Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 4:16-30 "GREAT CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"
Day 51 – Luke 4
Text: Luke 4:16-30
GREAT CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Lord Jesus was given the scroll of Isaiah, and He searched till He came to Isaiah 61, and then He read those gracious words,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…” Isaiah 61:1
This declaration informs us of the fact that the Lord Jesus was filled with a great sense of consciousness of the Holy Spirit in His life. All throughout His life, the Spirit of God was there – at the time of His conception, at His Baptism, in the Wilderness, and now as He began His public ministry! What a wonderful sense of consciousness the Lord Jesus cultivated! What an example for us to cultivate a similar kind of consciousness of the Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives!
GREAT FAMILIARITY WITH THE SCRIPTURES
The Lord Jesus Christ was obvious very familiar with the Scriptures! Isaiah has 66 chapters! There were many references to the Messiah in Isaiah. Nevertheless, Jesus knew exactly where to turn to! He knew exactly which passage to read and apply to His life and ministry! This would become a familiar characteristic in His public ministry.
The versatility of the Lord Jesus with the Scriptures would always stand out in His ministry! Thus all who heard Him marveled at His deep knowledge of the Scriptures! What an example for us to go beyond a general knowledge of the Scriptures to great familiarity!
GREAT CONCERN FOR PEOPLE
As the Spirit of God filled the life of Jesus, and as He spent time meditating upon the Word of God, Jesus was also filled with a great sense of concern for people. His compassion for the multitudes, His great concern for people, must have grown as He studied God’s Word, as He related to the Spirit of God.
The multitude was not a faceless sea of people to Him. He could actually identify special needs among the people He was seeking to reach:-
1. There were “the poor”. They needed the Gospel to be preached to them. (Luke 4:18)
2. There were those who were “broken-hearted”. They needed comfort and counsel. (Luke 4:18)
3. There were those who were “in prison”. This is obviously not a reference to actual prisoners languishing in Roman dungeons. The Gospels have no record of Jesus releasing Roman prisoners. This was a reference to those who were bound in sin. There were people in bondage to the Devil. These needed help! (Luke 4:18)
4. There were those who were blind. The plight of the physically blind was sad, but the problem of spiritual blindness was even more tragic (Luke 4:18)
5. There were many other categories – but ALL needed to hear the proclamation of “the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:19)
Again, the Lord Jesus sets for us a tremendous example of how we ought to minister. We must be able to have a great and genuine concern for the masses!
GREAT COMMITMENT TO GOD’S CALLING
As the Lord Jesus read the Scriptures to the people who gathered in the synagogue at Nazareth, many thoughts must have filled His mind. He must have been conscious of the approval of the Holy Spirit even as He chose and read Isaiah 61 to the congregation. As He looked at the people, His heart must have been moved deeply.
The Lord Jesus had begun his ministry very actively in Judea (The record of Jesus’ early ministry in Judea is found only in the Gospel of John, chapters 2-4). Luke chose to focus on the ministry of the Lord in His hometown. The Gospel accounts when read together complement each other. All however demonstrate that Jesus was absolutely committed to His Calling to be the Messiah-Servant!
“He has anointed Me…” well describes the consciousness of Jesus with reference to His calling. God had called Him to a very specific ministry! Throughout His Life, He would display total commitment to His calling. Not for a moment did He sway from His High calling, no matter how difficult the path He was asked to walk!
What a great, great example our Saviour has set for us! Let us examine our commitment to be the Lord’s! Let us determine that we will hold fast to our commitment to serve this great Saviour of ours!
HAVE WE FALTERED IN OUR WALK WITH THE LORD?
As we examine our walk with the Lord, we will know how we have been walking with Him. Have we faltered? How do we make a come-back to the Lord?
Let us attempt to do what Jesus did in His life and ministry:-
1. Let us seek to be conscious and filled with the Holy Spirit!
2. Let us seek to spend more time with the Lord’s Word, till we have a good sense of familiarity with the Scriptures. How much time we spend with the Scriptures will help us in our walk with the Lord.
3. Let us pray for a greater sense of compassion for the souls of mankind. If we lose this sense of concern for souls, we will see ourselves falter in our walk with the Lord.
4. Let us cultivate a great sense of commitment to the task that God has given us. Let us ask the Lord to help us cultivate a deeper sense of commitment to His work.
If we can consciously practise these things, we will find that our walk with the Lord will be that much more significant. Let us set aside time to reflect on our walk with God. Many lives could be greatly blessed because we take our calling from God seriously. On the other hand, if we do not seek to be good and faithful servants of God, then many lives would never be touched and blessed! They would remain in darkness, and they would remain in bondage to sin and Satan! Let us renew our commitment to serve the Lord with all our heart!