Daily Bread for Oct 28, Luk 4-5

Today’s readings are Luk 4-5.

Luke adds some detail to the temptation of Christ (Luk 4:1-12) which we read about in Mat 4.

As Jesus begins His ministry in Luk 4:13-30, He teaches in a synagogue. The people are skeptical. In response, Jesus cites Scripture that shows God has ministered to and through Gentiles (Zarephath and Naaman) in the past, particularly when the Jews have been rebellious. The Jews reject this teaching. Ironically, they become rebellious just as their ancestors did, a dark portent of what is to come.

Later, in Luk 4:31-30, Jesus demonstrates His standing as the second Adam, as we saw in Mat 4. In these instances, He exhibits authority -  over the spiritual realm by casting out demons and over the physical world by healing the sick and cleansing the unclean.

Christ utters something significant and perhaps easy to overlook in Luk 4:42-44. He says He was sent to preach the good news everywhere He goes. His mission is singular in nature, to proclaim redemption for those who believe.  Since the church is in union with Him, this is the mission of the church as well. The gospel was Jesus’s mission. It is also the primary purpose of the church. All else, all good works, all personal/political issues, everything else is secondary.

He also exhibits His standing as the Son of God by calling followers unto Himself (Luk 5:1-11, 27-32), taking ordinary, sinful people and transforming them into His disciples. What Jesus does with this initially small group of men is a hint of what He's come to do for all those who call Him “Lord.” He transforms and redeems.

This is further emphasized when He heals a leprous man (Luk 5:12-16). The leper is incapable of cleansing himself. He is entirely dependent upon Jesus who makes Him clean, transforming him from an outcast into a witness for His power. The Lord take things a step further when He heals a paralytic who is utterly incapable of helping himself. He not only heals the man, but He also forgives him of his sins (Luk 5:17-25). The man is not only made physically well, but, more importantly, he is healed spiritually as well.

For all His healing and forgiving, Jesus is critiqued by a group of legalists (Luk 5:33-39) who have entirely missed His point. He is bringing about a change in the way the children of God behave. Traditions will be upset, and preconceptions challenged. Those who hear the word of God and follow will be blessed.

Here, early in His ministry, Jesus is laying the groundwork and providing the evidence for who He is and what He's come to do. He's going to redeem mankind from the curse of the fall. God, Himself, has come to earth to do what Adam could not do, what man cannot do -- save himself.