. Luke doesn’t say that Jesus refused to see them, but he did make an interesting assertion.

• What kind of people does Jesus think of as his “mother and brothers?” See Luke 8:15 – what kind of soil are those people?

Jesus Calms a Storm (Luke 8:22-25)

The disciples keep reminding us that they are still living in the natural world. They get hungry and tired, and now they’re terrified in a storm.

• What do the disciples think might happen to them? What does Jesus do?

• Why does Jesus ask, “Where is your faith?” What can you and I positively know about our life situations if we are walking with Jesus?

Jesus Delivers a Demon-controlled Man (Luke 8:22-25)

The disciples and Jesus meet the most demonically damaged person yet as they reach the other side of the lake. Matthew (who was there) mentions two men; Luke mentions one, possibly because he may have interviewed him. Notice the reactions of everyone involved.

• What have the demons caused this man to do? How does he address Jesus? (Luke 8:26-39)

• (Luke 8:30-39) What do the demons ask Jesus to do? What is the reaction of the people nearby to what happens next?

• In 8:35, what has happened to the man who was delivered (how is he acting now)? How do the local people feel? Why?

Jesus Heals Two People in Two Different Ways (Luke 8:40-54)

While Jesus goes to heal the daughter of a religious official, he is delayed by someone else in need. Again, notice the reactions.

• (Luke 8:45) What does Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” mean? Where is Jesus’ power coming from? (Explain verse 48)

• (Luke 8:45 and 49) The disciples think Jesus is crazy to ask about being touched in a crowd. And the official’s servants tell Jesus not to to his home, come because it’s too late. Then the little girl’s family even laughs at him. Why are they all reacting this way? What are they missing?

Deep Dive: Think of the negative and positive reactions of people to the situations in chapter 8. What do all the “good soil” people have in common?