4:18 - Jesus applies this scripture to himself, telling his audience that he is filled with the Spirit...basically telling them that he is a prophet.
4:21 - He applies the scripture from Isaiah to himself...essentially he tells the audience at the synagogue that he is the promised Messiah....he is going to be the one to bring freedom and healing and make things right.
4:22-23 - At first the people are in awe of what he says, and then as humans like to do...they start to doubt. They start to say to themselves, "Wait, isn't this the son of Joseph...how could this be the Messiah?" They have their own perceptions about what the Messiah is supposed to look like and they reject the true Messiah when he is right in front of them. I sure am glad modern Christians don't allow their pictures of what they want Jesus to be distort who he really is and what he is calling them to be (Ewww...some sarcasm just dripped on me)!
4:24ff - Jesus sees their doubt and confronts them. He compares them to a time period in the history of Israel that is one of the most faithless and apostate generations. This naturally, ticks the audience off and they decide to kill him because they believe he is a false prophet. Of course Jesus has to die on a cross, so he slips out of the crowd. Each of us needs to be careful when some shares tough truth with us, to consider the validity of what they are saying before we indignantly blow up and metaphorically throw them off a cliff.
4:38 - Simon (Peter) is already showing that he has great faith in Jesus as he comes to Jesus to beg for healing for his mother-in-law. Maybe it is his spirit of trust that leads to his disciple invitation.
4:42 - Every time Jesus is involved is spiritual warfare - healing, teaching, driving out demons, etc...he immediately goes away to get recharged. He spends time alone with God. This is a discipline that is almost non-existent in most Christian's lives. How is it possible that we are able to perform under great spiritual pressure without spending quiet time with God, when Jesus needed that time? Oh wait...it's not possible for us, we just burn out and hamstring our ministries...that's a good plan!
2 comments:
The part in this text that sticks out is when Jesus prohibits the demons from speaking and calling Him the Son of God as they are being exiled. In scripture, we see situations like these where Jesus does awesome things, but makes sure that people don't call Him the son of God. There is event a point where Jesus is speaking on the sign of Jonah, and says that even with miracles, people will not believe. Case and point: Magicians we see today do some pretty crazy things that are captured on TV and people are in awe at first, but then they just brush it off. This magic tricks don't cause people to change their lives and pursue these magicians everywhere they go. They let the awe sink in, they clap, and move on. In the same way, if Jesus built his ministry around his powers and muscles, it would be a flawed system. Anytime Jesus healed or performed miracles, it was with the intention of his love and compassion for people. It's funny how a magic trick will not lead people to changed lives, but a random act of kindness or creative ways of showing people you love them leaves them perplexed, confused, and ultimately desiring what you have...
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