Day 8: Luke 4:31-5:11

Luke writes about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry outside of his hometown. As you listen, pay special attention to what Jesus does and how people respond to him.

Prepare your heart for God’s Word…

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want 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!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Replay the scene you just heard and imagine you are in the crowd listening to Jesus’ teaching. Who are the other people in the crowd? What are the noises you hear? Where are you standing – close to Jesus or at a distance?

After hearing him teach, you witness Jesus’ interaction with the demon-possessed man. What did Jesus do? How do you respond to this? Are you in awe, fearful, curious, skeptical?

The reactions to Jesus that day were strong:

Amazement at his authority.

Awe at his power.

The Holy One of God.

The demon fully recognized Jesus, yet the responses of the people indicate that they were still asking an unspoken question – “Who is this Jesus?”

Who is this Jesus in your life? Remember a time when Jesus said or did something powerful. How did this experience alter your understanding of who Jesus is?

The Scripture continues…

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

News about Jesus had spread, and all those in need of both physical and spiritual healing flocked to him. In his great compassion and mercy, Jesus healed each person; yet even as Jesus healed those brought to him, he refused to allow the people to redirect his mission. His compassion led him to heal, but his mission compelled him to continue to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God throughout the land. 

Like the people in Jesus’ time, we live in a world of brokenness, evil, and sin, and we long for restoration and healing. If Jesus came to your town today, what would you need most from him - to experience healing and restoration or to hear the good news of the gospel? Take that to Jesus now.

Scripture continues:

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Jesus was again teaching crowds of people when he made a strange request of an exhausted fisherman who, although skeptical, obeyed.

Up to this point in our reading, the demons were the only ones who had fully recognized Jesus, calling him the Holy One, the Son of God. But at this moment, Jesus’ miraculous provision caused Peter to also realize who Jesus was, and to recognize his own sinfulness in Jesus’ presence. Peter, who would go on to be the action-oriented, faith-proclaiming, beloved disciple of Jesus, first fell to his knees in recognition of Jesus.

Take a moment to remember a time when Jesus’ miraculous provision or answer to prayer caused you to recognize him as your Lord. Thank him for revealing himself to you.

As he did with Peter, Jesus is calling us to join him in his mission to share the good news of the gospel. As we end our time, consider what obedience to that call would look like for you today.