So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her

 

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them. 

 

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 

 

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."   And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. 

 

- Luke 4:38-44 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 

 

  Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  The Orthodox Study Bible comments that this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which St. Peter is called Cephas) indicate that St. Peter was married.  It points out, moreover, that Christ's healing miracles are diverse.  In this case, He heals by touch; elsewhere He heals with a word.  This healing is immediate and complete, while others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or they require the cooperation of the person healed of of that person's loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  All of Christ's miracles manifest His redemption of ailing humanity.  Regarding Christ's rebuke of the fever, it cites the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."

 

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.   Here again, we see the same dynamic played out that we read in yesterday's lectionary reading (see above) in which the demons identify Christ, and He in turn rebukes them and does not allow them to speak.  We see several things at once:  that the demons must obey His commands; that they recognize Him and know His identity as the Christ and Son of God; and that Jesus' ministry at this stage must keep that messianic identity a secret.

 

 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."   And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.   My study Bible comments that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom.  It says that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  This same pattern, it notes, holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  

 

 In a modern scientific age, to rebuke a fever as a living, intelligent thing is far away from our understanding of illness.  But perhaps if it is difficult for us to understand or accept this, we might understand something else we can infer from the text.  That is, the ailments and ills of our world are all interconnected with the rebellion against God, the fall from grace.  If indeed, the symptoms of fever were the product of a kind of demonic affliction (and we cannot categorically deny that possibility in terms of our knowledge of the spiritual realm), then the text is telling us that we cannot separate sin from evil effects in our world.  We do not presume to say that someone's personal sin is the cause of their illness (for Christ Himself has taught us differently; for example, see John 9:1-4).  However, we can say that collectively we suffer in our world from the effects of sin that may have nothing to do with ourselves.  But we do inherit this "fallen condition," a world beset by false solutions, false beliefs, and the effects of the choices that accompany them.  And, if one may be so bold to say it this way, it is these effects Christ has come into the world to help us navigate through and to remove.  Christ's casting out and rebuking of demons -- with authority they cannot resist -- is testimony to His role as Deliverer, Liberator, and Savior.  But we also play a role in this battle through the tools of our faith, its sacraments, and our own cooperation with God's grace at work in us, thanks to the saving mission of Christ.  (This is called synergy in the theological language of the Church.)  There is an interesting perspective in commentary on these passages in which the demons identify Christ, and that is given to us through various Church Fathers, such as St. Cyril of Alexandria.  St. Cyril writes, "It was not right for them to usurp the glory of the apostolic office or to talk of the mystery of Christ with polluted tongues. Yes, nothing they say is true. Let no one trust them. Light cannot be recognized with the help of darkness . . ." (see also 2 Corinthians 6:15).  We may seek to compare this with Christ's teaching on the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23.  But there, as Jesus points out, the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; therefore what they teach is important, but their works must not be imitated.  The demons, however, as St. Cyril says, exercise no apostolic office.  Today it might be difficult for us to understand the difference between personal failings or corruption and the institution of a recognized office and its protocols, but we might all be better off should we restore such understanding.  In society we have laws for a reason; yet even corrupt individuals holding office are subject to those laws and the legal ways of correction, even if justice takes time, and -- factoring in the spiritual battle and its effects we've been discussing -- justice in a worldly sense is imperfect.  The fullness of perfect justice will only be found in the One Who is good; that is God (Matthew 19:17) and we do not know what that fullness will look like (1 Corinthians 13:12).  But to seek to know God and to learn to grow in God's love so that we also may practice that love is a lifelong process in which we hope for righteousness (Matthew 22:36-40).  So let us be aware of spiritual struggle, the pitfalls of that which seeks to take us away from Christ, and how we are to live by His light.  For He is here to heal the world, and that in a myriad of ways for us all.

 

 

 

What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 

 

- Luke 4:31-37 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His forty-day period of testing in the wilderness, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."   So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  According to the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan, Christ began to preach, heal, and teach on the Sabbaths to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."  Jesus speaks with authority, astonishing the people.  The prophets of old and the teachers of Christ's time taught in the third person ("The Lord says").  But Christ teaches in the first person ("I say to you").  See also Matthew 5, the first chapter in the Sermon on the Mount.  

