Luke 8:26-39

Before Palm Sunday and Easter, we spent a couple of weeks in the book of Jonah. Jonah was given the extremely difficult task of going to the wicked city of Ninevah with a message of judgement. When you preach judgement, you are preaching against the works of the devil, you are sure to encounter hatred, often quite irrational hatred which is a sign of opposition from Hell. Jonah chickened out and did the sensible thing and ran the other way down to the port of Joppa bound for Tarshish eventually to be swallowed by a great fish before finally crying out to the Lord and being saved himself. Doing the sensible thing isn’t always the right thing to do and that’s true in life as well as in the Lord’s work. If we follow the Lord, sometimes we will have to take the greatest risk of all. Of losing our lives for his sake.

Today’s passage is about Jesus’s encounter with a demoniac once he reached the neighbouring country on the other side of Lake Galilee. Going on a mission to another country can be very dangerous. Some places have strongholds and if you stumble into them unprepared it’s like accidentally disturbing a hornet's nest, you will soon find yourself under attack from a swarm of angry hornets that can be life threatening. This journey to the other side of Lake Galilee was out and out spiritual warfare for which you must be prepared as Ephesians 6 describes.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Anywhere you go and preach the Gospel, there can be a violent hateful spirit like a guard dog waiting to attack. Where wickedness dominates a location, as it did with Ninevah, preparation for spiritual warfare is a must. You better believe that Jesus was prepared for his encounter with the demoniac.

Luke 8:26-30

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 

The Gadarenes was a region controlled by the town of Gadara, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. This is an area inhabited primarily by Gentiles, We know this to be the case because pigs are being raised nearby, and no self respecting Israelite would ever be so closely associated with these animals. 

And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 

The first thing Jesus did was to identify the demon by asking its name. If a devil is manifesting, we need to recognise that it is the separate hostile entity, not the individual who is simply its victim. The individual is trapped and you need to do what Jesus did and direct your words at the demon not the individual.

In this poor man’s case, there were thousands of demons living inside him, tearing him apart. Based on the Roman military term, a legion was 3,000 to 6,000 men—

Mark 5:11-13

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

In the context of about 2,000 pigs being drowned afterward, it often suggests a figure in the thousands, specifically 2,000–6,000. So at least 2000 demons.

Demons enter through "open doors" or "portals" created by specific actions, environments, or vulnerabilities. The drug world is known to open portals to the spiritual realm, that often appear to be good as Satan comes as an angel of light, but are actually darkness, from the darkest of places hidden in the Earth. Satan dwells in darkness.

Demons gain access through:

• Involvement in the Occult: Direct engagement with practices like Ouija boards, tarot cards, séances, witchcraft, or divination is cited as a major entry point (including music that has its source in the occult)

• Habitual Grave Sin: Persistent and unrepented lifestyles involving pornography, substance abuse, or violence are believed to create spiritual gateways. (Note that drugs including nicotine and alcohol play with fire and can quickly lead to substance abuse).

• Severe Trauma or Shock: Experiences such as abuse, neglect, or sudden emotional shock can create vulnerabilities that demons exploit.

• Generational Curses: Some beliefs suggest spirits can be inherited through the bloodline or passed down due to unrepented sins of ancestors.

• Unforgiveness: Harboring deep bitterness, resentment, or hatred is often described as a "foothold" for spiritual oppression. 

Ephesians 4:26-27

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

• False Religions or Idolatry: Engaging with teachings or objects associated with idolatry or false spirits is considered an invitation for demonic influence. 

Notice that not all of the doorways are the persons fault but can just be a situation that a demon can exploit. Just because something traumatic happens to a person, does not mean that the person becomes possessed. This is especially true of the child of God who has the Holy Spirit inside them. No demon can enter in that case. 

But there can be situations where a demon oppresses the person through the memory leading to choices that do give access to demons. For example, if a person has a traumatic experience such as a close family member dying that leads to them go to a seance to contact the dead, that would open the door to a demon.

As in Ninevah where the people could not discern between left and right, good and evil, you cannot assume the person knowingly opened themselves up to the demonic. Even if they have made an informed choice, Satan does not expose his true nature or purpose at first. 

Witches will tell you there are white witches, white and black magic but in fact, all of it is of Satan.

Our world today has opened the door and put down the welcome mat for the devil. We have an explosion of satanic activity with drugs, witchcraft, the occult in music and even in kids movies, pornography, sexual immorality all becoming mainstream. 

When we walk with the Lord, with the Holy Spirit, we will encounter the demonic in our World today. It’s not actually us but the Holy Spirit within us that causes the demons to react. The presence of Jesus makes demons afraid. We need to recognise when demons are manifesting so we can take action.

In this story, the encounter with Jesus made the demons manifest themselves. 

Luke 8:31-37 

And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. 

All demons are subject to Jesus’s authority and are terrified of him so we don’t need to be afraid. In our day, we have people who claim to be the victim of aliens and have been traumatised. The interesting thing is that it has been found that these so called aliens are afraid of the name of Jesus. We stand in his authority and the demons have to go.

You would think that the region’s citizens should have been grateful for this miracle of the man being set free from a legion of demons, but they are afraid instead and tell Jesus to go away.

