Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 4:31-37 ; Isaiah 9:1-2 , 53:3 "FROM NAZARETH TO CAPERNAUM - COPING WITH REJECTION!"
Day 53 – Luke 4
Text: Luke 4:31-37 ; Isaiah 9:1-2 , 53:3
FROM NAZARETH TO CAPERNAUM – COPING WITH REJECTION!
Luke recorded how the Lord Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. He had been forcibly ejected from His hometown! He was not welcome there anymore! He was truly “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).
How did the Lord Jesus cope with all the problem of being rejected by his own countrymen? Isaiah 50:7 offers a glimpse of what could be in the heart and mind of our precious Saviour.
“For the Lord God will help Me;
Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore I have set My face like a flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
There must be faith and trust that God would be there to help! There is no need to feel “disgraced” should men reject us when we boldly share our faith from the Scriptures!
There must also be a great heart of courage and strength that enables us to set our faces like flint! Then will we not feel overwhelmed, and we will never need to feel ashamed!
The possibility of being rejected by people when we share with them our faith is very real! How do we cope when we feel despised and rejected? Let us learn how to face life’s grief and pain as the Lord Jesus did!
STILL IN THE GALILEAN REGION- STILL FULFILLING SCRIPTURE!
Isaiah prophesied that a great light will shine on Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2). Capernaum was not very far from Nazareth. Surely, what happened in Nazareth, and how the people there rejected Him must have spread! An incident where people seek to physically eject a speaker at the local synagogue is not something that happens everyday. Word would have gotten around!
Nevertheless, we find the Lord Jesus bravely ministering at Capernaum. This city became His “second hometown”. What was the plan of the Lord Jesus as He traveled in Israel? What guided Him as He ministered from town to town? He was surely most conscious of two things:-
1. What the Scriptures had said concerning His life and ministry! He must of necessity seek to fulfil the Lord’s Word. His Word revealed His will.
2. He must seek to be conscious of the leading of His Father. In Mark 1:38, we read about just how conscious the Lord Jesus was, of fulfilling the sense of purpose that was in His heart. He said to His disciples,
“Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
We need to bear in mind that the Lord Jesus had very definite ideas as to His life and ministry! We must not imagine that He just wandered from town to town, aimlessly! He was guided by the Scriptures. He was also guided by His Father!
TEACHING WITH TREMENDOUS CONSISTENCY AND AUTHORITY!
It is important to note the consistency that the Lord Jesus showed as He continued to minister in Galilee.
1. He continued to show deep commitment to His teaching ministry.
2. He continued to exhibit tremendous authority in His work of teaching.
3. He continued to teach the Word of God!
There may have been rejection at Nazareth. There may have been people who expressed doubt concerning His teaching of the Word of God! Nevertheless, Jesus held steady and continued to teach the Word of God with great consistency and authority!
Those who heard Him were “astonished at His teaching” (Luke 4:32)! And well should they be astonished! They were privileged to hear none other than their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!
“THE WORKS THAT I DO, HE WILL DO ALSO”
As we study how Jesus ministered, let us be deeply challenged to know God’s Word far better than we do! Do we long to be able to teach God’s Word? Do we desire to teach with authority?
These are not impossible dreams! Let us be reminded of what the Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples,
“Most assuredly, I say to you,
He who believes in Me,
The works that I do, he will do also;
And greater works than these he will do,
Because I go to My Father.
And whatever you ask in My Name,
That I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:12-13
The promise of the Lord Jesus to His disciples must be understood carefully. There are certain things that only He, the Son of God can do! However, this work of teaching the Word of God is something that we too can be engaged in!
Let us be challenged to pray that we might have a great teaching ministry of the Word of God too! Let us ask the Lord humbly that He would teach us His Word. Let us be sure that we would do our part in studying and meditating on God’s Word.