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  Jesus rebukes the demon for speaking ("Be quiet!").  The Orthodox Study Bible comments that Christ's refusal disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  The reasons for secrecy include first of all, the growing hostility of the Jewish leadership.  Then there is the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah and expectations for an earthly, political leader to bring material wealth and power to Israel.  Finally, our Lord desires to evoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs.  See Matthew 12:16-21.

 

 As Jesus begins His ministry, we see the spiritual conflict that is at the heart of His mission coming out into the open.  The devil is called "the ruler of this world" by Jesus in St. John's Gospel.  And those demons who oppress human beings and make their lives a misery serve under that particular "god of this age," as St. Paul put it.  It is part of Christ's saving mission to lay claim to our world as rightful Lord, and claim it away from the one who holds sway, and refuses to serve the true God.  So, in today's reading, Jesus' power and authority come not merely through His teaching and speaking, and His startling way of phrasing what He says ("I say to you").  It comes through His power over the demons, who also recognize Him.  It comes through His power to cast out the demon, commanding the demon to "come out of him," and -- perhaps startlingly -- it comes through His power to command the demon to "be quiet!"  Jesus is the Master of His ministry, and it is only He who will reveal His identity, and in the proper time, for the proper purposes.  He does not want to be identified by the demons, who know who He is.  They say, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"   They identify Jesus as "the Holy One of God."  The One is the One Son of God, the Holy One.  Notice how they are surprised that He is in their midst, and they even know Him as Jesus of Nazareth.  It's interesting to observe what the demons know and what they don't, because it tells us something about these spirits at work in our world.  They can't second-guess the work of God, although they do recognize the power and authority of Christ, for they have no choice.  They are compelled to do so.  Jesus' first act, after His Baptism by St. John the Baptist, was to go into the wilderness and be tested and tempted by the devil.  The Gospels tell us that in so doing, He was led by the Spirit.  (In St. Mark's Gospel, it is said that Jesus was driven by the Spirit; the literal translation of the Greek tells us He was "thrown" by the Spirit into the wilderness, "cast out."  See Mark 1:12.)  In that time of testing in the wilderness during His forty days of fasting and praying, Jesus defeated Satan in their confrontations through obedience to the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Here the demons are powerless even to challenge Him; Jesus simply commands them.  But it opens up for us Christ's mission as Deliverer and Savior.  For He is not on His saving mission simply to make us good, or better people, to teach us good teachings, or even purely to save souls.  He is here to claim His authority; He is here "for the life of the world" and all the created order.  He is here to displace the false rebellious ruler of this world, and through His ministry He also invites us into this fight.  After all, we are at the center of it, and the battle that goes on here is the battle that takes place for our souls, inside of us.  While the demons use human beings for their tortured and selfish, parasitical purposes, Jesus' mission into the world enlists us also as servants of God, just as He is the Servant of Isaiah's prophecy.  He is here so that in our redemption we may become "sons of God" by adoption, even as the angels (including the fallen ones) are bodiless powers called "sons of God" simply by creation (Job 1:6; 2:1).  In this sense, human beings, by the holiness made possible through grace and Christ's redemptive mission, become a part of Christ's ultimate victory and the defeat of the demons' rebellion, even potentially assuming higher places in the created order of God.  Through Christ's Incarnation, deified human nature may thus take the place of the destiny forfeited by the fallen angels.  So, Jesus' presence among the demons spells their end, in a truly cosmic and final way.  Let us pay careful attention and strengthen our faith in His redemptive mission.  

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country

 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovering of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of the was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14-30 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His Baptism by St. John the Baptist, Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.   

 

   Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  My study Bible notes that, as Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not become the world's anointed Savior, but rather has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ who spoke through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus doesn't say, "The Spirit has come upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His Baptism (see above, Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.  The acceptable year of the LORD is the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).  

