Luke Part 1 Week 17

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 4:12-13 

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” ¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came. 

This was Jesus’ answer to the testing by the devil. Again He used the Scriptures to do so as He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:16. Notice that the devil expected there to be other opportunities to test Jesus.  

REFLECT 

Does this help you to understand that the devil likes to catch believers in their times of weakness? Keep engaged in the Bible by reading or listening to it to remain strong. 

RESPOND 

Join a friend and learn to search some sites for answers to your biblical questions. In this instance, go to gotquestions.org and search “temptations.” There you will find good information about these tests. 

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 4:14-15 

¹⁴ Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. ¹⁵ He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 

It is considered that there was a year between verses 13 and 14 of Luke 4. During that time Jesus was ministering in Judea, which is recorded in the gospel of John. Now He returned to Galilee, north of Jerusalem but down from the elevation of Jerusalem. He was well-received in Galilee; that is, until He went to His home town in Nazareth.  

REFLECT 

As you see, the Bible does not give the reader a strict chronological order. Those in the East were more concerned about the events than about a strict order of them. 

RESPOND 

The four gospels tell about the life of Jesus from four different perspectives. Matthew particularly addressed the Jews, Mark the Romans, Luke the Greeks, and John the Church and the world. Each was guided by God to select those events that would be specifically meaningful to each group.  

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 4:16 

¹⁶ When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 

Let this be a reminder that Matthew, Mark and Luke were recording events that occurred during the time of the Old Testament law. The transition from Old Testament law to the Church and New Testament grace is seen in the book of Acts.  

REFLECT 

Does this help you to realize why Jesus and others in His time on earth were keeping the Old Testament law? 

RESPOND 

This is also a reminder that the apostle Paul was living as an unsaved Pharisee seeking to keep the law before his conversion. After his conversion he wrote Colossians 2:16-17. This passage reveals diets and special days are not what believers in the Church need to follow.  

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 4:17-19 

¹⁷ The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 

¹⁹ and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” 

Jesus read this portion of Scripture from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2a that referred to the coming Messiah. The listeners had no idea that this one they had known from childhood would claim to be the Messiah and they did not expect Him to claim it. At this point they were listening appreciatively. 

REFLECT 

Do you identify with those listening to Jesus read the Scriptures? They did not fully understand the meaning and application of them.  

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about the pattern of speaking based on the Scripture for what is called “expository preaching.” A key verse for this is Nehemiah 8:8. One does “expository” speaking when he “exposes” what the Scriptures mean. A message that does not expose what the Scriptures say and mean cannot be called “expository preaching.” 

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 4:20-21 

²⁰ He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹ Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” 

Jesus stopped after reading the first half of Isaiah 61:2. He told the listeners that portion of Scripture was being fulfilled then. The last half of Isaiah 61:2 tells of coming judgment. That judgment would not occur until His second coming to earth.  

REFLECT 

Had you been a listener of what Jesus was reading and knew the passage He was citing, would you not have been surprised that He stopped in the middle of a verse?  

RESPOND 

Read about the judgment that will occur when Jesus returns to earth the second time. See Revelation 19:11-21. Matthew 25:31-46 also refers to this time when believers are separated from unbelievers as the Kingdom of God begins on earth for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).