I am having so many technical issues with this blog site, this will be the last post of the Commentary on Luke. If anyone is interested in this commentary, leave me a comment and I will email you the entire Luke file.
Paul Austin
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Luke 4.13
WITH THE TEMPTATIONS OVER, Jesus is filled with the Spirit almost like a celebration. He does not return to Bethlehem but to Galilee. This region is northeast of Jerusalem, higher in altitude, softer in climate and rich in trees, fruit, streams and easy breezes. It is the perfect place to rest.
Luke says an interesting thing in 4.14--news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. What news was that? That He had defeated the devil? Did they see Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple, did they see Him confronting the devil with the Word of God? Shepherds might have been in the wilderness, close enough to see Jesus confront the devil, but we may never know what news of Him spread after the temptations.
What we do know that Luke reports--He began teaching in their synogogues and was praised by all, 4.15. He began in the small places where the lowest people congregate, the synogogues. He began among the meek, the lowly, the quiet of the land. He was praised by all, in fulfillment of 2.52. Here in Galilee He began His ministry; it would end in Jerusalem.
He came home to Nazareth, where he was brought up, where everyone knew Him as a boy and now as a man. Luke leaves the impression those in Nazareth did not witness the temptations in the wilderness. As was the custom of every Jewish man, He entered the synogogue on the Sabbath, reading from the scrolls, Isaiah 61, Luke says--he found the place where it was written--as if Jesus rolled the scrolls until He found Isaiah 61. This passage is about the kingdom of God.
Whenever Jesus was asked to signify His message and ministry, He always did so with words which echo this passage. He says He came to preach first of all, and first to the poor. When John's disciples come to Jesus in Matthew 11.5, He says the same thing in reverse order: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleanse, the deaf hear, the dead are raised--and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
This is His attack on the devil. Jesus has announced He will unravel the work of the devil, beginning with the most defenseless, the poor--to set free those who are downtrodden, 4.15. He sits down, with all eyes fixed on Him. That may mean more than just eyes were fixed on Him. Everyone there marveled at his gracious words, but they wondered where He got them. They knew He was merely the son of a carpenter; did He go off somewhere to be educated? They were nearly sarcastic with Him.
Then Jesus turns against those in the synogogue. He accuses some of them of taking Him too commonly, as if what He did at Capernaum (healed the royal official's son) He would surely do in His own home town. His answer isn't what they wanted. He says God's kingdom is not for everyone. Jesus uses two examples everyone knew: Elijah and the famine and Elisha and the lepers, 4.25, 26. Luke says--all in the synogogue were filled with rage as they heard these things.
The men rose up, threw Him out of the synogogue, out of the city shoving Him to the brow of a hill over a cliff, to cast Him down. But Jesus, using His supernatural powers, passed through them all. The image of being thrown off a cliff is striking. Jesus will cast demons out of a man into swine which He casts off a cliff. Judas will cast himself off a cliff, as if shoved. In Revelation 12.9 the devil and Satan were thrown out of heaven, cast down to the earth.
Simeon had predicted that Jesus would be appointed for the--fall and rise of many in Israel. John had said--the axe is laid to the root. Jesus will not make life comfortable in Israel, especially among the religious, He will call whom He will call.
WITH THE TEMPTATIONS OVER, Jesus is filled with the Spirit almost like a celebration. He does not return to Bethlehem but to Galilee. This region is northeast of Jerusalem, higher in altitude, softer in climate and rich in trees, fruit, streams and easy breezes. It is the perfect place to rest.
Luke says an interesting thing in 4.14--news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. What news was that? That He had defeated the devil? Did they see Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple, did they see Him confronting the devil with the Word of God? Shepherds might have been in the wilderness, close enough to see Jesus confront the devil, but we may never know what news of Him spread after the temptations.
What we do know that Luke reports--He began teaching in their synogogues and was praised by all, 4.15. He began in the small places where the lowest people congregate, the synogogues. He began among the meek, the lowly, the quiet of the land. He was praised by all, in fulfillment of 2.52. Here in Galilee He began His ministry; it would end in Jerusalem.
He came home to Nazareth, where he was brought up, where everyone knew Him as a boy and now as a man. Luke leaves the impression those in Nazareth did not witness the temptations in the wilderness. As was the custom of every Jewish man, He entered the synogogue on the Sabbath, reading from the scrolls, Isaiah 61, Luke says--he found the place where it was written--as if Jesus rolled the scrolls until He found Isaiah 61. This passage is about the kingdom of God.
Whenever Jesus was asked to signify His message and ministry, He always did so with words which echo this passage. He says He came to preach first of all, and first to the poor. When John's disciples come to Jesus in Matthew 11.5, He says the same thing in reverse order: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleanse, the deaf hear, the dead are raised--and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
This is His attack on the devil. Jesus has announced He will unravel the work of the devil, beginning with the most defenseless, the poor--to set free those who are downtrodden, 4.15. He sits down, with all eyes fixed on Him. That may mean more than just eyes were fixed on Him. Everyone there marveled at his gracious words, but they wondered where He got them. They knew He was merely the son of a carpenter; did He go off somewhere to be educated? They were nearly sarcastic with Him.