 

 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  According to my study Bible, this double response of both marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.  Moreover, it foreshadows Christ's rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  My study Bible adds that Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not at the will of the Jews.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Important to note is that Jesus' statement, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country," appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; John 4:44).

 

We all face rejection in our lives, perhaps on a frequent basis.  But shall we consider Christ, the Lord of the Universe, and the rejection He goes through in His earthly ministry?  There is not simply this rejection that we read about in today's reading, but, as my study Bible also notes, the rejection to come from the entire nation.  Perhaps it is important that this first rejection comes so early in His ministry, and it happens in His hometown of Nazareth.   We may find familiarity with what we've experienced in life; that is, the humiliation of being embarrassed, and rejection in front of a body of our peers.  This is important, because Christ gives us a sense of what it is to persevere in doing what is right in God's sight, and out of loyalty and love for God.  In this sense, Christ's rejection is another kind of temptation that bears a small resemblance to the temptations in the wilderness by Satan which we read about yesterday (see above).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus' relation to the Father was tested ("If You are the Son of God. . .") in terms of His needs (bread), worldly power and authority ("all the kingdoms of the world"), and the danger He would face ("throw yourself down from here").  In today's reading, we find similar temptations, in that in His hometown He is no longer welcome (so it could not be a place of refuge for Him in the world), His authority is rejected, and He's placed in danger as they try to throw Him off a cliff.  These all repeat, in some sense, the temptations of the devil.  If we examine this pattern closely, we see that for Jesus it will repeat in different forms throughout His ministry, particularly in the patterns of growing hostility and opposition by the religious authorities in Jerusalem, and among those who rule for Rome.  But additionally, the people will also turn against Him at different times, the crowds who are often led in very capricious ways either by authorities or one another.  In all ways, Christ's earthly ministry is meant to heal, and so His rejection becomes a paradigm.  When we find ourselves in this place of rejection or humiliation, we need to turn to Him for how to walk through it, how to find His light in our darkness (John 12:35).  For Jesus, His "pattern" is always to be the Son of God; this is who He is and the life He leads.   But for those of us who desire to become "sons of God" by adoption, it is also the identity we must follow in imitation of Him.  "How does God want me to respond?" is always an important question.  Turning to prayer, to Scripture, to the saints, to worship -- all are essential ways to face our own temptations in the face of humiliation and rejection, the withdrawal of safety and security, the uncertainty of hostility and danger.  This must be an active pursuit on our part, not a passive or lazy one, for each person will face unique struggles and challenges, and God may desire particular responses for each situation.  Such is the nature of spiritual struggle, for which we have been given so much by Christ, including the gift of grace, the Holy Spirit, and all the tools of the Church.  Let us "work the works of God" in our active spiritual life, as He has taught us.

 

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God

 

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  

 

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  

 

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  

 

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,'

and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up, 

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

 

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

 

- Luke 4:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John the Baptist, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  When all the people were baptized it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed the understanding of "types" in the Bible.  This "typological" way of understanding Christ gives us a lens through which to view His ministry and the events in it, as fulfilling types from the Old Testament.  My study Bible explains that the exodus of Jesus into the wilderness after His Baptism has a dual symbolism, one of which is to fulfill the Old Testament type in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its figurative "baptism" in the Red Sea.  In another sense, Christ's time in the wilderness also prefigures our own journey through the fallen world after our baptism, as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  This we also symbolically relive through the traditional practices of Lent, the forty days before Easter/Pascha, in which we fast, give alms, and deepen our prayer lives.  (There is another traditional forty day fast, as well, before Christmas.)  Let us note that all of the Scripture quotations that Jesus uses are from Deuteronomy, and the story of Israel's time in the wilderness, and they all call for loyalty to God.  Although Jesus is tested with hunger for forty days, He doesn't sin.  He fasted to overcome temptation, and gives us thereby an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  The hunger of Christ's flesh does not control Him; rather, He controls His flesh.  

