02/03 – Luke 4:31–44 – Jesus is Truly God
February 3, 2019
Jeremiah 1:4–10
The Lord spoke his word to me, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
I, Jeremiah, said, “Almighty Lord, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!”
The Lord said to me, “Do not say that you are only a boy. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I command you to say. Don’t be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms. You will uproot and tear down. You will destroy and overthrow. You will build and plant.” Again the Lord spoke his word to me and asked, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well. I am watching to make sure that my words come true.” Again the Lord spoke his word to me and asked, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a boiling pot, and its top is tilted away from the north.”
Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out from the north on all those who live in the land. I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,” declares the Lord. “They will come, and they will set up their thrones at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates. They will attack all the walls around the city and all the cities of Judah. I will pass sentence on my people because of all their wickedness. They abandoned me, burned incense to other gods, and worshiped what their hands have made.
1 Corinthians 12:31b—13:13
I will show you the best thing to do. I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels, but if I do not have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains, but if I do not have love, I am nothing. I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned, but if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up. Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will cease. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will pass away. Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete, but when completeness comes, then what is incomplete will no pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. Now we see a blurred image in a mirror, but then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete, but then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.
So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.
Luke 4:31–44
Jesus went to Capernaum {ka-PER-na-um}, a city in Galilee, and taught them on the day of rest—a holy day. The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue was a man possessed by an impure spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, “Leave us alone! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him.
Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.”
So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region. Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her. He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them.
When the sun was setting, everyone who had family or friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” Jesus ordered them not to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. He said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about God’s kingdom in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.” So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.
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