Some people are really only seeking material prosperity at the expense of true life, these men implored Jesus to leave (vv. 33–34). Regrettably, Matthew Henry comments, too many “prefer their pigs above their Saviour, and so come short of Christ, and salvation through him.”

Who do you care more about, people or pigs? All of us may be so concerned with our own lives that we fail to help the people around us in desperate circumstances, who may be suffering from demonic oppression and possession. 

Luke 8:38-39

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Jesus told him to go back. This was very kind of Jesus considering the people of the region had just told him to leave them. This shows Jesus's heart for the lost even when people reject him. 

For the man who wanted to follow Jesus, it was a hard call to return to the place where he had known demons, chains, tombs, self-mutilation, public humiliation, abuse, loneliness, and suicidal torment. But it was there that the grace of God in his life would shine the brightest. His daily life would remain a testimony to his country.

What Jesus wants us to know is that his salvation and his protection extend to those old, horrible haunts. If he can break the death-grip Satan once had on us and set us free, then he can redeem the places of our former slavery and make them showcases of God's Grace. 

We are not to be afraid. The Good Shepherd will walk with us and protect us on the darkest road. There are many verses we can use in spiritual warfare, just one example is;

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Personally, I have not been involved in deliverance ministry though I believe it is much needed today and so I do think we should be equipped and organised with a plan of action whenever we encounter the demonic in our services (which is inevitable).

The disciples were sent out in two’s, church leaders should team up, worship leaders ready to back up, bibles out, the warfare verses above documented and memorised, Sound desk ready with worship music. All others ready to gather together and pray. Remember the Cross is a powerful symbol and the Lord’s Prayer that says « Deliver us from Evil »

Resurrection Sunday 2026

While we were in France last year we visited a few churches just to look at the very beautiful art and in one of them I found the Stations of the Cross that caught my attention. You’ve probably heard of the Stations of the Cross which originated from early Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem, where believers would walk the path that Jesus took to His crucifixion.

There are 14 pictures in the story so I followed the pictures around the Church, considering each station which I’ve noted on the right hand side of the picture. 5 of those stations are asterisked because they are not in the Bible. It’s as if someone felt they needed to add to the story to give it more dramatic effect, a bit like the TV series The Chosen. 

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus carries his cross
3. * Jesus falls the first time
4. * Jesus meets his mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross
6. * Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. * Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. * Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

What !? Something very big is missing from their Gospel, I’m sure you would have noticed it, especially today (being Resurrection Sunday). It kind of left me disappointed, the Stations of the Cross end on a sad note, but surely that is not our message. Jesus rose from the Dead and is alive. This is the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

It’s like they read as far as Luke Chapter 23 and didn’t make it to Chapter 24.

Well we’re going to read Chapter 24 of Luke’s Gospel today - his account of the Resurrection. This is the biggest news in all of history. Jesus is alive. History has been split BC and AD. 

 Luke 24:1-7

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” 

Luke says two men but he obviously means angels because they are dressed in shining garments. The two angels tell the women « Why do you seek the living among the dead ? ». 

By the way, I have a personal experience of those words from a visit to Paris in 2018 but that is a whole other story !

There are at least 3 big facts proving the Resurrection;

1. The first big fact proving the Resurrection is the Empty Tomb - the enemies of Jesus could not produce his body. They knew where they laid him. They sealed his body in a tomb with a very heavy stone rolled down into place. They had placed a seal on the tomb and put an armed guard in place. Yet the stone was rolled away and the body was missing. 

They bribed the soldiers to say the disciples had stolen the body, but that is impossible because of the psychological state of the disciples at the time. In shock, grieving, afraid and in hiding.

The other big facts are; 

2. The Number of Witnesses as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. All remaining 11 disciples and more than 500 other witnesses actually saw Jesus Christ alive and well after he had been crucified, died and been buried. The Bible says that you only need 2 witnesses to establish a fact, but here we have several hundred.

3. The Disciples were Martyred The disciples never backed down from their claim and most died for that. They had no choice – they had seen and touched him.

And of course, amongst those witnesses were the first to witness his resurrection, the women. When they heard the angels speak

Luke 24:8-12

And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. 

The women discovered the truth first. This is another big fact proving the truth of the Resurrection. No one at that time would have written that the women had seen the Lord if they wanted people to believe their story. That would have made the story barely credible. The whole society was patriarchal. All the leaders in Israel were men.

Luke says that Peter ran to the tomb as if to check that the women weren’t delusional. In his account Luke doesn’t mention John running on ahead and getting there first because he was faster than Peter, that’s only in John’s Gospel. John wanted us to know that. We all tend to build ourselves up in our own memories don’t we?

Luke 24:13-18

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 

It is hard to have faith when bad things happen. And the truth is, without the hope of the Resurrection, the loss suffered when someone dies is immense. Especially when our own hopes and dreams are connected to the loved one lost.  Without faith, how does anyone cope with that?

Luke 24:19-24

And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.” 

To these 2 disciples, the testimony of the women was adding to their pain. They thought the women were hysterical and delusional. They had such high hopes for Jesus. He was the Messiah of Israel, the fulfilment of ancient prophecies. They had been expecting a glorious future. Now their hopes were crushed. 

