Jesus' Mission and Our Mission
25 - Leaving Samaria for Galilee[1]
(Luke 4:14-43; Matt 4:12-22; Mark 1:14-38, John 4:43-46a)
After staying with the people in Sychar, they continued their journey back to Galilee. He did not believe that a prophet would have honor in his familiar surroundings, so He visited Cana, where He had turned the water into wine, and He was well received by the people who had witnessed Jesus’ acts at the recent feast they went to in Jerusalem.
More and more people heard about Him and the things He was doing. He moved His home from Nazareth to Capernaum which is a city near the sea, in the region of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali. Isaiah predicted that this would happen:
“The land of Zebulun and Naphtali have been treated with contempt,
but that is about to change, and He will bring glory to the land, especially
Galilee of the Gentiles. These people who have walked in darkness will see a
light shine; brightness will glow in the midst of a dark land.”
And from that time on Jesus said, “God has been waiting for this
time. His kingdom has come to earth. Change your ways and have faith in His
goodness.”
“What has changed on earth?” might be a good question to ask at this point. Jesus tells the people that God has been waiting for this time in history. Western culture sees this moment as the transition between the time before and the time after and we date our calendars accordingly. It might be just a western tradition and since we were so heavily influenced by Christianity, we just adopted this social practice. It might also be, that this time in history is the real focal point, the fulcrum on which all pivots, and Jesus just might be the presence of God come to earth.
The kingdom of God, also called the kingdom of heaven, is not a Biblical term about the future living conditions of the people of God in some other world which we can’t yet conceive or understand. No, it is the kingdom that was created with Jesus as the king and each person who subsequently believed in Him as the Savior, the Messiah, became members of that kingdom. The kingdom started as soon as Jesus started preaching, right after His baptism and it is still going today, and all His followers enjoy the benefits of being in the kingdom of God. We have dual citizenship between our country on earth and our allegiance our heavenly king.
The apostle Paul said, “Look at life this way, you have given your life to Jesus, and He lifted you up out of darkness and into His light. You are now with Jesus who is sitting at the right hand of God. Since you are already there, think like you are there. Focus on the things of heaven rather than the things you see every day.”[2]
The
kingdom of God on earth is not the end all, there will be an eternal life
beyond this world. But in the meantime, ours is not to live fighting against
this world, but learning from the experiences we have and putting into practice
the things that God is teaching us. One day, in the heaven He has prepared for
us, we will be able to use the things we have learned here to serve Him for all
eternity.
26 – A Visit to Nazareth[3]
He returned to His hometown of Nazareth and as He did each Sabbath,
He went to the synagogue, and there He stood up to read. He opened the writings
of the prophet Isaiah and found the place He wanted to read from, and He read:
The Spirit of the LORD God has come to Me,
I have experienced the anointing of the LORD
To preach good news to those who are lacking,
To bring freedom to those who are in bondage,
To help the blind begin to see,
To bring hope to those who are suffering oppression,
and to let all people know the favor of the LORD.[4]
He returned the book to the attendant and turned to the people who
were staring at Him with great expectation. “This Word from God has been
fulfilled by the fact that you have heard me read these words to you.”
Jesus makes the claim to be God’s anointed One, the Messiah. And He lays out His mission in these words; to preach good news, to set people free, to give them spiritual sight, to lift up those who are oppressed, and tell people that God’s time is now.
For those willing to accept His teachings He reinterprets life for many. Those who are financially poor can find great wealth in friendships, forgiveness, and family. Those who are in bondage from prison or abuse can find freedom in their faith in a God who deeply cares for them. Those who cannot see, especially spiritually, can find the truth and increase their understanding of life and the many blessings of God. Those who are overwhelmed with the struggles of life and feel like they will never get ahead, can find hope in looking forward to what God has waiting for us at the end of this life. God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Jesus comes to
offer the non-material wealth and blessing to those who will accept the real
value in life. He says to the outcast of life, there is hope. The things the majority
of people long for will not satisfy your inner soul. Finding help for the soul
is the essence of life and finding ways to care for others brings an awareness
of life as God meant it to be.
R19 – Luke 4:18,19; Jesus’ mission was to come and set the struggling free if they truly desire to find satisfaction and peace.
SUGGESTED APPLICATIONS
·
Jesus commanded us to carry out His mission to
the world. We have the same mission as He lays out in this passage.
