Wednesday 4 January 2017

Luke 4

In Luke 4, Jesus gets tempted by the devil, preaches in Nazareth and gets rejected, and casts out two impure spirits.

The Holy Spirit

He's still about. I haven't noticed how active the Holy Spirit is in the gospels and how often he gets mentioned. But he's still there doing his stuff.

I found it particularly interesting that the Holy Spirit was there when the devil was testing Jesus. In fact, the Holy Spirit led him to the desert where he would be tested. We know that Jesus was filled with the Spirit during the whole time, because, afterwards, the Holy Spirit is mentioned again. 

I often forget that the Holy Spirit is still with me during times of testing. I often feel abandoned in a desert, but this isn't the case. I also wonder how much the Spirit was involved in giving Jesus the words to say to the devil in response. In Luke 12:12, the disciples that when they are bought before the synagogues and leaders, the Holy Spirit will teach them what to say. So, it's possible that the Holy Spirit was doing the same here. It's bizarre to think that I have the same Spirit in me that Jesus did. When Jesus was preaching and healing in power, when he was responding to the devil, Jesus was doing so with the same Spirit now in me. It's not as if Jesus got a bigger portion of the Spirit or anything. Same Spirit; same power.

Powers of darkness

In this chapter, we see activity from the devil and his dominions. A few things about this struck me. First of all, the devil knew his Scripture. He quoted it at Jesus. Fortunately, Jesus knew his Scripture too, and was able to respond in a proper manner. It perhaps go to show why knowing your Scripture is so important.

I also noticed what it said in verse 13. The devil left Jesus "until an opportune time". This really suggests that the battle wasn't over. I don't know if that means that the devil was often present during Jesus' ministry or whether he had to wait until much later.

The impure spirits recognised Jesus for who he was: the Holy One of God. They still rejected him. I wonder how many people live their lives like that also.

The people of Nazareth

The people of Nazareth also recognise Jesus, but this time as the child of Joseph. Jesus says some things that upset them and they try to throw him off a cliff.

It did make me think if we are in some ways like the people of Nazareth too. Does our over familiarity with him in the west mean that we often fail to listen to his message, or to not accept him (but metaphorically chucking him over a cliff). 

Quick questions

  • What surprises you about Luke 4?
  • What passages of the Bible do you know off by heart?
  • How important is knowing the Bible to you and why?

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