Luke 24:25-27

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 

Wouldn’t you have liked to be in on that conversation as Jesus explained the mystery and how all things written in the Scripture were in fact about himself.  We ourselves have a lot of unanswered questions don’t we. There will come a day when Jesus explains all of those things to us and I suppose it will be very obvious then that we should never have doubted him.

Luke 24:28-35

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 

That was the 2nd Communion. Just like the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Communion we partake in every week at PCC is our opportunity to remember him, to recognise him at work in our lives, to renew our faith. 

By the way, it seems as though a resurrected body is capable of some pretty amazing things, that’s exciting!

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. 

It says they went back to Jerusalem that very hour. It was by then evening, so the 2 of them went back to Jerusalem in the dark, unafraid of being attacked because at this point, all fear was gone, instead they were full of excitement and joy. That’s what happens the moment you first believe, all fear goes and peace comes in. 

They arrive back at the upper room excited and tell the 11 main disciples that they’d seen Jesus alive, but the 11 were unbelieving and afraid. That’s what happens when you don’t believe. You have fear.

Luke 24:36-43

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. 

Emotions were all over the place. Their brains were having a hard time adjusting to Jesus being there with them. We tend to think of the afterlife as type of ghostly existence. So Jesus kindly did something to bring them into reality. He showed them the holes in his hands and feet and he ate some food in front them. Jesus was not a ghost, it was really him standing in front of them. This is our hope for our resurrection as well. We’re not going to be ghosts, we’re going to have real bodies.

Luke 24:44-48

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. 

Repentance is part of the Gospel and must be preached with the message. Remission of sins means complete forgiveness, cancellation, and sending away of sins through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. When someone has cancer and they go into remission, the symptoms of the cancer disappear. In the same way, the symptoms of our sins   disappear when we repent and believe in Jesus. Yes we will die one day,  but we are in physical remission until then and actually we do not experience the second death, so we are actually healed of our real affliction, the one we inherited from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

But there is something more that God has promised for us in this life. Luke concludes his Gospel and gives us a sneak preview of his next book.

Luke 24:49-53

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

Don’t let your life finish the story of Jesus at the tomb like in the Stations of the Cross. There is a new life to begin, a second chance to live the life you were meant to live by being born again by the transformation given by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 19:28-48 (Palm Sunday 2026)

Today is Palm Sunday. Wikipedia describes the event as Jesus’s triumphal ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. In an enactment of Zechariah 9:9, Jesus was making a declaration that he was the King of Israel. All the Gospels cover the event.

Just before our reading today, Jesus spoke a parable regarding a nobleman who gives ten servants one mina each to invest while he goes away to receive a kingdom. Upon returning, he rewards his faithful servants with authority over cities based on their productivity, while punishing the fearful servant who hid his money. There will come a day when each one of us will give an account for what the Lord has invested in us, similarly governments and nations. To whom much is given, much is expected.

Luke 19:28-35

When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it? ’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ” 

We don’t know how the Lord may be speaking to other people about what they are to do. Our job is to obey what the Lord has told us to do.

So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 

Luke 19:36-40

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” 

Once again the Pharisees failed to recognise what was going on. They wanted the disciples to keep quiet. But what they failed to see was that even the ordinary people, the stones, were supportive of Jesus. People in power are afraid of the ordinary people becoming non-compliant to their agendas. People lost trust in the Governments around the World during Covid, now it’s very difficult for them to get it back.

Luke 19:41-44

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” 

This was a tragic love story not a political coup. When Jesus looked over Jerusalem that day he cried with great sadness over her. It was like a man and woman in love. After some time of being together, they planned to marry. So the man went to elaborate lengths to arrange the moment when he would make the marriage proposal. He bought an expensive ring and when the moment arrived, he got down low on his knee to make the proposal but the girl rejected his proposal and turned away! Sorrow and anger are emotions that go together.

Luke 19:45-48

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

The very first thing that Jesus does is to go into the Temple, turn over the tables and drive out the merchants. With a 50,000 crowd of people supporting him and shouting his name as their King, to the Authorities it looks like a revolution to take over the City. From that moment they hatched their plot to kill Jesus.

Understand the politics. In Jerusalem for the Passover are the Governor of Judea Pontius Pilate, the Imposter King of Israel Herod and The High Priest Caiaphas. All 3 of these “wise” men were appointed by Rome to govern Israel and the events on Palm Sunday are a direct challenge to the Roman Caesar authority.

There is an even more important struggle for power that is going on in the spiritual realm. This event was a fulfilment of the prophecy in

Zechariah 9:9

“Rejoice greatly, O my people! Shout with joy! For look—your King is coming! He is the Righteous One, the Victor! Yet he is lowly, riding on a donkey’s colt!

Better a live donkey than a dead horse

Jesus’s kingdom is not of this world. Soon he would be crucified fulfilling another prophecy from Daniel.

Have you ever read “The Coming Prince” by Sir Robert Anderson? 

Sir Robert was also the author of more than 20 other books and he was the Assistant Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) from 1888-1901 at the time of the Jack the Ripper murders which occurred from August 31st - November 9th 1888.

Staggeringly when James Munro resigned as Assistant Commissioner on 28th August, Sir Robert succeeded him the same day less than 3 days before the first murder on 31st August 1888.

