Author: Bill Hall

Luke 4:17 “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:”

   So, did the attendant choose the scroll to hand Jesus, or did Jesus choose it? By the wording here it seems the attendant just happened to hand the Isaiah scroll to Him, or at least that was the chosen reading of the day. But, no doubt, Jesus in His great power orchestrated this to His purpose. In any case, Jesus went right to the Scripture He wanted to read for them.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your orchestration of all things. You have done all things well. All of Your acts from the beginning to the end have been only the best. You always are glorious, good, and gracious. We will praise You forever for Your great love for us! We will proclaim Christ and His church to all the world. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:16 “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”

   It was not at all surprising to those in attendance on this day that Jesus read. It had been His practice in the past, it seems. But, there was more to expect from Him now. They knew that His ministry had begun and they were looking to hear something from Him. He now had the opportunity to teach them, and they would listen, at least for a time.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth in Christ. We can never thank You enough for His teaching. We will spread the truth from Him all over this globe. He is the answer for all of us. Give us grace as we seek to serve. We praise You Father! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:15 “And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”

   And why was He glorified? His teaching. It was different from what the people had heard. The whole tone, motive, goal, and content were different from what they had heard from the Rabbis. The truth has a way of getting people’s attention.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth in Christ. It is what we live by and we glorify You for it. Give to us the opportunities to praise Your Name in the congregation. You are our joy and desire. We love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:14 “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.”

   Jesus was very widely known in the beginning of His ministry. Towards the end, and afterwards, though still well known, His ministry was not spoken of as much. Galilee and the surrounding region heard much from Him. It was His HQ, so to speak.

Heavenly Father, Jesus is the One we will sing of for all eternity. We live here and now to see His Name spread to all this world. We want to proclaim Him clearly to Your creation. We love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:13 “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

   The wording here is quite revealing. For one thing, the devil gives up because he was out of things to try. The devil has a somewhat limited repertoire of tricks. After he exhausts these, he is at a loss for a time. For a while He left Christ alone. But, true to his nature he was back at it when it was convenient for him.
   The devil is a deft creature. He will not put in any more effort than he has to. He thrives on the quick and easy methods he has perfected over the course of thousands of years. But, though shrewd, he is also bumptious, and will not give up his target in spite of being soundly beaten time and again. Endurance is the answer to his shtick.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us victory in Christ! How could we live without Him? Defeat is a cage that the enemy wants everyone to live in. If they make it out of that one, he will put them into pride, and hold them there. Liberty, oh how precious it is! In Jesus we may be finally free. We will bring the honor and praise to You, oh LORD! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:12 “And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said,`You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'”

   Jesus is quoting here from Deuteronomy 6:16. All three of His quotations in this passage come from Deuteronomy. So, not only does He defeat the devil’s schemes, but He does it in a very Jewish, and very Divine, way. What I mean is that Deuteronomy is God’s clarion call to the children of Israel for obedience. So, it was very Jewish in that it belies a perfect understanding of their history to put so much stock in this book. All the cause for problems in Israel hark back to things they were warned of in Deuteronomy.

Heavenly Father, You are surely wonderful! We will not put You to the test, but will trust You in every circumstance. You are worthy of our very lives. Only You have loved us in all purity. Only You have been only good towards us at all times. Oh how we marvel in Your precepts! Your ways are high above us and we praise You in them. Thank You for giving us the truth. We are weak, we cannot live on lies. You protect us from the evil one. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:11 “”and,`In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”

   The devil will always use the same ploy. He constantly questions God’s most amazing attributes. God actually cares about us. He loves us. He watches over us. It is this very thing that makes God so wonderful and unique. He is a Good Creator Who looks after His creation. Satan has to question that, because if he doesn’t, he is defeated before he gets started. He has to try to cast doubt upon that track record.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us! Wow, how could we ever thank You enough? We are overwhelmed by Your goodness and love. Your faithfulness is unparalleled. The schemes of the enemy only serve to highlight Your greatness in our minds. We will forever praise You and give You all of the glory! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:10 “”For it is written:`He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,'”

   Since Jesus had been directly quoting Scripture, the devil decides to do the same. However, true to form, he twists it for his purpose. He leaves out the phrase ‘in all your ways’ as he quotes Psalm 91:11-12. Though at first this might seem insignificant, we must remember Proverbs 3:5 and 6. This phrase reminds us that there are ways to consider. We must trust the Lord and look to him for our proper path. Jesus knew this well.

Heavenly Father, do not let us fail! Your ways and means are best. We will not question Your intentions, but trust in Your intervention. You are the only One we can depend on. You alone have the wisdom to know all that we need in this life. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:9 “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.”

   This action would have drawn much attention. The idea was to do something very drastic, and public, to prove the identity of Christ. This was unnecessary and inconsistent with the will of the Father. It pandered to immediate gratification.
   In addition to this, such an action could be seen as a strange fulfillment of Malachi 3:1. However, Jesus knew that He was to only do what the Father led Him to. This prevented man, or as in this case, Satan, from demanding fulfillment on their own terms. Jesus’ utmost goal was to please the Father, and He remained focused on that.

Heavenly Father, You know and understand what we need and when we need it. We will rely on Your wisdom, which can solve the hardest of problems. Even when our most heartfelt desires are involved, You know what is best, and not we ourselves. Thank You for taking care of us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,`You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”

   Almighty God is the only person that is to be accorded worship. It is His order for the universe. Satan understands this fully. And that is why worship is his greatest desire. He wants to be the center of everything. But, to look to him would be like trusting in a single candle rather than an ultra-bright star many times brighter than our own sun. There is simply no comparison. The LORD is of a kind completely different than all created beings, including Satan.

Heavenly Father, we can see and understand that You have established an order for Your universe. You make all things well. You are the Fountainhead. We accord to You the honor due Your Name. It is the most natural thing in the world to worship You each and every day. It is as basic as breathing. Thank You for being Who You are! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.