Luke 6: 17 – 19
Jehovah Rapha
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Mark, on the other hand, was probably the young man whom we read about in his gospel who ran away naked during our Lord’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He heard all the information that he recorded from the apostle Peter.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at both Gospels and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Matthew 4: 24 – 25, “24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Mark 3: 7 – 12, “7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
Wow! We start off with Luke’s two verses and by looking at the other two Gospels we obtain more information on what was going on.
Many teachers list verses 17 through 19 in with verses 20 through 26. They comment that this was preparatory information which gets to the main point of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount.
In our next study we are going to take a look at the ‘Beatitudes’ which are listed in verses 20 through 26. Some teacher’s say that Luke just gives us the condensed version of the Sermon on the Mount which is highlighted in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5 through 7. It could be a condensed version of the Sermon on the Mount, but this I believe is not so and we will discuss this in more detail in our next study. Yet, I do want to point out a significant difference today. If we turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 we read this in verses 1 and 2, “1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…” Now look again at verse 17 of chapter 6 of Luke, “17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases.” In Matthew we see our Lord go up and here in the Gospel of Luke we see Him coming down.
Our Lord had just picked His 12 men who would receive more teaching and insight than His other disciples. The level place was probably a plateau on the mountain. Here our Lord Is addressing both His disciples and the faithful believers.
You can just imagine the amount of information that was now in circulation regarding the miracles our Lord had done. As a result crowds gathered just to be able to touch Him. For many He was a quick fix to worldly problems. Not that that is bad yet as you know our Lord used His ability to perform miracles to point out more important spiritual truths. He Is more concerned with the eternal not just the temporary.
I have met many great men and women who have changed their lives around from drug and alcohol usage in the Alcoholics [ AA ] and Narcotics [NA] Anonymous programs. Yet, my heart is troubled for they settle in to just accept that their lives are now manageable. They have not really looked and applied all twelve steps which speak of a spiritual awakening. They stay locked in on step one where they are only interested in the outward or visible results like we read here in verse 18 - 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.”
I am kind of weird but I guess you already knew that. But, many times I view things differently than others. For example, today, we see how our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Is also know as Jehovah Rapha – The Lord our Healer.
So, how does any of this refer to ‘weird’? Well, I look at how all these people are overwhelmed with sickness; they have physical defects; deadly diseases such as leprosy; and are filled with demons.
You might be thinking right now, ‘so what? We are facing the same things today!’ Yes, that is true and that is my point.
For brief time fame, all of this rotten junk was eliminated. We had God Himself here on earth and took care of all of these problems by Himself. He eliminated all doctors, hospitals, clinics, medical businesses, exorcists, religious institutions, funeral homes, etc. Do you get my point here. This is what is significant that we should think about and yearn to have again.
So, now as we go through these passages please give a thought to my point. Let us remember throughout our studies and we come upon our Lord performing great healings that Yahweh Elohe Yisreael – The Lord God of Israel Is our Great God also and beseech Him to clean up this sick world again.
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.
We are in the dark and are not aware of what is going on behind the scenes. It seems throughout all the gospels, demons or unclean spirits are showing up all over the place. Did they all go away after our Lord’s time on earth? Ever here of the ‘Dark Ages’?; ‘The Holocaust’?, etc. No, they are still causing all kinds of troubles for mankind.
Now, before we take a look at this confrontation between El Olam – The Everlasting God – and unclean spirits, let me ask you this question first, ‘what is the difference between a demon, unclean spirit, or fallen angel?’ Are they all the same? I will not accept the answer that is an angel in a red suit and pointed tail that we dress up each October 31st.
What does the word here in Luke say, “18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits? And they were healed.”
I believe that fallen angels are what we read this unique section in the book of Genesis chapter 6, “1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.’
You can get a variety of descriptions on who the ‘sons of God’ are, but my understanding is that they are angels. All the angels that appear in the bible are male. It never says that they are sexless. Some people cling to the verse in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 22 where our Lord Jesus Christ speaks about marriage, “23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[c] God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.’
All it says in verse 30 is that in heaven there is no marriage. There is no procreation going on.
Now these fallen angels had children with women and they bore giants. When you look at both before and after the flood these giants are alive from this unholy union. Now the question is what happens to their spirits when they die? I believe that they are unclean spirits of this unholy union between an angel and a woman. They are called demons.
Angels can show up in the form of a human being, this is one reason why they sinned against God by taking human women. In the book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse two we read how many angels are walking around with us today and we are not even aware of it, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
Demons on the other hand desire to possess a human being. I believe that both fallen angels and demons are both referred to as ‘unclean spirits.’ Now, are we all settled on this point? - Back to our Bible passages.
As the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ came to break the darkness imposed on us as the book of Colossians chapter 1 declares, “ 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”
Many times the unclean spirits wanted to know if our Lord Jesus had come to destroy them. Perhaps the unclean spirits thought that the Lord secretly would have destroyed them, so by declaring out loud Who He Was, might save them from this happening. At the same time they wanted to throw confusion into the fray. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12 we see how they would try to confuse the people by accusing our Lord of having a partnership with the devil, “22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
Our Lord wanted no help from the unclean demons. He had the authority to command and the power to ensure that His commands are carried out.
We have read back in chapter 4 this regarding our Lord’s Power and Authority over unclean spirits - 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
One thing that you can keep aware of is that our Lord Jesus Christ many times touched people who were sick or had diseases. It indicated that He was identifying Himself with our infirmities as spoken by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53, “ 1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
We see again how the evil spirits tried to identify Him as the Son of God, yet He told them to shut up. Please notice again in chapter 4 that our Lord never touches the people who are demon possessed, He commands they leave the people alone
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
Our Lord’s fame grew so much that they weren’t any more buildings in which He could go and preach, so He had to go and teach in the countryside. He was in so much demand that He had a hard time just getting a few moments alone with our Adoni Yahweh Father God. In chapter 4 we continue to see how the people want to seek out our Precious Lord.
42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