But on doctors orders, Sir Robert had to immediately go on holiday in Switzerland between 7th September and 6th October after several years of none just before the 2nd Ripper Murder occurred on September 8th.

During that time, there were 3 other victims.

The Coming Prince was published in 1894 which means that the work on the book was hampered by the high profile nature of the investigation into the Ripper murders. Much of The Coming Prince was written late at night after "overtime" official work.

To those who doubt whether Sir Robert was able to do both jobs of writing a great book and being the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, the records show that crime decreased in London during that period. Daniel’s enemies criticised him the same way but the fact was that the Lord was with Sir Robert just like he was with Daniel and he was knighted upon retiring in 1901.

The amount of work that Sir Robert put in to writing such a detailed book as The Coming Prince without the aid of internet and fast travel was utterly phenomenal. Being such a highly ranked Police Officer, he brought the highest level of investigative detailed research and quality that few either then or now could match. Sir Robert was an expert on prophecy because he did the research and put it all together piece by piece.

Let’s go to the book of Daniel which we did a series in 2024 about. Remember Daniel had been taken into captivity in Babylon as part of God’s punishment on Israel for her chasing after other gods. I want you to notice all the specific references to time in this passage.

Daniel 9:24-27

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. 

Note that the 70 weeks applies to Daniel’s people, that is Israel. We know from our series that only 69 of the 70 weeks have already been fulfilled when Jesus died on the Cross for our sins. There is still another week of punishment for Israel. It is only when Jesus comes again that this prophecy will be fulfilled in it’s entirety when Israel will finally recognise that Jesus is their Messiah.

“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 

I think all commentators agree that 1 week equates to 7 years but note that there are 2 royals mentioned here;

1. The prince who is to come

2. The Messiah

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

The commentators disagree on who is the « he ». There are 2 Key Interpretations of Daniel 9:27

1. The Future Ruler (Antichrist): Many evangelical interpreters believe the "he" refers to the "prince who is to come" mentioned in Daniel 9:26. This figure will make a seven-year treaty with "many" (Israel), but break it after years, causing sacrifices to cease.

2. The Messiah (Jesus): Other interpreters argue that the "he" is the Messiah, who confirms the existing covenant of God. In this view, Jesus' ministry and death "cut off" the need for further animal sacrifices, fulfilling the prophecy in the middle of the final week

It is important which interpretation is correct but to me it is obvious. 

The covenant which Jesus made with us was not for one week, or for 7 years, it was everlasting. 

Hebrews 9:15

And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

So the Messiah and the one who signs the covenant for one week are not the same person in my view.

Firstly the Messiah. There was to be 49 + 434 = 483 years between the time the edict is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one comes and is killed. 

The question therefore is, when did this prophecy’s clock start ticking and when did it pause?

1. The edict to rebuild Jerusalem can be proved to be 14th March 445 BC

Nehemiah 2:1-6

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

When was that time? Ezra tells us.

Ezra 7:9-11

On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel: 

Artaxerxes, king of kings, 

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: 

Perfect peace, and so forth. 

So being the 1st day of the 1st month (Nisan) when Passover is celebrated according to the new moon, in 445 BC that was 14th March. That was the day the edict was issued. This new moon date was confirmed to Sir Robert Anderson by the British Royal Astronomer. Please note the date confirmed by the astronomer was on June 26th 1877 which means that Sir Robert Anderson had the book in progress for many years before he was appointed Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard. No wonder Satan wanted to stop that book with his Ripper murders!

2. The date Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem was 6th April 32 AD. This is calculated using the approximate date when Jesus’s ministry begun between 28 AD and 29 AD just before Passover.

Sir Robert Anderson established from this from several scriptures;

Luke 3:1-3 tells us

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar* Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 

*Tiberius reign began 18th September 14 AD

Secondly 

Luke 3:23 tells us

Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 

Sir Robert assumed a ministry of 3½ years between 18th September 28 AD (the start of the 15th year of Tiberius reign), the 1st Passover in 29 AD and  his last when he was crucified.

Using proofs from The Gospel of John it is commonly accepted that Jesus ministry lasted about 3 years. In John's Gospel, Jesus attended at least three annual Passover feasts (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55-57). At the shortest, His ministry could have been 2½ years. However, if one additional Passover occurred during this time, this would mean that Jesus was crucified on Friday 11th April in 32 AD. 

Using the Royal Astronomer, Sir Robert found that the Last Supper night of the Passover was a full moon on the night of Thursday 10th April (14th Nisan). Because of the full moon, Judas and the those who came to arrest Jesus were able to find him quietly without torch light so that the people were not alarmed to what was happening.

All of this means that Palm Sunday was 6th April 32 AD fulfilling the Daniel prophecy of the 483 years to the very day.

Anderson wrote: "The Julian date of that 10th Nisan was Sunday the 6th April, A.D. 32. What then was the length of the period intervening between the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the public advent of 'Messiah the Prince,' -- between the 14th March, B.C. 445, and the 6th April, A.D. 32 THE INTERVAL CONTAINED EXACTLY AND TO THE VERY DAY 173,880 DAYS, OR SEVEN TIMES SIXTY-NINE PROPHETIC YEARS OF 360 DAYS, the first sixty-nine weeks of Gabriel's prophecy."

