The Teaching of Scripture (Luke 4:14-21)

Luke 4:14-21

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

¹⁹    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ^q

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ^[1]

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What struck me in this familiar passage is Jesus’ relationship with Scripture.  Luke points out that Jesus was regularly teaching in the Synagogues.  In the example that Luke provides, we see what this was all about:  Reading and explaining Scripture.   The first activity that Luke presents of Jesus’ ministry is this ministry of the Word.

But what was Jesus teaching?  We don’t know the content of his teaching completely, but if Luke’s example is meant to be representative, we see Jesus explaining Scripture in light of His ministry.  This is the same thing that Jesus does after the resurrection, but with apparently in much greater depth to those whose minds He had opened to the Scriptures (Luke 24:13-44).

The takeaway from this for me today is to give God thanks for the gift of Scripture, by which He is revealed and through which Jesus still teaches us today.  It also is a reminder of the importance of being “grounded in the Word,” as we describe in one of the marks of discipleship.  In other words, if Jesus was so scripture-centered, then certainly those who aspire to follow Him are to be scripture-centered as well.

So my prayer today is that I would be receptive to the teaching of Jesus as He speaks to me today in His Word.

 

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

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^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Lk 4:14–21). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.