People Standing Afar Off - Luke 23:49

Luke the beloved physician wrote as Jesus was hanging on the cross, “when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse forty-nine of his book Luke shared how all Jesus', “acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things” where we read:

And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee,

stood afar off, beholding these things.

The verse reads, “And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, ...” Luke began with the words, “and all his acquaintance” or “and each, every, the whole and everyone of Jesus' well-known and notable ones”, “and the women that followed him” which means “and the female human beings who accompanied Jesus” “from Galilee” or “separate and away from the area of Galilee which means circuit and was the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan”. Luke shared how every one of Jesus' “well-known ones” and the females who accompanied Jesus from the area of “Galilee” did the following.

The verse continues, “... stood afar off, beholding these things.” Luke added the words, “stood afar off” which means “were standing at a distance away from where Jesus was crucified”, “beholding these things” or “observing, looking upon and taking heed to all that happened to Jesus”. Luke shared how the people who knew Jesus well as well as the “women” who served alongside Him watched what was happening to Him from a distance.

When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn where the followers of Jesus were at the time He was crucified. Rather than being up close, (with the exception of His mother Mary and John, His disciple), the remainder of those who knew Jesus, both men and women, watched what was happening to Him from a distance. We can imagine the full range of emotions that were going through them. Fear, anger, anxiety and guilt may have been among them, but whatever they were, they “beat their chest” and returned home. God loves every person, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus. Those who are wise will not only understand who He is, but also humble themselves and yield their lives to Him.

Next time Luke shares about, “a man named Joseph”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".