Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 4

Chapter 4 begins with a whirlwind of events. First Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness, then he returns to Nazareth only to be rejected, then it's on to Capernaum where he cast out demons and healed the sick.

One of the things this chapter does is highlight the difference between a fallen world and the world that Jesus is repairing. The temptation shows how we fall in the first place - every temptation is a deliberate misuse of power. Turn these stones into bread. Fall down and worship me and I will give you all authority on earth. Throw yourself down off the temple so people will notice you. Each temptation tried to get Jesus to be inwardly focussed.

When Jesus came to Nazareth, his home town, the people there couldn't believe what he was saying. They knew him as a little boy growing up. They knew his mother and family. They already knew who he was - so they thought. Sadly, those preconceived ideas prevented them from seeing the true Jesus - the one who was to fulfill all the promises of Scripture.

In his move to Capernaum, we see the other side of the story - we see Jesus setting things right that had gone wrong. A man was possessed by a demon. However you look at it, this man had a problem and was never the best version of himself. Jesus rebuked the demon and gave this man his life back. He then went to Simon Peter's home, where his mother-in-law was sick with a fever. There was no Tylenol back then, or antibiotics. A fever was a very serious thing and it was questionable whether the person would recover. Jesus healed this woman, she got up, and went about her business once again. Like the demon possessed man, Jesus gave her life back to her.

The whole Gospel can be viewed as God in Christ setting things right that have gone wrong. In this chapter from Luke we see it happening in very dramatic ways. I'm sure that in all of our lives there are instances where things need to be corrected. Perhaps we're sick. Perhaps we're not the best version of ourselves. But the good news that Jesus proclaimed - that the Kingdom is near - the good news is that things that went wrong are now being set right.

Thank you for joining us on this Advent Challenge. Tomorrow is Luke 5.

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