“When the devil had finished every temptation”

Luke Chapter 4

LUKE 4:1-13

[Lk 4:1] Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness [2] for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. [3] And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” [4] And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’”

[5] And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. [7] “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” [8] Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ “

[9] And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; [10] for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,’

[11] and,

‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,

SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ “

[12] And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ “

[13] When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

LUKE 4:1-3

Led around by the Spirit

There are three vital words that describe to us the Son’s response to the Father’s blessing. We must note the blessing of God does not lead Jesus to an easier life or back to the life he knew as a craftsman in Nazareth. Instead, it leads to a harder life — a life involving three years of non-stop tribulation ending in death on a cross. Those trials begin immediately with the temptation of Christ in the desert.

There are three words in these first couple of verses that will help us to better understand the nature of the temptations?

1. Jesus is full [G4134 pleres] of the Holy Spirit;

Pleres [G4134] is not only a term meaning fullness, it also means abounding and mature. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus when Jesus chose to be baptized. When the Spirit descended it was not in part but in full. No one in scripture kind of gets the Spirit. The Spirit comes to us in abounding maturity. All too often we just don’t act on the premise of abounding fullness and abounding maturity. To experience the abundant fullness of the Spirit we must act upon the blessing.

2. Jesus is led by [G71 ago] the Holy Spirit;

There are a number of uses for the word ago [G71], led is the most benign. Taken away, forced away or even arrested are the most descriptive. Jesus was also “led” to Herod and “brought before” Pontius. It is as if a Sheriff showed up on the Lord’s door with a summons. Jesus is arrested by the Holy Spirit but now let’s look at where he was taken.

3. To the desert [G2048 eremos];

This particular desert was known as Jeshimmon or “The Desolation.” This stretch of land covers a 35 x 15 mile scarred plot of limestone waste between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea inhospitable and barren of sustaining human life. Yet, this is where Jesus is sent. Why is Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit only to be sent into a land of bleakness and suffering? Why does the Holy Spirit send him from blessing to temptation and from fullness to emptiness? Because only in the most challenging circumstances will we ever discover the depth to which God yearns to take us. If we want the full blessing of the abundant Spirit, we have to leave the comfort of padded pews behind and take our faith into practical service on the street.

All of us who wish to know God at the core must expect to be refined and strengthened in the wasteland. On a personal level, all of my own major commitments to the Lord have been followed by periods of dryness and temptation. We are weakest and most exposed when we are most unaware. Rather, the Lord wants us to be; “Shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” We are to know Satan’s ploys but to remain compassionate and truthful in our response.

Jesus was 1) filled by the Spirit, 2) who then drove our Lord into the desert 3) for the sole purpose of understanding Satan’s tactics. Only a fool goes into battle without understanding his/her enemy’s strength or strategy. The Son of God was no fool.

The Prince of Darkness did not pick this battle, the Prince of Light did. He stormed Satan’s stronghold to announce to him the time had come, the Messiah had arrived, “Give me your best shot!”

We are misguided if we think we are not in a battle of eternal consequence. We must expect both the wilderness and Satan’s attack. But, we must never forget that the same Lord who went “head to head” with Satan 2,000 years ago is just as able to defeat him on his own turf today.

Learn these three keys of spiritual fullness. If we are to know the fullness of the Spirit we must not fear the emptiness of the desolation. When the Spirit summons your heart to a call that seems desolate to you, don’t flee. Don’t say, “Oh you can’t mean me,” or, “That doesn’t sound comfortable.” Say instead, “Here I am Lord, arrest me!”

For forty days

It would be easy to just sit and be amazed at the number of days Jesus went without the necessities of life. Luke wrote in Greek, but the concepts he wrote of were Hebraic. Hebrew was not an economic language; it was a spiritual and nomadic language. Numbers had far more than a singular mathematical value to them.

The number forty [H705 arbaim] had an especially significant value:

· For forty days and forty nights God rained the deluge on the world. It rained as long as it took to wipe out the evil of man [Genesis 7:4]

· The Israelites spent forty years in the desert as God changed them from slaves to a nation. God kept them in the desert as long as it tookto make them quit longing for slavery and start longing for the Holy Land [Exodus 16:35].

· Before living among the Israelites, Moses spent forty days of prayer in the cloud (the presence) of God on Mount Sinai. Moses was there as long as it took for God to impress upon him and the Israelites the holiness of the moment [Exodus 24:18]

· Moses spent another forty days in solitude with God before the delivery of the tablets bearing the commandments. He was with God as long as it took to receive God’s law [Exodus 34:28].

· And Jesus was driven into temptation for forty days, as long as it took to understand his mission, the tools he would use to complete it and to understand the tricks of the opposition [Luke 4:2].

This is not to say the time passed in each circumstance above did or did not measure exactly forty days or forty years. What matters however, is not the length of time but the work done during that time. Jesus’ commitment to the lessons of the desert models the experiences of the Israelites, save for one factor — Jesus never succumbed to temptation. In Jesus we see the perfect model of a person modeled for mission by God:

He chooses to repent [metanoia] to see life from God’s higher perspective

· He is driven by the Holy Spirit

· He is not afraid of the desert in his life

· He allows himself to be refined and sharpened by the tough times

· He doesn’t flee persecution, rather he is perfected through it

Because this man was willing to give God as long as it took to reign over his life.

Am I willing to go to the desert and stay as long as it takes for the Spirit to shape my mission, tools and understanding? The desert is the part of our Christian life that we are avoiding or ignoring. For most of us that includes service to the vulnerable; a place where we become most vulnerable and thus reliant on God. Where is your place of vulnerability — your desert?

Are you willing to go there as long as it takes?

LUKE 4:3-12

[3] And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” [4] And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’ “

[9] And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; [10] for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,’

[11] and,

‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,

SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ “

[12] And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ “ (NAS)

“If You are the Son of God”

This reading could have only come from one source, as there was only one earthly witness to the event. That source was our Lord. In sharing this intimate experience with his disciples, Jesus tells us both the nature and the purpose of temptation.

First of all, we should be convinced there is a malevolent evil spirit named Satan bent upon our destruction.

Second, we should see that although Satan is powerful, he is not all-powerful. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to resist Satan and use temptation to increase our spiritual alacrity.

Third, Satan is not a head-to-head fighter. His signature trait is deception and half-truth. He studies his enemies carefully and uses their strengths to his advantage. That’s right! Satan exploits our strengths, not just our weaknesses.

Look at how adroit Satan is at using scripture against Jesus. This teaches us that knowledge of scripture alone is not a goal. It is in the application of scripture we find its fullness. In fact, Jesus rarely quotes scripture to the crowds or his disciples. His most frequent use of scripture is to Satan and the psuedo-religious leaders of his day.

The subtlety of Satan lies in his attempt to use scripture to attack Jesus’ claim to be Messiah and also to attack the techniques our Lord will use to express his deity.

“If you are the Son of God...” lies at the core of Satan’s attack. Satan will always try to use his wiles to make us doubt the Creator of the Universe could personally love us.

I remember standing once on a lakeshore when my sister (at the time she was 10) asked; “How could God love each one of us? There’s just too many people to love.”

The full moon was high in the sky across from us and I asked her to face it while she walked down the shore ten feet. I told her to follow the reflection of the moon across the ripples of the water to where it ended. Of course it ended directly at her feet.

Simultaneously when I followed the moon’s reflection it came to my feet. We could’ve stood a thousand people next to us and the reflection would have pointed to each one of their feet as well.

Nature reflects the glory of a Creator who passionately loves each of us uniquely and that is what Satan attacks first — our unique relationship with a loving God.

