Luke 4:1-6:16

Luke

 

4:1-30 – Jesus was ‘tempted by the devil’ (2). He was rejected by His enemies (28-29). When we look around us, we see nothing but temptations and rejection – What a negative way of looking at things! There is something more positive here – the presence of the Holy Spirit (1,14,18). Do not be afraid. There is no need to be discouraged. We need not be defeated. The temptations may be many. The opposition may be fierce. We can ‘pass through the midst of them’ (30): ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control’ (2 Timothy 1:7). Satan is persistent – They did not rest until they had crucified Him. Faced with such opposition, we – like Jesus – must walk in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:12,17-18).

4:31-5:11 – ‘His Word was with power’ (32). Where there are hindrances, obstructing the flow of God’s Word, we must pray that God’s Word will be heard for ‘what it really is’ – ‘not the word of men but the Word of God’ (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Our hearing of God’s Word is not to be a superficial thing – Here, the people of Capernaum ‘tried to keep Him from leaving them’ (42). Later, Jesus said, ‘You, Capernaum… shall be thrust down to hell’ (10:15). We must hear the Word of God and act on it (1,3). We may feel, ‘it’s a waste of time’. We must be obedient to God: ‘at Your Word I will let down the nets’ (5). We are to be ‘partners’ in the Lord’s work (7): ‘workers together with God’ (2 Corinthians 6:1). All the glory belongs to the Lord: We are ‘sinful’ – Through His grace, we can win others for Him (8,10).

5:12-32 – ‘You can make me clean… I will; be clean’ (12-13). Look at Christ’s death for you – Can you doubt His desire to save you? Look at His resurrection – Can you doubt His power to save you? The Lord ‘desires all people to be saved’ (1 Timothy 2:4). We are saved through ‘the Gospel’ which ‘is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith’ (Romans 1:16). Jesus can save. Jesus will save. ‘The power of the Lord’ (17) is available to all: ‘Whoever wishes’ may ‘come’ and receive ‘the free gift’ of salvation (Revelation 22:17). To each one, Jesus says, ‘Follow Me’ (27). We must not think of ourselves as ‘righteous’. Each one must come as a ‘sinner’ to Jesus, the Saviour of sinners (32). Through prayer, the Lord’s saving power can be released among us (16-17; John 14:13-14; 1 John 5:14-15).

5:33-6:16 – There is such a difference between the ‘old’ legalism and the ‘new’ life in the Spirit (36-39; Romans 8:2-4). The question, asked in verse 2, springs from the dead hardness of strict legalistic religion. Christ is Lord (5) – not the ‘Pharisees’. They try to control people’s lives. With their kill-joy attitude, they only succeed in making everybody miserable – like themselves! The ‘old’ needs to be ‘crucified’, so that the ‘new’ can be born in us (Romans 6:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Some say, ‘I don’t need to be born again’. Jesus disagrees (John 3:3). Disciples, Apostles (13): We learn everything from Jesus – nothing from the ‘Pharisees’! We are sent out by Christ for Christ – not by the Pharisees to spread Pharisaism! God is interested in names (14-16): ‘rejoice that your names are written in heaven’ (10:21).