Luke 4:42-44

Luke 4:42-44

And after day became, while going out, He journeyed into a wilderness place.  And the crowds were searching for Him.  And they came to Him and they were hindering Him to keep Him from journeying away from them.  But He said to them that, “It is necessary for me to also proclaim the kingdom of God to the other cities, because upon this I was being sent.  And He was continuing to preach into the synagogues of Judea.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus goes out into the wilderness.  We know of several times when Jesus does this.  Jesus typically does this to escape the crowd so that He can commune with the Father.  I’ve thought much about this lately.  When Jesus wants to be close to God, He finds a quiet place to be by Himself.  When Jesus wants to be close to God, He often finds His way away from humanity.

What can we learn from Jesus’ example here?  Do you think that modern people are good at imitating this behavior?  What is a hindrance to our imitation?

Second Thought:

In this passage we have a really neat snapshot of humanity.  I have both good and bad things to say about human beings.  First, the good.  Human beings are willing to follow things that they value even into foreign or harsh conditions.  Jesus goes into the wilderness; people follow.  They are willing to go into deserted and potentially hostile places just to be in the presence of Christ.  However, here we also see the dark side of humanity.  We want to cling to safety, security, and comfortability.  We want to hang around Jesus and sit at His feet when we should be taking what He gives to us and going forth into the world!  I am reminded of Peter’s desire to build dwelling places – and Jesus’ rebuke – at the time of the transfiguration to make the moment last as long as possible. What is worse, Luke is very clear that the people here were hindering Jesus’ ministry because they wanted to hold onto Him!  There is a time and a place for sitting at the feet of the master and abiding in His presence.  There is also a time and a place for letting go of Jesus and going where He tells us to go.  I am also reminded of Jesus’ rebuke of Mary after the resurrection.  “Do not hold onto me.”  Jesus had plans for Mary.  Jesus had plans for these people in this story.  He has plans for us.  Hold on when it is appropriate.  Pursue Him when the time is right.  But obediently go out into the world when He beckons, too.

Are you good at pursuing Jesus?  Are you also good at clinging to Him longer than you should?  Why do you think people desire to cling to the presence of God?

Third Thought:

Jesus pushes away from the comfort.  Jesus walks away from the adoring audience that wants to be with Him.  Why does He do this?  His is being sent.  He is being obedient to God.  He could easily have become the personal priest for all of these people.  He could have easily become the esteemed worker of miracles by these adoring people.  But instead He moves on out of obedience.  People need to hear about God.

Do you ever desire to be adored?  Do you ever desire to be famous?  How can that pull us away from obedience to God if we are not careful?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 5:1-6