Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 4:14-30 "IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT" Luke 4:14"
Day 49 – Luke 4
Text: Luke 4:14-30
“IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT” Luke 4:14
It is significant that Luke once again brings up the ministry of the Holy Spirit! It was the Spirit of God who overshadowed Baby Jesus when He was in His mother’s womb. It was the Spirit of God that came upon Him on the occasion of His baptism. It was the same Holy Spirit who led Him into the wilderness to be tested by the Devil! It is only right to note that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus as He began His public ministry. It took power from the Holy Spirit to sustain the forty days and nights spent in the wilderness. It took power to soundly defeat the Devil. It will take great power to have a successful public ministry.
Luke has established his point about how the Holy Spirit was thoroughly involved in the Life and Ministry of Jesus. His lack of mention of the Holy Spirit in subsequent chapters of his Gospel narrative must be understood in the light of the fact that he has already established the permanent and vital role of the Spirit in the life of Jesus! There is now no need to make frequent mention of the role of the Spirit of God in the ministry of Jesus.
One of the main areas of ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ was Galilee. Among others, two main reasons may be cited as to why Galilee was chosen as a special area of ministry.
1. Galilee was prophetically mentioned in Isaiah. This city was described as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1). Historically, Galilee was one of the regions invaded by the Assyrians. This region had suffered great darkness, and the promise was that Great Light would shine in Galilee. Jesus came to fulfil that prophecy!
2. This region was also where Jesus grew up as a boy. Nazareth was in this region. The young local lad had grown into a Man whose fame had spread rapidly.
“NEWS OF HIM WENT OUT THROUGH ALL THE SURROUNDING REGION” Luke 4:14
Two great preachers had suddenly arisen in Israel. First, there was John the Baptizer! He had drawn huge crowds when he preached a powerful message of repentance (Luke 3).
John had been quite outspoken against Herod the Tetrarch. Herod was furious and promptly put him in jail (Luke 3:19-20).
Another great preacher had arisen soon after John’s imprisonment! News spread like wild fire, and soon “news of Him (Jesus) went out through all the surround region” (Luke 4:14).
“HE TAUGHT IN THEIR SYNAGOGUE…” Luke 4:15
The Lord Jesus was described as being empowered by the Holy Spirit. How would He minister? It is amazing how consistent Jesus was! He chose to teach God’s Word in the synagogues. He had rejected all the temptations of Satan. He was not about to forget what He had declared as His understanding of how man should live. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4)! Jesus was now practising what He preached! He taught in the synagogue. But of course He must have taught the Scriptures in the synagogue.
The synagogue was one of the established centers of learning and teaching of the Scriptures. It became an institution after Judah fell to the Babylonians and went into captivity. The synagogue played a vital role in preserving Jewish culture, language and religion. It was natural for Jesus to head for the local synagogue to teach the Word of God.
It is significant to note that the Lord Jesus Christ gave priority to the ministry of teaching God’s Word. Given all the power that He had, His emphasis on the teaching of God’s Word is most significant!
1. He believed that the Word of God will indeed make all the difference in the life of a person, and not the offering of signs and wonders.
2. He believed that people must be given and taught God’s Word. It is through in-depth teaching of God’s Word that their lives would amount to something for God.
3. He believed that His mission and purpose in life revolves around the teaching of God’s Word. He was faithful to that great task throughout His life.
4. The Scriptures were meant to take center stage in life. God had given the Scriptures to ancient Israel from the earliest times! Jesus was going to reinforce this understanding of the centrality of God’s Word in life, by teaching the Scriptures.
5. He wanted to show the people that the Scriptures were real and relevant in their lives! They could understand the Word of God. They could get to know God and respond to Him meaningfully if they would only listen to the teaching of God’s Word!
6. Jesus honoured the role of teaching God’s Word, when He Himself chose to teach the Scriptures!
7. The teaching of God’s Word reflected great humility and trust on the part of Jesus! There is great profundity in His choosing to teach God’s Word as His means of fulfilling His life’s mission and purpose!
“BEING GLORIFIED OF ALL…” Luke 4:15
How well did the people receive His ministry of teaching God’s Word? Luke carefully noted that the humble ministry of teaching God’s Word was very well received. As people listened, their hearts must have been greatly blessed. The Word of God must have ministered to their hearts. They must have been truly encouraged as they noted the way Jesus was teaching God’s Word! Jesus was “being glorified of all”.
HOW ARE WE APPRECIATING THE WORD OF GOD IN OUR LIFE?
Let us pause and ask ourselves how we are appreciating the Scriptures in our life. Does the Word of God play a central place in our life? Do we share our knowledge of God’s Word with people? Let us reinstate the place of Scripture in our life as God intended it to be!