Coming up short, Satan tries a second tact. He doesn’t question our Lord’s Messianic claim. Instead, he tries to offer Jesus ease and comfort in pursuing his ends. Material riches, a show of power, compromise with the ways of this world; Jesus sees through them. Carrying out the mission of Jesus is the greatest joy we could ever embrace but there are no shortcuts. We will be attacked and the more effective we are, the greater the attack will become. As the Scottish theologian, William Barclay has stated, “It’s no temptation for us to turn stones to bread.” We are simply not in Christ’s ballpark.

Some will face the temptation of martyrdom or compromise. For other’s, their biggest temptation will be getting out of reclining chair to visit the sick. For some churches, their biggest temptation is to get beyond arguing about who didn’t wash the dishtowels after the last potluck. For others, it will be how to stop the loss of our children to alcohol, drugs and a life of incarceration. Great temptations only come to effective Christians.

“Tell this stone to become bread”

Satan starts with the easy stuff (though I haven’t turned stone to bread recently). The truth is that Satan rarely needs to confront most of us with little more than physical satiation and immediate gratification. We never move beyond getting our own needs met.

Reaching beyond our own concentric world is not even an issue because we are so hung up with our own needs. When we’re convinced that self-fulfillment really matters or trapped in the perpetual cry of the shallow, “What about me?” then we are no threat whatsoever to Satan’s kingdom of the self-centered.

“I will give You all this domain and its glory”

If we do not easily succumb to comfort, Satan will turn up the heat. Seeing that Jesus easily leaves behind his own physical needs and immediate gratification he turns to his next tool, power; controlling others lives. He promises to instantly give Jesus control of all his things if Jesus just gives Lucifer control of his being.

This temptation also includes the supposed right of Satan to use beings as things. As far as Satan is concerned we are a means to an end. He has no desire for relationship with us; he wants only to use us towards his end. And, what is his end? He wants glory, to be treated like God, to be God. Lucifer has no need for free will and independence. He has no interest in the life of each individual or a relationship with his followers. He wants slaves, automatons with a singular purpose — to bow before him and serve his every whim for adulation.

Satan seeks to destroy our will, he seeks to use us to hurt God and then toss us away like leprous skin.

Yet, as you will see, this is also Satan’s downfall. For Satan is unable to tempt us with anything but shallowness, anything but the lowest form of selfish greed. Satan cannot even comprehend love or virtue — therefore he cannot use it to tempt us. He cannot imagine love; he sees it only as weakness. He can only envision using and abusing people — love is manipulation to him and that is how he WAS defeated.

Through Christ’s love alone was Satan laid low. A love with no agenda but to give sacrificially. Love with no conditions but to forgive. Love pure, love unadulterated, love consistent, love transparent.

Can we love like that? I know many who claim Christ but cannot love in this manner. They love for the sake of conversion but not for the sake of love itself. Can we love for love’s sake? Can we love because God first loved us? Can we trust in God’s love knowing God is pure love, God islove, God is love without fear?

It is purported that Francis of Assisi once made that statement: “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words.”

Can we love with that kind of selfless love; a love without an agenda? Must we start our conversations with, “Have you accepted Jesus?” or am I comfortable with just saying, “I’d like to get to know you better.”

Do we need a dose of control to go with our love? Can we understand love without demands and strings?

Satan cannot and to the degree that we cannot — we need to deal with his influence in our lives.

“Throw Yourself down from here”

If we can love beyond the physical, if we can be in relationship without power or control then Satan will increase the intensity of his temptation. We see another increase in Satan’s temptation of Jesus, this time the Master Manipulator moves from immediate gratification to approval. He offers Jesus fame.

Fame is the saddest substitute for genuineness in our society. Fame is adulation; admiration without love and commitment. Fame is achieved by jumping off temple walls while the crowd watches. It is a cheap alternative to the respect that can only be earned by consistently showing up in people’s lives with humility, honesty and compassion. In our culture, fame comes with being the most outrageous. Fame is a shortcut for the absence of attention and the real love people long for today.

Satan can offer adulation, he can offer fame, but all of his tricks have one thing in common; they leave you emptier. Even with more fame there is more emptiness. With more power there is more fear and with more avarice there is more emptiness. We cannot satiate the insidious gifts Satan offers us.

If Jesus had jumped off the temple the crowds wouldn’t say, “Wow, we will worship you now and forever.”

They would say; “Hey, my buddy wasn’t here the last time you did that, do it again.” They would say; “We’ve all seen you do that before, do it backwards this time.” Our desire for the curious is evidenced in our passion for “reality shows.” People can’t be weird enough.

What a misnomer for a title. “Reality?” Really? Reality is showing up to work everyday. Reality is loving when you don’t feel like it. Reality is balancing a checkbook or shoveling your elderly neighbor’s sidewalk. The truth is, “Who’d watch a real reality show?”

Sensuality, power, fame, they all leave us dry. They all leave us empty; they all desert us, as will their master. Behind Satan are husks of broken lives that are sucking dust for hope.

The Hebrew Scriptures use the word, vanity [hebel H1892], meaning vapor and even, “A dust devil in the desert.”

When Satan is our master, our lives amount to little more than dust devils disappearing in the desert — as if they never existed.

LUKE 6:13

[13] When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Every temptation

Has there ever been a time when you thought Jesus could not possibly understand what you are going through? Then, be comforted in these words, “When the devil had finished every [G3956 pas] temptation [G3986 peirasmos].”

The term means every and all trials and persecutions to their fullest extent.

· Hunger in all its forms

· Powerlessness in all its depth

· An identity crises in all its magnitude (“If you are the Son of God”)

Yet, Jesus turned each and every trial to God’s fullest glory.

· He embraced hunger in this world as a longing for intimacy with God

· He embraced powerlessness in this world as a prerequisite to receiving God’s power

· He embraced obscurity in this world as humility and becoming available to God’s call

Jesus knew each and every trial to its fullest extent. He experienced all our emptiness to its fullest depth. He took all of our sin with all of its horror and rather than run or recoil he said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”

We can go to him in confidence, we can go to him for comfort and we can trust in him for strength. Our Lord has “been there.”

Until an opportune time

One could wish for a happier ending than, “And the devil left him until an opportune [G2540 kairos] time.”

Why couldn’t Luke just say, “And the devil left him…”

Satan is an opportunist; he knows when to press in and when to retreat. You can count on Satan to

1. Be an opportunist

2. To assault us when we are most vulnerable

3. To be a deceiver

He knows that head-on attacks are least effective and increases the pressure as we get closer to Jesus.

The farther we are from Jesus the more comfort and status quo is our enemy. The closer we get to Jesus the more persecution is our enemy. We know we are within a touch of Jesus when Satan starts to attack our health, our loved ones and our identity (see the Book of Job).

The Evil One is ruthless but we can also trust in this, the battle is won and Jesus is the Victor!

Yes, Satan waits for the “opportune time [G2540 kairos]”; but so does God.

Kairos [G2540] is the term used for the opportune time:

· The time of the Messiah’s arrival [Mk 1:15]

· The time the harvest will be gathered [Mt 13:30, 21:40, Mk 12:2, Lk 20:10]

· The time when the servants will be rewarded [Mt 24:45, Lk 12:42]

· The time of our Lord’s sacrifice [Mt 26:18, Jn 7:6]

· The time of our Savior’s return [Mk 13:33, Lk 21:36, Acts 1:7]

The time [G2540 kairos] inevitably does not belong to Satan. It belongs to you and I because of our Lord’s sacrifice. The same Lord who knew every and all of our trials to their fullest extent will deliver every and all of his children that has sought his shelter.

