An airplane was on its way to Detroit when a woman in economy class casually got up and moved into an open seat in the first class section. The flight attendant watched her do this, and politely informed the woman that she must sit in economy class because that’s the type of ticket she had purchased.
The woman looked up and boldly replied, “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful, I’m going to Detroit and I’m staying right here.” After repeated attempts and no success at convincing the woman to move, the flight attendant went into the cockpit and informed the pilot and co-pilot that there’s a blonde bimbo sitting in first class who refuses to go back to her proper seat. The co-pilot went back to the woman and explained why she needed to move, but once again the woman snapped, “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful, I’m going to Detroit and I’m staying right here.”
The co-pilot returned to the cockpit and suggested that perhaps they should have the arrival gate call the police and have the woman arrested when they land. But the pilot said, “You say she’s blonde? I’ll handle this. I’m married to a blonde. I speak blonde.” He went back to the woman and whispered quietly in her ear, and she said, “Oh, I’m sorry,” then quickly moved back to her seat in economy class.
The flight attendant and co-pilot were amazed and asked him what he said to get her to move back to economy without causing any fuss. “I told her first class isn’t going to Detroit.”
Let’s face it: Regardless of hair color or gender, some people are just dimwits. Some people are so dense that you have to put instructions on the bottom of their boot so they can figure out how to pour water out of it. According to today’s Scripture reading, that is the way Jesus’ disciples were. They had been following Jesus for a considerable period of time; they had witnessed his miracles and heard his teachings, but they still didn’t get it. They were thick-headed and had wax in their ears. As Jesus concluded his Galilean ministry, Luke records four vignettes which display Jesus’ dimwitted disciples and the fact that they still had so much to learn. Let’s take a look!
A Failed Exorcism (37-43)
Peter, James, and John had just witnessed Jesus’ majestic transfiguration on the mountain. The next day they came down and joined the other disciples and a large crowd that had gathered. There was a man in that crowd who was particularly pleased to see Jesus. He was desperate because his only son was literally plagued by a demon. The demon caused the boy’s body to convulse, mouth to foam, and he screamed uncontrollably. They had tried everything they knew to get rid of the demon and stop it from destroying him, but nothing worked. The father even brought his boy to nine of Jesus’ disciples who were stationed at the bottom of the mountain, but all of their attempts at exorcism failed. So, the father waited for Jesus and begged him to look at his son.
Back at the beginning of chapter 9, Jesus gave all of his disciples the power to drive out demons, but they failed on this occasion. Luke doesn’t tell us exactly why they failed, but the corresponding passages in Matthew 17:20 and Mark 9:29 attribute their failure to a lack of faith and prayer. Jesus expressed his discouragement with the disciples by saying, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? His question is really more of a rebuke: the current generation displayed a lack of faith and a crooked path, forcing God to bear with them. He is urging them to “get with the program” because he would not always be physically with them.
I wonder what Jesus would say about our generation? Would he say that we are faithless and twisted?
Even though he was disheartened by his dimwitted disciples, he showed great compassion for the demon-possessed boy and his father. As the demon threw the boy to the ground, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy. And the rest of the crowd was amazed by the majesty of God.
Like he did here, isn’t it great when Jesus steps in fix covers our mistakes and fixes our failures? As he did with these dense disciples, he demonstrates incredible grace and patience with us! Praise God, he is willing to put up with slow learning disciples!
Misunderstanding Suffering (43a-45)
In the midst of the crowd’s marveling, Jesus reminded his disciples that such admiration is short-lived. For the second time, he makes a prediction of his coming passion. He said plainly, “Let these words sink into your ears, the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” This is obviously a euphemism for his coming betrayal, crucifixion, and death.
