Author: Bill Hall

Luke 4:27 “”And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

   Once again, was it something especially deserving in Naaman that caused him to be chosen? No. If anything the Lord orchestrated these two miracles during His time pre-incarnation partially to be mentioned on this occasion. Or, even the opposite could be the case. This is difficult, if not impossible to express. But, though we never think this way, we must remember that what the Lord Jesus does He does eternally. In other words, with all of eternity in mind.
   What I mean is that we will do things with potential future results in mind. However, we never think of the implications in relation to past history. And, we cannot be certain of the implications in the future, no matter how good our guess might be. So, when Jesus does something, He doesn’t do it presently (in the here and now only) as you and I. Instead, He does it eternally, knowing how it plays into all of everything, everywhen.

Heavenly Father, thank You for how You take care of us. We are awed by how You control all of the universe, which is largely out of our reach. But, yet You also control all of eternity, which is out of our frame of time. We can only begin to fathom what is to You common and ordinary. Nothing for You is past, present, or future. It is all now to You. What a Wondrous Person You are! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:26 “but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.”

   Is Jesus then suggesting that God chose this woman on purpose? Was there not something uniquely desperate about her condition? Was she not notably needful in some way? It seems clear that Jesus is not only suggesting, but flat out revealing, the intentions of Almighty God in this case. Elijah was not sent to the widows in Israel for the same reason that Jesus would be rejected among His own. The need was great, but the faith was almost non-existent.
   One may now seek to explain that because faith comes from God, it is He that chose to weaken the faith of the Jews. And they would be only partly right. God, in His infinite foresight, already knew the disobedience of the hearts before the faith was dispensed. Thus the weak faith only matched the weak will to respond. Again one will say that the will to respond is all from God as well. Again they would only be partly right. He gives man the ability to will for himself. And so we may choose to will to disobey. To miss this, one would have to completely ignore the first few chapters of Genesis.

Heavenly Father, we can gain no glory for the choices we make. It is of Your mercy that we are not consumed. It is You Who has chosen to uphold the upright in heart. It is by Your standard that our obedience is judged. Some will respond, and some will not, this we know. But we choose, as we are able, to respond. We will give You the praise and honor. We will ask You to strengthen our faith. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:25 “But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;”

   Time and again Jesus had things to say about Scripture that nobody else would have thought of. He had a way of putting things that really got people’s attention. It is God’s Word that is a great comfort and mercy to us. He will explain His truth to us and give us what we need for our lives.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ, Who is Your Word! You are so merciful to us to give Him to us. You are wise and good. You know that we need Your truth in our lives each day. Thank You for that! You understand our weakness, You lift us up by Your power. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:24 “Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.”

   Being very familiar to them, the people of this location did not see Jesus in the same light as others. As Jesus indicates, this is true for anyone. Familiarity can be a detriment to faith. Many persons, being very comfortable and familiar with their surroundings, will never have strong faith because they feel safe right where they are. Often faith is grown and challenged when change must be taken up.

Heavenly Father, may we always be strong in faith! Give to us many opportunities to honor Your Name this Christmas season. Thank You for making Your Word so available to us. We will long for Your wisdom all of our days. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:23 “He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me,`Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'”

   Jesus knew what they would throw at Him. He understands how people think. Like the rest of the Jews, these folks in His hometown would ask for a sign. But, they would not want to be behind on His list. They wanted front row seats rather than being able to believe any of the reports about Him.
   But, therein lies the difficulty. If they could not believe the reports, they would not all believe if He did wondrous works right there before them. We are not asked to believe the gospel firsthand, but secondhand. The Lord has called us to listen to the report of those who have gone on before.

Heavenly Father, we realize You are at work even if we don’t always seem to see the front lines. You have not chosen to show us everything all the time. But, we know You are moving and blessing among humanity all over this globe, and we want to be an active part of that. Thank You for using us as You do. We will bring all of the praise to You as we work in our little corner of Your great fields of harvest. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:22 “So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

   They could not understand how a man like Jesus could have the knowledge and wisdom He had. They didn’t know Him, they just thought they did. Ah, and that mistake is made all the time. We as humans think we know each other too, but are often mistaken. We want to feel that we have the inside track on our peers, and yet we often don’t even understand the basic motives of their hearts. They asked this question because they had thought that they knew this man, but they hadn’t.

Heavenly Father, give us Your mercy. We will live to rely on Your wisdom and not ours, for we are so limited. We will look to you for answers rather than our human judgement which is so faulty. We will give You all the praise for how You lead us. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:21 “And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

   There are those times in history where you happen to be in just the right place at just the right time to see something amazing. You are present in a front row seat to see it all happen. History is upon you and you are a part of it in a special way. There were many alive at this time who would come to realize they lived in a special era. Jesus was making everything special just by His very presence. Every action they took would be the making of history, and the writing of the history books.

Heavenly Father, thank You for putting each of us in our own special time. We would normally never think of that, but You have indeed chosen the time for us to live. That is a part of Your creative task when You make each one of us. You select our era. You know our time. We praise You for Your wisdom! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:20 “Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.”

   They were doubtless familiar with the passage and knew where He had stopped. They had surely heard of His teaching in other places and were waiting to hear what He had to say.
   Sitting down did not prevent Him from teaching. Nowadays the speaker always stands while others sit. But then the teacher often sat while others might stand.

Heavenly Father, we give You praise today and every day. Your faithfulness is always fresh and active. You don’t sour on us and turn against us even when we have doubts and fears. Give us opportunities to serve Your great Name. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:19 “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

   Notice where Jesus stops. He is quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2, but He stops in the middle of 2. Why? Because this prophecy He quotes is to be fulfilled in two parts. The first occurs at His first coming, and the second at His second coming.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ! We look so much forward to the day in which You will make all of His enemies His footstool. We cannot wait for that glorious return in power. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:18 “”The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”

   It is amazing to think about what is included here. This is not a record of grandiose self-aggrandizement. These are humbling tasks, caring for the deepest needs of a broken humanity. Yet, these are the works of our Messiah.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus! You have given us so much in Him. We will praise You forever for Your plan. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.