This is the opportune time and it is God’s opportune time.

The Mission Statement of Jesus, the Christ

LUKE 4:14-21

[Lk 4:14] And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. [15] And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

[16] And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. [17] And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

[18] “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, [19] TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

[20] And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21] And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

LUKE 4:14-15

And Jesus returned to Galilee

Jesus had been raised predominantly among the people of Galilee and it was to those people he would make the first pronouncement of God’s Good News (also meaning “God’s perfect plan”). Sometimes, the hardest place to go when the Lord enters our life is to our own home. We want to go where people don’t know us, where we have no “history,” where our opinions matter because — after all, “anyone from 20 miles out of town is an expert.” Yet, the greatest testimony is not what strangers say about us — but the opinions of our own family. That is where consistent behavior either does or does not testify to our claims.

Does my own family testify I have become a consistent Christian? If not, that is where my first ministry needs to focus. That is where Jesus went to begin his ministry and where he was initially, “praised by all,” until he made the announcement, “Guess what, I’m the one to whom the prophets pointed.”

At that point, Nazareth would refuse our Lord’s claim, but they could not refute his actions and the power of his words. Truly, the one testimony no one can refute is consistent behavior.

In the power of the Spirit

No one attributes the actions of Jesus to his prayer life and the compelling power of the Holy Spirit more than Luke. It is the Holy Spirit that guides John the Baptist, Mary and Elizabeth, the prophets Anna and Simeon and finally Jesus at this critical juncture of the Divine’s incarnate arrival.

We can almost imagine Luke questioning the eyewitnesses and saying; “How did you know what to do? How did you know what to say?”

And their response was, “By the power of the Holy Spirit.”

From the moment of Christ’s baptism, our Lord’s life became a total response to the direction of the Holy Spirit. It was not a subtle prompting either. In verse 4:1, Jesus is “arrested and led away” by the Holy Spirit [G71 ago] into the Devil’s Lair [G2048 eremos] by the Holy Spirit.

In 4:16, our Lord returns to Galilee in the dynamic power (also known as “dynamite force [G1411 dunamis]”) of the Holy Spirit.

Unlike those who are listed above, I often have a problem hearing the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is not because the Spirit is absent, it is because I either plug my ears or just plain ask the wrong questions in my discernment process.

I ask; “Lord, should I buy a new truck?” The Spirit responds with the consistent response of Jesus; “No, one thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [Lk 18:22].” However, when I don’t hear what I desire, I respond by saying, “Why doesn’t the Holy Spirit speak to God’s people anymore?”

The real question for us today is, “Why would we think the intensity of Christ’s call would diminish, especially to a culture locked in consumerism?”

The Holy Spirit hasn’t cushioned the intensity of God’s radical call; “You shall have no other gods before Me [Dt 5:7].” God’s voice is no less clear today than it was to Abraham. Instead, it is our hearing that has become increasingly selective.

To hear God as clearly as John the Baptist, Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon and Jesus, we need to be as unencumbered as they were. The fewer our encumbrances, the better our hearing.

Try this out on a personal level today. Sometime today, make the attempt to listen to someone without adding your own agenda. Do not allow yourself to say anything more to that person than to ask defining questions: “Tell me how that felt? Tell me what you are learning?”

The fewer our encumbrances and the smaller our agenda, the better our hearing.

It seems one of God’s major purposes for our short life is to continually un-encumber us so we may finally be able to clearly hear the Holy Spirit. So, what encumbrances could I get rid of today?

LUKE 4:16-19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”

There was a hush upon Jesus’ synagogue. The stories of his works and preaching no doubt preceded him to his home in Nazareth. They would be thinking; “Jesus had always been a good boy and a reputable carpenter (though he certainly had a dubious infancy).”

Tales of miracles and riveting preaching fanned out before our Lord like a grass fire spreading over the dried hills of Galilee. Now, it would be time to explain these “stories” to his own congregation, to his peers and elders alike. They were the ones who presumed to know “who Jesus reallywas.”

When Jesus steps up to read, he is handed the Isaiah parchment (probably to many approving nods). He starts with Isaiah 61:1 but he stops halfway through verse 2 (that would certainly raise some eyebrows). Where was the part about God’s vengeance?

Isaiah 61:2

[Isa 61:2] To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.

Vengeance, especially on the Romans and particularly on the garrison in Nazareth, would be a favored topic for the average Synagogue crowd. Instead, it is almost as though Jesus tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood but alarmingly, the wolf repents of his rapaciousness, is forgiven and even invited in for stew.

The message of Jesus was certainly not what the crowd expected in Nazareth that Sabbath morning. But what if this Jesus came to our services this weekend? Would his words be welcome to our ears?

Let’s just take the basic meaning of these one-and-a-half verses. First of all, “the Spirit is upon him,” why?

“BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED [v14].”

Can we unequivocally make that statement in our own worship services? Can we say; “The Spirit is obviously upon us because we go to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.” Can we say this is why God has anointed us and thus, we can dare claim to be followers? Is that the mission of our church or do we say; “That was Christ’s mission. We’re still hammering out our own.”

I am always baffled by churches that seek to write their own vision or mission statements. Was there something wrong with Christ’s? If these one-and-one-half verses were good enough for our Savior then how are we going to add or distract from them?

My sense is that no matter what we do, we will only dummy his words down, either by making them more comforting or a little less challenging for ourselves to bear. Over the years, I have heard many church leaders state; “This stuff about the poor, captive, blind and oppressed is purely allegorical. Jesus meant the spiritually poor not the literally poor.”

What is really important to understand is that the members of Jesus’ synagogue would be expecting to hear that reading on that day. Like those who follow the lectionary today, the Jews had a traditional calendar for the readings of the Pentateuch, the wisdom books and the prophets as well. The reading would not surprise them, it was the statement that Jesus made after the reading that would shock and surprise them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The congregation certainly did not expect to hear those words on that Sabbath day!

Yet, it is clear, that Jesus timed his arrival in Nazareth to match the reading of that scripture. He didn’t choose it, it was handed to him but he knew which Scripture would be placed in his hands that day. He CHOSE that day. He CHOSE that scripture as his personal mission statement and the mission statement of all Christians who would follow our Lord.

Now, we, in turn, must shock and surprise those around us as well with the words, “Today this scripture will be fulfilled by us in thiscommunity!”

To preach the gospel

The words Christ chose as his mission statement are like ripe berries ready to burst upon the lips of the poor. They are richest in the original Hebrew:

To preach the Gospel [H1319 basar] to the poor [H6035 anav]

There is no separate word for hearing the Gospel and preaching it in Hebrew. To have the prophetic word of God was to give it away — where, how or when, was far less important just doing it. One did not have the Word of God; it had you [Jeremiah 1:9, Isaiah 55:11-12].

And the Good News was for the poor. The term means the afflicted. Literally, it means someone whose back is bent by the load of the oppressor. Some might say; “Phew, that excludes us because the oppressed are not in our church.” But Jesus isn’t talking about who is coming to my church; he is talking about going out to be his church.

The afflicted are often a cash register away from us; they are two to three hands distant from the fruit we eat or the designer clothes we wear. They work two jobs but still cannot make a living. They are one accident or illness away from homelessness or their foot has already slipped down into that mud hole and they cannot find solid footing with which to climb out. Instead of hopelessness, will they find our hands extended with compassion?

It is to those people the Good News is sent. That is the mission of those who claim the Christ. For if we claim Christ than we bear the Good News — and we must bear that Good News to where it was destined.

Are we Good News to the oppressed or not? Do the poor call us Good News?