Then Jesus turns against those in the synogogue. He accuses some of them of taking Him too commonly, as if what He did at Capernaum (healed the royal official's son) He would surely do in His own home town. His answer isn't what they wanted. He says God's kingdom is not for everyone. Jesus uses two examples everyone knew: Elijah and the famine and Elisha and the lepers, 4.25, 26. Luke says--all in the synogogue were filled with rage as they heard these things.
The men rose up, threw Him out of the synogogue, out of the city shoving Him to the brow of a hill over a cliff, to cast Him down. But Jesus, using His supernatural powers, passed through them all. The image of being thrown off a cliff is striking. Jesus will cast demons out of a man into swine which He casts off a cliff. Judas will cast himself off a cliff, as if shoved. In Revelation 12.9 the devil and Satan were thrown out of heaven, cast down to the earth.
Simeon had predicted that Jesus would be appointed for the--fall and rise of many in Israel. John had said--the axe is laid to the root. Jesus will not make life comfortable in Israel, especially among the religious, He will call whom He will call.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Luke 4
LUKE THEN WRITES that Jesus, having come up from the Jordan full of the Spirit, is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. His life is so predestined. Luke tells us Jesus lived in the wilderness 40 days without eating; he does not mention drinking. Evidently, Jesus was communing with God the Spirit and God the Father, a communion of God's word. We see the devil waits until Jesus is weak in the body to approach Him.
The devil says three things:
If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread
if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours (the world and its wealth)
If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here
The three temptations are thought to be about hunger, the world's wealth, and testing God. In the first temptation Jesus answers the devil with Deuteronomy 8.3--Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words, every human being is a spirit, made in the image of God and not just a body which becomes hungry. The devil can tempt the body but not the spirit, which belongs to God Almighty. Scholars have noted for years that Jesus answers the devil as every Christian can, using the Word of God.
Then the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. He says the kingdoms of the world have been handed over to him; he will give them to Jesus if He will bow down and worship the devil. Jesus answers with the first of the 10 Commandments--you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only, 4.8. This tells us the 10 Commandments were not just for Israel or the world, but for the angels in heaven and hell.
We might note in passing that the glory of all the kingdoms of the world will be brought to God in the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21.24.
The devil has failed twice, so he hurls the greatest temptation upon Jesus he can. He puts Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple to say--If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, then quoting Psalm 91.11 that the angels in heaven would guard Him. What the devil does not quote is 91.2--My God in whom I trust. Jesus then answers with Deuteronomy 6.16--You shall not force a test on the Lord your God.
We might note that the three temptations might very well be the devil's acts of rebellion against God that make him what he is. These would be the devil separating himself from God, ruling the world without God, and testing God.
The devil left but Luke notes, he will return--until an opportune time.
This was the challenge of the devil against God, which was foretold in Genesis 3.15, the bruising the devil on the head. The devil is not dead--that will come in Revelation 20--but he knows his time is short. We can notice these three challenges are temptations for Jesus, not real confrontations like Achilleus and Hector in The Iliad. These temptations are readily defeated by the Word of God, seeming almost easy for Jesus. His power is so great that He can cast out demons by His finger, Luke 11.20, Exodus 8.19.
But for the devil, he knows he cannot harm God by fighting Jesus; he will have to deal with the followers of Jesus.
LUKE THEN WRITES that Jesus, having come up from the Jordan full of the Spirit, is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. His life is so predestined. Luke tells us Jesus lived in the wilderness 40 days without eating; he does not mention drinking. Evidently, Jesus was communing with God the Spirit and God the Father, a communion of God's word. We see the devil waits until Jesus is weak in the body to approach Him.
The devil says three things:
If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread
if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours (the world and its wealth)
If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here
The three temptations are thought to be about hunger, the world's wealth, and testing God. In the first temptation Jesus answers the devil with Deuteronomy 8.3--Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words, every human being is a spirit, made in the image of God and not just a body which becomes hungry. The devil can tempt the body but not the spirit, which belongs to God Almighty. Scholars have noted for years that Jesus answers the devil as every Christian can, using the Word of God.
Then the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. He says the kingdoms of the world have been handed over to him; he will give them to Jesus if He will bow down and worship the devil. Jesus answers with the first of the 10 Commandments--you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only, 4.8. This tells us the 10 Commandments were not just for Israel or the world, but for the angels in heaven and hell.
We might note in passing that the glory of all the kingdoms of the world will be brought to God in the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21.24.
The devil has failed twice, so he hurls the greatest temptation upon Jesus he can. He puts Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple to say--If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, then quoting Psalm 91.11 that the angels in heaven would guard Him. What the devil does not quote is 91.2--My God in whom I trust. Jesus then answers with Deuteronomy 6.16--You shall not force a test on the Lord your God.
We might note that the three temptations might very well be the devil's acts of rebellion against God that make him what he is. These would be the devil separating himself from God, ruling the world without God, and testing God.
The devil left but Luke notes, he will return--until an opportune time.
This was the challenge of the devil against God, which was foretold in Genesis 3.15, the bruising the devil on the head. The devil is not dead--that will come in Revelation 20--but he knows his time is short. We can notice these three challenges are temptations for Jesus, not real confrontations like Achilleus and Hector in The Iliad. These temptations are readily defeated by the Word of God, seeming almost easy for Jesus. His power is so great that He can cast out demons by His finger, Luke 11.20, Exodus 8.19.
But for the devil, he knows he cannot harm God by fighting Jesus; he will have to deal with the followers of Jesus.
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