Story of Jesus, December 4th

Luke Chapter 4

Now Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Since Jesus was fasting, he ate nothing at all during this time and grew very hungry.

When Jesus’ hunger was greatest and his resistance lowest the devil, trying to make an attractive temptation, said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

Jesus answered, “No, it is written that ‘Man does not live on bread alone.'”

Then the devil led him up to a high place and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. I will give it all to you if you worship me.”

Jesus replied, “The scripture says, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the scripture says ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.'”

Jesus answered him and said, “The scripture also says ‘You must not test the Lord your God.'”

With that, the devil was done testing him and left, until the next opportunity came.

Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and began his ministry. Reports about him spread quickly throughout the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives
will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor
has come.”

-Luke 4:18-19

He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. He spoke to the people saying, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled today!”

Everyone spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that came from his mouth. But they were amazed and asked, “How can this be? Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Jesus knew that no prophet was accepted in their hometown, and when he spoke of things done in Elijah’s time the crowd became furious. All the people in the synagogue jumped up and mobbed him, driving him out of town. They brought him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built and intended to push him over the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There too, the people were amazed at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

Once when he was in the synagogue a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit, cried out, “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God.”

“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” he ordered. Then the demon threw the man to the floor without hurting him, as the crowd watched.

All the people were amazed and exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

The news about Jesus spread quickly through every village in the surrounding area.

When Jesus left that day, he went to Simon’s home where he found Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.

Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began preparing a meal for them.

As the sun was setting that day, the people of the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one of them.

Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because he knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Early the next morning, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because this is why I was sent.”

He continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues all throughout Judea.