To proclaim [H7121 qara] release [H1865 derorto] the captives [H7617 shabah]

The Lord was “stating throughout the land” that the ransom of all hostages had been paid. This is very close to the closing statement Christ makes about the “favorable year of the Lord.”

Every fifty years the Jews would celebrate the “Year of Jubilee” whereupon three events would occur:

1. The land of Canaan would revert to the original tribes allowing even the impoverished to own land

2. The land itself would have a year of rest (this also occurred every 7 years)

3. The manumission of Israel; anyone who had been sold into slavery due to poverty or debt would be released

Jesus came to proclaim he was the beginning of a new order; he was announcing to his own neighbors that the Jubilee Year of God had arrived, in their neighborhood, in their synagogue and on that very day. This announcement of the Jubilee Year would have a significant meaning for the poor for they were always a mere step from slavery. If they were unable to pay their debt they could be forced into slavery while their family was left to suffer. For example, a tax collector could demand from someone an exorbitant fee and then could lock up the man until that fee was paid. Normally, it didn’t pay to lock up the male (the breadwinner) so the Tax Collector would take the man’s wife or child as a slave until the bill was “paid in full.”

The fullest meaning of the Lord’s Prayer takes a central tenet from this part of Christ’s mission statement. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” literally translates into; “Pay my ransom, Lord, so I can pay the ransom of others.”

Remember the story of the Vizier who was set free from a king’s wrath? The Vizier had embezzled an obscene amount of money (in the story the amount was greater than the gross national revenues of all of Israel). This Vizier, in turn, jails a beggar who owes him mere pennies [Matthew 18:21-35].

That is our story! We have no room to demand collection of another given the extent of our debt. Even more, will the King find us paying the ransom of others out of sheer joy because our ransom was paid in full?

Perhaps, the greatest personal way we can, “pay the captive’s ransom” today is to restore dignity to the institutionalized. Not just the incarcerated, but the forgotten and neglected in rest homes, detention centers or homeless shelters. Christ adamantly tells us not just to accept the forgotten if they come to our church, but to seek them as well!

We may measure the cost in terms of time and inconvenience but that is not the measurement our Savior used to measure the payment of our ransom. Thankfully, no cost was too high for him to pay towards our restoration.

Recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed

If we take the summary of the two stanzas above, “recovery of sight to the blind” and “to set free those who are oppressed,” who will have a telescopically clear sense of Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah and his mission. Jesus not only restores sight to the blind but he also brings purpose to the life of the broken in spirit.

Can you imagine if we reclaimed this mission of Jesus in our churches and quit trying to make ourselves “market savvy” with statements like, “The church that is real, relevant, and relational!”

For goodness sake, we make Jesus sound like a car salesman! Let’s quit playing word games with the eternal and take up the mission of Jesus the Christ. Let the poor call us good news.

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

If we could only understand what great news this announcement of Jesus was for the poor, captive, blind and oppressed. However, the question needs to be asked, “Is it good news for us?”

Perhaps the best responses to this question might well be for us to ask:

Do we fit one or more of these categories of the vulnerable? If so, then “yes.” This is Great News for us.

Are we in relationship and working toward the freedom of someone who is vulnerable? If so, then “yes,” this is Great News for us.

Are we driven by a passion to restore the vulnerable? If so, then “yes,” this is Great News for us.

To the extent we are working to complete Christ’s mission we can say this will be Good News to us. However, to the extent that we have heard Christ’s mission and not responded, this Good News will become our really bad news, even if we claim that Jesus is our Lord [Matthew 25:31-46].

We can’t take on the name of Jesus Christ if we don’t take on the mission of Jesus Christ. That would be the greatest hypocrisy. This is less a statement of judgment than of consequences. How could we ever find heaven joyful if we don’t find releasing the oppressed and impoverished joyful now? If we don’t see Jesus Christ in the least of these now — we won’t have some magical transformation then. We will be like Dives, the rich man, sniveling to Abraham that Lazarus should dip his finger in water and give him some refreshment. Dives still didn’t get it! He thought he could still tell Lazarus what to do.

Let us serve Jesus Christ today “and him in his most vulnerable form (Mother Theresa).” Let us join him in his mission and not try to create slick, new marketing slogans that have nothing to do with the name or mission of our Lord. Let us experience his anointed power because we:

PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR

PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND

SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED

PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD

How do we ultimately know we are living the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ? Simple… when the poor cross the street to tell us their good news. “Remember that job you helped me secure?” “Hey my year sobriety is coming up, can you come to the ceremony.” “Thanks for helping me through that stint in detention, I am back in school and with my parents now.”

That’s the kingdom of heaven. That’s the mission of Jesus.

“No Prophet Is Welcome In His Hometown”

LUKE 4:21-30

[Lk 4:21] And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [22] And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” [23] And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. [25] “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; [26] and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” [28] And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; [29] and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, He went His way.

LUKE 4:21

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Of course the scripture Christ refers to is his very mission:

Luke 4:18-19

[Lk 4:18] “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, [19] TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

This is the mission statement of Jesus Christ, the statement of values that would underpin his entire ministry on earth. It would be the basis of all his decisions and actions, his “motivo di vivere,” his reason for living. Is it ours?

This statement was great news to the poor, captive, blind, oppressed and everyone who works toward the fulfillment of that mission. However, it is not very good news to those who neglect Christ’s mission (Mt 25:31-46) and seek their own ends from the sweat of others in this very short life on earth.

There is a subtle beauty in these words of Jesus that can thrill all of us who may be struggling with hope in the midst of the poor and captive. Instead of being like a politician who makes promises at the beginning of a term that will be fulfilled while he is in office; Jesus tells us that his promise is already fulfilled [G4137 pleroo] meaning “filled to fullness and overflowing.” Jesus’ promise was complete the moment he began his ministry. This is great and mysterious news for all of us. It means:

1. Salvation is based upon our decision not our results

Once we make our decision to serve the Lord our salvation is not based upon what we are going to do, but upon what God has already done! As Mother Theresa was fond of saying; “We are called to be faithful — not successful.”

2. God’s plan is already complete. Death has lost its sting [1 Corinthians 15:54-57].

Not only has death lost its victory but so has the Evil One. Satan is in full retreat (but still trying to take as many people as he can with him).

3. Since the Good News is fulfilled, we can live fearlessly

We can be confident, because of our Savior’s resurrection that all things will, “work to the good of those who love God [Romans 8:28].”

There can be no “fatal mistake” to the Christian who endeavors to love God and do his will. Even our failures will work towards his glory if we just make ourselves available to him. Since God works all things toward our good, why act with trepidation? Why not fail grandly so God can work grandly? Why not love radically, preach boldly and abandon ourselves completely [2 Timothy 1:7]?

“Is this not Joseph’s son?”

These people were ready to acknowledge that Jesus was a wonderful teacher. They were willing to admit he was a man of good character. They would certainly let him carve a yoke for their most-prized oxen or construct a weight-bearing doorway to hold up their house. However, that is where they drew the line, they were not going to allow Jesus to be the Messiah; he was Joseph’s son to them.

As a result, there were no miracles in Nazareth. Worst of all, there would be no savior in Nazareth.

Has my life been short on salvation and miracles lately? Perhaps this is the cause. Maybe I too, am willing to admit Jesus has some good sayings and had an impact on many lives; but is he Lord and Savior to me?

