Luke 8:1 - Meaning and Application

We are told here what Christ made the constant work of his life: preaching. He was tireless in that work, and he went about doing good (Luke 8:1). He moved in an orderly way, in the right time and method. Christ kept his work before him and carried it out regularly, so that one good work led into the next.

Notice, first, where he preached. He went about, traveling from place to place. He did not stay in one town, but spread the light of his teaching everywhere. He went through every city, so no one could excuse themselves by saying they had not heard. In this, he set an example for his disciples. They too must travel among the nations, as he went through the cities of Israel. He did not stay only in the cities, but also went into the villages, among the plain country people, to preach to them as well (Judges 5:11).

Notice, too, what he preached. He announced the good news of the kingdom of God, that it was now to be set up among them. News about God’s kingdom is good news, and that is what Jesus came to bring. He came to tell people that God was willing to receive all who would return to his rule and loyalty. It was good news for the world that there was hope it could be changed and brought back to God.

Notice, also, who stayed with him. The twelve were with him, not to preach while he was present, but to learn from him what to preach and how to preach later. They were also being prepared to go where he himself could not go. Happy were those servants who heard his wisdom.

We also see where he got the support he needed for daily life. He lived on the kindness of his friends. There were certain women who often attended his ministry and supported him from their own means (Luke 8:2-3). Some of them are named, but there were many others too. They were devoted to the teaching of Christ and felt it was right to support it. They had received help themselves, and they hoped many others would benefit as well.

These women were mostly people who had been healed by Christ. They were living signs of his power and mercy. He had healed them from evil spirits and diseases. Some had been troubled in mind, others had been sick in body, and he had been a powerful healer to them. He is the doctor of both body and soul, and those he has healed should think carefully about what they will give back to him. We are bound by our own need to keep close to him, ready to seek his help again if trouble returns. We are also bound by gratitude to serve him and his gospel, since he has saved us through it.

One of them was Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been cast out. The number likely means a great many, not exactly seven. Some think she was a woman who had once been very sinful, and that she was the same woman called a sinner in the previous chapter (Luke 7:37). Dr. Lightfoot notes that some Jewish writings use a name that may mean Mary the plaiter of hair, and he thinks this may fit her former life, since braided hair could suggest vanity and immodest dress (1 Timothy 2:9). But even if she had been an immodest woman, she found mercy when she repented and changed her life, and then became a devoted follower of Christ. The greatest sinners must not despair of forgiveness, and the worse a person has been before conversion, the more they should seek to do for Christ afterward.

Or else, she may have been someone who had suffered deep sorrow and sadness. In that case, she may have been Mary, the sister of Lazarus, a woman of a sorrowful spirit, who may have originally come from Magdala and later moved to Bethany. This Mary Magdalene was present at Christ’s cross and at his tomb, and if she was not Mary the sister of Lazarus, then either that close friend of Christ was not present there, or the Gospel writers did not mention her, and neither seems likely. Dr. Lightfoot reasons this way. Still, there is an objection, because Mary Magdalene is counted among the women who followed Jesus from Galilee (Matthew 27:55-56), while Mary, the sister of Lazarus, lived in Bethany.

Another of these women was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, a man who managed Herod’s household or affairs. She had been his wife, some think, but was now a widow and left in good circumstances. If she was still his wife, we may reasonably think her husband, though holding a high place in Herod’s court, had received the gospel and was willing for his wife to both hear Christ and give to his support.

Many women ministered to Christ from their own substance. This shows how lowly the state was to which our Savior humbled himself, since he needed such support. It also shows his great humility and kindness, since he accepted it. Though he was rich, for our sake he became poor and lived on gifts. No one should despise being helped by the charity of neighbors when providence brings them into need, but should ask for it and receive it with thanks as a kindness. Christ would rather depend on known friends for support for himself and his disciples than burden strangers in the cities and villages where he went to preach.

It is the duty of those taught in the word to share all good things with those who teach them. Those who do this freely and gladly honor the Lord with their wealth, and they bring a blessing on what they give.