Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.My Understanding: Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Spirit of God into the desert, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. He fasted during those 40 days. Satan threw three separate temptations at Jesus. Jesus responded to each one with the word of God. On the third temptation, Satan also used the word of God, with a twist, to try to tempt Jesus, but Jesus responded, “It says, ‘Do not put your Lord God to the test.’”
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. And he stood up to read. 17 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 preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
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 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus returned to Galilee, in the power of the Spirit. He taught in their synagogues. He read scripture. He read Isaiah 61. Following this, Jesus said that no prophet is accepted in his hometown, so that is why he had to go to other people. With power and authority he gave orders to evil spirits and they came out. Jesus healed the sick and the afflicted. He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… because that is why I was sent.”
The song that the Lord gave me this morning when I awoke was “May Christ Be Seen In Me.” What I realized, as I read this passage of scripture in Mark 4, is that this was describing many of Jesus’ characteristics, qualities and deeds. If I am to have Christ be seen in me, then I need to know Christ personally as my Lord and Savior, know who Christ is, what he was like when he walked this earth, and what kinds of things he did that were evident that he was who he said he was. If I say I am a Christian, then these same qualities should be evident in my life, as well.
Full of the Holy Spirit
The first quality or characteristic of Jesus that I noted is that he was full of the Holy Spirit. I am actually writing this now on Wednesday. I was reading in Luke 5 for my quiet time with the Lord this morning. I read about how you can’t put new wine into old wineskins or they will burst, the wine will run out, and the old wineskins would be ruined. I always have thought of that parable in relation to the fact that we can’t invite Jesus Christ to come into our lives, if our idea of that is that he just gives us a cleaned up version of our old lives, or worse, that he comes to dwell within our old lives. When Jesus Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit, comes into dwell in the hearts of true believers in Jesus Christ, he does a clean sweep, i.e. our old lives of sin are done away with. This does not mean we will never sin again, but it means we have repented of our sin, we have turned from living according to our old fleshly desires, we have been transformed and made new in Christ, and we are now turning to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. So, the Holy Spirit is able to fill us, and we are able to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us because we are no longer living our lives to please self, but we are living to please God.
Jesus was also led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted of Satan. God does not tempt us, but he does allow us to be tempted and he does allow us to go through times of testing of our faith in order to strengthen us in our faith. So, he will sometimes lead us through difficulties, valleys, dark times, etc., as well as he will lead us to the mountain tops of rejoicing in victories. Through the good and the bad experiences of our lives, though, Jesus is always with us. He will never leave those who are truly his. He is not surprised by what we are going through, because he has allowed it for our good. So, instead of resisting or trying to get out of those difficult times, we should be like Jesus and submit to God’s leading and allow him to teach us what he wants us to learn during those times, which can be difficult, I know. Yet, yielding to God and to his will, rather than fighting against God, wins out every time. These times when we are tempted of Satan, we should follow Jesus’ example by knowing the word of God and using it as our sword of the Spirit against Satan’s temptations, tricks and lies that he likes to use against us to get us to give up on what God has called us to do and to get us to submit to the devil instead.
Taught in the Synagogues
The synagogues of Jesus’ day were the house of the Lord. The synagogues were the places where God’s people gathered together to hear scripture read and taught. They were specific places. Jesus told the woman at the well, who questioned him about where the Jews worshiped God vs. where others worshiped God, that a day was coming, which has now come, when men would no longer worship God on this mountain or that mountain, but they would worship God in spirit and in truth. He was talking about how, after he died on the cross for our sins, and after he rose from the dead in conquering sin so we could go free, he ascended into heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God now dwells within the hearts of his true followers.
So, now we don’t have to go to a specific place to worship God. We can worship him wherever we are and we can be taught by him no matter where we are. So, for us to follow Jesus’ example in teaching the word of God in the synagogues of our day, it means for us to teach the word of God wherever true believers in Jesus Christ gather together to hear the word taught, whether it is in a formal institutional church building, a house, the marketplace, on the job during break, in a vehicle, at the shopping mall, on the internet, etc. The important thing for us is that we are willing to share the word of God wherever he places us, even if it is to go out into “deep water,” as Jesus asked Peter to do, in chapter 5, in order to “catch many fish.” Jesus told Peter he would make him a fisher of men. He has called each one of his followers to be witnesses and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all of God’s commands.
Anointed of God
Jesus read Isaiah 61, the first several verses. He was applying the words to himself, yet now that we have Jesus Christ within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, we are to also do these same things as Jesus did in his power and strength working within us and out through us. Jesus was anointed, i.e. he was anointed with the Holy Spirit to do the work God the Father had called him to do. We, as well, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and to empower us to be Christ’s witnesses to all the world. We are to follow Jesus example in preaching the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor in spirit (humble), to proclaim freedom from sin to those who are captivated by sin’s deceitfulness, to tell of recovery of spiritual sight for those still living in spiritual darkness, and to share how those who are oppressed of the enemy can be released and can find victory in Jesus Christ, their Lord.
Jesus was anointed of the Spirit to proclaim the “year of the Lord’s favor,” i.e. the day of our salvation and of his grace to us in saving us from our sins. He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… because that is why I was sent.” And, he kept on preaching in the synagogues, even in the face of much rejection and persecution. And, we must, as well, be those who share with others the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ in telling them how Jesus Christ, God the Son, left heaven, came to the earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and was crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong. He took upon himself all our sins, crucified them with him, buried them with him, and then rose from the dead, triumphing over Satan, hell, death and sin so that we could go free from the penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God in hell, and also free from the control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis.
We need to tell them that by God’s grace in providing the way of salvation for us, we can come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance and obedience, i.e. faith means turning from our sins and turning to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. If anyone is telling you that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation or that God is pleased with you no matter what you do, don’t listen to them for they are giving out a false gospel. If we want Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit (the new wine) to come and dwell within us (the wineskins), we have to first of all allow the Spirit of God to do his work of regeneration in our lives in changing our hearts so that we willingly turn from our sin and we desire nothing more than to walk with our Lord in complete surrender and obedience to Him and to his will for our lives. Then, and only then, can we be filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and then for Christ Jesus to be seen in us in all his love, truth, and grace working in us and out through us into the lives of others. May Christ be seen in me, O Lord. This is my plea.
May Christ Be Seen in Me / Percy Crawford
O Lord, I give myself to Thee, and all that I possess;
I lay aside my sinful pride and claim Thy righteousness,
My will lies shattered at Thy feet, I pray Thy will be done,
My only plea to live for Thee and magnify Thy Son.
O may I count all gain but loss, save as to Thee 'tis gain;
Let me not shun the promised cross, nor shirk to suffer pain,
Then lead me, Lord, up Calv'ry's hill, forth to the cross with Thee,
And there pour out my life with God, As Thou didst Lord for me.
O humbly may I serve Thee, Lord, as in Thy will I tread;
And may I live anew in Christ, as risen from the dead.
Then closely walking by Thy side, may love flow out thro' me,
That those whom Thou shalt lead my way may, too, find life in Thee.
May Christ be seen in me, O Lord,
Hear Thou my earnest plea;
O take me, fill me, use me, Lord,
Till Christ be seen in me.
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