Here is where the words of Jesus divide. Our Lord did not claim the title Jesus bar Joseph (Jesus, son of Joseph). He claimed to be Jesus bar YHWH, Jesus, Son of the one true God! He claimed to be Messiah, the Way, the Truth and the Light. If Jesus were just a “good man,” he would not have claimed any of these things. If he were not the Son of God then he was the greatest deceiver in history. Anyone who calls him — a Good Man — has to reconcile these issues. A good man wouldn’t deceive others with delusions of grandeur. It means Jesus had to be a pathological liar, a deluded psychotic or the Son of God and this demands anything but a passive response.

We cannot answer this for others but we must answer it for ourselves. Who is Jesus to us? Jesus bar Joseph or Jesus bar YHWH?

The question demands a response that is anything but passive. The question demands a response that is life altering.

LUKE 4:23-27

[23] And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.[25] “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;[26] and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.[27] “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

“No prophet is welcome in his hometown.”

It is no surprise to Jesus when his own village rejects him. In fact, it is obvious he expected to be rejected. Yet, he still goes to his hometown and preaches the Gospel! The fact he expects rejection does not prevent him from offering hope. To preach the Gospel is to expect rejection, Jesus was adamant about this to his own disciples [Luke 9:23-24, Luke 14:27-28].

Furthermore, we should not be surprised when rejection comes from the most familiar sources, as it did when Jesus went to his own hometown [Matthew 10:34-39].

Yet, to be Christian is to not seek our own counsel or our own comfort from this world. We live in a world that is hostile to the claims of Jesus Christ. I would even go so far as to say that if we are in an environment that seems constantly affirming to us as Christians then we are not practicing the Gospel. In a world of oppression and injustice, the Gospel needs to be at the edge of the fray. Many Christians just hang out at the canteen and talk about the stale donuts. Our role is to be light in the darkness and streams in the desert.

Perhaps the Gospel becomes most harsh when we deliver it as Jesus did, right in his own home church. Many churches do not want to hear they have become little more than country clubs inundated by ritual and theology and starved of justice and mercy. In those environments, any follower of Christ should feel “out of sorts.” There is a natural hostility that arises when someone reminds us that following Christ means leaving behind our flat screen TV’s and picking up a splintered cross.

Jesus’ message is not Good News to the comfortable. It is the greatest news to the poor, the oppressed and the captives and to the extent that we are in relationship with and advocating for that latter group, it will be Good News for us too.

To the extent that we call ourselves “Christians” and don’t do what Christ demands, it will be challenging news. We need to keep in mind Jesus’ reprimand to the self-righteous religious of his own times [Mark 2:17].

If the path of the Christian is the easy path, the comfortable path or the popular path, then it is the wrong path. The way of Jesus becomes the “popular way” only when it is watered down to the wants of the culture that surrounds it.

Elijah was sent to none of them

Here is one of the saddest events in the whole bible. The Messiah comes to the world, goes to his own neighborhood and his own people reject him. As a result, Jesus wipes the dust of Nazareth off his feet and moves to Capernaum. From this point on, we do not read about Jesus ever again returning to the city where he was raised.

Nor does Jesus slink out of town. He tells these people very clearly they have their own lack of faith to blame for the lack of the God’s touch in their mundane lives. He quotes two very important passages from Kings [1Kings 17:9-24, 2 Kings 5:1-27].

God is disgusted with the lack of belief among his own people and sends his servant Elijah to a rival country (Sidon) where the prophet performs miracle after miracle.

Though leprosy was a rampant disease throughout Israel, God allows Elijah to heal only a foreigner, and that foreigner, Naaman, was a great warrior from an opposing nation.

Jesus does not reject his own people, they reject him and he calls them on it. He is unwilling to be anything less than a Messiah to them and that is also how he will approach them, nothing less than Messiah is acceptable. He is not there to be their friend, their carpenter or their novelty (the magician who brightens up a party by turning water to wine). He is either their Messiah or he will not accept any other position in their lives. Similarly, he is either our Messiah or he will not accept any lesser position in our lives as well.

To know the full joy of the miraculous Jesus demands our full allegiance, we cannot have “Jesus on our terms.”

LUKE 4:27-30

[28] And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; [29] and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, He went His way.

All the people in the synagogue were filled with rage

These were not Romans, temple priests or subversive Zealots; they were the church-going families of Jesus’ hometown. In the space of a few minutes they went from being regular families gathered for worship to an enflamed mob ready to kill one of their own. Something about church can call the best and the worst out in people. Congregations have arisen to battle slavery, stand for civil rights and even bring down oppressive regimes. Alternatively, congregations have divided into warring fiefdoms over carpet choices, interpretations over a sentence or two of scripture or what version of the bible is correct. What makes the difference between a people propelled to greatness and a people who plummet into the oblivion of pettiness?

All of those questions are answered in this reading. Jesus was giving these people a shot at eternal greatness and a glimpse of incomparable glory. He was offering them a mission greater than themselves and larger than their own petty squabbles. He was giving them a chance to ascribe to the timeless and the momentous, to be anointed, set apart for a holy work. They had the opportunity to, “preach the Gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners, give sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and proclaim the year of Jubilee!”

But they didn’t want to go there with Jesus. They wanted him to fit in with their agenda; they sure didn’t want to follow his. Instead of striving to attain God’s greatest commission they wanted God to dwell in their small-mindedness. They didn’t want to become “more like Jesus,” they wanted Jesus to become more like them.

So the question hits close to home. Are we ready to step up to Christ’s mission or are we trying to make him fit into ours? In many churches today the mission of Jesus isn’t even a tertiary objective. We just do not measure our faithfulness by what Jesus said is the very reason he was anointed. Many of us have heard this scripture preached at least once every three years and yet we still left church without altering our lives one iota. We all love Jesus — cuddly and cute as an infant in a manger — but do we buy into his adult agenda?

Instead some preachers will say; “When Jesus says poor, captive, blind or oppressed, he actually means something else, it’s not literal, it’s metaphorical.”

Is it metaphorical? Does Jesus need an interpreter? Did Jesus have a hard time articulating his message and so he really needs someone from our culture to explain it? Why am I afraid to leave his words untouched and raw?

What if my “anointing” is attached to Christ’s mission? What if Jesus really meant; “You are anointed because:

· “The poor call you Good News!”

· “The incarcerated say, ‘He has helped release me from my bondage.’”

· “Those in darkness have received vision because we shared bread together.”

· “The oppressed feel hopeful because I am their advocate.”

· “And my life proclaims the claims of Jesus are fulfilled; they are a ‘done deal.’” So “rejoice and fear not!”

Let’s not become like the Nazarenes — the people who tried to pull Jesus down to their level. Instead, what must I do to reach up to his? Where all I have and do is given to love “the least of these” in the name of Jesus.

But passing through their midst, He went His way.

We wonder at this event, as if Jesus’ movement through the crowd were miraculous or dramatic. Yet, the truth is this happens every week in churches from every town. The words of Jesus are there, the potential for greatness is there, even the resources are there but Jesus himself slips out the back door because people become too self-focused, too theologically-focused or our church has an “edifice-complex” — it is too building-focused. Jesus was right there but he slipped out when he saw the religious folk of Nazareth were going to spend the rest of their lives “debating” who he really was and what he really meant.

Jesus didn’t have to sneak out, he could have yelled, “Here I am, get me!” all the way down the road to Capernaum. The locals still wouldn’t have noticed his absence; they were too busy with their personal indignation. The indignant will never glimpse God. Yet how horrible, how sorrowful. Jesus was right there among them and he walked away. Unsurprised, but no doubt saddened, Jesus slipped right out the back of their church.

