< Luke 8 >

During the whole period of his ministry of three and a half years, Jesus continued to obey his Father by preaching “the glad tidings of the kingdom of God”. The reception of God’s word varied according to the character of the people who heard it, as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the sower. Those favoured by Jesus are like “the good ground” who “in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience”.v.15Waiting for response for Luke 8:15 Those who hear the teaching of Jesus and understand it are greatly blessed for they can look forward to the kingdom of God and eternal life.v.10Waiting for response for Luke 8:10 The important thing is to believe and obey the word of God which Jesus taught, because those who do this will be counted by him as members of his family and the children of God.v.21Waiting for response for Luke 8:21

Jesus continued to demonstrate that he came from God by performing deeds which could only be done by the power of God. He quelled the storm, healed the severely mentally ill, staunched an haemorrhage, and raised a young girl from the dead. Many mock at the record of such deeds, even “laughing to scorn”, but the miracles are an integral part of God’s purpose at particular times and such a time will soon come again when Jesus and his faithful disciples, raised from the dead, will perform even greater works for the benefit of all mankind.

The people of the Gadarenes, who witnessed the curing of the mentally ill Legion and the passing of the deranging influence into pigs, which they should not have been raising because pork was forbidden by God, urged Jesus to leave their neighbourhood Matthew 8:34.Waiting for response for Matthew 8:34 He then crossed the Sea of Galilee and “when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him”. Jesus has gone away since teaching so marvellously and doing such great miracles but many have since learned to appreciate what he did so that they are now “waiting for him” and will also “gladly receive him”.