Today's Passage: Luke 4

This chapter is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth and it’s packed full of so many important truths that I couldn't adequately cover all of it in just one post! BUT there is an important truth, that many may miss while reading and that's where I'd like to focus today. It is found in verses 14-21,

“Then Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread through the entire region.  And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised and glorified and honored by all.

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set the captive free.

to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].” (Isaiah 61:1-2a)

 Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:14–21 emphasis mine).

Jesus stopped reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. The rest of verse two reads, “and the day of our God’s vengeance.” which refers to Jesus’ second coming and judgment on the world. So what is Jesus saying exactly? The Jews knew this was a messianic prophecy, therefore when He tells them that, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” He’s saying, “I am the Messiah; the Sent One.”

This is important to note for it makes the rest of the passage come to life! 

When He reads, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, and God has anointed Me to proclaim good news—that’s the gospel—to those who need it." Jesus is marking the beginning of His three year ministry leading up to the Cross. 

The first Adam sinned and failed to fulfill his purpose. Jesus, as the last Adam, never sinned and did fulfill His purpose as a man. Clearly Jesus was always fully God, but for a time, He chose to "empty" Himself (something we can’t fully grasp or explain), and was living His life here as an example of the perfect life Adam should have lived and the "ideal life" that all believers today should aspire to (1Cor 11:1). 

I know you’re probably thinking, “He was God”, but what Luke is alluding to in this chapter is that Jesus relied on the same Source of power, the Holy Spirit, that you and I have access to today, for the Spirit of Christ indwells every believer (_{Rom 8:9}). Therefore, as Jesus told us Himself in John 14:12, we have the power to do all Jesus did and even “greater things” because we possess the same power He relied on (Eph 3:20)! 

Imagine that! Look back at Luke 4:1,

“Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” The Greek word for “filled” or “full” also means “controlled”. All believers possess the Holy Spirit within, but not all believers are “full” or “controlled” by the Holy Spirit and here lies the problem. A carnal Christian (one operating in the flesh and in their own strength) looks to what he/she can do FOR The Lord but a Spirit-controlled Christian is surrendered to the Spirit’s control so that the Spirit is free to work through them and there is a tremendous difference between what our finite selves can do and what an infinite God can do through us!!

Jesus also said, “God has sent Me to announce release to the captives.” In other words, “I have come to set you free. You don’t have to be slaves to sin or idolatry anymore.”  Freedom comes through Jesus Christ and in Christ alone.

Now all of us may be able to break some bad habits by sheer willpower and discipline, but we won’t truly be free, for we’re not free until we’re yielded and controlled by Christ’s Spirit. Then and only then will all those issues be behind us and no longer have any control over us, and that’s when we’re truly free to serve Him.

Our surrendering and being wholly controlled by The Spirit is a moment by moment exercise. We can expect to battle the flesh for as long as we’re here, but there's actually something even worse found 

hidden in the chapter in verses 4:28-30,

“As they heard these things, the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff.  But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.”

We never read of Jesus returning to Nazareth again in Scripture. His invitation is for “today” and may not ever come again. Which caused me to think of the writer’s exhortation to us in Hebrews 3:15, “As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart...” There may never be another chance to accept Him and His Spirit He offers.

~~~~~Do you know Him? And are you wholly surrendered to Him? Is He not only Savior, but Lord of your life? 

It's my prayer, as we not only begin a New Year, but a new decade that we will spend it with Him; relying on and being controlled by His power within us to help us make the days ahead profitable for His Kingdom! 

I'm so excited to spend this year with you as we journey together through 2020 and witness all He has planned for us!

God bless you all!

sue