Luke 9 Part 1 (2)

Pray Psalm 72.7, 8.
In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Sing Psalm 72.7, 8.
(Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?)
Let righteousness abundant be where Jesus’ reign endures;
let peace increase from sea to sea ‘til moonlight shall be no more.

Read Luke 9.1-9; meditate on verses 7-9.

Preparation
1. What did Herod hear?

2. How did he respond?

Meditation
Daily, God showers grace upon us. Grace is that divine disposition whereby our heavenly Father looks upon us with great favor. But grace is also His communicating His love to us, supremely through our Lord Jesus Christ, but daily also through His Word. And grace brings with it power for obedience, the end of which, as Paul explains, is that the grace we receive may spread to more and more people, issuing in thanksgiving to the God of all grace (2 Cor. 4.15).

You and I will never know how many people are reached by the fragrance of God’s grace through our daily faithfulness. Herod heard about Jesus by the word of mouth which was spreading throughout Galilee and beyond. Perhaps the healed demoniac testified of Jesus to a neighbor and was overheard by a Roman official, who sent the word along to the higher-ups. You just never know how God might choose to spread His grace when we are faithful to receive and act on it.

Luke is using this passage like a few bars of a minor chord inserted in a glorious symphony in C major: He forewarns us, despite all the good Jesus was doing, and all the evidence of His Kingdom coming on earth as in heaven, that dark days were ahead. The grace that spreads from us doesn’t always lead to God-honoring intentions. To some, the fragrance of grace that issues from us will be like an aroma of death (2 Cor. 2.16).

This much we can know for certain: Grace always prevails. Herod’s vicious repudiation of the grace of God, coming later in Luke’s gospel, led to Good Friday, resurrection Sunday, and the progress of Christ’s Kingdom. We can’t go wrong by seeking to be agents of grace in everything we do.

Even though we many never know how far that grace spreads or who may be starting to wonder because of its fragrance.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Who is wondering? Who is wondering about the joys of following Jesus by being near us? Is there a melody or a fragrance that lingers about after we have been there? Anywhere?

The little touches of grace that fall from our lives are like the seeds thrown by the sower. Or a sprinkling of grace to water a little sprout of faith.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Ps. 23.6).
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen; to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily,
and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard” (Is. 58.6-8).

The aroma surrounding us should be like the costly oil Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, poured out on Jesus’ feet that filled the house “with the fragrance of the oil” (Jn. 12.3). Everywhere.

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor. 2.14). When we are diffusing the aroma of the grace of God in Christ Jesus to the Herods in our lives; they perhaps will inhale the fragrance, and truly seek to see Him (Lk. 9.9).

Hopefully, it is the people in our Personal Mission Field who are wondering about the aromatic melody of love emanating from within us.

In my heart there rings a melody
There rings a melody with heaven’s harmony
In my heart there rings a melody
There rings a melody of love
(Elton Roth, 1923)

For reflection
1. To whom will you spread the fragrance of grace today? How should you prepare for this?

2. How should you respond when, like Herod, someone takes offense at your gracious fragrance?

3. What believer will you encourage today to be a fragrance of grace to others?

[Herod] sought an opportunity to see [Jesus], not that he might be improved by it but that he might satisfy his curiosity, or to see if it might be good that he should do the same to him that he had done to John. Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), Paraphrase on the Gospel of Luke 9:9.7

Pray Psalm 72.9-15.
Pray that the blessings and grace of Jesus will reach through you, throughout your Personal Mission Field and far beyond, that others may begin to think about Him and wonder.

Sing Psalm 72.9-15.
(Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?)
And let the Righteous rule the earth, and let His foes bow low;
let nations praise His matchless worth, and all His bidding do.

The Lord the needy rescues when he cries to Him for grace;
all they who suffer violence find mercy before His face.

Let Christ be praised and all the gold of Sheba be His right;
let blessings to His Name be told, and prayers made both day and night.

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.