Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 4:1-13is about 'the temptation in the wilderness'. It is same as the test of faith.
The test of faith results in righteousness andperfection.
The tested faith canappear before two conditionsas follows:
These two conditions can happen to us too in our everyday life and ministry.
We discuss about the second condition.
Luke 4:16-22
4:16. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
4:17. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
4:18. "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
4:19. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
4:20. Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
4:21. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
4:22. So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph’s son?"
Luke 4:16-22 is same as the verses which are written in Isaiah 61:1-2.
Isaiah 61:1-2
61:1. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
61:2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
At the synagogue, Jesus reads what is written by prophet Isaiah about Himself.
People of Nazareth should have believed in the fulfillment of the promise of God by hearing and seeing Jesus. But, they reject Him. Why?
We discuss about the first reason, that is the people of Nazareth donot believe in the prophetic Word.
In the Old Testament, the prophetic Word which was told by prophet Isaiah was prophesying about the coming of Jesus in the first timeas a Savior. He must die on the cross to save the sinners. The people of Nazareth reject it. It means they reject salvation.
In the New Testament, the prophetic Word reveals the coming of Jesus in the second timein the glory of the King of kings or the Bridegroom to perfect saved lives.
If we harden our heart and reject the prophetic Word, we cannot be perfect but left behind when Jesus comes a second time and we perish with the world.
Revelation 1:3
1:3. Blessed is he who readsand those who hearthe words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
The right attitudeabout the prophetic Word is to read, hear, and keep those things which are written in it.
Revelation 22:7
22:7. "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the wordsof the prophecy of this book."
Someday, when the time of Jesus’ second coming is drawing near, there is no more opportunity to read and hear the prophetic Word. In that moment, the prophetic Word must be ingrained in our lives.
That is why, for now, we have to use lots of time to read, hear and keep those things which are written in it, especially in worship.
1 Corinthians 14:3
14:3. But he who prophesiesspeaks edificationand exhortationand comfort to men.
If we read, hear and obey the prophetic Word, the results are as follows:
God blesses us.
Luke 4:1-13is about 'the temptation in the wilderness'. It is same as the test of faith.
The test of faith results in righteousness andperfection.
The tested faith canappear before two conditionsas follows:
- [verse 14-15] Jesus returns to Galilee; He is accepted, blessed, and praised. In this condition, do not become arrogant, because all praises are for God only.
- [verse16-30] Jesus is rejected in Nazareth. He is slandered and vilified.
These two conditions can happen to us too in our everyday life and ministry.
We discuss about the second condition.
Luke 4:16-22
4:16. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
4:17. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
4:18. "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
4:19. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
4:20. Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
4:21. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
4:22. So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph’s son?"
Luke 4:16-22 is same as the verses which are written in Isaiah 61:1-2.
Isaiah 61:1-2
61:1. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
61:2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
At the synagogue, Jesus reads what is written by prophet Isaiah about Himself.
People of Nazareth should have believed in the fulfillment of the promise of God by hearing and seeing Jesus. But, they reject Him. Why?
- The people of Nazareth harden their heartthat they reject the prophetic Word and do not believe in the Word.
- The people of Nazareth assume Jesus as the son of Josephwho is a carpenter. Luke 4:22-23
4:22. So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph’s son?"
4:23. He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’"
We discuss about the first reason, that is the people of Nazareth donot believe in the prophetic Word.
In the Old Testament, the prophetic Word which was told by prophet Isaiah was prophesying about the coming of Jesus in the first timeas a Savior. He must die on the cross to save the sinners. The people of Nazareth reject it. It means they reject salvation.
In the New Testament, the prophetic Word reveals the coming of Jesus in the second timein the glory of the King of kings or the Bridegroom to perfect saved lives.
If we harden our heart and reject the prophetic Word, we cannot be perfect but left behind when Jesus comes a second time and we perish with the world.
Revelation 1:3
1:3. Blessed is he who readsand those who hearthe words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
The right attitudeabout the prophetic Word is to read, hear, and keep those things which are written in it.
Revelation 22:7
22:7. "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the wordsof the prophecy of this book."
Someday, when the time of Jesus’ second coming is drawing near, there is no more opportunity to read and hear the prophetic Word. In that moment, the prophetic Word must be ingrained in our lives.
That is why, for now, we have to use lots of time to read, hear and keep those things which are written in it, especially in worship.
1 Corinthians 14:3
14:3. But he who prophesiesspeaks edificationand exhortationand comfort to men.
If we read, hear and obey the prophetic Word, the results are as follows:
- Comforting us.
It is same as giving extra power to face anything in the world so that we do not become disappointed or desperate and leave God. If we have extra power, the results are as follows:- We always give thanks to God.
We who are like earthen vessel need to be filled by the Wordthat we are not easily broken. If we grumble to God a lot, it means there is no Word inside us. - We are always faithful and fervent in spiritin our ministry to God.
- We always give thanks to God.
- Exhorting us.
It is same as leading and guiding us.
Psalms 73:24
73:24. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
The Word that is sharper than two-edged sword contains rebuke and exhortation.
The rebuke is hard and it points tothe sins.
If we want to leave the sin, the rebuke will become exhortation.
The rebuke and exhortation are same as the stretching hand of the Chief Shepherd to guide our lives to enter into sheepfold.
We will become wild teenager if we are outside of the sheepfold, controlled by lust, emotion, and flesh ambition, that we are like to live in cemetery.
The cemeteryrefers to physical entertainments which captivate, but actually, those are the extension of the hand of death such as discotheque, theatre, et cetera including the church which does not prioritize the Word.
In the sheepfold, the lust of the flesh is withheld and limited, that we can live in righteousness and the will of God.
The exhortation of the Word is also a guiding hand of God to find a way out from all problems. The stretching hand of Godalso lifts up our lives to become beautiful and happy. - Edifying us.
It means it brings us to the building of the perfect body of Christ.
The building of the perfect body of Christ happens in the sheepfold.
Acts 20:28,32-33,35
20:28. "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of Godwhich He purchased with His own blood.
20:32. "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
20:33. "I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
20:35. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
The shepherding is worth the blood of Jesus. It is worth the blood of Jesus if we become a sheep in the shepherding.
A shepherd grazes the sheep who are worth the blood of Jesus and cannot be paid by anything.
In the shepherding, we are going toward the building of the perfect body of Christ through the word of grace or prophetic Word.
The signs are as follows:- The prophetic Word purifies us up to our heartfrom wicked and unclean desire.
The evil desireis the lust of money that makes us stingy and greedy.
If evil desire exist, unclean desire will exist too.
If we are purified, we will feel that it ismore blessed to give than to receive. - Equipping us with ministry and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Ephessians 4:11-12
4:11. And He Himself gavesome to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saintsfor the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, - Neck is the relationship between body and the Head.
It means worship.
The neck is used to submit and obey until our flesh does not sound anymore.
This is the secret of the youth success.
1 Peter 5:5-6
5:5. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
5:6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
If we submit and obey, we are in the God's strong hand of mercy which is able to exalt us in due time.
- The prophetic Word purifies us up to our heartfrom wicked and unclean desire.
God blesses us.