On the eighteenth day of Christmas, my Bible said to me...Jesus gave himself to hard ministry, never deterred by opposition or persecution, determined to do the Father's will.
Today's Reading: Luke 4:14-44
And Jesus returned in the
power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the
surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by
all.
In Nazareth
16 And he came to
Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the
prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place
where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 And he rolled up the
scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in
the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and
marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said,
“Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote
to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at
Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to
you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were
shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,
26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of
Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in
the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman
the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled
with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him
to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw
him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
To Capernaum
31 And he went down to
Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and
they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And
in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he
cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the
demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him
no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this
word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they
come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the
surrounding region.
38 And he arose and left
the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with
a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her
and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to
serve them.
40 Now when the sun was
setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them
to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And
demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked
them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the
Christ.
42 And when it was day,
he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came
to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I
must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for
I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of
Judea.
Devotional Thoughts
Jesus could certainly draw a crowd - I'm guessing few fell asleep when he was proclaiming God's truth. And he was doing miracles before the people's eyes that no one had ever seen before. Demons fled. The lame walked and blind saw. His fame spread as far away as Jerusalem and people were following him. Cheering him. Loving him. Worshiping him.
And hating him. Some hated him. They tried to kill him. Luke tells how the people of Nazareth could not believe it when he claimed to be the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. They remembered him as Joseph's son - just another boy from the village, no one special. If you have ever lived in a small town you know that the story of the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph got around Nazareth and you also know that tongues wagged. Few believed that this little boy that grew up in their town was actually the Promised One, the Messiah.
Now, here he was claiming to be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy and they'd had enough. Jesus did not back down, but reminded them that the chosen people had often opposed and even persecuted the chosen prophets. This infuriated them even more and they tried unsuccessfully to kill him. God protected Jesus and he left and went to Galilee.
What did Jesus do in Galilee? If he was like many Christians, he would find something else to do. "If people are going to treat me this way, I'm not going to serve them!" "I give up." Many Christians are absolutely shocked when they do something good, something godly, something God has called or led them to do, and then they receive criticism, opposition, or some form of hardship. We have bought into some false idea that godliness and obedience is a guarantee of smooth sailing.
Where on earth has anyone gotten that idea?
I'd challenge you to find a man or woman in the Bible who had an encounter with the Living God, who was called to work in name of God, and their life became easier. God can complicate our lives! It is not easy to serve him. Blessed? Yes. Joyous? Of course. Easy? There is no biblical evidence for that.
It is not the presence of hardship or opposition that ought to bother the believer, but perhaps the absence of it. A life of ease and comfort is not a sign of blessing in God's word. Jesus walked in obedience to the Father and immediately people sought to kill him.
But he trusted God. God protected him. And he continued the work!
And hating him. Some hated him. They tried to kill him. Luke tells how the people of Nazareth could not believe it when he claimed to be the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. They remembered him as Joseph's son - just another boy from the village, no one special. If you have ever lived in a small town you know that the story of the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph got around Nazareth and you also know that tongues wagged. Few believed that this little boy that grew up in their town was actually the Promised One, the Messiah.
Now, here he was claiming to be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy and they'd had enough. Jesus did not back down, but reminded them that the chosen people had often opposed and even persecuted the chosen prophets. This infuriated them even more and they tried unsuccessfully to kill him. God protected Jesus and he left and went to Galilee.
What did Jesus do in Galilee? If he was like many Christians, he would find something else to do. "If people are going to treat me this way, I'm not going to serve them!" "I give up." Many Christians are absolutely shocked when they do something good, something godly, something God has called or led them to do, and then they receive criticism, opposition, or some form of hardship. We have bought into some false idea that godliness and obedience is a guarantee of smooth sailing.
Where on earth has anyone gotten that idea?
I'd challenge you to find a man or woman in the Bible who had an encounter with the Living God, who was called to work in name of God, and their life became easier. God can complicate our lives! It is not easy to serve him. Blessed? Yes. Joyous? Of course. Easy? There is no biblical evidence for that.
It is not the presence of hardship or opposition that ought to bother the believer, but perhaps the absence of it. A life of ease and comfort is not a sign of blessing in God's word. Jesus walked in obedience to the Father and immediately people sought to kill him.
But he trusted God. God protected him. And he continued the work!
Father, may I not be discouraged by opposition, by criticism, or by hardship, but may I continue in your power to do the work you have set before me.
Think and Pray
Do you allow hardships
and opposition to discourage you, to cause you to want to quit and give up on
what God has called you to do?
Think through the great
figures of biblical history. What happened when they followed God's call on
their lives? Did not most of them encounter hardships and opposition? .
Is it not normal for you
to expect the same?
Carol of the Day
It came upon the midnight
clear,
That glorious song of
old,
From angels bending near
the earth,
To touch their harps of
gold;
Peace on the earth, good
will to men,
From Heaven’s all
gracious king.
The world in solemn
stillness lay,
To hear the angels
sing.
Yet with the woes of sin
and strife
The world has suffered
long;
Beneath the angel strain
have rolled
Two thousand years of
wrong;
And man, at war with man,
hears not
The love-song which they
bring;
O hush the noise, ye men
of strife
And hear the angels
sing.
And ye, beneath life’s
crushing load,
Whose forms are bending
low,
Who toil along the
climbing way
With painful steps and
slow,
Look now! for glad and
golden hours
Come swiftly on the
wing.
O rest beside the weary
road,
And hear the angels
sing!
For lo! the days are
hastening on,
By prophet-bards
foretold,
When with the
ever-circling years
Comes round the age of
gold;
When peace shall over all
the earth
Its ancient splendors
fling,
And the whole world send
back the song
Which now the angels
sing.
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