Luke (Program #20) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (11)

In the gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus initiates His ministry with a visit to the synagogue in chapter 4 as He reads from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He proclaims that His ministry is the fulfillment of the hidden but marvelous prophecy in the Old Testament regarding the Jubilee.   Chapter 4:14-19 “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. And reports about Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and according to His custom He entered on the Sabbath day into the synagogue and stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee.” As we fellowship now beyond just a proclamation, declaration of the Jubilee we come to its application in chapter 9.

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Luke (Program #19) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (10)

In chapter 4 of Luke as the Lord Jesus was initiating His earthly ministry, He stood as was His habit in the synagogues and read from the Old Testament book of Isaiah, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee.” This was the announcement, the proclamation, the declaration of the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of Jubilee.  When we come to chapter 9 as we are today on our life study from the gospel of Luke, we find that Jubilee not just proclaim and announce but apply and spread.

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Luke (Program #18) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (9)

What does it mean to follow the Lord?  As believers we all should have this desire that day by day even moment by moment, we want to take the way that He is directing.  We probably heard the Christian life is described as a journey.  This is a valid way to look at the Christian life.  But a surprise thing to many of us is that once we finally to give ourselves to follow Him on this journey, the way He often leads us is not what we’d expected or hope for.  This is also the case with the Lord’s disciples in the first century as we see unfolded in the gospel of Luke.

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Luke (Program #17) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (8)

The progression in the gospel of Luke is truly marvelous. Chapter 7 concludes with several very touching stories of sinful people being forgiven and drawn to the Lord Jesus in love. Surely their cases match our own. Then after teaching His follower with parables we come to the most interesting passage in chapter 8, where the Man-Savior instead of acknowledging His flesh mother and brothers, identified His chosen ones, His believers as His real family members and relatives.

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Luke (Program #16) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (7)

Try to picture meal-time in the home of a prominent religious leader.  The guests include Jesus of Nazareth, other religious leaders and followers of Jesus.  And then, an uninvited guest shows up, a woman, well-known in the community because of her sored background and sinful past.   The picture is a vivid one, isn’t it?  And what transpired is so unique and profound as to forever be considered when the gospel of God, love and grace to man is told.

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Luke (Program #15) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (6)

Have you ever noticed that shortly after introducing and baptizing the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist himself was imprisoned and held there until he was beheaded? But during his imprisonment, the Lord Jesus was healing and liberating many oppressed and suffering people. Yet for John the Baptist He offer no such miracle. Even pressed to do so by John and some of His followers. What He did offer to John, was a very unique word that outwardly seem to offer no help. But likely became an inner strengthening to John, even through his martyrdom. We will look at this case and two other interesting cases from Luke chapter 7.

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Luke (Program #14) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (5)

Human history has witnessed many great moral and ethical teachers, Plato, Socrates, Confucius just to name a few. The Bible also contains wonderful teachings of morality and ethical behavior but no one say the Lord Jesus Christ Himself ever claimed as He did in John 6, “that the word that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” We all need to ask ourselves this fundamental questions, “Is God’s word to us just a book of ethical and moral teachings or is it a book that brings us to spirit and life?”

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Luke (Program #13) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (4)

The Bible tells us to love our enemies. Even to treat those who hate us well and to the ones that beat us in the cheek we should turn the other. Well we all heard such teachings and we may agree with them and even strongly desire to be such humble and meek persons. But when confronted with evil treatment or slander we lash out in anger and hatred of our own. But there is One in whom this kind of behavior does not come with difficulty and strife, in fact it matches the very character and nature of His life. For there was a time when we were His enemies and even His haters but He captured us with His love and now He blesses us by imparting His very life into us with the same capacity to love and forgive and forget.

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Luke (Program #12) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (3)

In Luke’s gospel, we find the account of just how the Lord Jesus called and attracted many of His disciples and followers.  With some He performed mighty miracles, yet with others it was simply His word or His sympathetic care that captivated them and drew them out of whatever held them to follow Him and serve Him absolutely.  What about you?  Are you waiting for a miracle?  Or is the realization of what He has already done or even the promise of His sweet presence enough to cause you to want to give up everything and follow Him?

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Luke (Program #11) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (2)

After passing through a full and thorough preparation, and even an inauguration, the Lord Jesus was ready to begin His earthly ministry.  He does so by quoting from the Old Testament pages of Isaiah, speaking words of grace to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, ushering acceptable year of the Lord, the Jubilee.  Well, these words were amazing to the Jews of Galilee as they are to us today.  But as we will see today and the coming days as we continue on this life study from the gospel of Luke, His living and His ministry became a living portrait of this Jubilee and in Him, all we as the real captives and the real blind ones find our freedom and our sight.

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