Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Luke Chapter 4

So, the inspiration behind creating this blog started from a certain Mr. Brandon Murray. Recently, he plugged this blog on his own blog about reading the bible (Brandon's Bible Adventure)please take a look at his blog (shameless re-plug). See why this inspired me to hopefully better understand what the Bible is saying and why I want you to create your own thoughts and comments on what the bible might be saying.

Happy Reading,
--Steven Mammolito

1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’

5 Then the devil* led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil* said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.” ’

9 Then the devil* took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you”,
11and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
12Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and 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 bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ 22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ 23He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ 24And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. 25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers* in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
The Man with an Unclean Spirit

31 He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34‘Let us alone! 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.’ 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, ‘What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ 37And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
Healings at Simon’s House

38 After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. 39Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.*
Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues

42 At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. 43But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ 44So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

6 comments:

  1. There is a lot here.

    -Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit. i love that. Once you begin thinking about the Holy Spirit (as we have been doing for a few months on Sunday) you see that the Holy Spirit is everywhere. It is there filling Jesus in two exceptionally difficult times early in his ministry. The Spirit is filling him as he rebukes the devil and the Spirit is with him to declare the fulfillment of the scriptures to his Galilean brothers and sisters.

    18‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to let the oppressed go free,
    19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

    - I just wanted everyone to read those verses again. I think this is what the mission of the church of Christ still is today. Jesus witnessed to who he was and what he was doing. I think our task in this community is to proclaim that very same news. The power of Jesus and his Spirit is a power that sets captives free, that gives sight to the blind, that lets the oppressed gain freedom, that is good good news to the poor and the poor in Spirit as well. I could see Jesus saying this in our church today and then concluding by saying, "You, go and do likewise."

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  2. 1. For each temptation from Satan, Jesus answers with scripture. If we are looking for practical application to our lives, I think we can find it in Jesus' response. Jesus knew God's word, and because He knew it so well, he was able to use it to guide Him during the temptations. Do we know scripture well enough for it to be useful to us in our own trials?

    2. In verse 39 we read "39Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them" When Jesus heals this woman, her response is to serve Him.

    I've been reading "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey for a class i'm taking and he has a great section on the temptation of Jesus that I won't attempt to paraphrase here. Great book and a super easy read.

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  3. 42 At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. 43But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ 44So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

    If Jesus came to Red Bank and healed us, blessed us, taught us and loved us.. I wouldn't want Him to leave either.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Unfortunately, I didn't get to post any of my own comments on this chapter until now, but after reading everyone else's comments, the only thing I really want to point out is this

    At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place.

    This seems to be a quite common factor of Jesus. To go alone into prayer and meditation. It really signifies something to me that I should be doing in my own life.

    --Steven Mammolito

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