Identifying with fallen humanity, Christ was also tempted yet without sin. From this point He begins His public ministry.
Luke 4: The Temptation of Jesus
1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"
5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,'
11 and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
22 And all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
23 And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well."
24 And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,
26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,
32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
34 "Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are---the Holy One of God."
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"
37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals Many
38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf.
39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.
41 And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them,
43 but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."
44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 5: Jesus Calls the First Disciples
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."
6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
7 They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."
11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 And he charged him to tell no one, but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them."
15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,
19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts?
23 Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"---he said to the man who was paralyzed---"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home."
25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.
26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."
Jesus Calls Levi
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me."
28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
A Question About Fasting
33 And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."
34 And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."
36 He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"
Things to think about…
1. The temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13 is a pattern for Christians. We are often tempted and when we are victorious over those temptations the Lord allows us an opportunity for public service. Paul says not to let any serve as Deacons (Ministry Leaders) until they are tested first, why? Lest they fall into the temptation of the devil. Temptation is not the sin, falling for the temptation is the sin. What areas are you being tested in? Every resistance is making you stronger for a greater service for the Lord.
2. Jesus begins his public ministry Luke 4:14-30 and starts with His home town of Nazareth by saying He is the fulfilment of the ‘Good News’ that Isaiah spoke of. They reject Him to the point of attempted murder. Imagine this scenario – a man who they have known and loved for 30 years, they now try and murder. Such is their religious bigotry. In what ways do we see this same religious bigotry, firstly in the world, but secondly, in the church? Grace, truth and peace in Christ makes a way for unity and humility.
3. In Luke 5:1-11 Jesus calls His disciples and begins by allowing an amazing catch of fish for those in a business partnership – Peter and the brothers James and John. Peter’s response is not to praise God for the huge financial blessing of the 2 boats that are now sinking with fish. His response is to say ‘depart from me I am a sinful man’. How much more are we to see our own condition before we see the blessings that come from our Saviour. Peter does not ask for the Lord to continue to bless his business. He sees his sinful nature and is now challenged to be a ‘fisher of men’, vs 11. In all the blessings the Lord has given you in this life, is your chief desire to follow Christ and be ‘a fisher of men’?
4. After calling His first disciples and starting an amazing public ministry with many healings and declaring the gospel message, Jesus speaks about how there is now a new way to worship using the analogy of old and new wineskins, Luke 5:33-39. No longer is the system of OT sacrifices (old wineskins) going to be able to hold the new paradigm of NT worship in Christ (new wine). How does this analogy work within the modern church? We worship Christ, but are there are new ways that we should consider in bringing this message to keep this ‘new wine’ from bursting out of old ‘wine skins’, that no longer allow the message to be delivered effectively. How do our traditions get in the way in sharing the ‘good news’? Note what Jesus says in Luke 5:39 “And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'" The message doesn’t change. Christ is new but His message remains the same for all ages.
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for wisdom and clarity with some restrictions lifted.
2. Continue to pray for doctors and nurses on the front line of this pandemic across the globe.
3. Pray that as restrictions are lifted that businesses may return and people who have lost their jobs may return to gainful employment..
4. Sunday’s fb live messages for Kids church and – “The greatest ever – John the Baptist” Psalm 32Luke 3, 7, Ps Jay.
5. Our online Chuwar Kids at church program – that our kids still feel connected to church and love worshipping Him.
6. Pastoral care. Pray people feel connected in this isolation period. Been great catching up with people at the Bean Redeemed café.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times. Pray especially for people to be stable with respect to mental health.
Praise Points.
1. Finances being maintained and donation to Café roof. Thankyou!
4. Streaming and fb live being done very well by Dan and the technical team. Thanks Doug, Dan, Jesse and Peter. Thanks worship team.
5. Infection curve continues to drop below 1% infection levels. as a response to the virus in Australia
6. Praise the Lord churches are functioning well in this environment and the gospel is going out in the media.
7. Encouraging online comments – the church is still functioning well and people are being cared for.
Announcements
1. Pray about offerings to help with putting a roof over the café. Our temporary white shade is coming to the end of its life. $6k required for a new roof. $2k has been donated.
2. No members meeting for May – but an update of ministries and finances etc.
3. New church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Kids Church now streamed live at 9:00am every Sunday morning via CBC’s fb page.
