Daily Devotion, August 26, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Luke 8:1-3.

Eugene Peterson writes in The Message, in his introduction to the gospel of Luke, “Luke is a most vigorous champion of the outsider. An outsider himself, the only Gentile in an all-Jewish cast of New Testament writers, he shows how Jesus includes those who typically were treated as outsiders by the religious establishment of the day: women, common laborers (sheepherders), the racially different (Samaritans), and the poor.”

Here in Luke 8, I’m so thankful Luke takes the time to include the details of the story and add the names of these three women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, who are accompanying Jesus in his ministry. Luke is the only Gospel writer to note and name these women who followed Jesus. We meet two of these women again in Luke 24 as they are the first to Jesus’ tomb. In 24:5-6, the angel said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen!” When the women relayed this message to the disciples, “their words seemed to them like nonsense.”

By the gospel writer’s attention to detail, we realize the faithfulness of these women who followed Jesus throughout his ministry. It’s interesting to note that in Luke 7-8, Jesus is teaching about what faithful discipleship is. Jesus’ parable about the farmer scattering the seeds on the path, the rock, the thorns and the good soil is explained in verses 9-15. “The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop.”

That the names of two of these women are listed again in Luke 24 demonstrates they truly heard Jesus’ words and persevered in faithfulness, even when other disciples had run away and hidden in fear of losing their own lives. Their witness bears much good fruit!

Eugene Peterson concludes his introduction, “All of us who have found ourselves on the outside looking in on life with no hope of gaining entrance now find the doors wide open, found and welcomed by God in Jesus.” Jesus invites us to not only “hear” his words but to follow in faithfulness. Personal Worship Option: Dear Jesus, thank you for including all of us. Help us to not only hear your words, but to seek to follow you faithfully forever. Thank you for never giving up on us. Amen.