Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV)
Read Luke 4:14-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. Verse 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. Verse 16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, Verse 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: Verse 18"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, Verse 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Verse 20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Verse 21Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Devotion
Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21). Although the people “spoke well of him and were amazed at [his] gracious words” (v. 22), do you think they really understood what Jesus said? Did they realize Jesus just told them God’s Kingdom had come to earth through him? Perhaps we are not very different from the people who heard Jesus that day in the Nazareth synagogue. Don’t we often look around and fail to see God’s Kingdom in our world? Surely, people still live in poverty, remain in captivity, have disabilities and suffer from oppression. Where is God’s Kingdom amidst so much pain?
Be assured, God is here—with us, in us, and through us as God’s workers in the Kingdom now and to come. God calls us to bring healing and reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18)—to be the builders of unity in the Kingdom!
Prayer
God of the Kingdom, give us wisdom, compassion and humility to seek reconciliation and unity among all your children. Amen.