But there remains another 7 years of further punishment to complete the 490 years of punishment. Some may argue that the 7 years of WWII have already fulfilled this prediction since it was halfway through the war that the Nazis began deporting the Jews to Concentration Camps and the holocaust really started. And after the Holocaust and WWII came the establishment of Israel in 1948. The Coming Prince indeed contains some remarkable prophetic statements about this fact at a time when the Jews were scattered everywhere around the world.

However, the fact is Jesus has not returned yet so we are still waiting for the final judgment in Daniel 9. And that’s the thing. When you read the Daniel 9 passage which is prophesying Palm Sunday, you inevitably end up talking about the end times because Jesus made the connection when his disciples asked him when the end times will come in Matthew 24.

But that is a topic for another Sunday !

It was perhaps the greatest tragedy the world has ever known that on that exact date when Jesus fulfilled the 69 weeks, that Jerusalem rejected him.

Jesus knew that he would be rejected and killed because he knew the Daniel 9 prophecy. Therefore his ministry wasn’t one of someone about to take power. Rather he prepared the people for life in the kingdom before he would finally reign. We would have to learn to turn the other cheek. We would have to forgive so that we can be forgiven. We would have to learn what it takes to take up our cross and follow him. The years to come would be tough so he taught with illustrations, like a sower sows his seed rather than a king laying down the law. The final results would not be seen until he comes in power a second time. But his return was to be delayed as he emphasised in his parables.

Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, in peace. He could have come in power but he chose to come humbly. In these times of the Gentiles, God does not act in power as he did in the days of Moses for example but that is because we are in the age of Grace. But Revelation speaks of a coming time when the Lord will move in power and judgment and that will be a time of terror! So we should have a healthy fear of the Lord!

You don’t know the circumstances and arrangements that the Father has made to bring you here today to hear this message. And if Jesus is calling you today to come follow him and you reject him like Jerusalem did, you may never get another chance just like they never got another chance.

We can see the Western World is crumbling and the times of the Gentiles is coming to an end. Soon the door will be closed to the Gentiles so we must be earnest to enter through the narrow gate, to accept the invitation to the wedding feast, before it is too late.

Amen

Jonah 2

Last week we looked at the story of Jesus calming the storm and the parallels to Jonah that Jesus said were a sign to his generation. Namely that Jesus’s death and resurrection matched what happened to Jonah of being 3 days and nights in the tomb and then being resurrected just as Jonah was brought back from the dead out of the belly of the great fish.

Jonah was fleeing to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, a journey that will only take you down as we learned last week. 

Tarshish is believed to be Tartessos/Cádiz in Southern Spain, the opposite direction to Nineveh. 

The westernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 445 metres and a maximum depth of 1,500 metres (1.5 km).

Tarshish of course is a physical location in the World, but to flee from the presence of the Lord takes you finally to a much worse place.

In Greek mythology, Tartarus is not a location in the ocean but rather the deepest abyss of the underworld, used as a dungeon of torment for the wicked and a prison for the Titans.

In the New Testament, Tartarus is used to describe a specific "prison" for fallen angels, mentioned once in 

2 Peter 2:4. 

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

Peter uses the Greek verb tartaroō, meaning "to cast into Tartarus". 

There is good reason to believe that Hell is in the Earth, under our feet. There are many testimonies of people who say they’ve been there, it is terrifying. 

Jonah was heading the wrong way and it took him only downwards. If you remember the last verse from last week.

Jonah 1:17

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

3 days and nights waiting to die is a long time to be alone.

Let’s continue on… 

Jonah 2:1-10

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 

When did Jonah finally surrender and pray? At the end of the 3 days and 3 nights. He held out against the Lord until it couldn’t possibly get any worse. 

Jonah was the original rock bottom guy, you can’t get much lower than where he found himself at the bottom of the ocean. There is the Mariana Trench in the North Pacific which is 11km deep, deeper than Mt Everest is high, but I don’t think anyone would survive sinking that low.

For some people it has to get pretty bad before they will turn to the Lord.

And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 

In ancient Hebrew thought, Sheol is the silent, shadowy realm where all the dead reside, regardless of their moral standing during life. It is depicted as a subterranean place of darkness, dust, and gloom located deep beneath the earth.

It is not as bad as Tartarus which is for the wicked who have already been judged, but more like a waiting place for the dead prior to judgement. 

For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 

Without Christ we are dead in our sins, separated from the Lord, unable to see him or reach him. It is often only when we reach our rock bottom, our point of despair, that we cry out to the Lord to save us that we realise that if we were to die without Christ, we would be lost forever.

The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;

Jonah is no longer talking about his physical life, about his body, he is talking about his soul. It is one thing to care about your body, it is next level of concern to care about your soul.

The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; 

See that Jonah is still sinking down. When all hope was lost, only then did he remember the Lord. He remembered what he had been taught long time ago, that the Lord is merciful, he is good. And Jonah cried out for mercy to be saved. Never forget Romans 10:13. You heard it last week but you’re going to hear it again.

Romans 10:13

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

His name is Jesus. And just like the pagan sailors on Jonah’s boat and the disciples with Jesus in the storm last week, Jonah was saved. It makes no difference who we are, we all have the same need facing death and we all have the same way out by calling on the name of Jesus.