 

 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Here is the first temptation, in which Jesus is tempted to use His power to follow His impulses to hunger while He has been purposely fasting before He begins His public ministry.  My study Bible asks us to notice that each time Christ rebukes the devil, it is with the truth and power of Scripture. (In this case, He quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3; see also John 6:27.)   This teaches the faithful to become immersed in Scripture, so that we may resist and drive away every temptation (see Psalm 119:11).   The devil challenges Christ's relation to the Father, saying, "If You are the Son of God . . .."  My study Bible comments that this calls into question the Father's declaration at Christ's Baptism (see yesterday's reading, above).  It says that the devil wants Jesus to act independently and to detach Himself from the will of the Father.  In His divine nature, my study Bible explains, Christ shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He can do nothing of Himself, as He has said, apart from the Father.  But in Jesus' humanity, He has free will, and at all times He must choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father.   Note also that while Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), the New Adam -- Who is Christ -- conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan. 

 

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"   Once again, the devil seeks to tempt Christ to betray His relationship to the Father, using material promise to lure His loyalty.  My study Bible comments that God's Kingdom is not one of earthly power and possessions.  In this test, Jesus is being asked by the devil to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.  It notes that the devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  Jesus refuses the road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.

 

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  As Christ has defeated him twice through the power of the Scriptures, Here the devil tries to tempt Jesus by quoting from Scripture (Psalm 91:11-12) in order to put God's power of protection to the test.  (See also 2 Peter 1:19-21).  My study Bible comments here that trials and temptations come on their own; we should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the LORD (Deuteronomy 6:16).

 

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  Regarding the devil's opportune time, see Luke 22:40-46; 23:35; Matthew 16:21-23. 

 

For most Westerners, in the modern age it may seem a bit strange to deliberately give oneself a form of deprivation, perhaps particularly to experience hunger.  Dieting or fasting to lose weight is something quite common, but these are not often done purely to become a master of one's own impulses nor in combination with prayer and devotion to God.   Indeed, in our world today we have staggering problems with addictions that seem to originate to a large extent from the impulse to extinguish discomfort of all kinds, whether physical, mental, or even spiritual.  To deliberately seek a kind of discomfort for religious reasons is now, in our modern world, unusual.  Perhaps to a great extent our culture has adapted to a consumerist way of life in which any form of sacrifice is distasteful.  But the asceticism that has always been a part of the Church (and clearly, of Judaism in Jesus' time) remains an essential tool for spiritual growth nonetheless.  Jesus' forty-day fast is a time of deep prayer in communion with the Father.  His conquering of Satan in this sense becomes an essential part of His ministry to us and for us.  It is a time of testing, prefiguring all that He will undergo in His ministry, in serving the Father despite the hardship He will endure.  We, too, should not forget that life, no matter how "good" it may be and no matter what our material wealth (including food) may be, is never going to be perfect.  As human beings, we not only remain in an imperfect world in which the "evil one" still has effects, but we are also imperfect creatures.  We are in this world to learn, to grow in grace and repentance and healing, and in this growth our lives are a trajectory.  We must choose the course, the aim, wisely, and learn to live toward this good choice.  When we choose Christ, we choose a kind of devotion that leads us to an abundance of life (John 10:10).  Practices done in imitation of Christ, such as fasting, giving time and dedication to prayer, the giving of alms, are meant to strengthen us in that aim, to deepen our communion with God.  Moreover, they prepare us for our own hardships; that is, those times when we face struggles and opposition in life.  Perhaps even more importantly, when done for this purpose of growing closer to Christ, we grow in the strength He offers at the same time.  For in the traditional understanding of the Church, we are like Christ in the wilderness:  we face temptations from the one who is, in fact, hostile to us, and we need to focus on remaining in the light of Christ (John 12:35), despite the difficulties of spiritual struggle.  In the news today is the death by overdose of a young man who had everything going for him, and every advantage:  loving parents, success, health, enormous wealth.  But in all the ways he spoke of himself and his struggle (particularly with prescription medication), there is no mention of spiritual sustenance, of an understanding that we must endure through the strength which God can offer, and for the purpose of growing more fully into our faith and God's love.  It is a sad paradox and a tragic outcome, and his family needs our prayers as he did, and does still.  But let us consider what is missing in material success and the appearance of having all needs met (including prescription medicines that are meant to make us feel better).  Let us consider Jesus' way, and the example He sets.  We can feed ourselves on God's word, on the strength God gives us, and the practices that are meant to serve our souls.  In the growing strength of faith, we find ways through the darkness and difficulties of life.  Let us take courage in so doing, and follow His example for us.