But the disciples failed to grasp the meaning of Jesus’ prediction and they were too afraid to ask him to clarify. It wasn’t that they failed in intellectual comprehension as in willingness to face an unwelcome new perspective. What they don’t understand is how betrayal can happen to the person whom they have just confessed as Messiah. How can such a good and worthy person suffer? How can God let his own Son be crucified? (Bock 368)
Many people ask these same kinds of questions about themselves today? How about the ever popular question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Well, there are two problems with that question. First, we need to question our definition of “bad things.” We almost always consider the death of a loved one, disease, unemployment, financial problems to be bad things, but sometimes what we consider to be a bad is actually the best thing for us—if God uses it to save our eternal soul or to accomplish his divine purpose. If you don’t believe me, just think about the cross. Was Jesus’ death a bad thing or a good thing? Well, it was bad for Jesus but it was very good for the rest of us. We often act like we are omniscient and have an eternal perspective, but we don’t. Only God does!
Second, we really need to rethink our definition of “good people.” If we are really honest with ourselves, which one of us is really good? Our standard of goodness is usually pretty low—I commonly hear words like “decent” or “good enough” to describe good, but is that what God means by goodness? The Bible says that none of us are good. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Have we lived such perfect lives that we don’t deserve to suffer? Do we have such an unblemished moral record that we don’t merit misery? Jesus is the only one who is truly good and even he expected to suffer. Why should we think that we are better than him?
So, when we experience “bad things”, instead of complaining, “God, why me?” or declaring “I don’t deserve this,” let us humbly say, “Lord, even though this is painful, it is an honor to suffer for you. Please use these trials to mold my character into the image of Christ and accomplish your sovereign will in the world.”
An Arrogant Argument (46-48)
The next vignette pinpoints the disciple’s arrogance and slowness to learn. Jesus found them bickering over which one has the highest rank in the discipleship Hall of Fame. It is utterly amazing that these men could engage in such a petty argument after following Jesus for so long. Jesus must have been completely exacerbated by this exchange. Can’t you just picture him shaking his head and thinking, “Oh boys, haven’t you learned anything?”
When Jesus overheard their paltry dispute, he used a child to chide them. Taking a little boy from the crowd, he shows them the value of receiving such a humble figure (children were culturally viewed as powerless and irrelevant.) In Jesus’ estimation, this humble child was greater than all of the conceited disciples! Jesus’ kingdom ethics are a total reversal from the worlds—for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.
Humility—not strength and talent, confidence and charisma, or pride and power—is the chief virtue of the kingdom of God.
Ministry Monopoly (49-50)
The fourth and final vignette portrays the disciple’s jealousy of someone else’s ministry. The gospels tell us that John was the disciple whom Jesus loved, and that is a good thing because in this passage he is the disciple who put his foot in his mouth. He puckered his lips and griped, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” Can you hear the whimper in his voice? What a crybaby?
Isn’t this interesting? The first vignette pictured the disciple’s failure to cast out a demon, and now they are complaining because someone else was succeeding at it. Once again, Jesus had to correct his fallible followers. He told them to leave the man alone and reminded them that they did not have a monopoly on ministry. They weren’t the only ones who could preach, heal, or cast out demons. Ministry in Jesus’ name is not limited to a select few. Jesus told them that whoever is not against them is on their side.
Unlike the Marines, who want a few good men, Jesus wants all of his followers to use their gifts in his service. Ministry should be collaborative, not competitive. It should not be limited to one group, one church, one denomination, or one theological tradition. We all have something to contribute to the ministry of God’s kingdom, and we should not be jealous of what others have or do. All who serve faithfully deserve our support.
It is unfortunate that we live in a time and culture where so many churches and ministries compete against one another. Many of them have an outlook that they can do ministry better than others, and they refuse to work together. But this attitude grieves Jesus’ heart. There is no monopoly on ministry!
Well, as you can see, Jesus’ disciples were dimwitted and slow to learn. I sure am glad that we aren’t like them! We have come so far in 2000 years of discipleship! Unlike his original disciples, I guess that we really don’t have much more to learn!