Bible Pathways 10/22/2000
October 22
Luke 4 -- 5
Some have deceived themselves into thinking they can worship God just as well on the lake fishing or at home resting. We read that Jesus taught in their synagogues while in Galilee (Luke 4:15). Jesus attended church, however dull it may have been to Him who knows all things. He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and . . . as usual He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day (4:16). In the Sabbath service, two lessons were read. The first was always taken from the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, and the other from the prophets. Since He was well-known in His hometown and had recently gained a great reputation as a teacher and healer, Jesus was invited to speak. There was delivered to Him the Book of the prophet Isaiah. And . . . He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord (God) is upon Me (the Messiah), because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the Book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down (4:15-20; Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus recognized the need to honor God by regularly attending the worship services.
It was no coincidence that the opening words that Jesus read contained a clear mention of the three Persons of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit -- The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; He (the Father) has anointed Me; and Himself, the Anointed One.
The people were amazed, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:20-21). They marveled at His gracious words (4:22), but knew He clearly referred to Himself as the Messiah, who had been foretold by Isaiah. You can imagine how startled the congregation was when Jesus said that He, a local carpenter (Mark 6:3) whom they assumed to be the son of Joseph (Luke 3:23), was their Messiah.
Aware of their scorn and unbelief, the Lord reminded them that, in rejecting Him, they would also be rejected for their unbelief, even as Israel had been rejected for its unbelief during the days of Elijah. He reminded them that, during Elijah's time, a Phoenician woman living near Sidon had been mightily blessed with the mercies of God in that her son was raised from the dead (I Kings 17:9-24). In addition the Syrian leper Naaman had been healed of his leprosy because of his obedience to the God of Israel (II Kings 5:1-14). This Messiah was praising a Syrian and a Sidonian, both Gentiles, for their faith in the God of Israel (Luke 4:25-27). The congregation listening to Jesus were so infuriated that they disrupted the worship service, seized Jesus, and attempted to put Him to death by pushing Him over a rocky precipice. But, passing through the midst of them, He went His way (4:28-30).
Cross References:
For Luke 4:4: See Deut. 8:3. Luke 4:8: See Deut. 6:13. Luke 4:10-11: See Psa. 91:11-12. Luke 4:12: See Deut. 6:16. Luke 4:18-19: See Isa. 61:1-2. Luke 5:14: See Lev. 13:49.
Government Officials: Gov. Bill Owens (CO) and Rep. John Shadegg (AZ) · Pray for Dr. Jerry Wiles, Executive Vice Chairman, IBRA · Pray for the Bible Pathway International Radio broadcast sponsored by John & Alice Deluca · Country: Gambia (874,000) in West Africa · Major languages: English and Mandinka · Religious freedom · 87% Muslim; 10% animism and ancestral spirit worship; 2% Roman Catholic; .7% Protestant · Prayer Suggestion: Remember that prayer changes things (James 5:16-18).
Memory Verse for the Week:
Hebrews 3:14