 

 

 

 

 

  

I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent

 

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them. 

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

- Luke 4:38–44 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 

 

  Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  My study Bible comments that this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Peter is called Cephas) show us that Peter was married. 

 

 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.   In St. Matthew's version of this story, Jesus heals St. Peter's mother-in-law with a touch (Matthew 8:14-15).  But here in St. Luke's Gospel, the emphasis is on Jesus' rebuke of the fever (both things could no doubt be true).   My study Bible quotes from the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."

 

 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.   Both this passage in Luke and the passage that follows the healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law in Matthew report this activity in that same evening.  That is, both report the casting out of demons connected to healing from disease (see also Matthew 8:16-17).  We can see how such activity is linked to the "rebuking" of a fever.

 

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.    My study Bible comments that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom.  Miracles and healings, it says, testify both to the truth of the message and to the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  This same pattern holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  

 

So far in Luke's Gospel, there has been established a pattern underlying Christ's mission and ministry that spells out a Kingdom come to be declared even in the midst of one under a "prince" making war against that Kingdom.  If we think about the Spirit immediately leading Christ to the desert to fast and be tempted by the devil, we see such a confrontation taking place.  This kind of battle isn't a kind of warfare we understand through worldly life.  Spiritual battle is essentially what Jesus did; it is to resist temptation and hold fast to faith in and obedience to God.   In today's reading, Christ's healing activities are connected to this world as battleground, where He has come to overthrow the "prince of this world" or "god of this age," the devil (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4).  Each episode or interaction we've read about so far emphasizes this reality as underlying Christ's ministry, whether He is facing temptation, or preaching with His authority, or healing sickness, or casting out demons.  Even when the demons speak up, He silences them, another action of opposition to their "leader," and an act of authority belonging to His Kingdom.  In today's reading, He replies to the people's request that He stay with them by declaring this mission, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."   Here is here bringing the kingdom of God closer to people, Christ Incarnate.  He's bringing the Kingdom into the world, preaching its gospel.  People do not yet know nor understand the Incarnation, but the demons know who He is, and He is already challenging the gates of Hades by bringing His ministry into the world.  His very presence is like a battle cry; resisting the temptations of the devil the great weapon, healing diseases and casting out demons a declaration of a greater power here than the prince of this world (Luke 11:20-22).  When we pray to Christ, when we resist temptation, when we follow His commands, and live as He asks, then we also join in this battle, and find ourselves in the midst of a battleground that not everyone can see.  But He calls us to this place, and He asks us to join Him under the sign of His Cross.

 

 

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 

 

- Luke 4:31–37 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (following His temptation by the devil as He fasted for forty days), and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan, who says that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths in order to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

 

 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  The prophets of old would teach in the third person ("the Lord says"), and teachers such as the scribes of Christ's own time would teach by quoting famous rabbis.  But Jesus' teaching was expressed in the first person ("I say to you").  My study Bible explains that this is what is meant by the statement that Christ's word was with authority, and therefore why this type of teaching astonished the people.  See, for example, Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  My study Bible reminds us that the prophet Isaiah foresaw the Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  Therefore, Jesus rebukes this unclean demon, crying out with a loud voice, to be quiet!  The following reasons are given for this desire for secrecy.  In the first place, Jesus will contend with the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders (He has already experienced the wrath of the neighbors in His hometown of Nazareth in yesterday's reading, above).  Second, there is the people's misunderstanding and expectations of the awaited Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, Christ desires to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  My study Bible concludes that Isaiah's reference to the suffering Servant therefore refers first to Christ, and by extension all who follow Him.

