God Speaks
1-2 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River, being urged by the Spirit out into the barren wastelands of Judea, where Satan tempted him for forty days. He ate nothing all that time and was very hungry.
3 Satan said, “If you are God’s Son, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus replied, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘Other things in life are much more important than bread!’”
5 Then Satan took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; 6-7 and the devil told him, “I will give you all these splendid kingdoms and their glory—for they are mine to give to anyone I wish—if you will only get down on your knees and worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “We must worship God, and him alone. So it is written in the Scriptures.”
9-11 Then Satan took him to Jerusalem to a high roof of the Temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say that God will send his angels to guard you and to keep you from crashing to the pavement below!”
12 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to a foolish test.’”
13 When the devil had ended all the temptations, he left Jesus for a while and went away.
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, full of the Holy Spirit’s power. Soon he became well known throughout all that region 15 for his sermons in the synagogues; everyone praised him.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on Saturday, and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he opened it to the place where it says:
18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.”
20 He closed the book and handed it back to the attendant and sat down, while everyone in the synagogue gazed at him intently. 21 Then he added, “These Scriptures came true today!”
22 All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the beautiful words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’ 24 But I solemnly declare to you that no prophet is accepted in his own hometown! 25-26 For example, remember how Elijah the prophet used a miracle to help the widow of Zarephath—a foreigner from the land of Sidon. There were many Jewish widows needing help in those days of famine, for there had been no rain for three and a half years, and hunger stalked the land; yet Elijah was not sent to them. 27 Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many Jewish lepers needing help.”
28 These remarks stung them to fury; 29 and jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built, to push him over the cliff. 30 But he walked away through the crowd and left them.
31 Then he returned to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and preached there in the synagogue every Saturday. 32 Here, too, the people were amazed at the things he said. For he spoke as one who knew the truth, instead of merely quoting the opinions of others as his authority.
33 Once as he was teaching in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus, 34 “Go away! We want nothing to do with you, Jesus from Nazareth. You have come to destroy us. I know who you are—the Holy Son of God.”
35 Jesus cut him short. “Be silent!” he told the demon. “Come out!” The demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched, and then left him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people asked, “What is in this man’s words that even demons obey him?” 37 The story of what he had done spread like wildfire throughout the whole region.
38 After leaving the synagogue that day, he went to Simon’s home where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.
39 Standing at her bedside he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal, and she got up and prepared a meal for them!
40 As the sun went down that evening, all the villagers who had any sick people in their homes, no matter what their diseases were, brought them to Jesus; and the touch of his hands healed every one! 41 Some were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But because they knew he was the Christ, he stopped them and told them to be silent.
42 Early the next morning he went out into the desert. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them but to stay at Capernaum. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places too, for that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: This chapter reports: How Jesus responded to temptation by Satan. How Jesus, while participating in a service at a synagogue, said that Isaiah 61:1-2a was fulfilled in Him that day. How Jesus cast out a demon. How Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. How Jesus healed many other afflicted people. How Jesus got alone with the Father. What Jesus declared to be His mission and how He stayed on it.
Prayer: Dear God who promises to always be with us. Please help Your children to recognize and resist temptation as Jesus did by correctly applying the Word of God. May we appropriate the promises of scripture to our own lives and situations. Please help us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to preach Good News to the poor; heal the broken hearted; announce freedom to the captives; give sight to the blind; free the downtrodden from their oppressors; and proclaim that You, Lord God are ready to pour out blessings on all who come to You in faith. Please use ordinary people who are trusting You to cast out demons, perform miracles, and heal the sick in such a way that those who witness these events are amazed and give You all the credit and turn to You in faith as well. I acknowledge that before You can use us in these ways, we must spend significant time with You both alone and along with other like-minded people. Lord, help us to stay on mission as You did. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will work out a plan to spend significate time alone interacting with God, then carry it out.
- I will make a concerted effort to gather with fellow believers to praise God, pray, study the Bible, discuss and/or do practical things to please God.
- I will search out examples of where God is carrying out the activities mentioned above and join them if possible.
- I will praise God for all the ways I see Him working in my life and/or the lives of others.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.