Jesus in Capernaum Luke 4:31-44

This post concerns Jesus in Capernaum and lessons therefrom.

‘Jesus in Capernaum’ describes how Jesus ministered in villages other than Nazareth.  This, the beginning of Jesus’ personal ‘healing work’, involved twenty-one miracles cited by Luke as proof of His divinity. Note that He taught with power and authority. He then demonstrated that power and authority by casting out the evil spirit of an unclean demon who acknowledged Jesus as “the Holy One of God.” Because it was inappropriate for Jesus to be acknowledged by a demon, Jesus told the demon to be quiet and come out of the man.

Much of the amazement of the onlookers resulted when they realized that Jesus could cast out the demon simply by speaking. In this way, the onlookers could link his authority and power with his words.

As a result of this miracle, the news about Jesus spread far and wide.

The next demonstration of Jesus’ power involved healing the high fever of Simon’s mother-in-law by simply speaking. This is the first ‘disease-healing-miracle’ that Jesus did as reported by Luke. This is also the only time Jesus rebuked a disease during healing. This miracle showed Jesus’ power, not only over demons, but over disease.

The Jews would not travel very far on the Sabbath because longer would involve working on the Sabbath, forbidden by the Law of Moses in Ex. 12:16. But when the sun went down and a new day began, many came. Jesus cast out demons and healed them all. Again, He would not allow the demons to testify that He was the Son of God.

Sometimes, Jesus “laid His hands” on them to cure them.

On the next day, they desired that Jesus stay with them. However, He replied that He came into the world to preach the good news about the kingdom of God in many towns. So, he turned south to preach to towns in Judea.

What can we learn from these verses?

1.Jesus could cast out demons and heal diseases by the words He spoke as proof of His divinity.

2.He did not allow the demons to identify Him.

3.He preached and healed far and wide.

For more on the Bible click https://berksblog.net or https://justchristian.com or https://podcastjustchristian.com

#castOutDemonsDeseases #demonsForbiddenToIdentifyJesus #JesusSpokeWithPowerAuthority

LUKE 1:26-38                                  

1. Announce Jesus Birth: In the previous post on Luke, an angel announced that John would be born. If you missed the post, click https://tdroberts.org

2.  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, an angel, Gabriel, was sent to Nazareth to a virgin, Mary. She was betrothed to Joseph, a man in the lineage of David, v. 26-27. (A betrothal was a contract like an engagement in which the couple was bound to each other but not married.)

Gabriel’s unusual greeting—“Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you”—surprised Mary. Gabriel told her that she “had found favor with God.” She would bear a Son named Jesus who would be called the “Son of the Most High.” He would be given the throne of David. (See 2 Samuel 7:4-16 for the promise of the Messiah to reign on David’s throne.) His kingdom would last forever, v. 33.

Mary believed the angel but didn’t understand how it would happen since she was a virgin. Perhaps she wondered if the conception would come after her marriage to Joseph.

Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her for conception. This would make the child “holy—the Son of God.” This meant that neither Joseph nor any other man would be involved. The Holy Spirit would be responsible for the conception.

As a sign that the message was from God, Mary was told that her older relative, Elizabeth, was six months along in her first pregnancy.

It is remarkable, but Mary accepted this future birth and declared herself a servant of the Lord.

Mary’s faith and the fact that God managed the birth of both the forerunner, John, and Jesus is faith building for us.

      3. What I learned: Nothing is impossible with God, v. 37

#unusualBirth #GabrielsMessage #BirthJesus

2 Timothy 4:2                                    The Circuit Rider

#27 Question: What was the old preacher always saying?

The old man was a gospel preacher, kinda. All week long he worked as a janitor for the ‘gyp mill’ in Acme, Texas. On Sundays, he would get up very early and stand on the highway outside his rented company house to flag down the westbound Greyhound bus. He would then ride northwest on Highway 287 to an ‘appointment’ to preach in one of four or five small congregations in small towns along the highway. After the evening service, he would return home on the eastbound Greyhound bus. Usually, he would be paid at least the cost of the bus ticket, sometimes less than one dollar.

In this way he could be called a more modern ‘circuit rider without a horse.’

As he got the opportunity, he would always encourage young men to become preachers and “Preach the word” like Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2: “…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” Two of his sons became preachers.

Only God knows how much good he accomplished. The lesson to us is to do what we can with what we have and let God worry about the increase.

See earlier posts? Click  https://tdroberts.org

#PreachWord #circuitRider #doWhatWeCan