·
We are to find ways to serve other people,
especially those who desire to follow Jesus.[5]
·
We are to find ways to care for the poor and
needy, i.e. those who have any need we can fill.[6]
·
We need to be about the business of helping
people find a relationship with God, to bring them peace in their hearts, and
an awareness of how much He loves them and offers them forgiveness for their
sins.[7]
·
We need to swap out our hunger to obtain worldly
wealth for a life rich in good deeds and by doing so, find the true meaning of
life. [8]
The people were deeply touched by the way He taught, wondering, “How did he gain this wisdom and where does he get the power to do these miracles? Isn’t this Mary’s son, the carpenter. Don’t we know his brothers, James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, and his sisters? He did not learn these things here in Nazareth!”
Jesus said, “We have a proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ You have heard about the things I have done in Capernaum, and I am sure you would like me to do the same here. But prophets are not always welcomed in their hometown. Remember the story of Elijah when there was no rain, a great famine arose, and a large number of widows throughout Israel, he was only sent to the widow Zarephath, in the land of Sidon. And again, during the time of the prophet Elisha, healing of leprosy came only to Naaman the Syrian, even though Israel had many lepers.” When they heard Him imply they would not see miracles in their town, they were angered and they escorted Him out of the city and were planning to throw Him off the cliff at the edge of their city. He simply walked away through the midst of the crowd and left the area.
And because they could not believe in Him, He did not perform more than a few miracles there, laying His hands on a few and healing them. Their unbelief surprised Him. He continued to teach in the region of Galilee.
The crowd in Nazareth easily became a mob and sought to put to death one of their own community members. They knew his parents and siblings and yet wanted to end his life because he was not teaching them what they wanted to hear.
Jesus
just slips through the crowd without being apprehended. This was not God’s
timing for Him to die, that was coming.
T32
– Luke 4:18,19; Jesus teaches that the Messiah has come, God’s anointed One,
the Christ, is on earth.
T33
– Mark 6:5; Jesus teaches that a lack of miracles exists because of a lack of
faith. Without faith on our part, is Jesus limited? One of the people who came
to Jesus said, “I believe and if I need more, help me have it.”[9]
27 – Back in Capernaum[10]
One day, while walking near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus spotted two fishermen, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, tossing their nets into the sea. He said, “Come with Me, I will give you the joy of fishing for men.” And they dropped their nets and followed Him. Nearby, Jesus saw two others, James and John, sons of Zebedee, mending their nets. And He called them to come follow. They left their father with his other servants and followed after Jesus.
Jesus asks the four
fishermen to leave their nets and come spend some time with Him. The ask was
more like a command, and I think it applies to all mankind throughout all of
history. Jesus commands us to seek after Him and go where He goes. Jesus said a
number of times that He only did what He saw His Heavenly Father doing. He is
asking the same from us. The command is similar to the words of Solomon in the
Proverbs, “do not think we know what is right,
in every situation acknowledge God to be with us, and let Him guide us in the
right path.”[11] The call is to imitate Jesus and no others.
Jesus says, in return, I will take the responsibility of helping you to become a better person. (This assumes you know we have shortcomings and are willing to admit them, i.e. repent.) I will mold you into the person you were meant to become. The work of changing us, or molding us, becomes the work of the Holy Spirit who will live within us if we choose to follow Jesus. Our work, from that choice becomes believing and doing the things that believing entails; reading the Writings and seeking to change our ways to His ways as we learn from the Writings.
We would do well to ask what it might mean to become fishers of men. Jesus, I think, said this because the four men were fishermen. They knew their trade well and all Jesus was asking them to do was to use what they knew and apply it to the spreading of the good news of God’s kingdom. Likewise, I think He asks us to take the trade within which he has found us and apply it to spreading the kingdom. Are we an architect, custodian, diplomat, etc. Then use the skills that we have learned to help others become followers of Jesus. I don't think God ever asks us to become something that we are not, he only asks that we use what He has already given us to serve Him.
C3
– Mark 1:17; “Come with Me.” Follow where He leads. Read His words and learn to
put the principles into practice.
Back in the city of Capernaum He began teaching in their synagogues on the Sabbath. He taught them the Writings of God with authority, amazing the people with the things He said. His style was not at all like the scribes.
Jesus seems to be drawn to the synagogue each week, probably because there was a concentration of people who had some semblance of a desire to believe in spiritual things. When He taught, it was apparently not like the Scribes of their day. There are many teachers that teach what they have learned, but they might not have ever applied it to their life. Jesus seems to breathe life into His teachings. He brought a vibrancy to the Writings. He seemed confident in what He taught and helped the people who listened feel sure that what He said was true and right.