Why should we suffer the fate of the Devil and his angels. We still have breath in our lungs. All of us can be saved when we call on the name of the Lord.

And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Acts 4:12 tells us. 

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

None of Allah, Buddha, the Hindu gods can save you, they are all worthless idols. Only Jesus can save you.

It wasn’t pretty, but Jonah called on the Lord and was saved. 

Jonah had another chance at life and this time he wasn’t going to waste it. The Lord has chosen each one of us for a special purpose, are we using our time and resources for the Lord or for ourselves?  

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;

And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;

Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

C T Studd

The life of a Christian is not always smooth sailing, it often requires us to be brave in the storms and patient when suffering.

The Lord’s will was done in Jonah’s life but Jonah suffered a lot more than he needed to. 

When Jonah rebelled, life got very hard for him. However the Lord is merciful, we should always remember that. 

The history of God’s people is often one of stumbling, going off track. Some of us might find ourselves in that position today. Let’s finish with Psalm 136 and remind ourselves that the Lord is merciful, he’s just a prayer away. If I say the first and each alternate line and you follow with « For his mercy endures forever » will remind ourselves of the Lord’s mercy.

Psalm 136

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

For His mercy endures forever. 

Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! 

For His mercy endures forever. 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! 

For His mercy endures forever: 

To Him who alone does great wonders, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who made great lights, 

For His mercy endures forever— 

The sun to rule by day, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

The moon and stars to rule by night, 

For His mercy endures forever. 

To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

And brought out Israel from among them, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

And made Israel pass through the midst of it, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who led His people through the wilderness, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

To Him who struck down great kings, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

And slew famous kings, 

For His mercy endures forever— 

Sihon king of the Amorites, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

And Og king of Bashan, 

For His mercy endures forever— 

And gave their land as a heritage, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

A heritage to Israel His servant, 

For His mercy endures forever. 

Who remembered us in our lowly state, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

And rescued us from our enemies, 

For His mercy endures forever; 

Who gives food to all flesh, 

For His mercy endures forever. 

Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! 

For His mercy endures forever.

Amen

Luke 8:22-25

5 weeks until Easter today. Today we only have a short passage to read from Luke 8:22-25 about Jesus calming a storm. It is interesting passage because it is widely understood to be intentionally connected to the story of Jonah, with Jesus acting as the "greater Jonah". 

We don’t in fact have to a theologian or scholar to recognise the parallels to the story of Jonah, in fact Jesus made the link himself.

Matthew 12:38-41

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The link to the story of Jonah are a prediction of Jesus’s death and resurrection and our need for repentance. 

People today want evidence before they’ll repent, they want physical signs before they’ll believe, it is very similar. But God has given more than enough evidence to believe as it says in 

Romans 1:18-21

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

This is why it is a ridiculous claim for an atheist to say there is no evidence for God. They know the truth in their hearts and have to suppress it. We can be sure of that. 

After we’ve read the passages from Jonah and Luke, we can look at the similarities and the differences and hopefully discern how and when they apply to our own lives.

Jonah 1:1-17

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 

A lot of people are running away from the presence of the Lord. And when you do that, one thing happens. You start a journey down. At first you don’t realise you’re falling because the journey down is in the sunshine, it seems pleasant.

He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 

Finally Jonah went to sleep, he didn’t realise the danger he was in. It’s a dangerous place to be once you’re away from the presence of the Lord. Jonah was a lost sheep and his life was now in danger. It took someone who wasn’t a believer to wake him up.

So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 

The unbeliever is unaware of the danger they are in until something bad happens. Life is fragile, it can be lost in a moment. But we have the hope of the Gospel that we can share and when someone is facing death, we have the message that can save their soul. Are you ready to tell someone who needs to hear it?

So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 

They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. There aren’t too many who hold out against the only hope there is when all else is lost. 

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 

There is a human tendency to blame ourselves when things go wrong even when there is no obvious direct link. But in this case Jonah realised that the pending disaster was his fault. He was the guilty one. 

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 

The men prayed to be saved. Ain’t that the truth! People do cry out to God when they are close to death. Romans 10:13 tells us anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. His name is Jesus.

Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

When we commit our lives to Jesus, we are making a vow to serve him all our lives. Have you made that confession? Then you’re in a good place. Now we move to the short passage on Luke.

Luke 8:22-25

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

What are the parallels to the story of Jonah?

Similarities 

• Jonah and Jesus were asleep in the boat
• The sailors and the disciples were terrified that they were going to drown
• A great wind came
• The sea and the lake were calmed
• Jesus and Jonah went into the belly of the earth for 3 days (Jonah died when he was in the great fish)
• Jesus and Jonah were brought back from the dead
• Both Jonah and Jesus were sacrificed

Differences

• They were obeying the Lord going to the other side of the Lake
• The wind in Jonah was sent by the Lord; in Luke it came down 
• The Lord was in the boat, in Jonah he was in Heaven
• The reason for the storm was because of Jonah
• Jesus had authority over nature, no one else does
• Jesus was innocent
• The emphasis was on sin and sacrifice in Jonah, in Luke it is on faith and the safety of being with the Lord

Sometimes we need to assess where we’re at. Are we doing what the Lord asks us to do, have we got Jesus in our boat? Because if we can answer yes to that question, we have nothing to fear from the storm. But if we’re not obeying the Lord, if we are running away from the presence of the Lord, we are taking a great risk, we are vulnerable to disaster, we are vulnerable to the enemy, our very souls are in danger.