 

Christ's humility takes front and center stage in today's reading.  This statement might seem paradoxical, given that we've just read, in fact, that Jesus teaches with a personal authority that is so rare as to be astonishing to the people.   But, in fact, if we consider that Christ expresses Himself clearly and honestly, but without declaring Himself to be the awaited Messiah, then we begin to understand what humility looks like, and why He is the example we have.  In fact, this humility is precisely what is notable about Isaiah's depiction of the Christ as a suffering Servant.  Through Jesus' example, we learn what it is to tell the truth, being obedient to God, but without ostentation or grandiosity, incurring the astonishment -- and resentment -- of others.  In fact, this propensity of Jesus to act and to speak with authority will earn Him the opposition of the religious establishment, and lead to His persecution.  It will be a sticking point in the questioning of the religious authorities as to why and how Jesus conducts His ministry.  But Jesus manages to do something very important:  He acts and lives by His true identity, but never declares this as a proposition to others.  It is His life that reveals who He is, something that can be seen only with the eyes of faith.  This teaches us a great deal about what is true humility.  Humility is not debasing ourselves nor degrading ourselves in some manner so as to please others, or to grovel.  Humility is basically an absolute truth; we are humble before God is who we are, including our flaws, and seeking to do the things that please God in all our choices.  If we think of being fellow servants with Christ -- and servants and disciples of Christ -- then we seek His will in all things, and this is humility.  Just as Christ puts His human will second to the will of God, so we seek to please God and put our own impulses in service to God.  And this is humility and truth, for it is a true expression of the truth of who we are as creatures of God who seek to be children by adoption, to be children of Abraham, in the words of John the Baptist (Luke 3:8).  To live this way is to live with true integrity, for it is an attempt to live transparently in accordance with who we truly are, no more and no less, as those who must acknowledge God and God's guidance as our greatest need and dependency in life.  To live as humble is to remember God, and that God is the ultimate judge of all things, and not ourselves.  To be humble is to know that the discernment of the Holy Spirit, who reminds us of all of Christ's teachings, is what we need to seek at all steps in our lives.  To be humble is to remember that we are time-bound creatures, and so we are born to be always learning, especially from our mistakes.  As those who live bound by time, we live with constant change, and that dynamic of change applies to us as well.  Therefore we must be aware of our constant need for repentance or "change of mind," as the Greek word μετανοια/metanoia literally means.  As Christ's disciples, we will always have new things to learn, and He is our authority.  As His disciples, we are also called upon to forgive and to love, both of which take a great deal of humility, and form a long learning curve.  Let us be "like Him" in all things, as we are able. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 

 Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 

 To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit [and following His Baptism] returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and,'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  Let us note how the Gospel is careful to tell us that all things are done with the power and involvement of the Holy Spirit in Christ's ministry.  This was expressed as a sign "like a dove" at His Baptism, in His being led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by the devil (see yesterday's reading, above), and now in this earlier part of His public ministry, in which He returned to Galilee, and taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

 

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  Jesus reads these words from Isaiah 61:1-2.  My study Bible comments that being the eternal Son of God, Christ did not "become" the world's anointed Savior, but He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  We are further asked to note that Isaiah does not write, "The Spirit 'has come' upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His at His Baptism (see Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal -- not temporal -- truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation -- when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible comments that this double response of marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.   Furthermore, it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus accepts death according to the Father's will, my study Bible tells us, and not at the will of the nation or the people.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Jesus' statement that no prophet is accepted in his own country appears in all four Gospels (see also John 4:44; Mark 6:4, Matthew 13:57).