One Sabbath, He encountered a man who regularly exhibited signs of demon possession. This day, the demon within him cried out in the midst of the crowd, “Leave us alone! We do not have any business with You, Jesus of Nazareth! I think You came to destroy us, for You are the Holy One of God!” Jesus spoke directly to the demon, “Silence! Leave him at once!” The demon threw the man to the ground, let out a great shout, and left the man lying there, no longer possessed. Those who saw this happen were startled and spoke with one another saying, “He commands the demons, and they obey Him. He speaks with such power and authority. Who is this?” Rumors about Jesus and what He had done spread to the whole surrounding area of Galilee.
The Writings of Judeo-Christian beliefs seem to look at the world as having four kingdoms. The kingdom of Darkness or Evil, The kingdom of This World, God’s kingdom, and the kingdom of Heaven. The battle with Evil / Darkness began in the Garden of Eden when the devil came to the garden to tempt Adam and Eve to turn from God’s ways. Evil is always against God’s ways, either directly or subtly. The kingdom of The World is all of creation and here we live in a state that is considered “fallen” because mankind is separated from God based upon evil choices which we all make. God’s kingdom is made up of all the people who have chosen to follow in the path that Jesus set out for us. The kingdom of Heaven is God’s dwelling place, and in that place, we are told that the followers of Jesus will live for all eternity.
All people live in
the kingdom of this World, which is influenced by Evil. Jesus takes those who
follow Him out of the influence of Evil and into the influence of God and will
one day take them to live eternally with Him in heaven. In the meantime, He
asks His followers to live in such a way as to demonstrate the Light of Jesus
to others who still live influenced by the World and Evil.
Exorcisms are not just a thing for primitive societies or the times of the Bible. They are not just something for movie directors to portray on the big screen. They happen all of the time today. Jesus believed that the devil could demonize a person and cling to them, and He believed they needed to be removed from a person in order for them to be whole. In the power of the Spirit, ministers still exorcize demons from people who experience possession from evil spirits.
T34 – Luke 4:33-37; Jesus believes there is a spiritual evil which can possess people and He also believes He has power over that evil.
T35
– Luke 4:33-37; Demons do exist and their goal is to turn those who wish to
follow Jesus away from His ways and back toward the ways of Evil and Darkness.
T36
– Luke 4:33-37; Demons torment people, use the voices of people to speak, and
do not want to leave the person where they have taken up residence.
Jesus went from the synagogue to Simon’s house along with Andrew, James, and John. Here they found Simon’s mother-in-law suffering from a fever. The family asked Jesus to help her. He came to her, helped her up by the hand, and spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and it departed. She felt so good that she got up and began to wait on the guests.
Do we have power over fever today? The answer is yes, sometimes. Most people don’t even think that a fever could have a spiritual cause, they just go back to bed, or take some medication. I wonder if we have tried to speak to the fever and command it to go away. And if it does go away to we thank Jesus for taking it away? The reason we would have any power over illness or demons would be to demonstrate the power of Jesus over these things. It becomes another way where we can serve Him and help other people.
In the evening, a crowd gathered outside the house. The neighbors brought their loved ones who suffered from various illnesses and Jesus, one by one, laid His hands upon them and healed them. 41 In some cases, when the demons came out of the people, they shouted, “We know You are God’s Son!” Jesus rebuked them and kept them from speaking. They knew Him and He did not wish to reveal His identity as the Messiah in this way.
Isaiah predicted this to be true of the Messiah when he said: “He
still chose to care about our griefs, and He felt compassion when He knew we
were sad and hurting.
R20 - 4:41 The
demons recognized Him, saying, "You are the Son of God!"
M2 – John 4:39;
Rebuked the fever in Simon's mother-in-law and she was healed. He gives her an
experience to share with others, saying, “Look what Jesus did to me?”
M3 – John 4:40;
Jesus heals many by the laying on of His hands.
The next morning, Jesus left the house and sought out a quiet place away from the city to pray. Simon and others went looking for Him. When they found Him, they told Him of the crowds of people searching for Him. He said, “I have come to preach about God’s kingdom and cannot stay in one place but must move on to the other cities of Israel. Let’s be on our way.”
Pastor Edd
[1] (Luke 4:14-15, Matt 4:12-17, Mark 1:14-15, John 4:43-46a)
[2] (Colossians 3:1,2)
[3] (Luke 4:16-30; Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6)
[4] (Isa 58:6-10; Isa 61:1)
[5] (Ephesians 4:2)
[6] (Psalm 68:5-6)
[7] (2 Corinthians 5:18)
[8] (1 Timothy 6:19)
[9] (Mark 9:24)
[10] (Luke 4:31-43; Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-38)
[11] (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
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