This is a message for all of us and the Church today. There many souls to be saved just like the people of Nineveh they are living in darkness. Our God is merciful but they can’t be saved without hearing the message first so we mustn’t stay safe in our comfort zones. The Lord has called us to go to the other side of the lake with him (we are not on our own), in faith, to speak a message of repentance and a call to believe in Jesus. Next week we’ll continue on with this chapter side by side with the rest of the story from Jonah.

Luke 8:1-21

We heard that Ramadan has started this week. Lent started this week, so we are now counting down to Easter, 6 Sundays from now. Just be aware that this is a very spiritual time, as we have heard, there are enemies of the Cross also fasting and praying at this time. This weekend we’ve had our friend Simon come to stay with us who visited PCC last year and taught us about healing. He is in Auckland by invitation from one of the churches to preach the message of the Gospel and pray for people for healing, mostly though to impart to other believers the same ability to do what he’s doing. The whole of the last year he travelled from place to place doing the same thing. Last night he was at Sylvia Park with a group from Pioneer Ministries and he did that his little team led 6 people, all foreigners, to the Lord. He flies back to Palmerston North on Tuesday and back to his home in Germany in May. He is certainly a good example of someone who fits the category of a true believer that we read in today’s passage on the Parable of the Sower.

Luke 8:1-3

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. 

The women who provided for him had been truly saved from sickness and demons. The contrast in their lives before and after meeting Jesus could not be more stark. They now followed him around and gave to Jesus the things he needed to continue his ministry. Every ministry needs support to be able to continue whether that be money, food, accommodation or friendship. 

Luke 8:4-8

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 

If you can understand the message, if it seems obvious to you, it has been revealed to you, you are very privileged because not many people can understand it.

Luke 8:9-10

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ 

That might seem very hard, that the Lord hid his message by way of parables. Why didn’t he spell it out in plain language? In some ways it’s mercy if you don’t understand. If you do understand and rebel against the message you are far worse off.

Luke 8:11-12

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 

The wayside is hard ground. Many people today are hard. They might have been abused, lied to, let down, cheated on and their way of coping is to become hard. They don’t trust or believe anybody. Or alternatively, they might be proud of their achievements, the life they’ve built. There’s no room for God in their hearts just like the footpath where no flowers can grow. They believe this life is all there is and to live it to the maximum before you die. What happens? One day they hear the Word of God being spoken but immediately they switch off or get distracted by something or someone else that interests them. The Word of God gets taken away, eaten by the birds. 

The truth is that to be saved only requires us to believe. However, there is  a very real threat to us. There is a predator who quickly comes to make you forget the message you heard, he’s called the Devil. He will throw every discouragement and doubt at us to try to prevent us from simply believing. 

Luke 8:13

But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 

Others are like rocky ground. The earth that sits on top is shallow with rock mixed in and underneath. Plants grow there but they need constant watering. People like this judge by emotion, how it makes them feel. If something feels good they’ll go with it. They hear the Word of God and they love the message, and the blessings, the friends they make in the church. But then life throws a curve ball at them. They have trouble at work because they are a Christian, the boss wants them to work on Sunday. Or else someone comes along who is attractive but not a believer and they quickly get pulled away because that person makes them feel good. They fall away because they have no depth just like the rocky soil. I’ve seen that a few times in my life. In church one week then gone suddenly the next without any explanation. 

Luke 8:14

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 

This type makes me scared because it’s so easy to get distracted by the things in this life. In the parable, the seed turns into a plant but it’s growing up amongst weeds. In our world today there are so many things that scream for your attention and take your time 24 hours a day. You got mobile phones , you got sport, you got music, you got money, you got TV. It takes your time and money. You find so little time for God, that you produce no fruit. There is no evidence to convict you of being a Christian, your life looks just like everyone else in the World.

What a tragedy to believe, not produce any fruit and waste your life. One day time will be called on each one of us and we will each have to give an account of what we did with our lives. The Lord will examine us for fruit, for evidence that we truly believed.

Luke 8:15

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. 

Many people think they are a good person, not just Christians. But are they bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22), are they bringing others into the Kingdom of God?

The command to bear fruit has been there from the beginning.

Genesis 1:28

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Many people wonder why they’re here. We’re here to bear fruit for the Lord. He’s invested in each one of us. We owe him a return but what will we bring? Will it be acceptable like Abel or unacceptable like Cain?

You know Auckland is built on 40 volcanoes. Volcanic soil is different to rocky soil. Because volcanic materials are often porous, they break down faster than other rocks, turning into nutrient-rich soil more quickly. It is exceptionally fertile because it is young and rich in volcanic ash and weathered rock (basalt, pumice) that release essential minerals—potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and iron—as they break down. These soils have high water retention, high porosity for roots, and form unique clay minerals (allophane) that boost nutrient uptake. 

They say a good heart is hard to find. You probably know someone like that in your life. Someone different from the rest. The person who is truly following Christ is like a light to the World. 

Luke 8:16-18

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” 

We need to take heed how we hear. This means to notice our own response when we hear the Word of God. How does it react inside of us? 