Let us strive not to make Jesus one of us. Let us not lose our Savior in the heat of our own petty indignation. Instead, let us risk losing it all for a God who has given his all. Let us abandon ourselves to a mission worthy of our greatest effort. The mission of Jesus Christ himself:

Luke 4:18-19

“With Power and Authority”

LUKE 4:31-44

31And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34”Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

38Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. 39And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.

40While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. 41Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

42When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. 43But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

44So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

LUKE 4:31-32

31And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

“They were amazed at his teaching, for his message was one of authority.”

There are a couple of words used multiple times in this reading and we need to examine them closely for they are an insight into the influence Jesus had on those around him. They are also keen insights for us who wish to follow him.

The first notable word is amazed, “They were amazed at his teaching…”

· Amazed [G1605, ekplēssō, ek-place’-so], means to “strike someone with astonishment,” or to “fill somebody with wonder.”

Why were the people outside of Nazareth filled with wonder? “His message was with authority.”

· Authority [G1849, exousia, ex-oo-see’-ah] is a word replete with meaning. It could mean force, competency, freedom, mastery, influence, power, right (as in the “right to speak”) and strength.

As a follower of an astonishing, powerful teacher, can I say I strive for the same qualities? Are people filled with wonder when they encounter me? Do they see me as competent or impotent? Do I possess the freedom of mastery or do I espouse words of misery?

It’s really important to qualify some of these terms. Great teachers always leave their students with wonder — not answers. Great teachers want their students to explore the topics deeper and engage their minds and hearts. They don’t just ask their students to memorize what they are saying.

When a teacher lacks the ability to lead his or her students with wonder, the temptation is to turn to authority but not the authority Jesus offered. We tend to confuse authority with authoritarianism. The two could not be further apart in the example of Jesus.

The less influential (amazing) we are, the more we rely on authoritarianism. It is not that there isn’t a time to be authoritarian. For example, in a fire, you want to tell people the location of the exits and get them out safely and quickly. However, a fire is a crisis and authoritarianism is best saved for a crises. Leaders who rely on authoritarianism continually have to create crises in order to use their type of power.

While on earth, Jesus held no worldly authority. No office or resources. His authority laid in how competent he was, not just in his preaching but also in his actions. He backed up his words with healing, compassion and a radically simple life. He lived what he preached. He didn’t need political force to back up his statements.

When someone lacks the ability to amaze or engage his or her students/followers they often need to turn to worldly means to force a response. I see this all the time in education. Poor teachers say, “This will be on the test,” in order to make students pay heed. Poor leaders rely on extrinsic motivation to make followers comply instead of leading people to see the task at hand with wonder and creating an intrinsic drive for mastery.

The problem is, according to neuroscientists, as soon as we introduce crisis (i.e. stress) into a classroom, students shut down their creative capabilities. They begin thinking with what I call their “alligator brain.” This part of our brain can memorize, but it doesn’t create. In addition, this kind of teaching also prevents students from storing information in their working memory; whatever comes out of the teacher’s mouth from that point on will be confined to short-term memory. Students can memorize the information — until the test — then it is gone.

What do I rely on, as a teacher and follower of Christ, to give my words “authority?” Wonder? Mastery? Crisis? Tests?

The power of a teacher lies in the alignment of his or her walk to the words being shared. How we teach is even more important than what we teach. We simply cannot teach what Jesus taught if we don’t teach how Jesus taught.

“Dear Lord, always let my actions back up my teachings.”

LUKE 4:33-37

33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34”Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

In the synagogue…

It is pretty important to draw attention to the first part of verse 33. Once again, Luke — the artist — wants to paint an important contrast for us to decipher. The demon was speaking “in the synagogue” and confidently, “with a loud voice.”

This was the state of religion in Christ’s day. We will learn more about malevolent spirits in the paragraphs to come, but we can’t understate the symbolism of where this demon found a voice.

Religion had become so corrupt, so focused on rules and judgment that the best place to preach for a demon was inside the institution — not on the streets. What climate must exist inside an institution for this type of situation to occur?

· Creeds must be more important than people

· Judgment more important than love

· Authority more important than mercy

· Numbers more important than individuals

· Edifices more important than shelter for the poor

· Political expedience more important than justice

This is the climate in which malevolence finds voice among the religious. That is the climate Jesus found in the synagogue on Sabbath.

The spirit of an unclean demon

The spirit of the unclean demon was not a solo entity. We need to understand that demons work in packs — and we need to study other aspects about the nature of demons. The word demon [G169, akathartos, ak-ath’-ar-tos] means not just impure but morally lewd or foul. It also has a root in the daimonion [G1140, daimonion, dahee-mon’-ee-on]. Both of these words have important roots.

Akathartos can literally translate into “cast out to rise again.” A fuller translation would be, “Cast out to the dung heap to rise from the dung heap.” Daimonion can also be translated as, “manipulator of destinies.”

Let’s look at three characteristics of the demonic:

1. Gang behavior

Those with mal-intent rarely operate solo. When we know what we are doing is wrong we seek the approval of others to justify our endeavors. Like a bully gathering an audience, someone doing wrong needs minions to mask their “dis-ease.”

The worse the behavior, the more the one doing wrong will seek justification from others. This was one reason Satan tempted Jesus with approval (see the study on the temptations, Luke 4:1-13) after first seeking to entice Jesus with immediate gratification and ultimately, manipulative power.

These are the only tools in Satan’s bag of tricks but he continues to use them in multiple ways and to great effect.

Let’s not be fooled, if we are seeking justification from others for something that makes us ill-at-ease, it’s time to stop the behavior.

2. The Dung Heap

The dung heap lay outside most community gates. Jerusalem’s dung heap was huge and continually burned from both man made and natural causes. Another word for the “dung heap” in Jerusalem was Gihana, Erastes, or “the wasteland.” Locals called it, “the devil’s playground.”

It was through this area that Jesus exited the city to head out into the desert for the temptations; this is where the Spirit led him.

What is the dung heap from which Satan is “cast to,” and “rises from?” It is the where we should throw out the sins of our life once we’ve given our erroneous beliefs to Jesus and that is where sin should stay, “cast out!”

It is Satan who attacks us by saying, “You’ll never leave this behind. This is not just WHAT you did, it is WHO you are.”

Think of messages manipulative people present, “You’ll never change. You’ll always be that way.”

For example, it is like the difference between calling someone “stupid” and saying, “we can all learn from our mistakes.”

People trying to manipulate you will seek to make your behavior into your character.

When you work to make significant changes and fall — as people do when recovering from lifelong habits, addictions or compulsions — it is the manipulative person who says, “See, I told you so,” instead of, “You only fail when you don’t keep trying.”

Satan revels in coating people with the sin Jesus has cast away. That is why we can accurately say, “Satan is cast into the dung heap to rise from the dung heap.”

3. Manipulation

Satan is also known as, “the manipulator of destinies.”

The very nature of manipulation is to view other people as things for the sole purpose of meeting one’s own needs. M. Scott Peck in his book, “People of the Lie,” said, “evil” is to “live” backwards. It is using beings to get things instead of using things to empower people.

The only interest a manipulator has in you is what you can do for him or her. In the process, manipulative people want you to become more dependent upon them until they are done using you.

Satan doesn’t want us for himself. His singular purpose is to hurt God by stealing your soul. There is no plan, design or purpose to his evil. All he wants are more victims. His sole strategy is to isolate more victims.

Isolation is a key word to manipulation as well. If someone wants to manipulate you, his or her first step will be to isolate you, to separate you from the people who value you.

The tools of the demonic are limited, because they only think in gradients of black and white. They do not see the colors of love, only the grey shades of possessiveness. Don’t look for originality here. The tools of the manipulative may be subtle and awash in half-truth but at their root, every tool is designed to use you and increase your dependence, not to free you to love others.

