Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 4:40-44 "AN OVERVIEW OF THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS"
Day 56 – Luke 4
Text: Luke 4:40-44
AN OVERVIEW OF THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS
In a few brief words, Luke gives us an overview of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ! Let’s take a look at how Jesus must have spent His days!
1. As news about the Lord Jesus spread, we can well imagine how people would flock to see Him. “All those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him…” (Luke 4:40). Out of deep love and compassion, the Lord Jesus healed all who came to Him!
2. There were some who were afflicted by demonic powers. They were brought to Jesus too. “And demons also came out of many” (Luke 4:41). The demons cried out in horror even as they recognized the Identity of Jesus. They knew that He was “The Christ, the Son of God” (Luke 4:41). Jesus certainly did not need their testimony! He rebuked them and silenced them even as He cast them out of the human beings they possessed (Luke 4:41).
BEGINNING THE DAY WITH GOD
How did the Lord Jesus cope with the amount of work He had to do each day? In the day, He would preach and teach about the Kingdom of God. In the evening, when the sun had set, He would find that people would discover where He was and would bring their sick to Him for healing. He scarcely had a free moment! He must have worked late into the night!
Luke records for us that “now when it was day, (Jesus) departed and went into a deserted place” (Luke 4:42). This verse becomes clearer in meaning when we read it in the context of Mark 1:35 (a parallel account).
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35).
How did Jesus cope with His work? He took time to do the following:-
1. He took time to be alone. He needed that solitude. He needed time out for Himself.
2. He took time to seek His Father in prayer! He would never break this vital link, this vital relationship with His Father. No matter how tired or busy He may have been, He would still take time to be with His Father in prayer!
RESISTING THE SELFISH INTENTS OF THE MULTITUDE
Luke recorded for us an important observation! Whereas Nazareth rejected Jesus and forcibly ejected Him from their city, Capernaum wanted to keep Him in their city! The words that Luke used make compelling reading,
“And the crowd sought Him and came to Him,
and tried to keep Him from leaving them ” Luke 4:42
The crowds did not understand the full ministry of the Lord Jesus. They did not understand His need for solitude and for prayer. They did not understand that He was not sent to be their personal Healer and Teacher.
His ministry was meant to be far greater! His ministry was to cover all of Israel with the message of the Kingdom of God! To try and “keep Him from leaving them” would be most selfish! There were many others who were also similarly sick and afflicted by demons! They too needed the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus!
“I MUST PREACH THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO THE OTHER CITIES ALSO” (Luke 4:43)
The sense of purpose that was in the Lord Jesus Christ was very clear and strong! He had been sent to preach the Kingdom of God “to the other cities also” (Luke 4:43). That understanding, and the power that was in His heart must have in part been greatly strengthened by the time He spent in fellowship with His Father in prayer!
Jesus never lost that sense of purpose in His life at any time! He shared with the crowds His understanding of God’s will and purpose for Him. “For this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43), He cried out to the crowds.
He appealed to them for understanding. He taught them even as He prepared to leave them to minister to other cities. The crowds must realize, the multitudes must realize that they cannot attempt to restrict His ministry to just one city. He was needed elsewhere too. God’s purposes were much higher than that envisioned by the city of Capernaum!
“AND HE WAS PREACHING IN THE SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE” Luke 4:44
Isaiah the prophet prophesied and promised Israel that one day God would send them “a great light”. The region that great light would shine was identified as Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2). That prophecy had to be fulfilled. That prophecy must have been in the mind of the Lord Jesus as He ministered.
He spoke of having a special sense of purpose. He spoke of preaching to other cities also. Luke recorded that He then went on to preach in the synagogues of Galilee. Thus Luke correctly recorded that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophetic promise!
Luke went on further to note that Jesus continued to stay focused on His primary ministry.
“And He was PREACHING in the synagogues of Galilee.” (Luke 4:44) He did not plan any healing campaigns. He did not attract anybody to Him by offering exorcism either! His primary concern was to preach the Kingdom of God!
Let us be deeply challenged to set aside time to seek God in prayer. Let us take time to steep ourselves in our commitment to understand the Word of God better. Let us seek to “preach the kingdom of God” as our primary focus in life as well.