• Do we quickly disregard it?
• Are we put off by it’s difficulty?
• Do we easily give up when the going gets harder
• Do we even try to bear fruit?
• Do we know it’s true but have many other things that keep us busy?
• Are we putting our faith into action?
• Are we sharing what we’re learning with others?

Luke 8:19-21

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

When you become a Christian, you become part of the family of God the World over. Wherever you go, you can find believers and when you meet them you find so much in common because they are family. They are even more your family much as you love your blood family. 

The parable of the Sower is about spiritual life, it reveals the types of responses to the Gospel. Ultimately it calls the listener to produce a crop. In the parable, only one out of four of the listeners that heard the word kept it, and bore fruit to maturity. The remaining three had heard it more or less in vain. What made the difference? It was the soil where the seed fell. The soil which produced the crop had been been broken up, turned over, rocks and weeds removed. Our hearts need to be soft, need to be free of sin and focused on the Lord, then we will be like the good soil and produce a crop for him. 

Luke 7:36-50

The last messages I gave in December were from Vannes where we were enjoying the lead up to Christmas with our boys and Hannah.

As it turned out it was a white Christmas, something of a rare event captured in these photos I took on Christmas morning, it felt a special gift from the Lord.

The December messages from Luke 7 were firstly on faith - the Roman Centurion who needed his servant healed, the widow who needed her son raised from death. And secondly in the same chapter a message on the doubt of John the Baptist. Yes even the greatest of believers can go through a period of doubt. Doubt is not unbelief.

Maybe not to the extent of John the Baptist but our faith is tested by trials, God turns up the heat to bring the dross to the surface so that we can be made into pure gold.

Today we move to the last part of Luke 7 to a woman whose great sins were forgiven. The message is about repentance, love and forgiveness. You might not know too many people living the kind of life she was living. If someone as rotten as her can be saved, then there is hope for us all !

Luke 7:36-40

Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” 

Who was the woman? Who was Simon? There is this passage in John;

John 12:1-8

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

If the 2 passages are in fact the same story, then Mary would be Mary Magdalene, whom the Lord cast 7 devils out of which is mentioned in the next chapter of Luke. 

Luke 8:1-3

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

It would also explain some of the motive that Judas had in betraying Jesus if he was angry at the rebuke Jesus gave both to his father Simon (Luke 7) and Judas himself (John 8). The Lord chastens the ones he loves but how we respond to his chastening can determine our eternal destiny. Think of Cain, of Esau, of Saul.

But that’s just by the way, it doesn’t matter if they are the same story, the point being made is the same.

Back to our passage today, the Pharisee said that if Jesus was truly a prophet, he would not allow her to touch him as that would cause Jesus to be defined by her sin. The World and the Devil will try to define you by your sin. But this story of the woman is not about her sin but about her repentance and love for the Lord. 

The Pharisee was exactly right by the the law but he was missing the point of what was happening right before his eyes. There is mercy from the law and for the most surprising reason. Repentance. 

Our stories get rewritten when we truly repent. For the first time the Pharisee is named. He was Simon. Jesus told Simon this.

Luke 7:41-47

“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” 

Where does our love for the Lord sit on the sliding scale? Is it some where near zero like Simon or is it somewhere near ten like the woman? Jesus said that our love for him is directly proportional to how much we’ve been forgiven. The trouble for a so called good person like Simon is that they don’t think they’ve done much wrong. Whereas the woman was fully aware of the magnitude of her sins. Would to God that we would all realise how great our debts are!

There is something important here about repentance. See the woman was weeping. It’s not always easy to tell just from someone’s tears if they are truly sorry. Some people are only sorry that they got caught or for the mess they are in. In truth, they would do it again if they could avoid the consequences.

Genuine tears produce repentance that results in a change in eternal destiny. It is hard to repent and it’s hard to confront sin. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the terrible sin in their Church;

2 Corinthians 7:8-11

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

The woman was a sinner and by the law deserved death and Hell. How did Jesus judge her? Jesus could see her heart. This woman was genuinely sorry for her sins, she was changed on the inside. 

Luke 7:48-50

Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Notice this, to others Jesus said go and sin no more but to this woman he said go in peace. If someone loves Jesus as much as this woman, there is very little possibility that they will sin again.

Can love alone stop someone from sinning? It really should. But the sin within each one of us is very powerful. So the love must be stronger. 

I’m sure you know the author Philip Yancey who wrote the best-selling book « What’s so amazing about Grace ». He used the term « the scandal of Grace » in his book. Philip Yancey has been in the news lately, he has confessed to a scandal in his own life. Of course many people have written Philip Yancey off now but I think his work still stands. Just like David’s Psalms. But what I think isn’t important. How will Jesus judge Philip Yancey, only Jesus can see his heart and see if his tears are real.

Having your sins forgiven is a big deal, it is a scandal of Grace. Is it right for a judge to let someone go free just because they are genuinely sorry for what they’ve done? Surely they must pay a price. Yes, That is the Gospel. It is right because Jesus suffered on the Cross paying the price for our sins. Our eternal destiny depends on this truth. Would to God that we would all be granted the grace of forgiveness shown to this woman. Our sins may be scarlet but we can be washed whiter than snow.