Upside-Down Christmas: Luke 8

Luke 8

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Welcome back to our Upside Down Christmas podcast. We’re working our way through the gospel of Luke—one chapter a day—and we’re tracing this theme of how Jesus turns everything upside down with his life and ministry. And today, we’re looking at chapter 8.

Now, if you’re familiar with the life of Jesus, you’ll probably know that he had a bunch of disciples that followed him around. And it’s true that these were his closes followers whom he entrusted with his ministry. But there were also scads of women that followed him as well. He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8:1-3)

Now, historically, this is pretty improbable—that a famous rabbi would have women in his cohort. In Jesus’ day, women were not considered worthy of being disciples. In fact, so distrusted was a woman’s word that she was not even able to give testimony in a court of law; it was counted as worthless.

But Jesus not only has women who follow him and support his ministry, he also gives extraordinary places to women in the life of his ministry. Take for example the woman at the well in John chapter 4. Jesus essentially commissions her to be an evangelist, to go back to her home town and spread the news about his messiahship. She ends up bringing scores of people to Jesus and they believe. And then there’s the fact that Jesus, after he’s resurrected, appears first to women—the same Mary, in fact, that we read about here. She, too, is commissioned to go tell the disciples about the good news of the resurrection.

The ideas about who women are, what their value is, and what roles they can play—Jesus turns all of that on its head. And that’s good news for women who have felt like second-class citizens of the kingdom, or who have been told their voices don’t matter, or that they can’t serve the church in any meaningful way. Jesus was happy to have women follow him and was happy to enlist them in substantive roles in his ministry. And the same is true today in the life of his church.

Lord, have mercy on us and save us from all the ideas we have about men and women that are not biblical, that don’t come from you. Save us from our foolish pride and our stubbornness. And show us, Lord, the place that you have for us in your kingdom and in your church. Employ us in your services so that we can serve you well. Amen.

Family Devotion:

Jesus did amazing things in the lives of his followers, but we learn something important in the first three verses of  Luke 8. We learn that people who have been helped and healed by Jesus want to help and serve Him in return.

We also learn that Jesus had a diverse group of followers who supported His ministry with their own resources. Jesus included everyone in his ministry, even women, which was not common back then. People from different backgrounds, like Mary from Magdala and Joanna from a high-ranking family, could follow and serve him.

What are some ways you can serve Jesus and others with what you have?

Optional Activity: "Serving Hands" 

• Gather supplies: You'll need craft paper, markers, crayons, or paint.

• Trace hands: Have each child trace their own hand on a piece of paper.

• Decorate: On the handprint, have them write or draw one way they can "serve Jesus" or help others. Ideas include: Giving a hug, Sharing a toy or snack, Helping a sibling or parent, Praying for someone, Being kind