 

Jesus reads from the prophecy of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me."  And when He finishes reading the passage, He declares to the people of His hometown of Nazareth: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  It's interesting that so much of Luke's Gospel (particularly the passages we have read so far in the lectionary at this time, beginning especially with Friday's reading of the events of Jesus' Baptism) concerns itself most transparently with the work of the Holy Spirit, active and participating in our world through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  After all, it is Luke's Gospel that tells us of the Annunciation, and Gabriel the Archangel's announcement to Mary that she will conceive a child.  When she asks, "How can this be?" the angel replies to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  In all things concerning Christ, we find the activity and anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit.  Today's reading is no different, because the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah is also linked to the Spirit, as we read.  Most clearly the Spirit appeared "in bodily form like a dove" at Christ's Baptism, and from there the Holy Spirit drove Christ to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil while He fasted forty days.  The Spirit was also at work in Christ's beginning His ministry in Galilee, and now here He is in His hometown of Nazareth (that is, where He had been brought up), also in Galilee, where His fame has already spread.  But the interesting part of this work of the Holy Spirit is that it doesn't lead automatically to a life and ministry for Jesus that is simply filled with a worldly concept of "success."  While His fame has grown (He has been glorified by all), this doesn't mean that He meets with universal acceptance.  In fact, so far, quite the opposite seems to have happened.  He is first led by the Holy Spirit to be opposed, tested, and tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  And here, while He's come back to the place He was raised with a lot of renown in Galilee already, the people both marvel and become offended.  Where did He get those gracious words?  Then the real work begins, and Jesus tells them the truth, that He can't reproduce the marvelous works they've heard about which have taken place in Capernaum (possibly at the wedding reported by John).  For these things require faith, and they will not be done as proofs, or on demand.  And so comes the opposition and rejection, even outrage on the part of His neighbors at Nazareth.  Who does He think He is, after all?  He reminds them that prophets of the past -- Elijah and Elisha -- were not sent to their own to do great works, but rather to foreigners, and the response of His former neighbors is wrath.  Perhaps the lesson we should take from this is to understand that success on God's terms and success on worldly terms are two entirely different classes of experiences and values.  Do we need to be popular and liked by everyone?  Can we stay "friends" with all those who are not going to like the truth we embrace in our faith?  Perhaps even fellow Christians, members of our families, and those of our community reject truths we are led to embrace in our faith.  Particularly difficult is when political tests (of any type) come to apply as checks to our faith.   But a life spent pleasing God is just not going to be the same life that seeks instead the "praise of men," and we should be prepared for rejection, even outrage, because this is what accompanied our Lord.  As His disciples, we are told, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  Learning to follow Christ in that love is perhaps the greatest undertaking of our faith, for we are asked to love even when we can't "like" something.  To my way of thinking, this is not a question of doing things others want or desire from us, but rather finding out how love is seeking the good for others, and learning discernment in what will and will not have such desired effects -- including even where we cannot intervene or interact.  These are difficult things to learn, but that is what we are called to learn, how to love.  We can call on the mystery of the Holy Spirit to always be at work in our lives, but remember that worldly expectations are not always the answer, nor are they the purpose of the call of God.

 

 

 

 

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil

 

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"

 

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

 

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:   

'He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,'

"and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"   

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

- Luke 4:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John the Baptist, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  My study Bible comments that this exodus of Jesus into the wilderness after His baptism has a dual symbolism.  First, this fulfills the Old Testament type in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after "baptism" in the Red Sea.  Second, it's a prefiguration of our own journey through the fallen world after baptism as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  

 

And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.   Jesus fasted to overcome temptation, my study Bible says, giving us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  The hunger of His flesh doesn't control Him; He controls His flesh.  This forty-day fast is the foundation of the practice of the Christian Lenten fast.  Christ's forty day fast reverses Israel's falling into temptation in the wilderness.  My study Bible comments that the Israelites were tested forty years in the wilderness, and proved disobedient and disloyal.  God humbled them by first letting them go hungry and then feeding them with manna to help them learn dependence upon God (Deuteronomy 8:2-5). Christ is tested but does not sin; His answers to Satan are all from Deuteronomy, and they all call for loyalty to God.