Are there demonic spirits at work in our world today? Consider the wars fought in God’s name, the manipulation of economies and even the global environment for self-interest like the alcohol and tobacco companies whose marketing methods targeted 10 and 12-year-old children.

It harkens back to the original call of John the Baptist in the opening of Luke, “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord [Luke 1:17].”

Manipulators will never consider future generations. Their plans are immediate and self-centered. Alternatively, let us set the framework for each of our days by asking, “How will my choices today improve the opportunities of the children of tomorrow?”

This may be the best measure of a person living a life free of the demonic — a life without manipulation

“I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

It is worth noting these manipulators were not in doubt about the divinity of Jesus. Evil has two responses to goodness — flee it or attack it. The core of evil is fear and those in fear are unable to think creatively. Their actions are rote, similar to a lizard. Fight or flight.

These demons announce Jesus’ divinity without ascribing to his Lordship. How often do I do this? Announce my belief in Christ while continuing self-serving behaviors.

In the Old Testament, taking God’s name in vain didn’t mean, “swearing.” It meant receiving the scepter of a king and then announcing my own news. Recently, a 60 minutes episode revealed a number of US Congress people (and their staffers), were involved in inside trading. Using their knowledge of laws being crafted to make millions or receive payments from companies that paid substantial “speaking fees,” in exchange for the information.

This is closer to the term “using the Lord’s name in vain,” than cursing. In ancient history, a person who received the king or emperor’s scepter would go to distant cities and announce the King’s news. To take that scepter and use it for personal profit was considered one of the worst crimes. A person found doing this would be publicly humiliated and executed.

What these manipulators were doing was using the Lord’s true name in vain (vanity). Announcing the Lord’s title for their personal gain. “Look how brilliant we are…”

Jesus rebuked him

Jesus gives no quarter to manipulators. He rebukes them. Rebuked [G2008, epitimaō, ep-ee-tee-mah’-o] means to censure, admonish or forbid.

It would be one thing to tell someone to be silent, but Jesus also has the power to silence them. One does not silence malevolence with an argument. Our Lord does not engage these demons in a theological debate. He makes their testimony powerless, both immediately and profoundly.

“Be quiet and come out of him!”

It’s not a debate. It’s not a request. It is an immediate command to cease manipulating and leave.

We often tell people to stop manipulation when we see it. But do we give them skills to do this and the opportunity to practice? In the schools where I consult, we teach children a three-step process for breaking the cycle of manipulation:

1. Break: Break the cycle usually by calling the victim by name and getting them to look up into your eyes.

2. Take: Offer a positive alternative. Take the victim to another place where you can do something positive together.

3. Invite: Offer two choices. Invite the manipulator to consider two choices — come do something positive with you or go somewhere else — do not give them the opportunity for them to stay and bully others.

The more a child practices this behavior in a safe environment, the more likely they are to be able to do it in an unsafe environment. This is similar for adults — both in practice and in strategy. Sometimes the strategy has to be more drawn out, but manipulation is manipulation involving a dance between the manipulator and the manipulated.

How does one break the power of manipulation or silence the influence of evil? By neutering it. How does one neuter it? By making it impotent, taking away it’s power. People — or institutions — only have the power over us we give them. This is effective whether we are refusing to let an emotional bully cloud our day or whether it was the African American community of Montgomery, Alabama refusing to ride the busses in the 1950’s. Nelson Mandela spent 28 years in a South African prison without once acknowledging that his captors had the ability to take away his essential freedom — his dignity.

The primary power of a manipulator is in the victim’s compliance. A victim must comply to the manipulator’s viewpoint; the manipulator’s interpretation of the world. To understand this is to realize that there is a cycle of complicity between manipulation and victimhood requires. Break that cycle and we break manipulation.

Am I actively involved in neutering manipulative relationships in my world? If I’m not actively involved then I am complicit in allowing evil to flourish through silence. Just as Jesus could not remain silent in the face of the Manipulator’s testimony, nor can we remain mute in the face of manipulation.

LUKE 4:38-39

Simon’s Mother-in-law

This is a simple and touching scene about a working class family and their faithful service to the Lord. While in Capernaum, Jesus would attend the local synagogue and stay with Peter.

Jesus attended synagogues regularly and lived by many of the religious customs of his time. He only left the synagogues when the crowds following him became too large to fit into the buildings. Other leaders might be tempted to expand their seating areas and pave a larger parking lot. We need to remember this is not the focus of Christ; he didn’t seek to build a larger church, start a new denomination or even start a new religion. He had a single-driving purpose [Luke 4:18].

And one single command [John 13:34-35].

Isn’t it incredible how much we try to burden Jesus with our theology?

After cleansing the temple by rebuking a demon-possessed man, Jesus returns to Peter’s house to “rebuke the fever” in Simon’s mother-in-law. Luke is very intentional about using this word in multiple settings. Remember, he is not just an author, he is a physician as well.

Luke’s intent is to show that Jesus’ power extends to all sorts of disease; the diseases of the body and the dis-ease of the spirit. Remember the essence of this word, rebuke. Jesus casts out and forbids the fever from having any impact on the woman. Again, it is a command, not a debate or diagnosis.

Her response is immediate. She “immediately got up and waited upon them.”

There are two important messages here. The first is that healing — true restoration — leads to one simple attitudinal reaction; gratitude. In the Greek term for healing, there are three traits:

1. Cessation of the dis-ease

2. Restoration to family

3. Gratitude

One is not fully healed without all three traits being present and this woman displays all of them.

Along with gratitude is the sense of service. She begins to “wait on them.” The word “Wait [G1247 diakoneō] is the same word from which we get “Deacon.” This title, often used for a position in the church, is a position of service. A service born of gratitude and gratitude based upon restoration. The purest way to a “title” in the fellowship of Christ is not through education but through this process of service born of gratitude, born of restoration. At the root of it all is the singular attitude of humility (see how Stephen was picked for ministry in Acts 6:5-8). There is no room for pride in a church.

Peace had come to Peter’s household because of the humility brought through healing.

What healing could humility bring to my home life today? What spirit of pride would Christ rebuke in my life? Christ’s “rebuke” is not to be feared. It is to be welcomed. Perhaps there is hurt involved in welcoming such honesty into our lives, but no one can change without it.

When we are admonished, we often get angry. Self-righteousness boils up inside of us resulting in a prideful response. Far better to put our pride away and search our hearts for truth. Chances are there will always be a grain to be found and we will grow far more by seeking it than by shielding ourselves in a cloak of indignity.

This doesn’t mean self-degeneration. Humility is not about putting ourselves beneath others. Humility is seeing all people equally in God’s eyes. There is no putting ourselves below or above. When we realize we all need to be restored, we can be healed of all sorts of maladies caused by anger and pride.

LUKE 4:40-41

44So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

He was healing them

This was a typical week in the life of Jesus. It consisted of four actions:

1. Healing

2. Rebuking Disease (spiritual, emotional, relational and physical)

3. Praying

4. Preaching

Was this the typical “work week” of Jesus? Well, yes and no. Here’s a real key to the meaningful life. If we find our true gift in God, focus on growing that gift through acts of compassion, then all of our life will feel like joy and not work.

Many movies depict Jesus as performing miracles and then being “sapped” of his power. These intimate pictures of Christ’s workweek depict something altogether different. His works sprang forth from his unity with God in acts of compassion for God’s people and he was constantly renewed in the process.

Look at him after he feeds the five thousand while heading out “on retreat” with his disciples [Matthew 14:13-23].