 

 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Note how the devil is challenging Christ's relationship to God the Father.  If You are the Son of God is playing upon the Father's declaration at Jesus' Baptism (see yesterday's reading, above, in which the Father's voice says to Christ, "You are My beloved Son").  The devil wants to break Christ's relationship to the Father, so that He will detach Himself from the Father's will.  In Christ's divine nature, my study Bible explains, He shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  As Christ declared, He can do nothing of Himself apart from the Father (John 5:30).  But in Christ's humanity, He possesses free will, and therefore must at all times choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father.  Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3.  Each time Jesus rebukes the devil, it's with the truth and power of Scripture.  My study Bible notes that this teaches us faithful to become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and to drive away every temptation (see Psalm 119:11).  My study Bible further asks us to note that by rejecting this temptation, Jesus rejects an earthly kingdom and shows us not to pursue earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  While Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), Christ is the New Adam, who conquers all temptation by the divine word, and gives human nature the power to conquer Satan.

 

 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  My study Bible comments that God's Kingdom isn't one of earthly power and possessions.  Here the devil tests Jesus by asking Him to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.  The devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  Jesus refuses this road of earthly glory, my study Bible says, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  See Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20.

 

 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:   'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  As Christ had defeated the devil by the power of the Scriptures in the first two temptations here, Satan tries to use the Scriptures to put god's power of protection to the test (see also 2 Peter 1:19-21).  The devil quotes from Psalm 91:11-12.

 

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  My study Bible comments that trials and temptations come on their own.  It adds that we should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger to test or to prove God's protection.  To do that is to tempt the LORD.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.

 

 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  Regarding an opportune time, see Luke 22:40-46, 23:35; Matthew 16:21-23.

The concept of time is an interesting one, and somehow related to today's reading.  That is, time plays a role in all of our lives because our capacity for repentance -- for growth -- is dependent upon us being time-bound creatures.  But we find in the Gospels that Christ is a master of time.  When it is His time to come to the Cross is determined by no one except Himself, for example.  Turning water into wine seems to have something to do with the capacity to bypass time in some sense, as well.  Christ's use of time is yet another sort of "sign" of His divinity.  But in today's reading, there's another being who also seems to be able to use time in ways that human beings cannot, and that is the devil.  It's quite intriguing that the devil has the capacity to show to Christ "all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time."  This seems to tell us more than one thing about the devil.  First of all the devil could do this in a moment of time, and also that the devil is capable of presenting ideas, even visions, to people.  So, when we speak about temptations of the devil (or possibly other demonic beings), we should remember that we are speaking of beings which were created as angels.  According to at least one Orthodox theologian, these demonic beings are those created as angelic, but what they lack is the Holy Spirit.  Therefore they have some capacities that angelic creatures do, including a great intelligence, but they lack the goodness of creativity that Holy Spirit gives, and the other blessings and gifts of the Spirit, because they are in opposition to Christ.  We also note that today's reading tells us that the devil had the ability even to take Christ to a high mountain, and also to set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.  So, in terms of space, the devil would also seem to have some extraordinary abilities.  But what this seems to imply for us is that Christ paves the way for us human beings to do something truly extraordinary.  As noted above, my study Bible names several things we learn about resisting temptation from Christ's time in the wilderness during these forty days of temptation and fasting.  First, we may seek to become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and to drive away every temptation.  Jesus also teaches us that, as He rejects an earthy kingdom, so we may resist passionate pursuit of "food which perishes."  While Adam disregarded God's word to pursue bodily passions, Christ is the New Adam who gives human nature the power to conquer Satan.  So Christ paves the way for us to be "like Him," to derive help from our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to gain the capacity through putting on Christ via our own baptism, and to resist the devil.  Note that the devil also acts as trickster, even quoting Scripture to mislead.  But Christ rebukes the devil with appropriate Scripture, and the Spirit is our Helper to give us discernment.  Can one imagine what a comedown it must be for a being created as an angel, with all of these abilities to use to tempt, and yet we far more simple, and time-bound, human beings have the capacity to resist?  This is the great victory of Christ for us, and our liberation and deliverance, for we don't have to be slaves to temptations, and we can abide in Him.  Let us note once again the activity of the Holy Spirit, also revealed to us in today's Gospel reading.  For it is the Holy Spirit who leads Christ into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and the same Spirit who helps to give us the power, made firm in Christ, to beat the devil at his game.  Let us be aware and prepared, for as with Christ, the devil awaits "an opportune time."