Do you see the same process here? This miracle begins with prayer and ends with prayer. It is sparked by compassion. It results in action. He rebukes his disciples — even sending them away — while he stays to take care of the crowd.

Does that sound like he is losing power while acting compassionately? Indeed, every action of compassion emanating from Jesus results in a flow of power to all around him including Jesus and yes… our Creator.

Certainly, he would have felt some of the physical weariness we all might feel after a “busy” day. Yet, it is the disciples who are exhausted — not Jesus. Jesus sends them away, prays, then catches up with them on the Sea of Galilee (only they’re shivering in a boat and he is walking on water).

Good work makes people weary, but a joyful and fulfilling weariness. Exhaustion comes from trying to act out of my own power or in my own self-interests, lacking transparency or unity in my life.

What will my “work week” look like for these upcoming days? Will it include the cycle of Prayer to Compassion to Action to Gratitude to Prayer? Will I be exhausted because I’m operating with a lack of unity or transparency; steeped in self-interest or self-righteousness? Or, will I find my joy in the cycle of giftedness, purpose and joy as our Lord modeled?

“I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Luke ends this story reminding us of the “purpose” for which Jesus was sent. To preach good news (and especially to the poor [Lk. 4:18]). One of the defining factors of Jesus was clarity of purpose. The clarity began with a response to God by seeking baptism in the Jordan [Mt. 3:15], it continued with the affirmation of the Father upon his son [Mt. 3:17] and then his purpose was refined through the desert temptations [Mt. 4:1-11].

The process by which the mission of Jesus was refined is important for us to examine. To have a refined purpose, we too need to follow a similar process.

Humbly respond to the call of God [Matthew 3:13-17]

The first step in any refinement is humility. Again, remember that humility is not debasement. That’s false humility, we might even call it a fake martyrdom. Humility doesn’t mean putting ourselves beneath others — just not above others. The signs of true humility are gratitude, simplicity, service and a respect for others usually displayed in the habits of courtesy and listening.

Listen for God’s affirmation [Mark 1:11]

God’s affirmation (blessing) of Jesus was amazingly rich. “This is my beloved son…” What was God blessing? Not what Jesus possessed or even did. God was blessing Jesus’ response — his availability to serve God by serving God’s people

Don’t ask God to bless what you “do,” ask him to bless who you are “being.”

Resist temptation in the “hard places” and God (not Satan) will refine our call [Luke 4:1-13]

The temptations don’t occur in a posh retreat center where Jesus is surrounded by masseuses and daiquiris. They take place in the desert — austere and isolating. Jesus was “led there” by the spirit according to Luke [Luke 4:1] and “impelled” according to Mark [Mark 1:12].

In both cases, the terms are akin to being summoned, arrested or bound and delivered.

There he fasts and searches his heart. When Satan tempts him, he is physically at his weakest, but spiritually at his strongest. Fasting makes us realize we are reliant on God, not on this world or on ourselves. The hunger we feel is to turned into a reminder of our deeper hunger for God.

We are a society prone to dieting because we’re overweight, not fasting because we seek truth.

Fasting doesn’t have to be from food either. We can fast from behaviors. For example, fasting from sarcasm and replacing it with specifically complimenting the people around us.

Thomas Merton, the theologian and activist monk, suggested that our deserts today are not in isolation (Contemplation in a World of Action). He pointed to Las Vegas and other similar locations. Desert palaces built around pleasure — where hearing God’s whisper is difficult through the constant noise and chatter. Our wildernesses, says Merton, are within the cacophony of daily consumerism. Finding — and bringing — God to those situations.

Wherever we seek God, we will be refined not in luxury, but in intentional austerity. Examining the critical difference between what we want and what we truly need. Fasting from the distractions to find life’s purpose.

Return to God’s people to serve [Luke 4:14]

Multiple times throughout the Gospel, Jesus retreats to prayer, often taking his disciples. It is essential to realize that Jesus only retreats long enough to gain strength and focus before returning to deeper service.

This is a marked difference between many contemporary philosophies and the Gospel practices of Jesus. While many philosophies compel us to flee chaos in order to find peace. Christ compels us to bring peace to chaos.

A spirituality that does not translate into acts of service to the “least of these,” is not based in the Gospel. The mission of Christ was to be good news to the poor, not just preach it. The term for preach, [G2784, kērussō], is not just to say words but to live them. It literally meant “a herald of the king.” Remember one of the most grievous crimes of Jesus’ age was to be sent out to speak on behalf of the king but instead to use his “scepter (the official sign you’d been given the king’s right to speak)” and to substitute your own words.

To “preach” in God’s name means to do no less than to “model” God’s word. We become God’s good news to the poor. In essence, living by the Gospel means that those in need call us good news. It doesn’t mean handing out bibles to the hungry. What actions would lead the poor to cross the street in order to tell us their good news? That is what the Gospel of Christ pushes us to do.

Jesus closes this statement with the words, “For I was sent for this purpose.” That word “purpose” is rich in meaning for Followers of the Way. Purpose [G649, apostellō] means to be “set apart,” or “sent out on a mission,” even, “given liberty.”

Look again at what Jesus meant by “being sent to preach.”

Healing the sick and freeing people of manipulation (demons), that is what Jesus meant by “preaching,” and what he was “purposed” to do; the essence of his life on earth. Can we say this is our purpose? Can we say this how we “preach.” Our actions are always louder than our words.

We tend to think of “The Apostles,” as a group of twelve men sent out by Christ at one historic moment (men only because of the cultural short-sighted ness of those times). Look at the sending of those original apostles [Matthew 10:7-8]

Just as it was for the Master, so it was for the Sent. Preaching meant healing, raising, cleansing, casting out, and do it free and freely!

The Apostles were not a historic group. They were a example group. Later Jesus sends 72 disciples to all nations. It s quite possible that some of those “sent out” we’re women. Jesus followers and supporters included a large number of women whom he treated with the greatest respect.

Now, he sends us. We are sent, we are apostolic. Sent to BE good news to those in dire need. Do those in dire need call us good news? Do they say, “this woman / this man / this community of faith has power and authority!”

It doesn’t matter what we say about ourselves, what matters is what the poor say about us. That is the test of our Gospel power and authority.

“When the devil had finished every temptation”

Luke Chapter 4

LUKE 4:1-13

LUKE 4:1-3

Led around by the Spirit

For forty days

LUKE 4:3-12

“If You are the Son of God”

“Tell this stone to become bread”

“I will give You all this domain and its glory”

“Throw Yourself down from here”

LUKE 6:13

Every temptation

Until an opportune time

The Mission Statement of Jesus, the Christ

LUKE 4:14-21

LUKE 4:14-15

And Jesus returned to Galilee

In the power of the Spirit

LUKE 4:16-19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”

Isaiah 61:2

To preach the gospel

Recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“No Prophet Is Welcome In His Hometown”

LUKE 4:21-30

LUKE 4:21

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:18-19

“Is this not Joseph’s son?”

LUKE 4:23-27

“No prophet is welcome in his hometown.”

Elijah was sent to none of them

LUKE 4:27-30

All the people in the synagogue were filled with rage

But passing through their midst, He went His way.

Luke 4:18-19

“With Power and Authority”

LUKE 4:31-44

LUKE 4:31-32

“They were amazed at his teaching, for his message was one of authority.”

LUKE 4:33-37

In the synagogue…

The spirit of an unclean demon

“I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Jesus rebuked him

“Be quiet and come out of him!”

LUKE 4:38-39

Simon’s Mother-in-law

LUKE 4:40-41

He was healing them

“I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Luke 03

Luke 05